Goddess Collector: Every Hole is a Goal

Title: Helheim

*Kreaaahhhh*

The group returned to the same location from where the Palace surrounded with green flames was visible once again. The group heard the echoing screams of the tormented souls but Leah's words were much more important.

"Don't stray now. If your beast cannot heed your commands, then hide it like what you did with the cat. The path to her majesty's palace is not so easy to face," Leah glanced towards Nik who continued to sit on Ignit idly.

"Sure," Nik stretched his arms and jumped down while sending the reluctant Ignit, and the happy Venom away. He then waited for Leah to move. There wasn't a clear path into the palace. In fact, the palace was situated in what seemed like a bowl of ice laced with extra spicy green fire.

Of course, his major destination travels could now be resolved by Space Stone itself. So, it wasn't an exaggeration when Nik could travel anywhere in this given universe should he have a good mental image. Of course, he considered the possibility that his home planet was in the same universe.

Sadly, it wasn't.

Leah, on the other hand, continued to walk in a certain direction. A little more forward and she would into the pits of flames that shrieked with burning souls, or so the group assumed.

"Hey!" Spider shouted alongside Poole, "You're going into the flames!"

"Yeah, she has eyes," Nik chuckled, making Poole and Spider look towards him, "I mean, you guys cannot feel it but the space around the flames is distorted. Er, it will send you into different locations based on the point of entrance."

As he said, Leah suddenly vanished the moment she stepped into the highest peals of green flames at the edge of the snowy cliff.

"Well, if Hela didn't bring us to her palace right away, then she clearly has something planned. Something devious, obviously," Loki smiled as she began walking, "I'll meet you guys on the other side."

She chuckled and vanished right into the point of Leah's disappearance. The Disir followed soon.

"Isn't it safer to wait in the dream core and then come out?" Janet inquired. Others weren't flustered by Loki's words, too.

"Sure," Nik shrugged, "But I want to experience Hell... maybe it will provide me with a fresh perspective to deal with enemies," Nik smiled, "So? Who wants to enter the dream core?"

"I do," Morgan was the first.

"No sane individual should ever say the words— I want to experience hell. Makes me wonder if it is just your sexual prowess that won our favor," Jennifer pursed her lips. Her answer already clear.

"Yeah. I'm still alive. No point in dampening my love of fashion by watching misery. I'll wait inside, too," Janet smiled.

"I'll go in with you," Angela shrugged, "No reason for my man to experience hell alone." Her words stiffened everybody's smile and carefree nature. Jennifer and Janet looked conflicted now. Their rationality and the desire to let Angela show them down raged a great battle within their minds.

Morgan, however, was unaffected. She wasn't the one to easily get excited by someone else's words and leaving now will give her a chance to study soul even quicker. She understood a common fact.

If someone created a method of unshackling the soul, then clearly, that person must have a solid inspiration, a great fortune, and a large number of resources to experiment on. What better than a soul to study the shackles of the soul itself?

Of course, the answer is two souls. Then three souls. And then four souls!

"Hey, I understand," Nik smiled, "This is hell, literally. No need to force yourself. I will experience it and transmit the details... probably take one of the hotter forms for the night," Nik smirked while Janet and Jennifer sighed.

"Fine," they nodded and disappeared.

The moment Morgan observed the dazed blue-skinned man in her hut, her beautiful green eyes lit up with wild joy. However, the moment she heard the buzz of a mosquito and a confused grunt, she looked back and found Janet and Jennifer inside her hut.

'No point in just sending the two of them to other's location for a few minutes. Your hut is isolated... be a warm host, hehehe,' Nik's snicker rang inside Morgan's mind while she bit her lips.

'I do not wish to engage in profanities... but, clearly, you wish to be cursed in the form of greatest humiliation!' Morgan growled internally.

---

'That's some insult,' Nik shrugged and began walking towards the direction where Leah had disappeared to.

"Nik! Where did others go?" Poole inquired.

"Someplace nice," Nik answered while Angela followed silently.

"You're not thinking of taking us to hell, right?" Spider inquired, clearly spooked by Loki.

