WIEDERGEBURT Act VI: Chapter 14

I sat next to Fray, Tor, and Sif--Tor’s wife--inside of the banquet hall. Our seats were situated on an elevated platform that allowed us to view everyone else. Thousands of people were currently present, enjoying the revelry of the feast that had been prepared by Ásgarðr’s chefs.

A mouth-watering scent filled the air. Four long tables had been set up, and all kinds of food had been piled onto each one. There was braised Demon Bull meat, the head of a Giant Pork Beast, barbequed Werebear Claws, and a large number of other meats that I didn’t know the name of. I noticed a distinct lack of vegetables. There were just a few measly plates. I guess these people preferred meat over plants.

As I raised the cup of ale to my lips, partaking in the frothy beverage, my mind replayed the events of the last few hours before the party.

Fray, Tor, and Sif were certain that I was Freyr and Gerd’s son, sent thousands of years into the future at the cost of my father’s life. My parents were dead. I didn’t know how to feel about that. On the one hand, I’d never had parents to begin with, and on the other, I had always admittedly wondered about who had given birth to me. Many times I thought about what I might do or say to my mother and father if I ever found them. Now I knew that I’d never get the chance.

While I was lost and confused, Tor had decided we needed to host a party celebrating my survival. I wasn’t really interested in partying. If anything, I would rather be left alone, but Fray had agreed, and thus they had gathered their chefs, their servants, and announced to all the most important members of their race that a celebration would be hosted.

That was two days ago.

During the past two days, I had been busy learning more about Gudeverdenen and the Guddomelig. Most of what Fray taught me was their society’s infrastructure. It was not much different from Nevaria. The God Race was ruled by a single ruler--that was currently Tor--and the powerful Guddomelig underneath him helped uphold their laws. There was no council. However, Tor still needed the support of his people if he wanted to do something like mobilize the army.

“That man over there is Tyr.” Fray pointed out someone sitting with several other men and heavily drinking from a frothing mug. “He is our God of War. During the Great War, he valiantly fought on the front lines, defeating entire armadas by himself. His great feats earned him his title and now he is the general of our armies. The four men beside him are his four commanders. Their called the Four Cardinal Commanders.”

“Tyr is a good man,” Tor said before taking a heavy drink from his mug. “When we were betrayed by Lolk, it was Tyr and I who fought and killed him and his children.”

I raised an eyebrow at the part about killing someone’s children. Fray saw this and attempted to placate me by explaining.

“Lolk and his children betrayed the Nine Great Races and joined the Sekbeist in their conquest of the world. We did not discover his betrayal until nearly the end, when he attempted to sabotage our efforts to seal off the gateway between realms. Tor and Tyr battled against Lolk and his three children, emerging victorious at the cost of Tyr’s arm.”

I glanced once more at Tyr and saw that, indeed, he was missing his left arm just like I was, though I doubt anyone noticed my missing arm since I was using a combination of earth, water, lightning, and life to create a reasonably working fake arm. Absently touching my fake arm, I felt a small moment of kinship with this man.

Unfortunately, it seemed he noticed me staring in his direction, for he stood up and held his mug aloft toward us.

“Tor! My brother! This is a wondrous feast! But don’t you think it is time you tell us why you have prepared such a lavish feast? Who is that half-pint godling you have sitting between you and Lady Fray?”

Something I noticed was how he addressed Tor by his name but added the title “Lady” to Fray’s name. I wondered if the reason he didn’t call Tor “Lord” or something similar was due to their friendship. It sounded like they might be good friends.

“Of course! I was just about to get to that!” Grinning behind his beard, Tor stood up from his seat, a mug in one hand and a rack of meat in the other. He took a long swig of his ale, bit into his mouth, and only spoke after swallowing his food. “Brothers and sisters of Ásgarðr! Long have we been confronted with war and death. Even now, the Sekbeist seek their way into this city, to destroy our civilization and enslave our people. We’ve not had much reason to celebrate in over a thousand years.”

