Goddess Collector: Every Hole is a Goal

Title: Damned Philosophies

*Gurgle*

The eye of the cave was by no means dark. Still, not a single speck of light traveled into the long and narrow passage of Yggdrasil. Although they were inside the World Tree in a manner, none rashly tried to collect samples. Not after Nik did and lost his index finger and a major chunk of his vitality and energy only to be restored after almost an hour of rest.

This passage was extremely dangerous.

However, the moment the group exited the passage of the cave to gaze upon a large spring, Nik, Morgan, and Loki felt a thin film of energy covering the exit from which they entered.

The interior of the Yggdrasil, at least, this root of the tree, was an isolated dimension of its own!

The spring with water continuously bubbling and reaching towards the high ceiling of the cave was not extremely large when considering the absolute size of Yggdrasil and now the possibility of many isolated dimensions in the world tree itself.

This wasn't all.

The 'ceiling' depicted blinking stars while countless slithering snakes filled the foot of the spring. More than forty streams of water appeared from various directions and heights that filled into this spring named Hvergelmir.

"First time I have laid eyes on such a beautiful thing," Loki moaned, her words and obviously shivering made the other girls shiver slightly as she continued, "Careful not to touch any drop of this spring. Though it is called Boiling-Bubbling Spring, in truth, the water's temperature is close to the icebergs of the realm and each droplet as poisonous as a bite from Hel-Snake."

She pointed towards the platform made of the coiling snakes.

"I can take care of these," Morgan stated with a narrow gaze only for Nik to look at her strangely.

"We are in a mythical location," Nik smiled, "And snakes taste delicious only when cooked patiently. Let me store a few of these and continue walking. It's not like these snakes are attacking us or anything."

"This spring is the source of many rivers and streams across the realms. Careful. Any intruder will be looked upon harshly by these snakes," Loki smiled coldly as Nik chuckled and jumped from the edge of the entrance. Anyway, the only path there was to move forward, so fearing these and slaughtering them mindlessly wasn't something on Nik's bucket list.

After all, he can make most kinds of animals love him quite easily.

As expected, the obstruction of venomous snakes that should have even given many gods a run for their money was quite easily subdued by Nik. As he landed, the hissing snakes around him grew quieter while parting to make way for their passage, revealing an extremely clean rocky surface underneath them.

Meanwhile, Nik couldn't help but lament the lack of use of [Nine-Blocks Potion: B+] in his daily life. Three artifacts were created after fusing most of his previous treasures. Out of which, Soul Ruler proved to be an extremely fearsome weapon, Commandment of Lust worked as a method to spice up Nik's sex life without physically or mentally harming his partners. However, [Nine-Blocks Potion: B+] which can store nine different kinds of products and continuously regenerate them by absorbing natural energy had been left untouched even now.

The thought of gifting this treasure did not even pass Nik's mind.

There were many things he was happy to share, but girls and treasures that he specifically designed for himself weren't one of them.

This was simply a passing thought, however.

The lack of usage of this artifact only meant that Nik hadn't observed any concrete need of its effects.

*Hiss*

A thin, green-scaled serpent slowly slithered across the clean surface and coiled around Nik's leg.

"Huh? You mean that with this, the souls of Gjoll will no longer trouble me?" Nik crouched and gazed into the eyes of the Serpent who tightened around Nik's calf slightly as if agreeing with him.

"... What does that even mean?" Nik mumbled while others got down by this time.

"Probably something in this Gjoll must have the task of obstructing people like us..." Janet stated with a contemplative expression. However, Poole and Spider shivered, hugging each other with a frightful expression as they hurled curses on Nik and quickly entered his pockets to not continue to gaze upon a snake... or an entire cave of snakes for that matter.

"By souls of Gjoll, this little guy means the souls sent to be tormented in the poisonous river. Slowly, their anguish turns into hatred and these souls will attack every living thing in the river," Loki remarked and they began moving around the spring carefully. While the snakes remained unaffected by the splatter of water from the spring, the same wouldn't be true for the explorers of Niffleheim and finally, after a few minutes, Loki entered the only other point of the entrance which led the group, a snake, an annoyed salamander, and a peacefully sleeping kitten through the same dark pathway and exiting into a world of darkness and mist with an obvious sound of a stream, its waves, reaching throughout the realm.

It was right to say that this stream which leaked from the root of Yggdrasil and entered into a major pathway of water had its noise blocked by the large roots itself!

"We would have stopped here to prepare various spells and enchantments to defend against slightly more jealous souls sent here for their punishment but..." Looking towards Nik's leg with a peaceful snake coiled around, Loki shook her head, "But we can leave once we find enough wood of the damned to build a boat for ourselves. Considering our weights and sizes... we will need plenty of it."

Loki stated with a narrowed gaze. Just Angela alone weighed more than 200 kilos! Then there was Ignit and...

Suddenly, Ignit and Moon vanished out of nowhere.

"Do we really need to build a boat? Can we not fly now?" Nik inquired as the dominion of mist barely fazed him.

