Chapter 59
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Val was dozing off in the truck, enjoying the late afternoon sun. Huginn had left bearing a message from Asha to her Queen, while Muninn remained with Val, monitoring his condition. Though stable and recovering, he was in worse shape than ever since his initial trial with Valor. Asha had gone to help the soldiers, eager to learn more about them, previously having only Val as an example.
After another half-hour or so, a group of soldiers had gathered around the back of the truck. Val opened his eyes slightly, listlessly gazing across their expressions. Some of them had evident fear. He was not sure how but he could sense it, even though they all wore resolute expressions.
"Hmm..?"
Almost in unison, the soldiers stood straight and saluted him.
One of the soldiers, a second lieutenant judging by the rectangular gold bar on his chest. "Sir, we've finished tending to the civilians, with your permission, we would like to take you in for some proper rest. We have a couple of medics here ready to receive you."
Val groaned, struggling to sit up. "I'm not 'Sir,' just Val. Never enlisted."
"With all due respect, sir, your actions this morning were above civilian stature. The kind we would give the highest of honors provided we had anyone here to confer them."
"Forget honors... I could use some food." Val grumbled, and a couple of the soldiers broke form in suppressed chuckles.
"Oy, Williams! Break it up, I'll handle him." Kainoa walked over with Kyle in tow.
"C'mon V, superman or no, let's let the good doctors take a look at you." Kainoa lifted Val under his shoulder, with Kyle taking up his other side.
Kyle grunted under Val's weight. "Fuck, man, the world ends, and you decide to hit the gym?"
"Ha, missed you too, bud."
"Hey, hui! His effects, someone grab 'em." Kainoa called to the soldiers, and a couple of them promptly gathered up his jerkin and sword.
One of the soldiers fished out their wallet, handing a five-dollar bill to another. "Shit man, you were right, it is real, it's heavy."
A few moments later, Val was resting in a bed, a couple of medical officers were taking vitals and inspecting his condition. Val was not paying much attention, dozing off as they hooked up an IV bag to rehydrate and resupply him with nutrients. From what he gathered from their conversation, his vitals were all over the place, his resting heart rate was that of someone in intense exercise. Despite the full-body soreness, though, Val felt otherwise fine, having received a donation of mana from Asha.
Dozing off, Val sent his consciousness into the brand, waking in the world where he felt free of his physical condition.
"How are you feeling?" Valor asked as soon as Val sat up. Everything was as Val remembered it, despite the recent events.
"Like hell physically, but not bad otherwise."
"That is to be expected. Your encounter with the Draug was enough to finally rouse Fenrir from his slumber." Huginn had made it sound dire, but Valor smoke in an almost amused tone.
"So I heard. Where is he, anyway?"
Valor waved a hand toward the darkness in what looked to be a random direction. "Hmm, somewhere over there, probably. If he is not interested in speaking to you, he will not be easily found. I suspect he has returned to sleep, Fenrir was in far worse condition than I was, and has only recently begun to recover."
"You speak as if you care for him, didn't you guys imprison him?"
Valor sighed. "There is much to that story you don't understand. Fenrir was once Hroovitnir, a great wolf beloved by the Aesir and Vanir both. It was a particular vision my brother had that drove him to such paranoia, fearing Fenrir would bring about the end of days and slay him. Before that, Fenrir was a staunch ally and fierce guardian of our people. It suffices to say I disagreed with what we ultimately did, the irony is that if anything, our actions only encouraged the prophecy."
"Then what is this about his power? Huginn suspects it will drive me mad." Val raised an eyebrow, his memory of the morning was hazy at best. Everything from being encircled to staring at the charred corpse of the Draug brute was a blur.
The one-armed god grunted mockingly. "That is up to you, to be honest. I disagree with Huginn's notion that his power drove people mad. Men and women alike were counted among the Ulfhednar clan. They eventually wished to be more wolf than man, and so it was that they were. There's an envious nobility among wolves, you know. Like humans, they form packs, but wolves tend to be more loyal to their pack than humans."
"All of them wished for it?" Val asked with suspicion.
"Indeed, perhaps pressured by their companions and loved ones, the reasons matter less than the fact they did so intentionally. As for his power... You have already witnessed firsthand the kind of power his mana contains. It is perhaps doubly strong in your case, as you have mine as well. The two are very compatible but also dangerous. Aside from powerful regenerative capacity, and resilience to toxins, his power can blind you to fear, and pain. You'll move with the swiftness of the Fenrir and strike with the strength of his jaws. He can activate ancient, primal instincts in a person." Valor explained carefully, pausing every now and then to make sure Val understood.
