Chapter 816: 804
Title: Nornheim
*Clop*
*Clop*
*Clop*
Aragorn slowly maneuvered around the ghastly grey trees. This time, Brunnhilde rode Aragorn with Nikshrat sitting behind her but he knew better to molest a woman who was leading him to a better location. His time of molesting would come and if he remained patient enough, there will be more rewards, in terms of human resources, of course.
From what Nikshrat knew, the other-self was quickly claiming every Angel he could find while making sure not to corrupt the minds of the young angels less than 15 years old. Of course, with the long lifespan of the angels, their population was still quite low which demonstrated that despite being powerful, there were a number of biological factors that still restricted them and Nik was more than willing to break such restrictions. But now was not the time.
While Nik rallied the army of angels and looted Engel's greatest armory, Brunnhilde led Nikshrat into an independent land of Asgard. In fact, the place Brunnhilde thought of the moment Nikshrat teleported her was close to this landmass since Brunnhilde had quite a lot of memories attached to this place.
"Are you familiar with Nornheim?" Brunnhilde inquired in a low voice as she continued to alertly observe her surroundings. Unlike the grandeur plains of Asgard, Nornheim was a region developed in a large marsh. One misstep and it would be dangerous for Brunnhilde since she had a handicapped individual with her.
Not only that.
Flight is restricted in Nornheim so Aragorn cannot show his true worth.
"Of course," Nikshrat capitalized on the fact that his body was weak and gave a simple answer without any hesitation. In fact, he knew nothing about Nornheim since even Thor isn't well-versed with the area. However, confidence is usually the key in such situations, and seeing how easily Nikshrat answered, Brunnhilde didn't ask anymore.
If Nikshrat knew where they were going, and wasn't opposed to the idea, then he must know the risks of getting him healed, too.
With this ease of mind, Brunnhilde commanded Aragorn to move into the deeper sections of the Nornheim.
It wasn't until Brunnhilde saw a pitch-black crow perched on top of one of the surrounding grey branches did she stop.
"Karnilla, I'm here to—"
"It is Queen of the Norns for you, Valkyrie. Or did you forget the importance of titles already? I always imagined that your little breakup with the God of Thunder would have been enough to make you realize that."
The corner of Brunnhilde's eyelids twitched.
"Queen of the Norns, I have a favor to ask of you."
*Kaw*
The crow flapped its wing while its caw was filled with surprise.
"You're tame? Did you finger one out before meeting me? How is it that you're so calm?" The slightly sharp tone inquired while Brunnhilde's lips trembled.
"Do not mock me!" Brunnhilde growled as the crow seemed to sigh in relief.
"There it is. Yes? What is the favor you want of me?"
"Heal him," Brunnhilde jumped down from Aragorn as the Crow got a good look of Nikshrat.
"Hmm... his body is infected with death energy... no, it has a note of rot. Undead. That's Hela's domain. Did you pull this runt out of Helheim?" The crow tilted its head as Brunnhilde nodded silently.
"Well, you understand the cost of such favor, don't you?"
"I swear upon my honor that I will try and convince Balder to spend the evening with you."
"Hmmm~ Good enough. Come on, bring him in. Maybe Amora will find him interesting."
"She's here?" Brunnhilde furrowed her brows.
"Ah, I remember that Asgard does not connect with mortals. Amora loves to watch mortals' sources of entertainment and she gets a good connection here. Come on now, chop-chop!"
The crow flapped its wings before exploding in purple smoke.
"Whatever happens, do not interact with Amora," Brunnhilde stated softly as she got onto Aragorn once again.
"Understood."
Nikshrat stated before going quiet.
It won't be long before the group enters Asgard through his location and it seemed like they might just control this Nornheim in a single sweep.
Soon, the surroundings started to change and Nikshrat felt that the only reason they could enter the inner points of Nornheim was due to Karnilla's approval. Magical seals were laid down on the marsh which only served to muddle the visitors.
'Karnilla... the so-called goddess of magic and the queen of Norns. Nornheim is also supposed to be the place of residence for the three sisters of Norn and that just happens to be the limits of my knowledge of this location.
Still, what makes this place dangerous isn't its surroundings but Karnilla and the sisters themselves. This place is completely different from Hel.'
Nikshrat observed his surroundings with the cloth still wrapped around his eyes. In fact, although he coveted women and wanted to take as many to create a society in the Dream Core, he also started to feel fascinated by various locations he had gone through.
How amazing it would be if he actually took the Ark of Heven into the Dream Core? A flying city exclusively for Angels. He wouldn't have to spend a dime on the infrastructure. Just as this thought stumbled into his mind, it began to grow.
'That's right... what's stopping me from taking this Ark away?'
---
"Ah... so this is what's stopping me," Nik looked at the dome surrounding the Ark. At first glance, the dome looked like a protective bubble around the Heven's Ark but in fact, it was an extension of the curse set by the sisters of Norn. Not only their curse, but also the curse planted onto the Ark by the mighty Odin himself.
By now, Nik knew that a true rank 6 individual will have its soul unshackled enough so that the living being can finally interact with its soul. And with that, a unique energy belonging only to that person is revealed. No two person will have the same soul energy even if their elements and affinities are the same.
But, at rank 6, the soul energy is not easily replenishable. That is what made Nik's discovery of fusing two or more souls into a mass of pure energy so great. It could recover soul energy. But that isn't the point.
Odin exhausted his soul energy once he exiled Heven and its Angels. In doing so, he created a pit for himself that later came to be known as the Odin sleep.
But while this dome couldn't stop Nik from plundering the Angels and storing them in Heven, it did stop Nik from plundering the Ark itself, and right now, he had no means of actually moving against the curse set by a rank 6 individual.
In fact, his own body was cursed and marked by Nirdai, Khooni, and Mirage and even Purification and Devour couldn't take care of it despite these two skills originating from a beyonder/ravager bloodline. Maybe, at greater strength, it could, but in terms of actual shackles, Nik was still a rank 2 living being.
"Well, no worries," Nik snickered to himself. His thoughts once again fell on the technique left by the sisters of norn but his mind kept urging him not to be impatient. After all, he needed to prepare a great location and situation for such a demanding breakthrough.
And he needed a proper audience that could understand his true glory by then.