#snv valkyrie sisters

[luxthestrange]

RoR Incorrect quotes#70 Daddy...is back

Young Y/n: Bwunhiwlde?*Is falling asleep in Hades arms*

Hades, Poseidon & Zeus along with the other Greek Gods are Running away From the Screaming Valkyries, And Norse God Trio chasing after them

Zeus: Brothers! Give them to her! She is their guardian!

Hades: How do I know she's their caretaker?

Zeus: What do you want-- a birth certificate?! She's is demigod!

Poseidon: Well, I put in the blood, sweat, and tears to raise them

Zeus: For a day! Give 'em back, you lunatics!

Hades & Poseidon:Look! This is our new baby sibling, and you're gonna have to go through me to get them!

Behind Greek Gods, Two figures shrouded in their darkness are GROWLING...They fell right into the Valkyries Trap...as the Greek Gods turn around with goosebumps-

SCREAMING can be heard from all around the arena confusing the gods and humans sitting and waiting for the next fight

Guess who are the two figures behind the greek gods...that made them all scared shitless...

Part 6 of:

[nostradamus-ror]

Can I be your little sister??

“I… OF COURSE!! J’adorerais avoir une petite sœur!!”

Translation for the French part: “I’d love to have a little sister!”

[bones4thecats]

Adopting Their Fallen Enemy's Child (PT.2) ~ RoR/SnV x Child! Reader

Type of Writing: Poll Result Characters: Beelzebub, Apollo, & Child! Reader Name: Adopting Their Fallen Enemy's Child (PT.2) Original Poll Results: Here Other Parts: (PT.1)

A/N: Because of how long the poll result was, I decided to make this into two different parts! I hope you guys enjoy this and have a nice day/night!

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🪰 He saw Tesla as weak and pathetic, but even he had to admit, the way he held himself in battle with his wits was quite impressive for a human, but he did not wish to show any kind of compassion towards the human, he still lost

🪰 And when he heard the sound of a child crying and hugging a piece of metal, he turned around and saw a young child wearing the same pair of goggles that the human he had just defeat wore

🪰 Beelzebub tilted his head as you cried while your father kneeled and hugged you as he crumbled away into nothing, and what he said to you reminded him of Lilith…

“ I will always be with you, in life and death… I love you, my little ray of hope… “

🪰 The God of Darkness could hear your cries of pain and depression, and it made his heart hurt so much, but he couldn’t tell why… why did he feel… bad for you?

🪰 You looked over your shoulder at him and flinched as he took steps towards you, but the Watchman of the Apocalypse could sense how he was about to kill you, so he stood in front of you and held you on his shoulder while beckoning the oldest Valkyrie to grab you from the field

🪰 He would watch you sit by the feet of the Valkyrie, looking up at the Gods once and while whenever they landed a hit on your human fighter, but the one God you looked at the most of Beelzebub, if he was even there

🪰 Beelzebub eventually heard a knock on his door and saw the eleventh Valkyrie sister, Hlökk, staring at him before saying how you wished to speak to him

🪰 He tilted his head in confusion while looking down at you, you shared the same shimmer in your eyes that your father had, and it surprised him that you wanted to talk to him, you saw how he killed your father, why didn’t you hate him?

🪰 When he spoke to you about your father with the oldest Valkyrie and the Buddha in the next room, he watched how you admired his work, and even corrected a few things, that was when he knew…

🪰 He didn’t want to leave you alone in this world without any family, so, he offered the Human’s the ultimate choice

“ Brunhilde, I would like to propose a deal. I will take care of the young Tesla child and teach them everything their father would’ve while alive. I swear to keep them protected from anything dangerous. “

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☀️ He had to admit, your father was quite the fighter, he was an honorable man, and when he turned around to hear the cheers from his nymphs, what he didn’t expect was the quiet words of Leonidas, the King of Sparta, speaking

☀️ Apollo turned around and saw a young child standing in front of the man, holding a spear, one that was made for their small form, and seeing the King just smile and hug the child before speaking his final goodbyes and bursting into the shards of his life, it just made the God look at the child with sadness

☀️ The God of the Sun looked at you with apparent regret in his eyes, he never knew that the battle-driven man he fought had a child, nonetheless one that couldn’t even had been a full-grown teenager

☀️ You smiled as your father gave you one last kiss on the head and loving grin, and seeing you hug the man’s shattered leg made Apollo look at you with pity, and when the Valkyrie and human faded away to the sky, he walked up behind you and tapped your shoulder, alerting you the man who killed your father was there

☀️ His eyebrows furrowed and he sat down on his knees to stare into your eyes, smiling as you touched his face, trying to wipe away any blood from the wound

☀️ Despite him killing your father right in front of you, you still showed care for him, and when he asked you why you were trying to fix his appearance up, you answered with a polite;

“ My father told me it was a fair fight. And in fair fights, you need to treat the winner not like garbage, but like a treasure. You won fair and square, and while I feel sad of losing my father, I will not hold a grudge against you, God of the Sun. “

☀️ Apollo smiled and patted your head before standing and lifting you up into his arms to carry you back to the Gods’ infirmary, and once you came into the hallway of the arena, you looked at him and kept trying to whip the blood on his face away, claiming it would ruin his reputation if it stayed there and stained

☀️ While he healed, you stayed by his side, trying to make him tell you more stories of the battles he watched your father participate in, and because of how much time you two spent together, Apollo couldn’t help but start seeing you as his own

☀️ One day, he eventually asked a question that would make your life whole again;

“ Y/N, child of Leonidas and heir of Sparta, you are unlike any other child I’ve ever seen in my life. I would be greatly honored if you would do me the pleasure of becoming my child. I understand I will not fully replace your father, and I am alright with that, but you being alone is something I cannot stand. So, what do you say, youngling? “

[cafeinthemoon]

Ever Dream (Apollo x reader)

Chapter 1/1

Wordcount 7,3k

Title Ever Dream

Fandom Shuumatsu no Valkyrie / Record of Ragnarok

Symbols ✔ . 1️⃣ . 💛

Warnings: Apollo is extremely inconvenient in the beginning; angst with a soft, bittersweet ending

Tagging ? (If you want to be tagged in any of my stories, just leave a comment on this chapter or send an ask or a message)

N. A. Finally I can fulfill my promise and post this little story with Apollo!

At first, he wasn't appealing to me at all, but as his character was developed, I found myself liking him (I basically understood that my lack of interest in him and his fight was due to me not moving on from Hades' loss, since snv doesn't feel the same for me anymore) Also his personality is a bit weird in this one bc I've started to write it before his flashback came out, and since I've wrote so much it would be a waste to restart my work to adjust his depiction to something more "pleasing", so I just kept things this way. But I hope you have fun with it :)

“Come out, come out

Wherever you are [...]

Give in, give in for my touch

For my taste

For my lust”

(Nightwish, Ever Dream)

Summer days might be the favorites among the mortals, for they were long and favorable to the body and the heart, as a good presage for the ones who needed it, but that didn’t apply to you. Yes, as many, you appreciated cheerful encounters of friends under the shadow of a tree on a warmth afternoon, as well as playing games in the city’s lake with your sisters, but none of these small delights were enough to make you enjoy Summer above the other seasons. Honestly, you would be happier during Spring, when the beauty of the flowers would be in its apex, or during Winter, when you would stay long periods at home, in front of a good fire, with warm food and crafting to occupy your hands; even Autumn had a special place in your heart, with its meadows of red leaves and winds whispering mysterious tunes.

The thing is that you used to work as a gardener during Spring and Summer, and this latter was always the most difficult one, for the land where you lived was always too hot for any activity to be possible under midday sun, so you would adjust your routine to work at early morning or when the sunset approached.