"We can, of course. But... how rude it is to the river of Gjoll to not pass it by a boat build from hard work? I am sincerely disappointed, Nik. I expected more from an adventurous spirit such as yourself," Loki smiled.

"Well... a cruise does sound enticing," Jennifer frowned.

"A cruise into a poisonous river filled with deranged ghosts," Nik clarified as Jennifer's expression stiffened.

"I would enjoy that," Morgan nodded with a sincere expression.

"I would rather not fly," Angela narrowed her gaze, "Until I have wings of my own, of course."

"You should stop watching all that feminist soap opera... I told you many times, society ain't like that," Nik grumbled.

"But... well, I wouldn't mind your help in flight," Angela pursed her lips. She was no longer an innocent slaughterer of the masses and was on the verge of being corrupted and turning into a ravishing and godly Karen. However, Nik had timely interjected and suggested shows that were more highly rated and well-accepted in general to cleanse Angela's soul. Not to mention that Anna would even let Angela see her playing the games and their storylines, which kept her mind sharp.

"Alright, a show of hands in favor of a delightful cruise!" Loki smiled and raised her hand, saying, "Aye."

"Aye," Angela nodded reluctantly.

"Aye," Morgan remained impassive but her excitement on the matter could be felt.

"Aye," Jennifer looked away.

"... Aye," Poole's soft whisper echoed only for Nik to hear while Spider knew that their opinions on this matter didn't mean that much, making her remain silent.

"Aye..." Janet chuckled awkwardly.

"What the hell are you saying aye for?" Nik snorted, "All you're doing is rest on my head."

"Hey, your skull is not really a cushion. I am preserving in my own way!" Janet tugged one of the strands of Nik's hair, a little embarrassed at her own actions.

"Alright, ship it is. Good thing Ignit and Moon don't really like rivers... or poison that much. Now, what is this Wood of the Damned?" Nik inquired.

"It grows near the banks of Gjoll. Trees raised by heinous cries of the pained souls and quenched with the poisonous water of the river. Their roots are extremely toxic since they filter and store the poison of the river but their trunks are nourishing to mind and soul. It has anti-poison properties and cannot be found anywhere besides the banks of Gjoll due to the situation," Loki introduced.

"Such trees are named Damned?" Nik frowned.

"Remember Nidhogg?" Loki chuckled, "It is said that the Nidhogg feasted on most of the souls sent through this passage of Niffleheim while those who could escape had the torturous poison ahead. However, there were also souls that found peace in turbulence, letting all their emotions settle on the banks of Gjoll... do you understand what I'm saying? These trees are seeded by emotions, positive and negative, hehe... I remember seeing one in the records when I was young. Let's move and have a look at these Trees of the Damned!"

Loki spoke cheerfully and led the group through Icy plain in a gradual descent. Surely, they soon heard the echoes of hollow chuckles and even pained cries.

"It hurts..." A soft whisper echoed, alerting the girls of the mystical properties around them. Morgan, however, still looked peaceful and so did Nik. This couldn't be said for Jennifer or Angela, sadly. Their bodies tensed visibly and while Angela clenched Xiphos tightly and Jennifer's sleek body bulked up slightly. She still remained in the confines of her clothes, afraid of ripping them apart.

"This is the forest of the damned. Spread across the banks of Gjoll. Birthed by emotions and given sentience to always feel the pain of poison being absorbed in their roots," Loki whispered with a wicked grin, "A marvel in its own. To cut it down, is it mercy or not? Philosophies of Asgard still cannot answer this question. After all, these lives are born without any—"

*Crash*

Nik moved and slapped across the morbid face formed on the bark of the tree, squealing with a painful expression. The tree, instantly burst apart. The loud crashing sound drowning the pained shrieks around them.

"Philosophies, my ass," Nik looked back with a calm expression.

"Do you think of philosophies when eating meat? Or killing in wars?" Snorting at the stupid idealism of some truly idle individuals, Nik gazed at the crashed tree. Though this place is called a forest, the trees by themselves were quite parted.

"Alright people, since we are here to enjoy the experience," taking out hammers, nails, and saw from his core, Nik chuckled, "Get ready to construct a boat with your hands!"

Instantly, many glares landed on Loki and even she herself felt stifled. Originally, she had been wanting to mess with the group by creating pity and sympathy for the Trees of the Damned but as Nik said while crashing her course apart.

Who in this group really cared?

Now... they even had to engage in labor, making her expression worsen by the second.

"Gosh! Let's fly!" Loki grumbled.

"Not so fast missy! You'll handle the saw. I'll chop off the thicker section of the tree," Nik chuckled while tossing an axe and catching it again.

"Unnngh..." Loki bit her lips.

"Stupid," Morgan whispered as she walked past Loki.

"You reap what you sow," Angela smirked at Loki, not caring about the physical strain too much.

"I regret siding with you," Jennifer sighed.

"It isn't my fault!" Loki shouted helplessly, only walking forward to get her tasks done, too.

***

A/N: Most of the lores of Asgard, I'm just making it up as we move forward. If you do enjoy such kind of mythical buildup, do let me know and if not, still, let me know.