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"Do you remember what Sigrid taught us about Ragnarök?" Niel asked.

"Of c-course." Selda responded, nearly slipping on the smooth, cold floor. It was hard enough for Selda to focus on walking when led by hand in the pitch dark, answering pointless questions did not help in the slightest.

"Tell me about it." Said Niel. Selda wanted to question why, but the strange sternness in Niel's voice intrigued her even more. So, Selda decided to indulge her, without falling all over herself.

"W-well… all of Midgard will be blanketed in snow and ice from Fimbulvetr, then H-Heimdall will sound the Gjallarhorn and Ragnarök will begin. The world serpent, Jörmungandr, will challenge Thor, while Odin rides Sleipnir to do battle with the great wolf Fenrir. The rest of Asgard will fight the giants and Surtr. And in the end, we… th-they will claim victory." Selda's skin began to crawl as she heard distant buzzing.

"You're still sparse for details but yes, that sums up the fairy tale." Niel sneered.

"Hey," Selda stopped shortly, grabbing Niel's arm and ignoring the strange, hardened texture along parts of her skin. Her body tensed a bit against the growing breath of the beast behind her. She managed to save a lot of her nerves knowing that she herself was still breathing as well. "What's wrong with you? I've never seen you this… aggravated before."

Niel began to chuckle then laugh hysterically. Though as unsettling as it was, Selda did not release her grip on Niel's arm. Rather, she tightened it. The grip actually seemed to catch Niel off guard, but she managed to retain whatever demeanor this was.

"So serious," she chuckled. "Worried about little old me? Good, remember that concern because where we're going, you'll need that and then some. But first… there's something you need to see." She tugged on Selda's arm, beckoning her to come. Selda was initially resilient. None of what Niel said answered her question and it was starting to unsettle her. That, and the growing buzzing.

"Come on, I promise it'll be worth your while, besides…," Niel chuckled again. "Got nothing to lose." With little choice, Selda loosened her grip and carefully followed her again.

After some time, the two stopped and Niel let go of Selda's hand, much to her anxiety.

"Niel!?" She yelled, twirling her body and reaching out in an attempt to find her.

Instead, Selda grabbed fur. Warm, pulsating, fur that seemed to heave the more she touched it. Feeling the deep grumble, Selda quickly realized that what she was actually touching was the beast. She yelped and stumbled backward, slipping on the polished ground and landing hard on her naked backside. Selda, however, could barely feel the pain of the fall. Instead, her nerves were shot as she sat there panting in fear, staring helplessly at the dark. Just then, a cold, metallic hand touched her shoulder and Selda immediately yelled, shoving it away and jumping up to frantically look around.

"Niel!?" she yelled again, only to be met with a sudden cold embrace around her arm.

Selda tried grabbing at whatever held her, but her other arm would not move. Her mind screamed at her body to flail, bite, and tear, but it would not respond. Selda roared to the top of her lungs, but it was no use because she now felt herself lift off the ground. Soon, she felt a cool and soft embrace around every inch of her body. And though she could now move, her limbs felt slower than ever. Not only that, but Selda could also feel herself becoming lightheaded as her body twirled endlessly in the abyss. Just when she thought she was lost, Selda felt a tug, a definitive tug, pulling her into one direction. She felt her body gliding along the pull, unable to do anything except babble softly to herself. Soon she stopped, and Selda then heard a strange muffling. Almost as if she were inside a barrel and someone was talking to her.

"Can you hear me?" a sharp, yet dim voice asked after a sudden scratch.

"N-Niel?" Selda answered softly.

"Yes, it's me. Take a minute to get used to the change in gravity and let me know when you are coherent again."

"W-… what was that…? And… what the hell is gr-gravity?" Selda spoke, regaining some of her bearings.

"That, I don't have nearly enough time to explain. As for what just happened. I told them to help you suit up as we shifted outside of their atmosphere, but they thought it'd be more amusing to watch you flounder as well." Niel answered, evidently without her usual laugh.

"They who?" Selda said, still feeling utterly weightless except for the tugging around her midsection whenever she tried to turn.

"The Dökkálfar." Niel answered flatly.

"W-wait, Dark elves?" Selda said in disbelief, only now noticing the muffled buzzing around her.

"I did say we were in Álfheimr." Niel responded.

"But how? And what are they… bug people?" Selda questioned, a question in which made Niel laugh hysterically, and which also made the buzzing around her more feverish.

"Okay," Niel laughed. "Now that was good."

"What's so funny?" Selda asked increasingly frustrated, still trying to get a hold of this cold feeling pressed against her along with her slow movements.

"Nothing, nothing," Niel seemed to settle. "But no, they aren't 'bug people', far from it in fact. That buzzing, flittering, and chittering you hear is how they communicate. And right now, they are calling you things that could make even Thor blush." She laughed again.

"Oh well… sorry?" Selda said aloud unsurely to the darkness. The buzzing was still a bit frantic but had nonetheless calmed down.

"Alright, enough with the horse play," Niel chuckled. Selda felt a strong pressure on her hand and realized that Niel was holding it. She now began to understand that what she was feeling was some kind of soft armor around her body. Which made her a bit embarrassed to think that dark elves helped dress her. Albeit with a little foolery on their end. "Let's go."

Suddenly, Selda felt a gentle pull as Niel guided her forward. Selda gasped in awe as the pitch dark gave way to faint dots of light began appearing in the distance. Eventually, the pair were surrounded by countless far-off twinkles in the dark.

"Are those… stars?" Selda asked in wonder.

"Not quite, but they are quite pretty. At least from a distance." Niel answered.