It was a hard work: the plants would suffer with the heat, and you must know the right moment of the day to pour water in them, in order to not burn their roots; some of them would even become dusty with the lack of rain, only to be harmed after sudden, summer storms, and it would take an entire day for you to clean the fallen leaves, broken branches and garbage brought by the wind – not to speak about the mud; and, as if none of this wasn’t enough, you would have to fight against seasonal infestations.

It was a lonely work, also: there would be days when you would stay in silence for so long that hearing your own voice after going back home or speaking to yourself during work brought a sensation of strangeness. But you enjoyed the solitude, using it to perfect your abilities and organize your thoughts.

Some would say that you should start thinking seriously about your situation, that is, that you couldn’t live only for the plants and that you were already in the age of considering marriage, but you would just escape from their demands inside the labyrinths of the garden. Not that you would get angry with them, though. You understood their preoccupations, but you were aware of where they came from: they didn’t understand that happiness could have many sources in human life beyond building a family.

And, as long as your own happiness came from the garden, you would stay inside it.

***

If the humans who knew you were the only ones watching your steps with what you’d call an abnormal interest, you could deal with it. But fate wanted things to be complicated for you, so your peculiar, solitary routine hasn’t caught only the mortals’ attention.

It happened that, close to your garden’s location, upon a greenish hill, a temple was built centuries ago. A temple to honor the deity whose powers were always strong across those lands – Apollo, Son of Zeus and Guardian of the Sun, Master of Poetry and Music, and owner of more titles than you could remember. You’ve never seen him in person, though it was said that he used that building as his temporary residence on summer days, which explained the intense temperatures during that time of the year; it also explained why the lights of the temple would be fed until late hours and why there would be sound of chords, drums and high voices all day. You respected the work of the people living there, of course, but you’d appreciate a bit of silence during a period that was so difficult for you, and there you had another reason to show up only when the sun wasn’t shinning in all its splendor.

Little you knew that, from the highest spot of the temple, upon a parapet only accessible to himself, the Lord of that house, to whom all those honors were directed, has been observing that lonely, little mortal who would come every day to take care of her flowers with the same dedication as Heracles by the time he had to fulfill his twelve tasks.

He couldn’t remember when was the first time he saw you: the only thing he knew was that, while he stood at that temple, he couldn’t spend one day without seeing you. Every morning, before his worshipers woke up, Apollo would walk up the stairs that led to the private space where the highest balcony of the temple was, and he would sit at it, with his back leaning on a column, to witness the girl’s arrival and her preparations before work; he would stay there, watching in ecstatic silence as she separated her tools, touched each plant with those delicate fingers of hers, examined each spot of them and gave them the necessary treatment, smiling and, sometimes, mumbling to herself.

Not only he noticed your diligence and dedication, but it didn’t escape him how much you were beautiful. Yes, you were surrounded by appealing fruit trees, flowers of the most interesting shapes and shades, all of them between intricate green walls that only added in majesty, yet your figure caught the man’s eyes above all of them – eyes that were trained to not miss anything that could be pleasing to one’s sight.

The god would cheer at himself with the fact that you were oblivious to this, while he, at that height, was completely out of your sight. It was like in the old days, where he would observe the mortal realm from his spot at the Olympus, except that this time there would be no difficulties in reaching you: as one of the city’s inhabitants, you were basically his neighbor, and knowing that building like the palm of his hand, he knew the secret shortcuts that would lead him to your garden’s gates.

At first, Apollo would state that his morning observations were just a hobby, and that with all the work to keep him occupied at the temple and the attentions he would get from the worshipers – particularly from the priestesses – he would soon forget about you and your flowers. However, he wasn’t fool to the point of lying to himself for too long, and soon he would admit that he was interested in you. Well, he was already desiring you, in a way that didn’t happen since… a few centuries ago, maybe by the time of that temple’s inauguration, when he would lure some of the city’s mortals into it. And now, there he was, leaving the comfort of his bed every morning, sometimes even before the sun came up to greet him, for anything but to catch the exact moment when your feet stepped into that garden, wondering how your voice would send shivers all over his body in case you whispered in his ears with the same docility you did to the flowers, how soft your skin would feel if he caught your frail form between his arms, and the heat he would sense once his lips touched yours.

This extended for days, until he finally had enough.

That morning, he watched you as always, but this time something inside him awakened, and he just let his body move away from the parapet and reach for his private chambers, where he caught his best garments and a pair of golden sandals, and then wandered to outside the temple, to the narrow path behind the hill, covered in stones and sand, only known by himself, and in one minute or two, he was standing at the garden’s entry.

Today is the day. The day when I shall make you mine.

***

It should be a pacific, ordinary morning of work at the garden.

You arrived at the usual hour, reached for the spot of the garden where you started working the day before, separated your tools and went to take care of your tasks.

You’ve spent one hour, maybe two like this, so concentrated in what your were doing that the sudden rustling between the leaves somewhere behind you made you startle and drop your garden shears. You turned around…

And found quite a spectacle for that time of the day.

Coming out of a narrow space between two green walls, you saw a young man dressed in garments that you supposed to be only appropriate for the Summer Festivities, not so far in the land’s calendar: he had a white toga around his body, which hems and details appeared to be sewn with golden threads; golden were also the strappy sandals he had on his feet, as well as the laurel wreath on his head. The first rays of the sun reached the space between you at that hour, and the golden light poured itself over the man’s figure as the hug of a beloved one, revealing that the metallic ornaments he carried were, in fact, gold, and conceding a singular glimmer to his eyes, which you thought to be of the same shade. But that wasn’t the only peculiarity seen in his appearance: his hair, falling on straight strands to his waist, were of a soft pink that reminded you of some of the flowers in your garden, but a comparison wasn’t possible, since they were out of sight at that moment.

Yes, the visitor was a beautiful man, though eccentric, so your first thought was that he was the son of a noble family that came to the city to honor the god of the Sun at the temple beside your garden.

He’s probably thinking that the garden is part of the temple’s territory. I must clarify this mistake and lead him back through the right path.

And you were going to do that very thing, but he was faster.

Without waiting for an invitation or at least a question about his presence there, the man approached your spot and stopped in front of you, observing your tiny person surrounded by flowers and tools with a mixture of curiosity and disbelief: was this girl really engaging in physical work this early?, his eyes seemed to ask.

You stepped behind, closer to a bush of wild roses, but glanced over your shoulder before touching the thorns – something that made the stranger giggle. You didn’t like that at all.

The first words said between you were his.

– I’ve always said that wild roses were not my favorites, but the truth is that they’ve scared me and charmed me at the same time, and I just couldn’t deal with it – he stretched an arm to touch a spot above and behind you; not disguising the feeling that he was closer than a stranger should be, your eyes followed his movement and found his fingers reaching for a flower of the bush – A ridiculous mistake from an arrogant heart… – and, turning his golden eyes to you, – Don’t you think, my flower?

Your eyes widened, but you managed to control your mouth to not scoff at those words: you’ve been working at that garden for too long now, and from time to time there would be one and other man who would come to celebrate the Summer Festivities at Apollo’s temple, many of them from privileged houses… and about whom you’ve already had a clear opinion.

Let me see… Extravagant clothing at this time of the day, bad sense of direction, abnormally elevated self-confidence and no regard for personal space. Of course, another womanizer who relies on cheap flirting to win innocent hearts. He knows that this type of chatting only works when the speaker is young and beautiful like him, but things would be very different if we had an old, naughty man in his place.

You knew that, if you didn’t do anything to get rid of him, he would bother you for the rest of the morning, and you wouldn’t be able to complete the works of the day, but fortunately you also knew how to deal with this kind of situation, so you decided to act right now...