"Being blind to fear and pain aside, is it dangerous in any other way?"
Valor smirked. "Indeed, my capabilities become the dangerous one in this scenario. If you are to fully exercise my power, you should know that fundamentally speaking, you can convert anima— your very life force into raw magical power, processing it very quickly into mana. That is the burning sensation you have felt. The Flames of Valor consume the anima of your foes and yourself alike. In their case, suppressing their ability to recover and causing their wounds to continue to burn. In your case, it burns to fuel you with the strength you demand."
Val balked, alarm in his eyes. "That power does not come from Tyrfing?"
Valor's smirk turned into a grin. "Where did you think it came from? As you are now, expressing those flames is only feasible through Tyrfing, but in time you will learn to control them yourself. Evidently, you do not remember how your flames consumed the Draug pawns. Believe me, they are not naturally so flammable."
"If using your power consumes my life force, that would mean that I'm effectively taking days or even months of my life whenever I exercise the brand..." Val spoke in a somber tone, mild horror taking root with how liberally he had exercised his abilities.
Valor looked at him with a perplexed expression, before breaking out into a laugh. "Truly! I am reminded all the time why my brother was so lenient with Loki. He has a terrible penchant for misleading mortals and omitting important details."
Val looked up at him in confusion. "Huh?"
"Fear not, what you have to worry about is burning up all of your anima without realizing it. This may come as a surprise to you, but you are not quite mortal any longer. In fact, barring death on the battlefield, I would be surprised if you did not live for several hundred years as you are now. Do not underestimate the raw fortitude of even a fragment of a god and a divine wolf. Even powerful human sorcerers and other practitioners of magic have been known to live very long lives. It is only your magicless race of human that lead such short lives. It's no Elven longevity, but it can compete."
"...Huh?!"
Valor continued to chuckle. Val himself was equal parts relieved and still horrified. Not dying before fifty was good to know, but outliving all of his friends and family was hardly better.
Val struggled for words, an array of concerns appearing in his mind. "How... Do you manage it?"
"Hmm?"
"Living for so long."
Valor's expression softened. His words displayed a surprising empathy for mortal thinking. "Ah... Some do so through ambition, always chasing the next dragon, though you are not that sort. A day, a month, a year, pick any segment of time, and you live life by that measure. You worry about it only because you struggle to fathom life a year from now, a decade, a century. You will gather other reasons to continue, or you will become like me. I sought glory and honorable death in battle, hoping to finally rest after witnessing the horrors of the Crusade. I thought I found it in Fenrir, and he seemed of the same mind. I cannot speak for him, but even though I have little choice in the matter, it remains entertaining to raise an heir."
"...I see." Val remained plagued by concerns but felt considerably lighter with the advice from Tyr.
Suddenly Valor's expression turned serious, Val recognized the tone of the god's 'instruction mode' and flinched. "Now, with that out of the way. Let's 'discuss' what the hell that was— allowing yourself such a clumsy opening. Had your foe any skill, that would have been a prize opportunity to slay you right there. To say nothing of allowing yourself to receive such a wide, obvious swing from the brute."
...Fuck.
. . .
Val awoke late in the evening. A clock on the wall told him it was ten at night, and with the darkness outside, he believed it. He was unsure if he felt better or worse in the waking world, after being ruthlessly instructed for several hours. Valor had evidently expanded upon his abilities to shape reality in that space, forcing him to defend against three shadowy soldiers imitating the Draug pawns in appearance, but not in strength or speed. Every time Val cut one down, it would rise again moments later, wielding a different weapon. They would use everything from basic encirclement tactics to downright contemptible abuses of their ability to ignore death as Valor paced in an almost mocking fashion, criticizing and instructing Val as he fought.
At the very least, Val felt well enough to walk on his own. Every muscle ached like when he had returned to the gym after a several month-long lapse and exercised his previous routine. He fished out his cigarettes and slipped outside into the chilly night. Some soldiers were still pacing, keeping watch in rotation. As a precaution, some people decided to sleep with an arm cuffed or otherwise restrained to their bed. For fear of sleepwalking off into the night. Fortunately, those already sleeping had done so soundly, without any bizarre circumstances.
Val wandered off to the truck he was previously resting in. No one had bothered to move it yet, so he took a seat inside. For whatever reason, it was becoming his favorite spot to hang out as he lit up his cigarette.
