It was a regular morning in Nüjaven, Tetra and Petra awoke at the crack of dawn.
Their quarters in Asgard Tower was beyond anything they could've ever imagined. It turned out that each of the Valkyrie had their own dedicated floor, which served as their living quarters and personal domain, and as Fenris' subordinates, they were housed with her on the 70th floor, a massive forest with a perpetual eclipse in the projected sky above.
Loki had even provided a lodge for them to live in, located next to a lake of crystal blue waters. So far they had discovered that this entire floor was around 200 square kilometers wide and a hundred feet tall, as the tower's interior dimensions was vastly disproportional to its exterior.
Their lodge was right next to the transfer point for this floor so they didn't get lost. As soon as they stepped out of their cabin, they received an alert from their bracelets, black bands with green inlays. The alert was a message from Fen.
[Meet me on the 60th floor,]
The bracelets were special items called Access Rings, that allowed them limited access to the facilities and amenities within Asgard. It was also a security measure so the tower would recognize them as guests, not intruders.
Now that they were back at the tower, Fen was in charge of custodial duties, and the twins were her assistants. Along with the three of them, Yggdrasil provided an army of golems to help out.
"I still can't believe this place is all one floor." Petra exclaimed, looking around.
"I know, right," Tetra said, amazed.
They knew that the whole floor belonged to Fen, but didn't know where she went to rest, thought they could hear her howls echo through the forest at night, so she did reside here somewhere.
They stepped onto the gazebo, placing their hands on the crystal. Their bracelets hummed and the crystal resonated with them.
"We should ask lady Fen about the encoding thing again." Tetra reminded her
"Right," Petra nodded as their surroundings warped around them.
Members of Asgard, like the Valkyrie, or Loki himself, had unrestricted access to the tower and its rich trove of resources and secrets. This level of access was apparently encoded deep within their ynvok, so it was a part of them. Loki had talked about getting them encoded, but has since been preoccupied with restoration effort.
Despite being in relatively good condition after a million years of inactivity, it had still gone through eons of neglect and was in need of extensive repairs and upgrades. The fact that most of the tower was still in working condition was honestly miraculous to the twins.
As the world solidified around them, the twins now found themselves on the 60th floor. Waiting for them just outside the gazebo was Fen.
"Good, you made it," Fen said,
"Where are we?" Petra asked
"This is the Hall of Memory," Fen introduced.
They were in a massive circular room, not as impossibly large as the 70th, but still bigger than their whole village. The walls were lined with countless embedded shards of glowing crystals. The shards came in a myriad of 9 main colors; gold, red, green, teal, blue, orange, violet, indigo, and pink. The shards were arranged in such a way to form large elaborate mosaic murals of unmatched artistry and beauty.
"This is incredible," Tetra exclaimed, as her eyes scanned over the mural,
"Each of those glowing crystals is a fragment of a shattered titan," Fen explained,
"How many?"
"I don't know, tens of thousands maybe," Fen said, somberly, "Loki has spent millennia collecting them, making these murals to honor them."
There were 9 murals in total, each depicting shifting motifs and scenes, but each with a central unchanging figure, regal and resplendent.
"These are the 9 Primes, the root of all divinity." Fen said, "Loki and his primordial siblings,"
Fen was looking up at the green mural, at the figure that represented Nex Loki surrounded by shards of the other colors. Three of his six emerald wings, three looked angelic, but the other three were skeletal and clearly broken, and his hands were stained; his right hand was stained white, while the left hand was stained black.
"It's very beautiful," Petra said
"They are," Fen said solemnly, "though Lokkun doesn't come here often, he doesn't like listening to them."
"Listening to them?" Tetra queried, not hearing anything in the cavernous chamber
"Each one of those shards is a piece of a titan, broken beyond repair but still very much alive," Fen said, "Lokkun describes it as them being just aware enough of scream, but everything else about them is gone, lost to the void."
"Gods above," Petra exclaimed, trying to comprehend such a tragic existence.
"I brought you here to help me clean the murals," Fen said
"Of course," they replied.
They went about their work in silence, using washcloths to cleanse the dust off the walls. Instead of using ladders to reach high places, Fen got Yggdrasil to somehow turn off gravity, allowing them to float.
"Lady Fen?" Petra asked after a few hours
"Yes?"
"What were the other Primes like?"
"I wouldn't know," Fen replied, "I've never met any of them, but I doubt they'd be very friendly to us."
"Why?"
"They all hate Lokkun," Fen said, "it's likely that it was one of these Primes that ended the world a million years ago just to spite Lokkun,"
"I can't imagine hating someone that much," Tetra said
"That's because you're mortal, you are simple creatures, basic even." Fen scoffed, "But titans are a completely different existence, impossibly complex, beyond mortals, beyond gods. Not many could possibly hope to comprehend the depths of their true nature."
"But we understand Loki?"
"No, you understand what Lokkun allows you to see of him," Fen said, "there are depths of Loki even I cannot fathom."
"How long have you been with Loki?"
Fen didn't reply, chuckling to herself.
"Y'know what's funny? It's been so long I don't even remember myself." She said, "I know he was alone for even longer before he ever met me. Only someone so unbelievably lonely could tolerate the company of something as vile, monstrous, and pathetic as I was back then."
The twins observed the wistful musings of their mentor, remembering the legend of the 'TwiceCursed'. They wondered if there were any other legends of the wandering stranger.
* * *
Fixing the tower wasn't a difficult process, Asgard was constructed eons ago through means and processes that would stupefy any of best architects, engineers, and builders on this or any world.