By moving aside and bending down to grab the garden shears that he made you drop. You stood up again and started removing the small, green leaves from its blades as you spoke.

– My Lord, I suppose you entered here by accident – you started; and, looking into his eyes, still with the shears’ blades up – Because, you see, despite the proximity, this garden doesn’t belong to Apollo’s temple. No festivities will happen here.

It was with a bit of diversion that you observed the bright smile fading from his pretty face, but you remained impassible, for you were aware that this one was an experienced gentleman and wouldn’t give up so easily.

And he didn’t.

– I must be indelicate and disagree with you, Miss – he moved his hand away from the flower, but, with an eye on your shears, he hid both hands behind his back – For a garden is a never-ending festivity itself, and the one that is going on right here owes all its beauty to the work of your hands.

You swallowed. He did have a way with words, then. But not even this would be enough for you to allow delays in your routine, and you made that very clear.

– If this is the case, my Lord, I must make use of the same indelicacy and interrupt our conversation here – in a swift move of your hands, the shears closed and opened twice with a metallic whisper – And keep working on the garden’s beauty.

And, without waiting for a response, you turned your back on the man and restarted to prune the bush with the roses, just as you were doing when he arrived.

Not even this was able to shake the young man’s confidence, for he just stepped aside and continued to talk, caressing the flowers at the same time. No irritation or offense was sensed in his tone.

– Then I must leave you to complete your mission – and, after a pause, – But I’m trapped here, and you’re the only one who can release me... by letting me know your name.

Your hands stopped and you turned to him again. You weren’t willing to reveal it to him, but if that was going to make him go away, you would do it.

– Y/n s/n.

The young man opened a satisfied smile. But, instead of saying his own name in return, he just stepped back and nodded.

– For this I will be forever grateful, my y/n. I will make sure that Apollo’s blessing falls over you and your work concerning this celebration of beauty.

And without waiting for a response, he turned away and left.

***

If only the Festivities in honor of the Lord of the Sun were shorter, or if your garden was located in somewhere else, the strange events of yesterday involving that extravagant individual would be just a funny story to remember in an encounter between your friends, or even something you would forget after a week.

But, unfortunately, things don’t always go as we plan, so to your surprise – and exasperation – the situation happened again in the next day.

You were pouring water on the soil, in a spot of the garden not so far from the one where your first encounter happened, having only the sounds of the water falling from the can and the early birds singing on the trees as your company, when the rustling noise of indiscreet steps upon the grass caught your attention.

You turned around… and found the shinning figure of the young man smiling at you, his right hand leaning on the tree at his side, his golden eyes upon you with the same enthusiasm of the last day.

You bit your lip.

I can’t believe it. Did he forget everything that happened yesterday?

If he noticed your displease or if he chosen to ignore it, you didn’t know, but he started a casual conversation without waiting for an invitation.

– Good morning, dear y/n! – he left his spot beside the tree and walked toward you with no sign of embarrassment – As I can see, the festivities continue today.

You just gave him a silent nod in reply. The man’s smile widened in contentment.

– That’s good to hear, for today I bring you something that you might appreciate…

Only then you noticed the object he was carrying on his left hand: a bracelet made of gold, in the shape of a vine and with a white gem in its center, with rays surrounding it as an imitation of the sun. You looked at the object and hesitated.

– My Lord, it is not…

But when the words were still crossing your lips, you felt a strong hand holding your wrist and pulling it forward, making you drop the watering can; before you did anything, the man put the bracelet around your wrist and spent a moment admiring it, with your tiny hand between his.

You even tried to pull it back, but the he held you in place. You swallowed.

Heavens, his appearance is the most deceiving thing I’ve ever seen! I don’t know many soldiers who possess this strength!

Because of this, you understood that you might have been in danger since the other day, so that time you kept your mouth shut and waited to see what his next step would be.

And you didn’t know if you should feel relieved or shocked when you found it out.

– Now you were granted the necessary permission, my dear – he spoke with softness; and, pulling you closer to whisper in your ear, – The way to the Summer Festivities has opened to you at the Temple of the Great Apollo.

You had no time to respond, to move away or to show any form of refusal. The man, still holding your hand, pulled you with him and started running between the green walls and trees, rushing toward the depths of the garden and not allowing you to stop.

You glanced behind and your heart ached when you saw your work unfinished and the watering can forgotten on the spot it fell, the remaining water leaking and soaking the soil.

***

The path through which he led you, as well as the environment you found when you entered the temple was what you would sense in a dream: in one moment, he was carrying you by the hand through the green labyrinth, in a pace that defied time; in the next one, you were inside high walls of white, imposing columns with marble flowers surrounding them from their highest to their lowest spot, and countless tables of gold with goblets, jars and trays full of fruits, sweets and other tempting treats that were taken by uninhibited, joyful people dressed in flowing fabrics and barefoot, running, hopping and dancing between themselves to the frenetic sound of chords, flutes and drums. The place was a mixture of sounds, colors and smells that confused and numbed your senses, in a way that you were only able to stand thanks to the strong hold of the young man.

Despite that, you still noticed how strange was that those people seemed to move to the music as if they were just one, yet they acted like they weren’t seeing each other, lost in their particular world, to the point you wondered if they knew what they were doing or if they were just caught under a spell.

Are they really happy, or are they forced into this? It’s unsettling...

The people only showed a believable reaction when you arrived… Well, actually, when they put their eyes on the young man, and started reaching for him with no regard for your presence, pushing, bumping and even stepping upon your feet.

In a way you couldn’t understand, he opened his arms wide to receive them without letting go of your hand, with a satisfied smile on his face that seemed to light up when the first rays of sunshine entered the place, embracing him with the same passion as the people around.

It was when a thought crossed your mind as fast as those rays, and you stared at him with a knot in your stomach.

Could it be that he…?

The chorus around you, chanting the same words in delight, was the confirmation for it.

– Apollo! Apollo-sama! You finally arrived, Apollo-sama! Please don’t make us wait this long for you again, Apollo-sama!

His face brightened up with the call of the humans, as if it absorbed their joy and turned it into vital force, returning it to them with the warmth of the sun; to them, he was god, father, husband and master, and he was more than happy in taking all those roles for himself, in what you saw as a hungry, even predatory way. Though you still found it a beautiful thing to observe, you no longer saw any resemblance with a man in his figure.

He was something else.

Feeding himself with their energies and keeping them gravitating around him is like a diversion to him. How scary.

And with the same diversion, he pulled you to a tight embrace, giving you no choice to walk away, for many people came to him and were no dismissed, so that you were trapped between him and them, and you didn’t know for how long you would be able to breathe.

Somehow, he managed to walk among his worshipers and take you with him before you in fact were smothered, and without decreasing in enthusiasm, he looked around and chanted:

– My children, my flowers! Another day of Summer came to bless you! Enjoy it, cherish it like it’s your last!

Immediately, the people obeyed him and, as if slowly forgetting about his very presence, restarted the celebration, dancing and jumping around and opening the way for you two at the same time, not really realizing what they were doing.

Not wanting to join them and not being able to release yourself from Apollo’s grip, you had no choice but to follow him.

***

You walked up spiral, white stairs with golden banisters, ran through a corridor and ended up in front of an enormous pair of doors, which he opened with a slight touch of his hand.

They revealed a wide room that, even in your lack of experience in these matters, you knew to be worthy of a god: everywhere you looked, you saw comfortable chairs and couches, covered with satin sheets and surrounded by trays of sweets and fruits, and countless jars of wine; there was also a small fountain pouring water, with a jar and cups around it. You also saw books, parchments and musical instruments ready to be used. Everything there was arranged to display beauty and pleasure, as expected from its owner.