Heads bobbed as Tor spoke. I was a little surprised by how eloquent he sounded. Given the way he was holding his drink and food, I honestly expected him to sound like a neanderthal, but he was quite charismatic.

“However! We now have reason to rejoice!” He pointed to me with his mug. “This god child here goes by the name Eryk Veiger, but some of you might recognize the name he was given at birth. Erik Vanir.”

Several people started at the name, which was not that much different from my original name--except for my family name. Vanir was the name of Fray and Freyr’s family. In ages past, the Vanir and Aesir families--Tor’s family--were enemies, but they made peace when the two family heads fell in love and married. Those were Fray and Tor’s mother and father respectively.

“Yes!” Tor’s voice boomed like rumbling thunder. “This young man is indeed the child of Freyr and Gerd! With his dying breath, Freyr sent his son into the future, where he would hopefully be safe. Eryk has been living on Miðgarðr ever since then as a human, but now he has returned to our fold and shall be celebrated!”

There was a moment of absolute silence, and then everyone cheered so loudly the very room shook. The revelry began all over again in honor of my return. If I was being honest, I thought they were less interested in celebrating my return and more into getting drunk.

Men laughed gayously as they sang drinking songs. Several women in skimpy robes that barely concealed their bodies began dancing. Female warriors and male warriors challenged each other to arm wrestling and eating matches. Drink was shared, food was consumed, and everything enjoyed themselves.

Everyone except me.

As Tor joined his fellows and Fray found herself locked in conversation with a number of women, I slipped onto a wide balcony overlooking Ásgarðr. The vast city lay sprawled before me. Lights from monster cores lit up the cityscape and mixed into the starry sky. One could easily tell earth from heaven, however, as the stars twinkled like blue sparks while the lights emitted a warm orange glow.

I ignored the sound coming from inside. I wasn’t even focused on the city. My thoughts were thousands of kilometers away, beyond the realm I found myself in.

I was thinking about my wives. How much time had passed since I arrived in this world? Did they know I was alive? Could they feel me through our connection like I could feel them? Were they waiting for my return? I wanted to see them again, to blast through the seal that separated the realms and travel to their side, but I could not do that right now.

“What’s the man of the hour doing all the way out here!” a raucous voice said. “You should be inside celebrating with everyone else. This party is in honor of your return.”

I turned to find Tyr walking over to me. He was about as tall as Thor, not quite as muscular but still in excellent shape. The shoulder cape sitting upon his broad shoulders trailed behind him. Powerful leg muscles flexed as he walked. His hair was a thick and curly blond. He had no beard, but his square jaw was the picture of masculinity. A mug was held within his only remaining hand.

“You are Tyr, yes?” I asked.

“That’s right, kiddo.” Tyr grinned. “And you’re the brat who was born from that fool Freyr. Ha! You were just a squirt sucking on your mom’s tit when I last saw you. You’re still a squirt, but it looks like you’ve become strong since then.” The grin widened. “Wanna share stories with me? I’ll tell you about how I lost my arm if you tell me how you lost yours.”

So he had noticed my missing arm. Perhaps to someone who had mastery of high level concepts, spotting that my arm was a fake would be easy.

I raised my fake arm, which looked identical to my real arm, and slowly clenched my fingers.

“It was removed by the Great Overlord of the Seventh Realm,” I said slowly.

Tyr breathed deeply. “The Great Overlord of the Seventh Realm, you say?”

I nodded as Tyr took a swig from his mug and continued studying my hand as I spoke. “He was unsealed by the Sekbeist and attacked me and mine. We fought. He removed my arm, and I killed him in return.”

“Ha! So you managed to kill Führer. I’m shocked. He wasn’t a Guddomelig, but his understanding of the Concept of Creation was nearly as good as Wōtan’s.”

Wōtan was the leader of the Guddomelig, the Great Overlord of the Ninth Realm, and the man who had sealed the heart of the Sekbeist Overlord inside of himself. He was the strongest among all the Guddomelig. According to Fray, Wōtan was the only person in all nine of the realms who had mastered three high level concepts: Creation, Time, and Dimension. Until him, everyone believed it was impossible to master more than two.

