Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 633: DCXXXIII. Rise!

"What are my old eyes seeing?!" Odin whispered, who had never seen anything like that before.

"Magni! Master! Is it you! Master Magni!" Dag's spirit yelled, spreading his arms and pointing them towards the spirit of his late master, who had lived within him all that time, enhancing his electrical abilities.

"Dag. The time of your death is not yet here. Your fate has not yet been fulfilled. You have to go back into your body and regain possession of the darkness. It is the most powerful darkness of the Universe and has been given to you. Only you can control it. You and no one else" the spirit of the valiant Magni affirmed, continuing to pull down Dag's soul, while he gradually came out of his body as if he was making the opposite movement.

"What? Was it donated to me? Who gave it to me? You told me about my parents, and you said they might still be alive somewhere, but... you never told me how to reach them! Master, I still needed you! There were still many things I had to learn!" 

As Magni and Dag's dialogue continued, the anger that the young warrior's spirit felt was enough to give Magni enough strength to pull him back.

"The prophecy, Dag. The prophecy is your only goal! You can save us all! You're no longer a kid. You're Okstorm's strongest warrior!" Magni continued, who literally climbed onto his adept's body, causing his spirit to slide down while his soul was finally freed so as to reach Valhalla. 

"My task here is over. You don't need my guidance anymore, kid. Be the guide of yourself. Be the light in the darkness!" the Iron Thunder exclaimed once again, under the astonished gaze of Asgard's most powerful Gods, who stood by and watched helplessly as the life of their promised saviour hung by a thread.

When Dag's and Magni's faces approached each other, the young earthling wrapped his arms around his master, and with a thread of voice, resigned to the idea that that was the only solution to preserve his soul within his mortal body, embraced him forcefully and said: "thank you, Master. Thanks to you, I understood who I am. I won't let you down! Go, great Magni, you're free!" 

An ethereal tear ran over Dag's face and simultaneously at that of Magni, who reciprocated the embrace with a smile, knowing that finally, the real goal that kept him confined to the mortal world had been achieved and that finally his spirit had reached salvation, earning the favor of the Aesir.

"Powerful and valiant Magni! I, Odin, the Alfather, free your soul from that body! May the Valkyries lead you safely into Valhalla, where we will toast together for eternity, witnessing the deeds of our brave Dag! Fly away, Magni!" Odin screamed with all the force in his body, grabbing his Gungnir and raising it to the sky, invoking the power of the powerful winged Shieldmaidens.

After looking at the boy who had been the son he had never had, Magni, without thinking twice, pushed Dag's soul down with all his might, forcing it to enter its body again.

With that gesture, his spirit was able to detach and began to float towards the sky, lighter than the air itself.

A yellow light spread to the ruins of the Arena of Asgard and, as ordered by the Father of the Gods, starling figures began to soar through the air, flying in a circle and surrounding the spirit of the late Magni, the strongest warrior the Hammers Of Thor's Clan had ever known.

Two huge and mighty Valkyries grabbed Magni's arms, pulling him to themselves and preventing him from continuing to float upwards aimlessly and get lost in the infinity of the cosmos. 

The third Valkyrie, with long white hair fluttering from under her winged helmet, looked for a few moments at the Alfather, her only ruler, who nodded his head, giving them consent to ferry that soul into the kingdom of heaven, the only place above Asgard. 

A caress pierced Magni's face, which fell asleep like a newborn in the arms of the mighty Valkyries, warlords and soul-saving. 

After only a few seconds, the same powerful yellowish glow clouded the sight of everyone present, and when the light subsided, both Magni and the Valkyries were gone forever, leaving only a halo of golden dust shining with their own light.

Freya, with her brother's body in her arms, looked at the Alfather, knowing that he was the only one who could solve that desperate situation. Just then, Freyr opened his eyes, gradually regaining his senses: "Fre... Freya... sister..." he said, when the first thing he saw was the Goddess's gorgeous blonde hair, while her blue eyes immediately fell on him, glad he was back in the realm of the living.

"Freyr..." she whispered, smiling.

The pommel of the sacred Gungnir spear was laid on the ground, while Odin used it as if it was a stick to approach Dag's body, lying on the arena's destroyed floor.

His skin and appearance were back in their standard colour, as well as his hair, soiled with dust and blood, covering his head.

The Alfather, as if he already knew what to do, grabbed young Dag's light armor and lifted him off the ground as if he was an inanimate object: his head fell slightly backwards and when his closed eyes were pointed at the sky, at the exact spot where Magni's soul had finally been able to achieve its ascent, they opened wide.

A deep and strong breath filled Dag's lungs, who, when he realized that his feet were not touching the ground, wriggled for an instant, coughing up blood and other dust.

*cough*cough*

"Al... Alfather!" he exclaimed, trying in every way to take a respectful attitude despite what had just happened.

Odin left his grip, and Dag's feet touched the ground, allowing him to stand before him. 

"Rise, warrior of Asgard! See the world with your new eyes and feel your new divine blood flow through your veins!" Odin shouted with conviction, smiling and spreading his arms.

"He said... did he really say 'warrior of Asgard'? What... what happened at the Arena?! I fainted right at the most exciting part!" Freyr exclaimed, trying to stand up, but to no avail. 

When the blood stopped squirting from Dag's mouth, he wiped his face with one hand and looked up again, framing Odin's shape in front of him and accepting his last words as a verdict of his rebirth.

Different energy than usual was flowing inside his body. It was very intense, similar to the dark one, but at the same time lighter, as if it was part of him from the very moment of his birth. 

Dag's spirit had finally returned within his body, and the darkness that had taken over continued to coexist with it, but with submissiveness, like an obedient slave ready to accomplish his master's every wish.

Dag clenched his fists and stepped towards the Alfather, aware that he was finally ready to fulfill the prophecy that Kranus had brought to light. Finally, he was worthy of the favors of the Gods of Asgard.