A gruff voice called out. "Y'know, patients as badly injured as you are should be resting, not sneaking out for a smoke."
"Eh, fuck off. How would you know, I heard those quacks, couldn't even figure out if my vitals said I was fine or dying in the next five seconds." Val retorted in a jesting tone.
"Heh, those 'quacks' are licensed, medical officers. Not that you would ever listen to a doctor." Kainoa hopped up, taking a seat next to Val in the back of the truck.
Val grunted, not denying the accusation. "Dad wanted me to be one, no thank you. Thank God, my brother decided to take it up and get him off my back."
Kainoa's expression softened. "You hear anything from them?"
"...No. All I can guess is they're still in Hawai'i, hopefully safe."
"Yeah, god, I hope so."
"What about you?"
"No freaking clue, man. The same boat as you, with luck, they're safe back home on the rock, but who knows."
Val exhaled small puffs of smoke. "Your mom and dad are tough folks, they don't take shit from nobody. You remember when you talked us into hiking Ha'iku Stairs, and we got arrested on the way down? Freshman year in college? Had to call your parents to bail us out?"
"Me?! Fuck no brah, that was your idea. Thought she'd tear my ear off, I remember cuz it was green and purple for two weeks."
"Heh, was it? Ah, we made it out alright. Your mom went full native on their ass. Yelling about the military appropriation of sacred land and whatnot."
"Yeah, that's what you remember. Not the part after she gave us a ride back to the dorms, and you got out all cheery and grateful while I had to stay for the longest twenty minutes of my life."
Val inhaled the last of his cigarette before flicking it away. "Man, it's only been a month, but I missed you guys."
Kainoa nodded, staring up at the night sky that was devoid of light pollution, with stars brighter than any that could be seen in the peak of human urbanization. "Yeah, crazy time, man. Just glad you're alive. We thought you were dead, you know." Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.
"Hell yeah, we did. Pick up your damn phone next time, man!" Kyle swaggered over comically, holding a couple of beers in each hand. Chris and Judy were with him, apparently having spotted Val's empty bed.
Val gingerly stepped down, standing to receive a beer from Kyle. As he did so, Chris walked up and gave him a hug too tight for his current condition, wincing painfully. "Ow, fuck, Chris, injured!"
"I don't care, man! We were all thinking you wouldn't have died if you had just stayed another day!" Chris sounded almost in tears. His wife, Judy, was somewhere between about to cry or about to laugh as she joined in.
"I didn't die! I'm alive, but you're gonna kill me!" Val protested, trying to escape the grip threatening to crack his ribs.
"Hell yeah, you are! Beers all around! Oi, Kainoa, fess up, I know you got a bottle opener on you at all times. Marine standard issue, yeah?" Kyle prodded at Kainoa's shoulder with a beer.
"Fuck you, man, this Marine saved your ass." Despite his annoyed tone at Kyle's never-ending mockery of the Marine Corps, Kainoa, sure enough, produced a bottle opener on a keychain.
A day, a month, or a year at a time, huh? Val thought to himself, emotions running high as the group of friends celebrated their survival.
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Val was dozing off in the truck, enjoying the late afternoon sun. Huginn had left bearing a message from Asha to her Queen, while Muninn remained with Val, monitoring his condition. Though stable and recovering, he was in worse shape than ever since his initial trial with Valor. Asha had gone to help the soldiers, eager to learn more about them, previously having only Val as an example.
After another half-hour or so, a group of soldiers had gathered around the back of the truck. Val opened his eyes slightly, listlessly gazing across their expressions. Some of them had evident fear. He was not sure how but he could sense it, even though they all wore resolute expressions.
"Hmm..?"
Almost in unison, the soldiers stood straight and saluted him.
One of the soldiers, a second lieutenant judging by the rectangular gold bar on his chest. "Sir, we've finished tending to the civilians, with your permission, we would like to take you in for some proper rest. We have a couple of medics here ready to receive you."
Val groaned, struggling to sit up. "I'm not 'Sir,' just Val. Never enlisted."
"With all due respect, sir, your actions this morning were above civilian stature. The kind we would give the highest of honors provided we had anyone here to confer them."
"Forget honors... I could use some food." Val grumbled, and a couple of the soldiers broke form in suppressed chuckles.
"Oy, Williams! Break it up, I'll handle him." Kainoa walked over with Kyle in tow.
"C'mon V, superman or no, let's let the good doctors take a look at you." Kainoa lifted Val under his shoulder, with Kyle taking up his other side.