Even after the million years of neglect, the tower was still standing strong. However, after all that time, some structural issues had developed, and now Loki and Yggdrasil were busy rectifying it.
Their main problem was how the World Tree roots had grown throughout the tower, that had damaged walls, burst pipes, and even caused the ceiling to collapse in the 34th floor.
"Not bad for a million years of neglect, huh?" Yggdrasil said as she helped Loki fix a wall.
"I don't know why, but the more I hear it, the less significant a million years sounds to me," Loki commented
"That's because you've been alive for billions of years, and your sense of time is warped."
"Wow," Loki chuckled, "and here I was thinking this place is the oldest thing on the planet, turns out it's me."
"Well you do seem a lot happier now," Yggdrasil said, "you were always so somber before, but when faced with all that happened to you, it makes sense why you were so..."
"Well you've also changed," Loki commented, "the memories I have of you were all of you as a child. This innocent youth we all looked out for."
"I wasn't as innocent as you all thought. It's because I was a nymph, and eternally young, I only 'grewup' because I evolved beyond my childlike form. But I keep a golem of my child form to remind me that I wasn't always like... this."
She gestured to her matured form, then groped one of her own breasts.
"I was always jealous of the others because they had these things," she said
"And now?"
"Well watching my breasts swell and constantly leak ambrosia is a bit embarrassing." Yggdrasil blushed, "I can only hope Dr. Jörmungandr doesn't do anything weird to my real body when she gets back."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure she shows restraint." Loki assures.
The two of them continued to work in silence, until they received a thought-communication from Fen.
"Lokkun, the city-lord is asking to see you in the atrium." Fen said
"What does she want?"
"She says her brother would like to meet you." Fen answered
"Fine, give me a few minutes," Loki said, he then turned to Yggdrasil, "do you want to come with?"
"I'm already there," She replies simply.
A few minutes later, Loki materialized in the ground floor transfer point in a flash of light. She was in her female form, a calculated move since she was supposed to be meeting the city-lord's brother for the first time.
She approached a group that were marveling at the entrance hall, along with Yggdrasil, Thor, Fen, and the twins. She recognized Margaret and some of her officials, but then noticed they were with a few new faces. The man at the front resembled Margaret, handsome enough, he was dressed in formal attire with a sheathed sword at his side.
"Lo- er... Lady Loki." Margaret greeted, "this is my younger brother, Captain Conrad Taggard, of the 8th Lunar Paladin corps."
As Loki shook hands with the man, she felt a jolt. Suddenly, she could hear a sound coming from not only him but all the Lunar Paladins with him, a strange song that echoed inside Loki.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, lady Loki." Conrad said
"The pleasure is all mine." Loki said flatly, "that's an interesting power you possess?"
"Yes, the Lunar Paladins are blessed by the Moonlit Mother."
"The what?"
"The Moonlit Mother, it's their patron god," Thor revealed, "one of the major deities of this world."
"So it's a World Pillar?" Fen asked
"No, she's apparently too shy for that," Fen said, "she just sits on the moon, like a f@£king loner."
The other looked at her
"I spent a lot of time in that well, and every once in a while, priests would read scripture at me." she explained
"What?" Loki queried
"It was our father's idea," Conrad admitted, "he thought he could convert her, get her to fight for us. It's why I even became a paladin."
"So, what brings you back here, Conrad?" Loki asks casually
"We're actually on our pilgrimage back to the Sacred Monastery," Conrad admitted, "and it's customary to bring back prospective initiates."
"Oh, so this is a recruitment run?" Fen asked, "I will never understand these mortal religions,"
"There is probably a cult out there dedicated to one as acclaimed as the Black Wolf." Conrad commented, "you are considered a minor deity to the werebeasts."
"My point exactly," Fen complained, "why are so many people hung up on the idea of gods?Ever user has a bit of godhood in them, it's called Anima. That makes you all minor insignificant deities in your own right."
"What?" Margaret gasped, "I knew anima was a divine power, but I would never consider..."
"The only difference between you and the gods you worship is your saturation of anima." Fen scoffed
"Well, not the only difference," Yggdrasil added, "the beings classified as gods by the system possess special privileges and characteristics recognized by the Administrator."
"The paladins have long suspected something like this was the case," Conrad said, "the higher level a user becomes, the closer they are to true godhood."
Loki couldn't help but scoff ruefully at the idea, "True godhood? I don't think that is something one can just reach. The way I see it, there are only two True Gods in this cosmos; the light and the dark. And trust me; you don't want to worship either."
After that sobering comment, the humans departed from the tower, leaving only its inhabitants.
"What's wrong, Lokkun?" Fen asked
"We are going to that Monastery," Loki decided
"Why?" Fen asked, "i thought you weren't a fan of religion."
"The power they posses is not of this world." Loki concluded, "it isn't something some two-bit god could bestow."
"Do you think it's a Celestial? Or a Great Old One?" Yggdrasil asked
"Why would a Great Old One care about a bunch of mortals on some random planet?" Fen scoffed
"It doesn't matter, we are going to find the source." Loki ordered, "Fen, you and Thor will come with me. Yggdrasil and the twins will remain behind to hold down the fort."
"Of course," Yggdrasil replied
"No fair, I want to come along," Petra complained,
"We promise to be on our best behavior," Tetra added, "we won't slow you down."
"No, you two aren't ready," Loki snapped, "and we won't have the luxury of worrying about your safety."
"Are you expecting a fight?" Fen asked
"Worst case scenario; we may have to annihilate these supposed holy knights and raze their monastery to the ground." Loki said coldly
Something about her tone had them all aware of the possible implications. It reminded Fen of the old Loki, and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing.