Valhalla Saga

Episode 14/Chapter 3: Garmr’s soul fragment (3)

TL: Tsubak

ED:

The king of Gods Odin kept many secrets.

The location of the fountain of Mimir that was said to exist in one of the roots of Yggdrasil was also one of the secrets.

The three sisters that gave Odin the strength to guess the future was also a projection of Mimir. You couldn’t know where exactly it was.

Odin wasn’t alone. There was one more father that was facing the head of Mimir.

“Father.”

The God of thunder that was called as the strongest warrior was standing proudly. While Odin and Mimir were conversing soundlessly, he who had been silent the whole time spoke up as if he couldn’t endure it anymore.

Although he was happy that his father had revealed one of the secrets to him, even so, the wait was too long.

Odin nodded towards the God of thunder.

“So it has been roughly shaped.”

Odin stood up. When he was shriveled down he looked like a weak old man, but when he stood up he had the dignity of the king of Gods.

Odin passed his ash and white hair over. He touched the patch that covered one of his eyes and then approached Mimir’s head. Odin’s right hand had Garmr’s soul fragment.

“What they are aiming for is certainly Fenrir, right?”

“Probably. Just like you know, Garmr is a really strong devil. However, I don’t think that they are doing all this just for Garmr.”

Mimir closed his eyes and said. Odin got convinced but Thor was different. He looked at Mimir’s head and Odin alternatingly and then asked as if he didn’t know well.

“How is gathering Garmr’s soul fragment and reviving Fenrir related?”

He had asked towards Mimir but it seemed like he had wanted to ask Odin that his eyes were looking at him.

Mimir’s head answered.

“The thing that will wake up the world wolf from its long slumber will be the roar of the hell keeper Garmr. Garmr is one of the keys to awakening the Fenrir.”

It was also like that in the Great War. The restrains that were made with things that didn’t exist in the world and were binding Fenrir would be broken by Garmr’s roar.

“Thor, destroy it.”

Odin extended his hand that was holding onto Garmr’s soul fragment. Thor, that had just listened to the importance of it, blinked as if he was surprised.

“Father?”

“It’s the most certain way to stop Garmr’s resurrection. We don’t need Garmr nor Fenrir.”

Odin said with one of his eyes. Even though the enemy was gathering the soul fragments, it was something this side didn’t need. Destroying it to not let them do anything about it is the most simple and effective method.

Thor nodded late and put the soul fragment in between some roots and then raised Mjolnir. He started to gather thunder and then Garmr’s cry and the sound of thunder rang at the same time.

Kwaaang~!

The thunder gulped down Garmr’s cry. They could feel that Nidhogg had gotten surprised because of the loud sound.

Garmr’s soul fragment, that had turned to dust, got scattered by the wind and was spread in Mimir’s spring. The things that remained once more in this place were the two Gods and the head of a giant.

Thor retrieved Mjolnir and then turned to look at Odin and Mimir’s head as if asking how it turned. Mimir’s head opened his mouth first.

“The thing the Giants need is the roar of the hell keeper Garmr, that will wake up the world wolf. They don’t need a complete Garmr. If they gather enough pieces, they will be able to achieve their objective.”

“Right, there’s also someone among them that can use saga.”

If it was the strength of a strong saga, it would be able to recreate Garmr’s roar with just the pieces.

Loki.

Asgard’s traitor.

Thor thought of the name of the giant king, that was once his brother and best friend, and gritted his teeth to press down his grief and pain.

Odin sat down again and said.

“The magician king Utgard Loki is a cunning one. Although you may think that luck has been on our side, I feel like their intentions have been revealed too easily.”

“Are you saying that all of this is a trap?”

“That may be possible. However, I can only play into his hands.”

Odin gestured towards the crow Munin that was seated on his shoulder. He transmitted the will of the king towards Hugin, that was at a far place.

&

He had certainly activated the strength of the saga.

However, nothing had happened. The fragment of the equipment remained the same, and the Runefang Tae Ho had thought of in his head wasn’t recreated.

Was it wrong that he tried to recreate a sword?

Tae Ho activated the ‘sword of the warrior’ again. What he thought of this time was a beginner’s spear.

However, it remained the same. His saga didn’t activate.

Tae Ho raised his head and looked at Heda and Ragna. The expressions of the two people were different from Tae Ho’s. Ragna was glaring at the fragment of equipment and Heda raised her head abruptly and looked at Tae Ho. She tried to yell something in her bewilderment.

Heda’s voice.

He couldn’t hear it.

And Tae Ho realized.

It wasn’t that nothing had happened.