Kyle grunted under Val's weight. "Fuck, man, the world ends, and you decide to hit the gym?"
"Ha, missed you too, bud."
"Hey, hui! His effects, someone grab 'em." Kainoa called to the soldiers, and a couple of them promptly gathered up his jerkin and sword.
One of the soldiers fished out their wallet, handing a five-dollar bill to another. "Shit man, you were right, it is real, it's heavy."
A few moments later, Val was resting in a bed, a couple of medical officers were taking vitals and inspecting his condition. Val was not paying much attention, dozing off as they hooked up an IV bag to rehydrate and resupply him with nutrients. From what he gathered from their conversation, his vitals were all over the place, his resting heart rate was that of someone in intense exercise. Despite the full-body soreness, though, Val felt otherwise fine, having received a donation of mana from Asha.
Dozing off, Val sent his consciousness into the brand, waking in the world where he felt free of his physical condition.
"How are you feeling?" Valor asked as soon as Val sat up. Everything was as Val remembered it, despite the recent events.
"Like hell physically, but not bad otherwise."
"That is to be expected. Your encounter with the Draug was enough to finally rouse Fenrir from his slumber." Huginn had made it sound dire, but Valor smoke in an almost amused tone.
"So I heard. Where is he, anyway?"
Valor waved a hand toward the darkness in what looked to be a random direction. "Hmm, somewhere over there, probably. If he is not interested in speaking to you, he will not be easily found. I suspect he has returned to sleep, Fenrir was in far worse condition than I was, and has only recently begun to recover."
"You speak as if you care for him, didn't you guys imprison him?"
Valor sighed. "There is much to that story you don't understand. Fenrir was once Hroovitnir, a great wolf beloved by the Aesir and Vanir both. It was a particular vision my brother had that drove him to such paranoia, fearing Fenrir would bring about the end of days and slay him. Before that, Fenrir was a staunch ally and fierce guardian of our people. It suffices to say I disagreed with what we ultimately did, the irony is that if anything, our actions only encouraged the prophecy."
"Then what is this about his power? Huginn suspects it will drive me mad." Val raised an eyebrow, his memory of the morning was hazy at best. Everything from being encircled to staring at the charred corpse of the Draug brute was a blur.
The one-armed god grunted mockingly. "That is up to you, to be honest. I disagree with Huginn's notion that his power drove people mad. Men and women alike were counted among the Ulfhednar clan. They eventually wished to be more wolf than man, and so it was that they were. There's an envious nobility among wolves, you know. Like humans, they form packs, but wolves tend to be more loyal to their pack than humans."
"All of them wished for it?" Val asked with suspicion.
"Indeed, perhaps pressured by their companions and loved ones, the reasons matter less than the fact they did so intentionally. As for his power... You have already witnessed firsthand the kind of power his mana contains. It is perhaps doubly strong in your case, as you have mine as well. The two are very compatible but also dangerous. Aside from powerful regenerative capacity, and resilience to toxins, his power can blind you to fear, and pain. You'll move with the swiftness of the Fenrir and strike with the strength of his jaws. He can activate ancient, primal instincts in a person." Valor explained carefully, pausing every now and then to make sure Val understood.
"Being blind to fear and pain aside, is it dangerous in any other way?"
Valor smirked. "Indeed, my capabilities become the dangerous one in this scenario. If you are to fully exercise my power, you should know that fundamentally speaking, you can convert anima— your very life force into raw magical power, processing it very quickly into mana. That is the burning sensation you have felt. The Flames of Valor consume the anima of your foes and yourself alike. In their case, suppressing their ability to recover and causing their wounds to continue to burn. In your case, it burns to fuel you with the strength you demand."
Val balked, alarm in his eyes. "That power does not come from Tyrfing?"
Valor's smirk turned into a grin. "Where did you think it came from? As you are now, expressing those flames is only feasible through Tyrfing, but in time you will learn to control them yourself. Evidently, you do not remember how your flames consumed the Draug pawns. Believe me, they are not naturally so flammable."
"If using your power consumes my life force, that would mean that I'm effectively taking days or even months of my life whenever I exercise the brand..." Val spoke in a somber tone, mild horror taking root with how liberally he had exercised his abilities.
Valor looked at him with a perplexed expression, before breaking out into a laugh. "Truly! I am reminded all the time why my brother was so lenient with Loki. He has a terrible penchant for misleading mortals and omitting important details."
Val looked up at him in confusion. "Huh?"