Since I didn’t think Tyr would leave if I asked him, I simply decided to share my story, telling him about how Führer had been possessed by the Sekbeist Overlord’s mind, how my wives and I fought against him, and how our battle had ripped through the spatial barrier separating realms and brought me here. Tyr was so impressed with my story that he slapped me on the back hard enough to make me stumble.

“Bwa ha ha ha ha! That’s quite the tale! I’m impressed! Very few people can fight against someone like that and live to tell it, but you actually managed to win! Those wives of yours must be incredibly strong too!”

“My wives are the strongest women I know,” I declared proudly.

“Bwa ha ha ha! Well, since you shared your story with me, it’s only good and right that I share mine!”

And thus Tyr told me about how he and Tor fought against Lolk, Fen, Mid, and Hel. I was sure he embellished his story a great deal, especially when he spoke of how he shoved his arm into Fen’s mouth to reclaim the sword it ate and ended up losing his arm. I also noticed how he downplayed Tor’s part in the battle. Even so, it sounded like the kind of epic tale that Kari would have adored. I promised myself that once I reunited with her, I would bring Kari and my other wives to Ásgarðr.

“Tyr,” Fray called from the entrance. “Your wife is looking for you. She said something about how she wanted to drink you under the table.”

“Oh ho! So my wife is challenging me to a drinking content, eh?! I can hardly dismiss a challenge like that!”

Tyr bid me goodbye with a hardy back slap and left for the party, Fray taking his place. The beautiful woman who I guessed was my aunt now did not say anything. I didn’t either. Turning back to the city, I looked at everything and continued thinking about my wives.

“Tyr is a good man, but you should be cautious around him,” Fray said at last.

“And why is that?” I asked.

Fray did not speak at first, but when she did, it was slowly, as if she was choosing each word with care. “Tyr is a very powerful man, very brave, and very ambitious. Our world is not a monarchy based on blood but abilities. When the Great War ended, everyone believed he would become our next leader. I do not believe he was very happy when the people supported Tor.”

“Is Tyr stronger than Tor?” I asked.

“It’s hard to say.” Fray took a delicate sip of wine from her glass, biding her time before speaking again. “I would say they are close to the same in strength. Tor has mastered the Concepts of Dimension, Life, and Creation. Tyr mastered Time, Death, and Space. If you were to ask me who would win in a battle, I would say Tor. The ability to create something from nothing is an incredible power that few can wield. However, it would be a very close battle.”

I didn’t speak at first and instead thought about the power Tor wielded. The Concept of Creation felt like a power I would do well to master. If I could create something from nothing, then I would recreate my hand instead of combining various elements together.

“I understand,” I said after a moment. “I will be careful around him from now on.”

“Good.” Fray smiled as she placed a hand on my shoulder and directed me toward the banquet hall. “Now, it is still quite early, and I would like to introduce you to several children your age.”

I wanted to tell her I wasn’t a child. I was almost thirty, hardly young enough to be called a child, but perhaps to this ageless woman who had lived for over a thousand years, I really was a child.

In either event, she ended up introducing me to several people.

There was Astrid, a beautiful woman with black hair and dark eyes. She had pale skin and a strong physique adorned in battle armor, which I guessed she wore even to parties. She was a captain within the Valkyries. That was Fray’s personal group of warriors, separate from the army controlled by Tyr. Despite her hardened warrior looks, she had a very kind smile.

“It is good to meet you,” she said. “I grew up hearing stories about your parents’ valor. They are personal heroes of mine. I hope more than anything to be like them some day.”

What? Dead? That was what I wanted to say, but I held the sarcastic remark in and smiled back.

“Thank you. I did not know them myself, but I believe they are good people. I’m glad you find them worthy of admiration,” I said instead. Kari had taught me the importance of remaining diplomatic even when you didn’t want to be.