His saga had certainly activated. However, it broke down right after. The strength that remained in the fragment of equipment rejected Tae Ho’s saga.

And it didn’t stop there.

A strong light that emanated from the fragment of equipment gulped down Tae Ho.

“Tae Ho!”

Heda yelled and extended her hand. However, she couldn’t reach him. The world surrounding Tae Ho changed.

&

That place was an island.

A man, that crossed the sea with a small boat, smiled. His big stature was that of an adult but his face was still childish. Actually, he was close to being a kid rather than a youth.

The chest of the boy started to beat. His eyes shone because of the curiousness towards the new world.

Tae Ho couldn’t see the face of the boy. He was looking at the world through the eyes of the boy.

The wind that carried the scent of the sea was directed at the island. It was a scary land that could be called as the world of shadows.

The boy wanted to meet someone on the island. He had just listened to rumors, there were very few people that had actually seen him.

There were also scary rumors. They said that that person ate other people and that he bathed in the blood of virgins.

In the first place, this person lived in an extraordinary place. The fortress that was surrounded by seven castle walls and nine wooden fences that had the heads of people stuck in it was the house of that person.

However, the boy didn’t fear. He was planning to judge through his own eyes and ears instead of baseless rumors.

The boat reached the shore and the boy jumped down.

The boy was facing a beautiful lady. She was one of the prettiest beauties that Tae Ho had seen until now, and her beauty was one that rivaled Heda.

However, she gave a different feeling. Compared to the soft and refined Heda, she was a lady that had eyes that were sharp like a cat. Tae Ho could realize. That this person was the one this boy wanted to meet.

The boy loved and admired this lady. And the lady also loved and appreciated the boy.

The woman, that had black and abundant hair, gave the boy a wooden chest. She was expecting what kind of reaction the boy would make. Tae Ho saw her lips that were slightly curled up to hide her excitement and thought of Idun.

The boy opened the wooden chest. And the thing that was inside it was something the boy knew well. Because of that the boy got surprised and turned to look at the lady.

“Starting from now, it’s yours.”

The woman, that was satisfied at the expression of the boy, said with a soft tone. The boy turned to look at the chest again and he smiled like a child that couldn’t hide his feelings.

The thing inside of the chest was a white spear made with the bones of a sea creature.

The boy left the world of shadow. However, the spear that was given by the woman was always by his side.

He had conquered several battlefields. He defeated the army of the greedy queen, hunted huge monsters, and fought against fierce bandits to rescue a beautiful lady.

The boy always won. The people praised him, and the name of the boy spread to several places of the world.

However, there was an end to the victory of the boy that seemed to be eternal.

The world crumbled.

The man fought with his allies but had been defeated in the end.

“Loki.”

The man, that was as exhausted as he could be, leaned his body on a boulder and said in a low voice. There was a tall man with green eyes and long black hair in front of him.

The sound of thunder was heard from far away. The sound was certainly made by the one that had stood on the front lines to rescue the crumbling world, but he was too late.

The man that was called Loki looked at the direction where the thunder was heard from with vague eyes and then put on a faint smile. The man tried to tie him down, but he was already at his limit. He couldn’t have any more strength to resist. He had lost too much blood.

“Master.”

The man said in a low voice and closed his eyes. He dropped his spear he didn’t let go until now and thought of the cat-eyed lady.

The world burned down and then got destroyed.

The man had lost his world.

He lost his family, lost his partner and lost his friends. The things he had tried to protect had all perished.

However, the man didn’t give up. He couldn’t do it.

Because he was still alive. He couldn’t witness the death of his master.

The man didn’t despair even in the deep darkness.

He had battled until the end a battle which he couldn’t win.

And then, his spear broke. The memory of the man got cut off there. Perhaps, he may have seen the memories of the spear.

Tae Ho was inside the darkness. He saw the face of the man there for the first time.

It was a really handsome face. He, who had black hair and grey eyes, turned his back instead of facing Tae Ho. The man was shining even when he was in the darkness.

At that moment Tae Ho could know the name of the man.

He remembered that this memory was from the destroyed world.

The name of the man was Cu Chulainn. His nickname was the prince of light.

The strongest and greatest hero in the Celtic mythology even among the warriors of the already destroyed Erin.

The man told him. The name of the spear given by his master and the woman he loved the most, Scathach.

Tae Ho opened his eyes.

He grabbed the fragment of equipment that was still broken but started to emit another strength, and then he activated the ‘eyes of the dragon’. He read the names following the shiny rainbow letters.

“Gae Bolg.”

The spear of the light prince Cu Chulainn.

A strong light was emitted as if answering to his call.

< Episode 14 – Garmr’s soul fragment (3) > End