"Why not? You two have died in your real world. Might as well enjoy the rest of intended journey."

"That would mean we are supposed to go in hell! We help people! We should go to heaven!" Spider shouted but before she could jump off along Poole, Nik chuckled and held both of them in each of his hands.

"Heven exists, alright. But it's sealed, and for angels. Like Angela. This isn't even a pickup line. Meanwhile, all dead go to Hel, or variants of hell. Period."

With that, the two of them stepped into the flames and let the distortion of the space take wherever its exit was created.

---

"This is one of the worst jokes that I have to face in my life," Loki rolled her eyes as she stepped into a strange space. The sky above her allowed Loki to understand that she was still in the realm of the dead. Her army of wraiths had disappeared. And her surround wasn't a vast expanse of death and torture. Instead, Loki found herself standing in front of a cave. The icy cave seemed unaffected by the temperature of the black ground which could only be seen near the palace of Hel from afar back then.

However, what Loki witnessed was a paved path to her side that marked through the dark ground. There were walls and various structures erected around the cave.

A place of living.

Loki realized.

Not living as in life, but a residence.

The structures had varied shapes and designs. But most of them were primitive.

"A joke? I expected much more warmth from you, Loki." A giggle echoed as a female peeked through the entrance of the icy cave. She had brown hair and a wide set of eyes.

Waving her hands, the woman called out jovially.

"What brings you into my fresh slice of hel?"

"Nothing really," Loki sighed as she observed the old white clothing covering the woman's body.

"Really?" The woman eyed Loki dubiously, "You're a woman. Did you find a strong god again? Last I heard in here, you were dallying with that builder's horse."

"Oh, nothing of that nature," Loki chuckled, "Good times though," she smiled. "The man I found is of a lustful breed. Not incubus, or succubus. One of my forms would have felt the resistance. He's... well, got a good thrust," Loki walked forward and hugged the woman.

"Aw, don't be shy now. I remember you enjoying various things. Come on, give me the details!" The woman pulled Loki into the cave and revealed a plain structure.

There were a few rags spread across and that's it.

Sitting on one of the spreads, Loki spoke up, "Before that, how about you enlighten me with your experience. How's death treating you, Ang?"

"Ang?" The woman tilted her head in confusion.

"Ah, one of the concepts developed by mortals. They call beings close to them with shortened names. This concept is titled Pet Names," Loki chuckled and explained.

"Oh, so Ang is short for my name... No. I don't get this thing. Just call me like you used to," the woman pouted.

"Fine, Angrboda. Happy? Now, if you want to hear about this new guy, tell me about Hel first."

Loki grinned, not caring if her disir were transported somewhere else. After all, the woman was the mother of two of her children. Angrboda deserved Loki's respect and full attention.

"Hmm, it's not that hard to explain. Gods and magical beings like us, who had an average life as a living, got an average afterlife. Then there is the section where the truly moral ones are rewarded and given a very pleasant afterlife. Then, one section of Hel is reserved for Angels. By the way, I did not know that Angels would rebel. How crazy, right? Anyway, the last section is just for a few forms of torture."

"Hmm," Loki nodded.

They began chatting and discussing about each other's life but strangely enough, not one of them said a thing about their children!

What Angrboda was excited to hear about was many of Loki's failed conquest and pranks he had committed over the years after her passing on into the afterlife.

---

"As expected. You three are not from this world..." Nik, Poole, and Spider heard a cold voice greeting them as Nik stepped into a large, polished hall with multiple carved pillars erected in an orderly manner. At the end of his hall lay a woman with a sense of indolence. She peered towards Nik with a curious expression. The back of her throne was filled with infernal spikes but the seat itself was covered with furs of some unknown beast.

"I always knew Hell would be an enlightening experience," Nik mumbled and looked behind. Seeing that Angela wasn't here but he could still contact her if he wished and the same being true for the opposite, Nik let go of his worries. His words, however, made Poole and Spider roll their eyes.

"You're stupid/moron!" They shouted while trying to jump out of the pinch of his thumb and index.