"Fear not, what you have to worry about is burning up all of your anima without realizing it. This may come as a surprise to you, but you are not quite mortal any longer. In fact, barring death on the battlefield, I would be surprised if you did not live for several hundred years as you are now. Do not underestimate the raw fortitude of even a fragment of a god and a divine wolf. Even powerful human sorcerers and other practitioners of magic have been known to live very long lives. It is only your magicless race of human that lead such short lives. It's no Elven longevity, but it can compete."
"...Huh?!"
Valor continued to chuckle. Val himself was equal parts relieved and still horrified. Not dying before fifty was good to know, but outliving all of his friends and family was hardly better.
Val struggled for words, an array of concerns appearing in his mind. "How... Do you manage it?"
"Hmm?"
"Living for so long."
Valor's expression softened. His words displayed a surprising empathy for mortal thinking. "Ah... Some do so through ambition, always chasing the next dragon, though you are not that sort. A day, a month, a year, pick any segment of time, and you live life by that measure. You worry about it only because you struggle to fathom life a year from now, a decade, a century. You will gather other reasons to continue, or you will become like me. I sought glory and honorable death in battle, hoping to finally rest after witnessing the horrors of the Crusade. I thought I found it in Fenrir, and he seemed of the same mind. I cannot speak for him, but even though I have little choice in the matter, it remains entertaining to raise an heir."
"...I see." Val remained plagued by concerns but felt considerably lighter with the advice from Tyr.
Suddenly Valor's expression turned serious, Val recognized the tone of the god's 'instruction mode' and flinched. "Now, with that out of the way. Let's 'discuss' what the hell that was— allowing yourself such a clumsy opening. Had your foe any skill, that would have been a prize opportunity to slay you right there. To say nothing of allowing yourself to receive such a wide, obvious swing from the brute."
...Fuck.
. . .
Val awoke late in the evening. A clock on the wall told him it was ten at night, and with the darkness outside, he believed it. He was unsure if he felt better or worse in the waking world, after being ruthlessly instructed for several hours. Valor had evidently expanded upon his abilities to shape reality in that space, forcing him to defend against three shadowy soldiers imitating the Draug pawns in appearance, but not in strength or speed. Every time Val cut one down, it would rise again moments later, wielding a different weapon. They would use everything from basic encirclement tactics to downright contemptible abuses of their ability to ignore death as Valor paced in an almost mocking fashion, criticizing and instructing Val as he fought.
At the very least, Val felt well enough to walk on his own. Every muscle ached like when he had returned to the gym after a several month-long lapse and exercised his previous routine. He fished out his cigarettes and slipped outside into the chilly night. Some soldiers were still pacing, keeping watch in rotation. As a precaution, some people decided to sleep with an arm cuffed or otherwise restrained to their bed. For fear of sleepwalking off into the night. Fortunately, those already sleeping had done so soundly, without any bizarre circumstances.
Val wandered off to the truck he was previously resting in. No one had bothered to move it yet, so he took a seat inside. For whatever reason, it was becoming his favorite spot to hang out as he lit up his cigarette.
A gruff voice called out. "Y'know, patients as badly injured as you are should be resting, not sneaking out for a smoke."
"Eh, fuck off. How would you know, I heard those quacks, couldn't even figure out if my vitals said I was fine or dying in the next five seconds." Val retorted in a jesting tone.
"Heh, those 'quacks' are licensed, medical officers. Not that you would ever listen to a doctor." Kainoa hopped up, taking a seat next to Val in the back of the truck.
Val grunted, not denying the accusation. "Dad wanted me to be one, no thank you. Thank God, my brother decided to take it up and get him off my back."
Kainoa's expression softened. "You hear anything from them?"
"...No. All I can guess is they're still in Hawai'i, hopefully safe."
"Yeah, god, I hope so."
"What about you?"
"No freaking clue, man. The same boat as you, with luck, they're safe back home on the rock, but who knows."
Val exhaled small puffs of smoke. "Your mom and dad are tough folks, they don't take shit from nobody. You remember when you talked us into hiking Ha'iku Stairs, and we got arrested on the way down? Freshman year in college? Had to call your parents to bail us out?"
"Me?! Fuck no brah, that was your idea. Thought she'd tear my ear off, I remember cuz it was green and purple for two weeks."
"Heh, was it? Ah, we made it out alright. Your mom went full native on their ass. Yelling about the military appropriation of sacred land and whatnot."
"Yeah, that's what you remember. Not the part after she gave us a ride back to the dorms, and you got out all cheery and grateful while I had to stay for the longest twenty minutes of my life."
Val inhaled the last of his cigarette before flicking it away. "Man, it's only been a month, but I missed you guys."
Kainoa nodded, staring up at the night sky that was devoid of light pollution, with stars brighter than any that could be seen in the peak of human urbanization. "Yeah, crazy time, man. Just glad you're alive. We thought you were dead, you know." Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.
"Hell yeah, we did. Pick up your damn phone next time, man!" Kyle swaggered over comically, holding a couple of beers in each hand. Chris and Judy were with him, apparently having spotted Val's empty bed.
Val gingerly stepped down, standing to receive a beer from Kyle. As he did so, Chris walked up and gave him a hug too tight for his current condition, wincing painfully. "Ow, fuck, Chris, injured!"
"I don't care, man! We were all thinking you wouldn't have died if you had just stayed another day!" Chris sounded almost in tears. His wife, Judy, was somewhere between about to cry or about to laugh as she joined in.
"I didn't die! I'm alive, but you're gonna kill me!" Val protested, trying to escape the grip threatening to crack his ribs.
"Hell yeah, you are! Beers all around! Oi, Kainoa, fess up, I know you got a bottle opener on you at all times. Marine standard issue, yeah?" Kyle prodded at Kainoa's shoulder with a beer.
"Fuck you, man, this Marine saved your ass." Despite his annoyed tone at Kyle's never-ending mockery of the Marine Corps, Kainoa, sure enough, produced a bottle opener on a keychain.
A day, a month, or a year at a time, huh? Val thought to himself, emotions running high as the group of friends celebrated their survival.
Val was dozing off in the truck, enjoying the late afternoon sun. Huginn had left bearing a message from Asha to her Queen, whileMuninn remained with Val, monitoring his condition. Though stable and recovering, he was in worse shape than ever since his initial trial with Valor. Asha had gone to help the soldiers, eager to learn more about them, previously having only Val as an example. After another half-hour or so, a group of soldiers had gathered around the back of the truck. Val opened his eyes slightly, listlessly gazing across their expressions. Some of them had evident fear. He was not sure how but he could sense it, even though they all wore resolute expressions. "Hmm..?" Almost in unison, the soldiers stood straight and saluted him. One of the soldiers, a second lieutenant judging by the rectangular gold bar on his chest."Sir, we've finished tending to the civilians, with your permission, we would like to take you in for some proper rest. We have a couple of medics here ready to receive you." Val groaned, struggling to sit up. "I'm not 'Sir,' just Val. Never enlisted." "With all due respect, sir, your actions this morning were above civilian stature. The kind we would give the highest of honors provided we had anyone here to confer them." "Forget honors... I could use some food." Val grumbled, and a couple of the soldiers broke form in suppressed chuckles. "Oy, Williams! Break it up, I'll handle him." Kainoa walked over with Kyle in tow. "C'mon V, superman or no, let's let the good doctors take a look at you." Kainoa lifted Val under his shoulder, with Kyle taking up his other side. Kyle grunted under Val's weight."Fuck, man, the world ends, and you decide to hit the gym?" "Ha, missed you too, bud." "Hey, hui! His effects, someone grab 'em." Kainoa called to the soldiers, and a couple of them promptly gathered up his jerkin and sword. One of the soldiers fished out their wallet, handing a five-dollar bill to another. "Shit man, you were right, it is real, it's heavy." A few moments later, Val was resting in a bed, a couple of medical officers were taking vitals and inspecting his condition. Val was not paying much attention, dozing off as they hooked up an IV bag to rehydrate and resupply him with nutrients. From what he gathered from their conversation, his vitals were all over the place, his resting heart rate was that of someone in intense exercise. Despite the full-body soreness, though, Val felt otherwise fine, having received a donation of mana from Asha. Dozing off, Val sent his consciousness into the brand, waking in the world where he felt free of his physical condition. "How are you feeling?" Valor asked as soon as Val sat up. Everything was as Val remembered it, despite the recent events. "Like hell physically, but not bad otherwise." "That is to be expected. Your encounter with the Draug was enough to finally rouse Fenrir from his slumber." Huginn had made it sound dire, but Valor smoke in an almost amused tone. "So I heard.Where is he, anyway?" Valor waved a hand toward the darknessin what looked to be a random direction."Hmm, somewhere over there, probably. If he is not interested in speaking to you, he will not be easily found. Isuspect he has returned to sleep, Fenrir was in far worse condition than I was, and has only recently begun to recover." "You speak as if you care for him, didn't you guys imprison him?" Valor sighed. "There is much to that story you don't understand. Fenrir was once Hroovitnir, a