Once you stepped inside, you heard the sound of the keys turning to lock the doors from inside and shivered.

– My y/n, will you follow me to the balcony? – Apollo passed to your side – There’s something I need to reveal to you, but it has to be in an appropriate place!

And, without waiting for your response, he tightened his grip around your wrist and pulled you across the room, to reach the said balcony.

You passed under an arc with a pair of curtains of a peach shade and found yourself in a place that could serve as a common room of a human house by its largeness, except for the fact that it was uncovered; on it, there was wine, fod and water as well, and a couch twice the size of the ones inside the room, yet none of those objects interfered while you walked among them.

Apollo stopped at the parapet with you by his side. With his arm stretched over it, he indicated the entire view.

– Let your pretty eyes enjoy what’s in front of them with no shame, my dear – he laughed – Trust me, the view of your lands from the Olympus is no match for this!

And you were, in fact, impressed with what you saw.

From there, you were able to spot various things, from the mountains that surrounded the city, passing through the town itself, with its marketplace and daily movement, to nearer places… such as your garden, its open fields and the very spot where you were working this morning when Apollo arrived and abducted you.

Your face burned with the thought.

He has been spying on me from here? Since when…?

You never had the opportunity to inquire him on this, because he had no shame in telling you the whole story.

– Since this Summer started, though I cannot precise the day, I’ve been trapped in this balcony, just as I am now – he turned to you with a strange glimmer in his eyes; you sensed his hand letting go of your wrist and wrapping itself around your waist, bringing you closer as he spoke – I’ve been trapped by you, my flower, for I couldn’t spent one morning without seeing you from here, cherishing with your whole figure, your steps, the work of your hands, all for your precious garden…

You put your hands between you and him, in an attempt to prevent him from approaching even more.

– My Lord, with all the respect, this is my work – you managed to speak – I would never be able to properly take care of a garden if I refused to pour my heart into it…

The god’s response was to widen his already present smile, giving to it a hint of something that would be called presumption if he was a mortal man.

– I know it! I know well how these things work, and for this I am jealous – he caressed your face for an instant, his eyes swallowing each traits of yours with greed – I am jealous of your flowers, of your trees, and everything that has been blessed by the touch of your hands…

You gasped.

– My Lord, I think this is going too fa…

Your words were cut off by his next act, which consisted in wrapping his arms around you and lifting you from the floor, taking you to the couch you saw before, not so far from your spot on the parapet. There he sat you down, then knelt to take off your sandals – of course, without missing the chance to let his fingertips wander through your feet and legs. With no visible ways to escape this situation, you could only observe the scene in silence.

The door is locked, I don’t think I could open it as fast as he closed it, he’s too strong for me to put a physical fight and is too lost in his own fantasies to hear a word I say. I see no solution besides climbing up the parapet and jump.

While this thought was still crossing your mind (and your eyes glancing at the parapet), Apollo was already climbing the couch. You tried to move away, but he was faster: holding your jawline, he pulled you close to him, his lips brushing yours as he spoke.

– I beg you, my little flower… stop making me jealous… pour your heart to me… be mine…

You opened your mouth to speak, to reply, to try and reason with him one last time, to ask for his divine favor and beg him to let you go, but Apollo didn’t even give you the time to breathe: convinced that actions would teach you better than words, he covered your mouth with hungry kisses, his tongue reaching for yours in a hurry, his hands grabbing your body with voracity. With the lack of air, your lungs started to burn and your eyes got filled with tears.

Your hands, still free, pulled him away by his chin; he stared at you in incredulity.

– Please… my Lord… – you forced your words out, alternating them with gasps – Please… reconsider…

For the first time, Apollo seemed to have his patience tested, and the slight twist in the color of his eyes instilled fear in your heart like you’ve never felt before.

– Too late to think, my y/n… It’s time to act.

He pushed himself upon you on the couch and a second kiss happened, longer and hotter. Now that your attempt to stop him failed, desperation was taking over you, leaving you with two choices: letting him continue or dying for opposing to a god’s will.

The latter seemed less painful for you, so you opted for it.

Beside the couch, just like the other seats at that room, there was a small table with a metallic jar on it; you glanced at it when Apollo let go of your mouth and brought his kisses to your neck, and supposed that it was full. An idea came to you, but you had to be careful.

If I fail at this, it’s over for me.

With slow movements, you managed to bring your body closer to the table’s side, taking the god with you, leaving him too occupied in his caresses to notice anything around. You even reciprocated some of his touches to disguise your nervousness, and waited until you were sure that your hand would reach the jar’s wing.

When the moment came, you stretched your left arm… and your fingers closed around its wing, lifting it from the table with all the strength you could find.

Everything happened too fast for your eyes to follow: catching him in a surprise was your only and greatest advantage, and you managed to do it. The jar flew from the table and hit Apollo’s head, forcing him away from you and dropping the laurel wreath from his hair; confirming your prediction, the jar was full, and the water spread all over the place as the metal clanged against the floor.

You wasted no time: you dragged your body out of the couch and fled the balcony, leaving your sandals and a paralyzed, dismayed Apollo behind. You crossed the room like a ray and somehow unlocked the door easily despite your shaking hands; not only this, but you had the nerve to take the key with you and lock the door from outside to slow the man who would certainly come after you.

***

Your feet barely touched the stairs while you walked down. Behind your back, there was still silence, but you knew it wouldn’t take long until Apollo reached the door and found a way to open it, so you wouldn’t stay to see what was going to happen.

You soon were back to the wide room where his worshipers were celebrating, and it was with no surprise that you found them as happy as before, and that, as you joined the crowd to reach the exit, they barely remembered you. Still, you couldn’t help finding it scary to be squeezed and pushed to all sides by those strangers, who screamed, sang and danced with no regard for each other and for themselves, as victims of a sinister spell.

***

The image of you running away from him was the most terrifying of the nightmares.

Apollo could have ran after you, grabbed you and pulled you back to the balcony. He could have also stretched his hand toward you and used his golden threads to wrap your body and force you to stay, to submit to him. He even managed to raise his hand while you turned your back to him and moved away, passing under the arc that separated the balcony to the rest of the room… but he didn’t do anything.

He just stood there, paralyzed by the surprise with your reaction and the resulting dizziness in his head, his vision darkening as he came to the shameful conclusion.

What I did… there was nothing beautiful about it.

***

The sun was higher in the sky when he regained his consciousness and left the balcony. It must have been one hour or two, judging by its position now – long enough for the effects of the strike to diminish. His head hurt so much that he was sure he would be dead if he was human.

He left the balcony and passed by a mirror, not so far from its entry. He spotted the bruise on his forehead and flinched: it was darker, deeper than he first imagined. Not that he should be worried about having a permanent scar, of course, but it would ache for days.

The god crossed the silent room and stopped by the doors. One look to the lock and he noticed the absence of the key; the shadow of a smile came to his lips.

Clever girl. Trying to slow me down.

He raised his left hand and, working with his golden threads, he involved the doors and pushed them out of their hinges, destroying both with a thunderous sound. He walked out of the room in firm steps, the wreckage cracking under his golden sandals as he approached the stairs and walked them down.

In a minute, he has reached the first floor, where his worshipers continued to celebrate, yet this time a wave of uneasiness has spread silently among them, clearly provoked by the sound of wrecking materials upon there.

Of course, he was eager to leave and start chasing after you, but he was empathetic with the ones who were there just to love him, and made sure they were all calmed down by his words; with this, they were free to go back to their worshiping, knowing that their Lord would be back in a few moments.