Another person I was introduced to was Ulf, a wild-looking man who didn’t appear older than maybe seventeen or eighteen--in other words, he looked about the age my body had stopped aging at. I was sure he was even older than me, however.

His shaggy brown hair made me think of a Dire Wolf’s fur. He had glowing yellow eyes that further enhanced his wolfish appearance. His body was likewise clad in leather armor covered in wolf fur, giving him a barbaric appearance. A sword and shield were strapped across his back.

“So you’re Freyr and Gerd’s son, huh? I heard they were strong! I’d love to battle you some time!”

And it sounded like he was a battle maniac.

“I’m sure we’ll have the opportunity to cross blades eventually,” I said, neither denying nor refusing him.

Time passed, and I was introduced to so many people there was no way I would remember them all. I didn’t even care to remember half these people. Some of them acted like sycophants, singing praises of me and my parents like they thought kissing my ass would make me look at them. Others dismissed me entirely. I apparently wasn’t worth their attention since I’d been living in a “lower realm.” That was when I came to understand that some people discriminated against the other races, considering them lesser beings.

One person, in particular, seemed to have nothing good to say about me or my parents.

“So you’ve been living in a lower realm, and the lowest realm of all, at that? Hmph. It is no wonder you are so weak. I can barely detect the life and death energy on you.”

His name was Skude Gescheit. His hair was a ruddy red and stopped around his shoulders, his eyes were green, and he had freckles covering his face. While not very tall, he did have a powerful physique. His arms, legs, and chest were impressively muscled. In terms of physical appearance, he was my opposite. Where I looked more feminine, he was more masculine. Where my muscles were lithe, his were bulky. He was everything I wasn’t.

But I didn’t mind.

I was more handsome anyway.

I was sure my wives would agree.

All the conversation around us stopped at the man’s blatant insult to me; I could sense the eyes of everyone on me, wondering how I would react to his obvious provocation. Fray did not say anything to rebuke Skude either. She was watching me, waiting to see how I would respond. I already learned the basics of Gudeverdenen. Namely, I learned that strength was everything in this realm.

Some things never changed no matter where you were.

“That’s a pretty childish taunt, especially for someone who looks like he wants to claim he’s better than me.” I smiled at him, bright, vibrant, mocking. “A child whose sword hasn’t even tasted the blood of his enemies should learn to keep his mouth shut.”

It was easy to tell that this boy had never fought before in his life. He walked with an arrogant swagger, the kind that came not from confidence in oneself but an arrogant belief that would never survive the battlefield. The fact that his face turned red with shame as I mocked him merely served to provide further evidence to the fact that this person was nothing but an untested child.

Several people laughed at Skude. He gritted his teeth and glared at me.

“You might have fought some battles back on Miðgarðr, but the creatures on that lower realm are nothing compared to the Demon Beasts here. I’ve slain many powerful Demon Beasts in my time.”

“That so? Then how about a competition,” I suggested.

“Excuse me?” Skude seemed shocked.

“A competition,” I repeated. “Since you seem so certain you’re better than me, I believe the only way to settle this is to compete against each other.”

“Hmph. So long as you’re not afraid of humiliating yourself, I don’t mind playing along. However, if we’re going to compete, then we need stakes. It’s no fun if the victor doesn’t earn a reward for winning.”

I was beginning to think this was what he wanted all along, but I also wasn’t sure he’d thought this far. He didn’t seem like the thinking type.

“Since you mentioned hunting several powerful Demon Beasts, then I believe our competition should be a hunting one. Since we cannot travel outside of Ásgarðr, we will hunt each other instead of Demon Beasts,” I said.

“Hunt… each other?” Skude seemed stunned by my suggestion.

I nodded. “That’s right. We will have Lady Fray and Tor create a dimension for us. We’ll start on opposite sides of the dimension and hunt each other. The one who defeats the other person will win.”