great wolf beloved by the Aesir and Vanir both. It was a particular vision my brother had that drove him to such paranoia, fearing Fenrir would bring about the end of days and slay him. Before that, Fenrir was a staunch ally and fierce guardian of our people. It suffices to say Idisagreed with what we ultimately did, the irony is that if anything, our actions only encouraged the prophecy." "Then what is this about his power? Huginn suspects it will drive me mad."Val raised an eyebrow, his memory of the morning was hazy at best. Everything from being encircled to staring at the charred corpse of the Draug brute was a blur. The one-armed god grunted mockingly."That is up to you, to be honest. Idisagree with Huginn's notion that his power drove people mad. Men and women alike were counted among the Ulfhednar clan. They eventually wished to be more wolf than man, and so it was that they were. There's an envious nobility among wolves, you know. Like humans, they form packs, but wolves tend to be more loyal to their pack than humans." "All of them wished for it?" Val asked with suspicion. "Indeed, perhaps pressured by their companions and loved ones, the reasons matter less than the fact they did so intentionally. As for his power... You have already witnessed firsthand the kind of power his mana contains. It is perhaps doubly strong in your case, as you have mine as well. The two are very compatible but also dangerous. Aside from powerful regenerative capacity, and resilience to toxins, his power can blind you to fear, and pain. You'll move with the swiftness of the Fenrir and strike with the strength of his jaws. He can activate ancient, primal instincts in a person." Valor explained carefully, pausing every now and then to make sure Val understood. "Being blind to fear and pain aside, is it dangerous in any other way?" Valor smirked. "Indeed, my capabilities become the dangerous one in this scenario. If you are to fully exercise my power, you should know that fundamentally speaking, you can convert anima your very life force into raw magical power, processing it very quickly into mana. That is the burning sensation you have felt. The Flames of Valor consume the anima of your foes and yourself alike. In their case, suppressing their ability to recover and causing their wounds to continue to burn. In your case, it burns to fuel you with the strength you demand." Val balked, alarm in his eyes. "That power does not come fromTyrfing?" Valor's smirk turned into a grin. "Where did you think it came from? As you are now, expressing those flames is only feasible through Tyrfing, but in time you will learn to control them yourself. Evidently, you do not remember how your flames consumed the Draug pawns. Believe me, they are not naturally so flammable." "If using your power consumes my life force, that would mean that I'm effectively taking days or even months of my life whenever I exercise the brand..." Val spoke in a somber tone, mild horror taking root with how liberally he had exercised his abilities. Valor looked at him with a perplexed expression, before breaking out into a laugh. "Truly! Iam reminded all the time why my brother was so lenient with Loki. He has a terrible penchant for misleading mortals and omitting important details." Val looked up at him in confusion."Huh?" "Fear not, what you have to worry about is burning up all of your anima without realizing it. This may come as a surprise to you, but you are not quite mortal any longer. In fact, barring death on the battlefield, I would be surprised if you did not live for several hundred years as you are now. Do not underestimate the raw fortitude of even a fragment of a god and a divine wolf. Even powerful human sorcerers and other practitioners of magic have been known to live very long lives. It is only your magicless race of human that lead such short lives. It's no Elven longevity, but it can compete." "...Huh?!" Valor continued to chuckle. Val himself was equal parts relieved and still horrified. Not dying before fifty was good to know, but outliving all of his friends and family was hardly better. Val struggled for words, an array of concerns appearing in his mind. "How... Do you manage it?" "Hmm?" "Living for so long." Valor's expression softened. His words displayed a surprising empathy for mortal thinking."Ah... Some do so through ambition, always chasing the next dragon, though you are not that sort.A day, a month, a year, pick any segment of time, and you live life by that measure. You worry about it only because you struggle to fathom life a year from now, a decade, a century. You will gather other reasons to continue, or you will become like me. Isought glory and honorable death in battle, hoping to finally rest after witnessing the horrors of the Crusade. I thought Ifound it in Fenrir, and he seemed of the same mind. Icannot speak for him, but even though I have little choice in the matter, it remains entertaining to raise an heir." "...I see." Val remained plagued by concerns but felt considerably lighter with the advice from Tyr. Suddenly Valor's expression turned serious, Val recognized the tone of the god's 'instruction mode' and flinched. "Now, with that out of the way. Let's 'discuss' what the hell that was allowing yourself such a clumsy opening. Had your foe any skill, that would have been a prize opportunity to slay you right there. To say nothing of allowing yourself to receive such a wide, obvious swing from the brute." ...Fuck. . . . Val awoke late in the evening. A clock on the wall told him it was ten at night, and with the darkness outside, he believed it. He was unsure if he felt better or worse in the waking world, after being ruthlessly instructed for several hours. Valor had evidently expanded upon his abilities to shape reality in that space, forcing him to defend against three shadowy soldiers imitating the Draug pawns in appearance, but not in strength or speed. Every time Val cut one down, it would rise again moments later, wielding a different weapon. They would use everything from basic encirclement tactics to downright contemptible abuses of their ability to ignore death as Valor paced in an almost mocking fashion, criticizing and instructing Val as he fought. At the very least, Val felt well enough to walk on his own. Every muscle ached like when he had returned to the gym after a several month-long lapse and exercised his previous routine. He fished out his cigarettes and slipped outside into the chilly night. Some soldiers were still pacing, keeping watch in rotation. As a precaution, some people decided to sleep with an arm cuffed or otherwise restrained to their bed. For fear of sleepwalking off into the night. Fortunately, those already sleeping had done so soundly, without any bizarre circumstances. Val wandered off to the truck he was previously resting in. No one had bothered to move it yet, so he took a seat inside. For whatever reason, it was becoming his favorite spot to hang out as he lit up his cigarette. A gruff voice called out."Y'know, patients as badly injured as you are should be resting, not sneaking out for a smoke." "Eh, fuck off. How would you know, Iheard those quacks, couldn't even figure out if my vitals said I was fine or dying in the next five seconds."Val retorted in a jesting tone. "Heh, those 'quacks' are licensed, medical officers. Not that you would ever listen to a doctor." Kainoa hopped up, taking a seat next to Val in the back of the truck. Val grunted, not denying the accusation."Dad wanted me to be one, no thank you. Thank God, my brother decided to take it up and get him off my back." Kainoa's expression softened. "You hear anything from them?" "...No. All I can guess is they're still in Hawai'i, hopefully safe." "Yeah, god, Ihope so." "What about you?" "No freaking clue, man. The same boat as you, with luck, they're safe back home on the rock, but who knows." Val exhaled small puffs of smoke. "Your mom and dad are tough folks, they don't take shit from nobody. You remember when you talked us into hiking Ha'iku Stairs, and we got arrested on the way down? Freshman year in college?Had to call your parents to bail us out?" "Me?! Fuck no brah, that was your idea. Thought she'd tear my ear off, I remember cuz it was green and purple for two weeks." "Heh, was it? Ah, we made it out alright. Your mom went full native on their ass. Yelling about the military appropriation of sacred land and whatnot." "Yeah, that's what you remember. Not the part after she gave us a ride back to the dorms, and you got out all cheery and grateful while I had to stay for the longest twenty minutesof my life." Val inhaled the last of his cigarette before flicking it away."Man, it's only been a month, butImissed you guys." Kainoa nodded, staring up at the night sky that was devoid of light pollution, with stars brighter than any thatcould be seen in the peak of human urbanization."Yeah, crazy time, man. Just glad you're alive. We thought you were dead, you know." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "Hell yeah, we did. Pick up your damn phone next time, man!" Kyle swaggered over comically, holding a couple of beers in each hand. Chris and Judy were with him, apparently having spotted Val's empty bed. Val gingerly stepped down, standing to receive a beer from Kyle. As he did so, Chris walked up and gave him a hug too tight for his current condition, wincing painfully. "Ow, fuck, Chris, injured!" "I don't care, man! We were all thinking you wouldn't have died if you had just stayed another day!" Chris sounded almost in tears. His wife,Judy, was somewhere between about to cry or about to laugh as she joined in. "I didn't die! I'm alive, but you're gonna kill me!"Val protested, trying to escape the grip threatening to crack his ribs. "Hell yeah, you are!Beers all around! Oi, Kainoa, fess up, Iknow you got a bottle opener on you at all times. Marine standard issue, yeah?" Kyle prodded at Kainoa's shoulder with a beer. "Fuck you, man, this Marine saved your ass." Despite his annoyed tone at Kyle'snever-ending mockery of the Marine Corps, Kainoa, sure enough, produced a bottle opener on a keychain. A day, a month, or a year at a time, huh? Val thought to himself, emotions running high as the group of friends celebrated their survival.