He left the temple and rushed to the garden, as his feet were led by instinct to the place that first connected you, but it was with no surprise that he saw you weren’t there; you didn’t even use the garden as escape route. Still, his heart didn’t ache less with the sight of your tools on the soil, and your flowers abandoned, for they meant only one thing.

Not only you were gone, but you weren’t coming back.

***

Autumn came sooner to those lands that year.

The Temple of the Sun closed its gates long before the last week of Summer, and the worshipers returned to their homes with a strange weight in their hearts; it was clear that their god wasn’t content, but the reason was only known by himself, and perhaps as an act of mercy, he protected them from his wrath by sending them away, assuring them of their innocence and promising a warmer season of festivities for the next year.

The days quickly became short, and the winds of the new season were colder than they were in the previous years; the city’s inhabitants were caught in a surprise, and even feared what Winter has reserved for them. The streets were empty, the markets saw their clientele grow thin, the richest traveled to distant lands and the common people were hidden inside their houses. In the wild, the beasts and the small creatures were sharing the same difficulties, and just as it happened with the humans, there was no guarantee that they would make it through the longer period of cold.

Apollo, on his turn, stood in that house alone, instead of traveling back to his place and his divine fellows at the Olympus: he missed their company, but had no strength to face them after the ugliness he created; it has been a monstrosity and a shame, and this was something he must endure all by himself. And so he did it, spending his days and nights wandering among the cold walls of marble, inside which the sound of chords, voices of adoration and the wine being poured in the goblets wouldn’t be heard, and the echo of his own steps were his only partner; the fires lightened by his followers stopped making him warm even before they turned into smoke and cinders, the sweetness of their incense made him sick and the golden altars and objects of devotion turned gray to his eyes.

All because of what he did to you. Because in his eagerness to make you stay, he ended up scaring you away, and the sun that should have kept you content and safe almost burned you to death. How, he asked himself, how did he deprive love from its natural beauty, he who lived to exalt the beautiful? But silence was the only thing to reply.

***

Apollo visited your garden every morning, staying there for a while before returning to his temple and to his dark meditations. Protecting his physical form from the cold with a gray cloak, he wandered through the natural walls that were once green, but now had only brown and red to offer to his sight; the grass was now a shadow of what they were, just dried vegetation that would crack and whiter under his feet, and the flowers came undone to the touch of his fingers.

Many times he passed by the spot where he abducted you, and tears would fill his eyes as he looked at the watering can and the tools rotten on the cold soil, useless after so long time without executing their functions. One morning, he even considered touching them, but when he approached his hand no remnants of your spirit could be sensed in them, and he moved away.

Well, your presence just vanished from the garden itself, and even from the town: sometimes, he would disguise himself among the mortals and seek for your face in the corners of the streets, but he knew the search was worthless. You were long gone.

Actually, you left and hid on the other side of the land, and even your acquaintances haven’t heard about you since Autumn began. But even you couldn’t deny that the season was less merciful that year… and it didn’t take long for you to realize it had something to do with the episode at Apollo’s House. Maybe he couldn’t accept that a mortal woman defied him, and decided to punish her entire land in return; or maybe he just decided to leave sooner, and with him Summer has left. It was hard to be sure when it came to the gods.

However, as much as you weren’t willing to try and seek for his favor against your will in order to save the people of the city, innocent and defenseless against Nature, your heart has been yearning for your garden, your true house, where your happiness and strength and life purpose were. You’ve been struggling to stay in your hideout and wait until the god’s wrath was over, but you just couldn’t take it anymore.

One morning, despite the cold and the adversities, you dressed up and traveled back there. You had no idea of what you were going to find once you stepped into your beloved garden, and a thousand nightmares haunted you while you were on your way, and the times when you thought of giving up and return to the hideout weren’t few…

But all of this noise disappeared when you found yourself, in fact, standing before the garden’s gates. A breeze passed by you at that moment, coming from inside the garden, and sent a chill through your body – a chill that reached your heart.

You forced your feet to move ahead.

As you walked, farther from the entry and closer to the depths of the garden, you noticed that the sensation of loneliness that you were anticipating didn’t come. Yes, the flowers were dead, the grass was dry and the birds disappeared from the trees, but you had this strange feeling telling you that you weren’t the only living being wandering among the reddish vegetation.

A sudden instinct led your feet to the very place where your watering can and shears were left the day you were taken away by Apollo. Were they in the same place, still waiting for your return? You’d only know if you reached there.

And you did. And they were there. Covered in dirt, dead leaves and ivy.

But they weren’t alone. Someone was watching them in silence, standing among the desolation as if they were just a part of it that was waiting for you to come back as well.

And, perhaps, they were, for when they turned to you, your heart dropped.

It was him. It was him, there was no way for you to be mistaken.

The golden bright in his eyes has faded away, and so was his smile. The pink of his hair was no longer glowing, and the paleness on his skin was unsettling. He was still the god of the Sun, but the Sun just settled.

Suddenly, you were scared. What if he was there waiting to cease your existence in revenge? What if that was just a vision to deceive you, and you were now in a new trap, from which you had no chance to escape like the first one?

You tried to move your feet, but they wouldn’t obey you. Your heart ached inside you, and your eyes were getting filled with tears.

Is this how I’m going to die, then?

Apollo left his spot and walked toward you. He was still silent, but no sign of his intentions could be sensed, and you were too scared to try and guess them. Still, something wasn’t right – and when you finally had the courage to look straight to his face, you understood what it was.

From his eyes you saw tears rolling. And in his expression there was only room for incredulity and pain. It was when you knew: it wasn’t a vision; it was really him. And he couldn’t believe you were there.

Apollo stopped before you and you flinched, not knowing what to expect. You shut your eyes tight… and no touch, no extravagances nor punishment came.

You opened them again and found the proud god kneeling on the dirt soil, taking his cloak from his shoulders and leaving it beside him on the ground, his eyes glued on you all the time, as if you could disappear at the slightest distraction.

You didn’t know how long you stood like this, having only the winds to voice your anguish, but the silence became unbearable, and you opened your mouth to speak – but, as always, he was faster.

– Forgive me.

Two words only, but enough to shake your spirit and think of how strange reality could become. A god apologizing? When would you imagine such a thing?

– Forgive me, my flower – he repeated, since you stood quiet – For those things I’ve done weren’t but terrifying.

He stretched his hand to touch your clothes, but gave up on the gesture as to prove his feeling of shame.

Again, your heart ached, and your mouth dried out. You couldn’t just stand there with no reaction, no word, after traveling for so long to reunite with your beloved garden. But you didn’t know what to do or what would be right, so you just let your body decide.

You knelt on the soil too, before the astonished god, and didn’t try to stop yourself when you saw your arms throwing themselves around him, your head resting on his shoulder, and your skin shivering to the warmth of that embrace. You should be scared, you should be aware of any spell working at that very moment, you should be disgusted to see him there – but you weren’t.

– Yes, Apollo-sama – you murmured, not recognizing your own voice – They were terrifying. But I’m no longer scared.

And that was true. All your fear was leaving. And with the first signs that the Autumn was going away with it, you were strangely in peace.

[incorrect-record-of-ragnarok]

Thrud: This food is too hot... I can’t eat it.

Raiden: You’re very hot, and I still eat you.

Everyone at the table: *silence*

Hlökk: YOU GUYS ARE DISGUSTING!

Brunhilde: One dinner... I just want ONE DINNER!

[smokesandsonatas]

Hi can i request buddha meeting with the valkyrie's like Göll, Brunhilde, and such for the first time and his reaction to meeting them. If possible please

+ Buddha - chan +

"The only one who can push me around, in all heaven and earth, is me. "

Buddha is newly hailed as a god, no scratch that, perhaps in the mortal realm it's been 1000 years, but time is inconceivable for the Gods after all. Its nothing but simple, meaningless numbers.

And now, a thousand years had passed and he's now sitting with the other deities in the ever familiar council of The Valhalla Parliament Building.

"Send them the plague!"

"Show no mercy!"

"Kill half of humanity!"

THUMP.

A loud and almost thunderous sound echoed through out the meeting room, silencing all gods. It was Zeus, all in his old, wrinkly form.

"HeHehe," The Father of the Known Greek Gods laughed, scratching his beard, "Kill humanity eh?" Zeus said, pretending to think.

Buddha tensed beside, closing his eyes. Somehow, these gods disgusts him.

"Poseidon, what do you say, HeHehe." Zeus turned to his brother.

The stoic God of the Sea did not even respond, instead looking boredly at his own feet. Deeming everything around him as dirt.

What an arrogant bastard.

"Oi, Buddha," Shiva, said beside him, lazily putting his upper two arms above his head, "You're getting riled up, huh." The Hindu god smirked.

Buddha glared at him, "Don't put me in the likes of you, Shiva."

"You cocky basta-"

"May I interject my Lords?"

Buddha and Shiva both whipped their heads to the sound. A clear feminine voice cut through the noise of the Gods.

Buddha saw them, 13 in total. And their aura is not as powerful as gods, but not weak like humans.

"I, Brunhilde," it was a beautiful woman with flowing midnight blue hair that reaches her waist. Her hair is pinned back on the side with a wing shaped hair pin. "Testify that we should not eradicate humanity."

Buddha crossed his arms, he knows who they are, as Shiva let out a grumble.

"We Valkyries, agreed to guide mighty souls in Valhalla." Reginleif, a small petite woman with a Bob cut said, her glasses frames her small face.

"Uhm... I agree.." A meek voice said, it was a pretty woman named Hrist.

"My Lords, it is only the mortal date of 1345, sending a plague during the middle ages, is surely not wise." Randgriz said, appearing beside Brunhilde.

Zeus frowned, "Eh you think so?"

"Yes!" Þrúðr said, a strong muscular woman crossed her big arms, towering over the little gods.

"I, the beautiful Hlökk, agrees with my sisters." A petite woman in pink said.

"Uh, uhm Yes! I agree!" Göll stammered, as long as she's with her sisters she's ok. The rest of the Valkyries, 6 of them all nodded their heads.

Buddha turned to look at Zeus, huh, seems like the old man is considering. Judging by him caressing his beard.

"Hmmm? Should I listen or not..."

Zeus raised his hand, who's holding a gavel of divine judgement.

Buddha looked at him tensely.

"All right! God's will not send a plague in the year 1345." Then he hit the wooden plaque.

Buddha almost sighed in relief, gods should never meddle with human affairs.

"Tch," Shiva said, "How boring."

"But it doesn't mean we can't send one in 1346! We will send the Black Death by then! "

The roars of the god in agreement filled the parliament with cheers and applause.

"Hail the mighty gods!"

And that is how Buddha came to despise Zeus.

A while later after the uncouth declaration of Zeus, did Buddha found Brunhilde. Popping a sweet candy in his mouth, he approached the Valkyrie sitting in the garden.

The oldest Valkyrie stood up, "My lord Buddha-"

"Buddha - chan is fine."

Brunhilde widen her eyes, "Pardon?"

"You heard me," Buddha grinned, his fangs glistening. "I will call you Bryn - chan from now on."

Brunhilde smiled, "All right Buddha - chan, then what do you need from me?"

Buddha's grin got wider, "Someday, I'll help you save humanity."

And with that, the god of enlightenment left.

+++

[eliphante123]

Speculating who’d be the next Valkyrie to fight with their human fighter

Idk if anyone have already done this but I made a list of all Valkyries would be on the next 7 rounds and I’ve noticed:

Odd number of Rounds are for the ELDEST Valkyries (since in round 6 Buddha doesn’t have a Valkyrie instead of Zero, they just put the youngest on the odds ig 😅)

Even number of Rounds are for the YOUNGEST Valkyries

Firstly, I think for Round 8 could be the eldest sister/Valkyrie (either 5 or 6) and secondly, I wrote Göll & Brunhilde names on the last because I think the Author likely put them in the far future since those two are protagonists or important characters in this whole Ragnarok fiasco

[shimosu]

"Holy moly Christmas glory!"

Eve, maybe

[thewritetofreespeech]

Hii

Can you write something with Buda from snv? Where Buda falls in love with a valkyria (reader) and its the main reason of why Buda decides to fight for the humanity? Thank you very much😍

You stare out into the vast sea of the beyond from the balcony of the Valkyrie palace.

Brunhilde had just told you of her plan for tomorrow. How she planned to save humanity with a hail mary and needed your help. Of course you would be by her side, and that of humanity, but the task seemed ever daunting all the same.

“So, this is where ya are?” You look back behind you to see Buddha strutting in. His typical lazy swagger, and modern attire an affront to his God-like position. “I’ve been lookin’ everywhere for ya.”

“I’ve been here a while. You need only ask someone where I was.” The God shrugged and came up on the balcony to stand beside you. “So. This is the end then?”

“Looks that way.” Buddha confirmed with a lazy sigh.

Tomorrow was the convening of the God Council. A meeting to, once again, decide humanity’s fate, and they seemed to not be able to skate by this time. “I take it Hildey-chan has told you about her plan?”

“Yes. She has.” You confirm. Smirking at his nickname of ‘Hildey-chan’ for your revered older sister. “She’s also told me about your part to play.”

“Ssshh…it’s a secret.” Buddha remarked. Finger to his lips as he leaned in close. Then pulled back with a smile. You chuckle.

“Do you really think we can do it? That humans can beat the Gods.”

“Sure. Why not?” He replied with a shrug. “Gods forget, cause they’re up here all the time, that humans are pretty cool. They can build, create, destroy. They can be fighters, healers, sorcerers, Gods,” he turned to you and gave you a little wink, “so why can’t they beat them at their own game?”

You have to admit, his optimism was inspiring. Maybe they could win this. Maybe they could save humanity. “You must really love humans to risk so much.”

“I’m not doing it just for them.”

You turn to Buddha with a confused look on your face. He glanced at you from the side of his sunglasses, before looking at the sky line again. “Sure. I love humans and think they’re worth fighting for. They ain’t all bad. But…the real reason I’m doing this is because [Y/N]-chan will be sad if they all die. Can’t have that.”

Surprised was the easiest way to put into words what you were feeling at his response. “If you’re going through with Hildey-chan’s plan, can you promise me you won’t fight until the last?”

“You know I can’t promise that.” You couldn’t, honestly, allow your sisters to fight and you to stay on the side lines safe if duty & strategy required you to fight first. You couldn’t ask someone to risk their life and not offer yours as well.

Buddha sighed, but didn’t seem surprised. “Guess I’ll just have to fight everyone and win it all before ya.” He said, scratching the back of his head.

“Yes. You do that.” You agree with a soft chuckle, before you lean up and kiss his cheek as a souvenir for the fight.

No one knew what tomorrow would bring, nor the days to come, but at least you had now. And together that was enough hope for now.

[luxthestrange]

RoR Incorrect quotes#69 Sister Bond

Göll*Looking at Brunhilde with a glaring pout*Im telling you this right now-IF YOU DIE I DIE-Alright so you cant fudging die!*Starts tearing up and sniffing into sleave, shaky voice*I-i don't want you to die...I love you

Brunhilde*Was Stoic till she too started to tear up and started to hug Göll, WITH THE SAME shaky choked up voice*And I love you!