What I was proposing was not a straight up fight, but a competition to see who had the most skills when it came to combat and hunting. Skude had mentioned how he’d hunted several Demon Beasts. Now I was giving him the opportunity to put those hunting skills to the test by hunting against something more intelligent. Of course, I had multiple reasons for doing this. The biggest one was that I didn’t think he could defeat me when it came to hunting, especially not after the time I’d spent traversing the Ironwood Forest.

“Fine,” Skude said with a scoff. He crossed his arms and looked down his nose at me, an arrogant sneer plastered on his face. “I accept your challenge, provided Lord Tor and Lady Fray are willing to provide a hunting ground for us.”

I almost snorted when I saw how he offered himself an out by telling me he’d be fine with this competition only if Tor and Fray were okay with it. Was it my confidence that had shaken him? Or was he merely the type that was all talk and no action? I would be curious to find out.

“Of course I am willing!” Tor boomed. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Since this is a suggestion from my nephew, I will of course be more than happy to create a dimension for this competition,” Fray said, clapping her hands once.

Skude looked like he had swallowed a lemon, but he didn’t back down. It was more like he couldn’t back down. We were surrounded by a thousand important and powerful figures, several of whom were his peers, and to make matters worse, he had insulted me first.

“V-very well.” He crossed his arms and adopted an “I’m superior to you in every way” stance. “I accept this competition. However, since you have named the competition, I get to name the terms.”

“And what are your terms?” I asked.

“Since this is just a competition, we obviously cannot kill each other. I would hate to get in trouble for killing the nephew of our leaders.” In other words, he didn’t want me killing him in case he lost. “The second term is that victory will be decided by forfeit and nothing else.” Meaning he can surrender if it looks like he’s going to lose. “And the last term is that whoever wins can ask the loser for a favor.”

“A favor?” I raised an eyebrow.

“That’s right. It can be any favor the victor requests.”

So… Skude wanted a favor from me, but now I was curious to know what he wanted. I wouldn’t find out by just standing there.

“I agree to those terms,” I said.

“Good. I hope you are ready to owe me a favor after this is all over,” Skude said in a determined voice before he turned around and wandered back into the crowd.

The party recommenced as if nothing had happened, though now I could hear several people talking about me and the hunting competition tomorrow. Nobody knew of my talents, but it seemed Skude really was an accomplished hunter. According to Ulf, the man had fought against and killed a Lesser Prismatic Wyrm before, which didn’t mean much to me since I had also killed one. Speaking of, I would need to ask Fray if she could find a place where I could sell that would buy the parts from me.

“It has not even been a full day since you have arrived, but it looks like you are already getting into trouble,” Fray said to me after she finished introducing me to several important figures and my peers.

I shrugged my shoulders. “It is not like I was looking for trouble.”

“And I did not say it was your fault,” Fray replied, then shrugged. “We Guddomelig may look like a civilized group, but many of us are highly competitive, especially the younger generation. They did not fight in the Great War, and we will not let them fight against the Sekbeist until they are grown. Many of them wish to prove themselves. And Tor was telling them about your achievements on Miðgarðr while you were outside.”

“In other words, they are jealous of my accomplishments and wish to prove themselves by competing against me.”

“Exactly.”

“How childish.”

It had been a long time since I’d taken part in a competition. The last one I partook in was the Spiritualist Grand Tournament when I was seventeen, where I had fought to prevent Kari and Fay from being married off to Grant Leucht. That had been such a long time ago now. With everything that had been happening in my life, I’d barely had any time to remember the past.

The party continued well into the next morning. I was forced into several drinking and arm wrestling competitions, which I found myself unable to talk my way out of. It was probably a good thing I could fortify my body with the seven elements. No one seemed to use the elements to reinforce their body like I did. That gave me a distinct advantage and allowed me to win several rounds before I was beaten by Tyr.

It was early morning by the time a servant girl showed me to what would become my bed chamber. Like the rest of this palace, my room seemed far too large for a single person. It was easily the size of a small house. A bed sat in the middle of the room, big enough to fit myself and my wives, and there were several pieces of furniture located against the walls.

Not bothering to remove my clothes, I wandered over to the bed and flopped down face first with a sigh. I was so tired.