-Soon the other Valkyrie sisters one by one cracked and started hugging each other and crying-

Hades*Looking at his brothers*That could be us but you are all idiots...

...here is the audio for real this is for the theories that Brunhilde will perish and Göll maybe be one to inherit her will

[bones4thecats]

Adopting Their Fallen Enemy's Child (PT.3) ~ RoR/SnV x Child! Reader

Type of Writing: Poll Result Characters: Buddha & Child! Reader Name: Adopting Their Fallen Enemy's Child (PT.3) Original Poll Link: Here Other Parts: (PT.1) & (PT.2)

A/N: This got super lengthy, so the three humans from the poll are coming out in another piece! Now, enjoy!!

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

🍭 He knew about you from the many stories themed around the Demon Lord of the Sixth Heaven

🍭 You were the offspring from a mortal and Hajun, how did that all work out? Nobody has a clue besides the two involved

🍭 Hajun was destroyed while you were out with him, so you were sent off by Hades to live with Beelzebub for the meantime as he planted your father inside of the young God, Zerofuku

🍭 Arriving with your guardians, the Seven Lucky Gods, you were handed over to Heimdall as the battle commenced

🍭 Heimdall had you standing beside him as he commented, occasionally allowing your opinion to be notified in the battle

🍭 Buddha looked at you when Zerofuku became his old self again, and he saw how you looked at the now large demon's form

🍭 You looked at it with adoration? Love? What was the matter with you?

🍭 While he fought against Hajun, you watched and occasionally gave a small wave of cheer to the demon whenever he looked in your direction

🍭 There was something going on between the two of you, and he was about to figure out what it was

🍭 When Buddha landed the last hit and sent Hajun to Niflheim, you jumped down from where you once stood by Heimdall and you hugged the demon's leg

🍭 His eyes widened when he looked at your appearance more clearly

🍭 Your scleras were a solid black while your irises were e/c, your hair dipped into the same shade of red as Hajun's, your face also had small markings that were similar to his, and you had smaller versions of the Demon Lord's horns

🍭 That was when he realized, you were the being's offspring

🍭 And you just watched him die for the second time...

🍭 You hugged your father's leg as he scoffed and pat your head, saying you'd see him again one day, and while it seemed very blatant and neglectful, Buddha could tell Hajun was saddened by how the tears ran down your face

🍭 He watched him break into shards and how you looked up at Zerofuku and the Gods with sad eyes, and he walked up to you, despite the pain in his foot

🍭 Buddha kneeled down to your height and pat your head with his hand, and he lifted you into his arm before laying you to sit on his shoulder

🍭 You held his loose hair and played with it as he walked away to be greeted by the Valkyrie sisters, Brunhilde and Göll

🍭 Brunhilde grabbed you as Buddha was dragged away to the infirmary, but the words he said to you as he was bringing you into Humanity's side were ones you wouldn't forget

" You may be a demon's, nonetheless Hajun's, child. But, I believe you have some good in you, kid. I'm not one to be super shrouded about things like this, but, since you don't seem to have anyone, you wanna maybe have me as your guardian? "

[cafeinthemoon]

Ruins - Chapter I

Chapter 1/?

Wordcount 2,8k

Title Part I

Fandom Shuumatsu no Valkyrie / Record of Ragnarok

Pairing Hades X reader

Symbols ⭕ . ➕ . 💛

Warning (s): none

Tagging @darling-imobsessed (if you want to be tagged in any of my stories, just send an ask or a message 😉)

N. A.: So... I posted it lmao This chapter has already been posted on my ao3 and Quotev, and the next one will be out soon ;) I've just read snv's manga (haven't watched the anime yet) and enjoyed so much that it couldn't pass without a short story from me at least, so here we have a little romance with the King of Hellheim himself. hope you enjoy it 💜

"Indeed, it's wrong to keep you near me One could call me cruel and deceiving But in your sacred air I am full of light Your loving arms are the true delight To which I'm lost"

(Tamino, Persephone)

Instead of saying that you accepted to be there to pursuit a goal, you’d rather say you were after answers.

The tradition was well known by you: every year, a different region of your world was selected by Valhalla’s divine council for the task of sending a group of young, healthy women from every class, tribe and family available to the gods’ temporary residences where they would learn and serve, having their natural talents sharped to their limit, according their masters’ will. That time, your land was the chosen one, and your family selected you among your sisters.

It wasn’t the case that you longed for it. However, a girl couldn’t just oppose to the divine beings’ decision, and you knew you had no chance to find what you were seeking for in your own land, a small town by the sea where the commoner’s perspectives wouldn’t surpass the art of fishing in the case of the men and the ability of fixing nets in the case of the women, so that the best you could do was to bow your head and go with the others.

***

As far as you could see, there was nothing to complain about in Valhalla: you were all welcomed by Hermes, Zeus’ representative, who guided you to your lodgings and gave you instructions regarding your routine, the houses’ rules and your duties with all the competence and politeness expected from the Olympian spokesman; the rooms were comfortable; the food was excellent; some of the girls were good people, with whom you sensed you could be friends with. And, of course, the beauty of the lands surrounding the residence was beyond description.

Thanks to all those reasons, besides the fact that there was always interesting work to do, even you, instead of being easily swallowed by boredom, found yourself enthralled by your new life.

***

Before you had your first encounter with your possible future masters, you were told that each god and goddess there had their necessities and preferences according to their own personality, domain and history, and they would choose their disciples and servants guided by these parameters. The first weeks of interactions between the girls and the gods had the single purpose of exposing the first group to the examination of the latter, after which every girl would stay under the supervision of the deity who took interest in their qualities.

Some of these assimilations happened right in the first days, almost always involving the girls with obvious, specific talents, such as singing, crafting, dancing, fighting and similar things. Others would take longer to find their place, but eventually would fit in less famous gods’ guardianship. There were others, however, who would accept obscure positions as properties or concubines just to avoid what they saw as the humiliation of not being adopted as apprentices. You, on your side, had the misfortune of not being among the first ones to be chosen, belonging to the minority without guidance, but you already decided you would not submit yourself to dishonorable roles, not even for the gods: you haven’t left your house to end up like this. Besides, your parents warned you that one should take twice the prudence when it comes to divine matters.

***

Unlike your seeking for a divine tutor, finding a favorite place to be during the free hours of your day didn’t take much of your time – soon during your stay, you were lured and trapped by the enormous Library of Valhalla.

Since the intellectual development of the apprentices was among the criteria, all of you were granted access to the vast corridors and the colossal shelves crowded of books, parchments and brochures of every conceivable knowledge area, so that you would stay there and enjoy your right as long as you could. Sometimes, you wondered if there was something wrong in it, for you wouldn’t see more than half a dozen girls there at a time, and they would never stay as long as yourself. Or was it you that were spending too much time among the books instead? There was no way to know.

And if you were being honest, you might have had more to do inside a library than them, since your reasons would go beyond the love for learning.

Months ago, long before you were selected, a dream began to haunt you. A dream of ruins and desolation; of solitude and despair; a dream of a landscape where you were the only living being, and through which you would walk, seeking for something you didn’t even understand. The more you would search for this thing, the farther you felt it from you. Your deepest agony was that, whenever you sensed the slightest chance to find what you wanted, you would wake up and be forced to leave the nightly visions aside until the next time the dream came to you.

You weren’t cheering for being sent to Valhalla, that’s true, but when you discovered the existence of that library, the first thing you did was to start a long, detailed research in the dreams / psyche section to find clues. All the work you would do by yourself, though sometimes you wished you had someone to help you, until you thought twice and decided it was better not to involve anyone in this: that mission was yours, and yours alone.

***

That day you had the chance to start your research earlier, for you didn’t have much work to do, and the little you had was not difficult. You organized your things in the room and, once you had an opportunity, you left the company of the girls and headed to the library, to the already familiar section.

There was a specific book there that you found more interesting than the previous ones, the reasons including its updated grammar and glossary, the quantity of information and the fluid language, sparing your mind of the distractions caused by the far-fetched discourse so common in old works. It was a thick volume, with at least a thousand pages and a hard cover, making it so heavy that you were forced to slow your steps while carrying it from the shelf to the nearest table, but you weren’t bothered by this more than by the difficulties of your research itself.

The book was organized by themes, and each theme was divided in entries like a dictionary, thanks to which you advanced a third of the pages in just a few days. You were now reading an entry about isolation and comparing it to the notes you took about dreams with wilderness and ruins from another book. You hated to admit, but you weren’t seeing results in this study, since the conclusions given by the texts couldn’t be applied to your current situation in life or anything in your perspective. But you knew your dream had a meaning. It had to be that way. Otherwise, why would it keep coming back to disturb you?

You raised your eyes from the page and sighed. Maybe you should give yourself a break. There were large windows near your table that granted the readers a splendid view of the gardens. You stood up and flexed your arms, decided to go there and rest your eyes a bit…

– It’s been a long time since this library saw such a dedicated researcher.

You let out a brief scream and turned immediately to the voice’s direction: you were so concentrated in your activities that you haven’t heard or sensed its owner’s arrival. But once you laid your eyes on him, you had to lean on the table to keep your posture, for the individual you had before you was not one you would take lightly.

There you saw a tall man in light, elegant clothing and circumspect manners walking down the stairs that connected the first floor, where you were, to the second one, which corridors and study tables were invisible from your spot, something you thought to be the reason why you haven’t seen him until now. But, still...

Being able to mask his presence that way, to the point I haven’t heard a single book’s page being turned… It’s equally admirable and disturbing.

The man approached with a calm curiosity in his look, that would go from you to the papers on your table, then back to the little human who stared at him as if caught in the middle of a crime or a child’s game, or so you thought while looking at the slight curve on the corner of his lips. When he stopped in front of you, your first instinct was to step back, but the table was in your way, so you were forced to stay in your place – a normal distance for two humans, but too short when a god was involved. Because his divine nature was clear even to your untrained eyes.

No mortal could be this beautiful.

Defying the passage of time, he had the face of a young man, no marks or lines to maculate the freshness of his skin as far as you could see, though his eyes would not let you be deceived: those were old eyes, heavy with the things they’ve seen through countless ages, and sharp by the same reasons, eyes that you guessed that only a few could stand; above the left one, there was a delicate tattoo of a vine that contoured his forehead until it disappeared under the waves of his gray hair, a conspicuous yet decent attire that would soften the solemnity of his general appearance. His right ear, pointing out among his hair, was pierced by an impressive amount of earrings.

In an unforeseen yet calm move, he stretched his right hand. You startled... until you looked aside and understood that he just wanted to reach the open book on the table. He passed an elegant finger over the lines on the upper side of the page as his eyes read the sentence in a quick look, turning back to you right after.

You were distracted looking at his nails, painted with a dark shade, and needed a moment to process what he said next.

– Dreams and the mysteries of the subconscious – he started, a note of moderate interest in his tone �� Many of your people experience attraction to these subjects, but only a few are willing to study them with the seriousness they deserve. But you’ve been visiting this section everyday, taking notes and making comparisons with the same passion of an old scholar. It’s a beautiful thing to see in a young person, I have to admit.

So… he has been there all this time, observing your comings and goings?

He took a step aside in order to examine your papers, and you couldn’t do anything but to look as he took your notes and lists and read them with respectful attention, then compared their content with the books, talking to himself during the inspection.

– So descriptive and organized... An excellent calligraphy… Detailed yet selective… Professional yet passionate…

The man put everything back on their place and turned to you, his inquisitive gaze making you adjust your posture.

He asked your name. You gave him the first and the second one, to which he discussed your origins.

– This is a common name by the sea lands from the … region. Are you from there?

– Yes… My Lord – he haven’t said his name yet, but you wouldn’t leave him without any treatment – My family have been living there for at least four generations. This is my mother’s name too.

He turned back to the table for a brief second.

– By the style used in your notes, I suppose you’ve been doing all of this for personal reasons – and with a soft smile, – It seems you’re trying to figure out the meaning of a dream of yours. Would you mind telling me about it?

You didn’t give him an immediate reply, though you weren’t willing to refuse the request: on one hand, you’ve never talked about this dream with any human, including the people you trusted the most, so that entertaining the idea of revealing it to a god was an even more distant possibility until this day; on the other hand, you were a young mortal from the coast, isolated in their lands now: you were aware of how silly it would be to ignore your disadvantage and say no to one of them. The thing is that you’ve been successful in avoiding this problem by keeping a safe distance from the gods you saw as the most demanding and dangerous… But what should you do when one of them suddenly appears before you and start making questions in a direct yet polite manner, in a way that you wouldn’t even call intrusive?

Perhaps all of this was written in your face, for he ended up giggling after observing you for a while.

– It doesn’t feel right sharing it with a stranger, does it? – and since you stayed quiet, – But let me tell you that it isn’t for nothing that I took interest in it. I myself have been haunted by a dream for months before deciding to come to Valhalla after answers. And, judging by the predominant symbols of your notes, such as ruins and old buildings, our dreams might have similarities. I want to find out how deep they are. And this is so important to me that I don’t mind asking for a stranger’s help to get this.

He finished that sentence with the same soft, discreet smile you caught yourself getting familiar with. Maybe he’s got a point there. And since you yourself weren’t going too far doing all the work alone, counting on someone more experienced than you, and one with a similar case to solve, couldn’t be so bad.

You sighed and turned to the table, to your papers, finally accepting to talk.

– Just like in your case, my Lord, during the months that preceded my stay in Valhalla, this dream would come to me at least one night a week. I would find myself alone, surrounded by what it seemed to a be a desert, or an abandoned land, with ruins as far as the eye can see. I would walk to see what I could find among them, but there was nothing for me there. Still, I wouldn’t try and find a way to leave that place. I wanted to stay, to touch the ruins, to move them, to build something out of them, but some strange force grips my hands, as if telling me not to be arrogant and leave them there, and this is when my hope dies and I wake up with no choice but to wait until it started again.

The man spent a moment in silence, looking at the papers, measuring your words, and during that time your breaths were the only detectable sound between those walls.

He was the first to talk after that.

– Tell me… The last night you had this dream was the one before you came to Valhalla, wasn’t it? And this was probably the time when the dream came more vividly, right?

Your eyes widened.

– How do you know, my Lord?!

Your surprise didn’t affect him.

– Because the same thing happened to me. Now, can you give this place of your dreams a more detailed description?

You nodded and went to depict the aspect of the ruins, the color of the sky, the texture of the soil, the temperature of the surroundings and everything you were able to remember. At some moments, you had to make pauses, as if the memories were as heavy as the dream itself, so that dealing with the emotions evoked by it while awake was as difficult as when you experienced them in your sleep.

There was a sensation of peace, or conciliation, in the air when you finished, which convinced you that another part of your mission was fulfilled – the initial one being the start of your research.

However, your journey for answers was just beginning, and the beginning itself was a pit deeper and darker than your young mind could conceive.

The man, as composed as he has been since the start of the conversation, turned his eyes to you, and you would swear you saw a trace of relief – even satisfaction – in them.

– It’s just as I imagined. This place… is the same of my own dreams. And I know where it is.

You gasped.

– Do you?!

– Yes. This place exists in reality. And it is part of Hellheim.