The pair drifted for a while until Selda saw a great light over the horizon. And as they drew near, the light became brighter and clearer. Selda could seldom believe what she saw, an infinitely vast land of green grass, faint blue skies that carried those same twinkling lights, and vibrant trees abundance. She was so entranced by the view Selda hardly noticed that they were descending towards the beautiful land. Once she did, Selda braced for impact, even going so far as to close her eyes. However, the landing was trivial. All the tension Selda held instantly vanished as she felt the soft crunch of grass through her armor, which she could now clearly see was not armor at all. Upon opening her eyes and seeing Niel lifting a glass bowl off her head, Selda realized that what they were wearing was some kind of thick grey clothing that covered their entire body. The clothing was inlaid with gold and made them look far larger than they actually were. And though it looked cumbersome, once Selda stood she found it was quite easy to move in. Awkward, but not impossible. She touched then held the bowl on her head with gloved hands and lifted it off just as Niel did. Her body felt overwhelmingly relaxed as Selda breathed in deep, taking in the freshest air she had ever experienced.

"Come on, they're waiting for us." Niel looked back before turning away and walking towards a single tree in the distance. Even from this far away, Selda could make out that there was someone sitting under the tree. Someone that put an unease in her gullet.

"Who's that?" Selda blurted softly. Niel did not answer, she simply waved her hand for Selda to follow. Something in the back of her mind protested, but with little other choice Selda began to tentatively walk forward.

Her steps became heavier and heavier as if they were wading through mud. And as they drew near, whoever, or whatever, awaited them finally took notice of their approach. It closed the large worn, yellow book it was reading, stood, and walked gracefully towards them. Stepping out of the shade and into the light. And upon seeing it in all its radiance, Selda fell to her knees. Her body was stunned, and her mind was dazed. The being was vastly beautiful for sure with its glowing skin, pitch black hair, and violet eyes. Its masculine body was draped in gracious white. The only thing that Selda could focus on to keep her mind intact were the two small grey horns that peeked out from under the hair upon its forehead. Compared to the rest of the body they seemed normal, as if a master craftsman tied a plain rock to a magnificent dragon mast on the front of a mighty ship. Niel for her part stood to the side with her arms folded and her head turned away. Though obviously not as bad, Selda assumed that it must have been hard for Niel to gaze upon the enchanting being too.

The man, if Selda could even call it that, stepped in front of her. It smiled as the radiance of the sky draped it in wonderous light, making Selda feel a choking mixture of chills, reverence, and warmth. Sigrid was a Valkyrie, a divine being in her lands, but never had Selda felt this way in someone's presence.

"Are you… a god?" She muttered softly.

It said nothing. Instead, the being simply raised their hand and lifted her chin up, staring their violet eyes into her own until Selda saw the clouds form within them. Twirling and overlapping until they brewed into a storm. And at the first sign of static, Selda's mind fell deep into the center of the lavender storm until everything was white. Soon afterwards, however, came the visions. Selda could see a great battle at sea with legions of broken ships and the howl of another great storm above. Suddenly she saw a gargantuan serpent pierce through the water with a red-haired man riding its snout, sparking hammer in hand. They were met with a great beast of white and black and another, much smaller, blue serpent with twig horns descending from the dawn. Before they could clash, the vision ended and Selda then saw another one. This time one of comet dashing towards the moon, and then another vision of brown cat, wreathed in gold, standing upright in a wasteland of carnage, roaring to the shining sun. And then, one after another they came in quick succession. So many visions passed by Selda's mind that they were all practically blurs. Except the last one. The very last thing Selda saw shook her more than anything she had seen so far. It was a vision of Astria, laying in a bed of roses. Eyes closed, chest still.

"Astria…" Selda whispered as her vision returned to the sunny lands. She fell forward on her hands, shaking.

"Wha… what was that?" she breathed hard.

"That was Ragnarök," Niel said, sitting down cross legged next to her. "The real Ragnarök, not the fables they told us."

"T-then why would they lie to us?" Selda said still breathlessly, only just now noticing that the being had returned to the tree and sat down to continue reading its book. For now, she kept her head turned away, only sneaking glances at it out of curiosity.

"To control us," Niel spat venomously. "The All-fucker is afraid that if we knew the truth, knew that there were other worlds, other magics, and other gods that we would abandon them to their fate. Instead of ruling us like the grand sovereigns they pretend to be, they instead use fear and ignorance to dominate us." Selda was speechless, so Niel continued.

"The end is not just the end of our world, but of all creation and if we are to survive, we must seek and use every tool we can before it is too late. That is why I need you, to journey along with me to lands beyond and secure ourselves a better future."

"And w-why should I trust y-you?" Selda retorted.

"Because I am your only hope. Besides, as my guardian I have no intentions of betraying you since that would put me at risk as well."

"So that's it, I'm just to be your servant?"

"No," Niel stood. "I'm giving you a choice. Live here for the rest of your days till the end of all things. Though this place is a nexus, it is peaceful, and you'll find its inhabitants kind. No war, no strife, no pain, nothing. Eat, sleep, and bask in the sun. That is my offer to you, to either tread the dark path with me or stay in this paradise. So," Niel reached out her hand. "What's it going to be."

Selda looked up at her then everywhere else besides the tree the being was on. With no more rush and the option open, Selda paused for a minute to truly take in this land. She could see apple trees in the distance and ghastly shapes of animals either grazing or sleeping soundly. The sun hovered radiantly over the swaying flowers that dotted the vast meadow. River of the clearest water traveled between the trees as ghastly fish and other creatures swam or drank form its banks. This was no doubt a paradise, One Selda truly could see herself living in. However, as grandiose as it was something about it still felt out of place. Or rather, she felt out of place as her gut beckoned her to go along with Niel. Selda blamed it on her nomadic instincts, but that was only partly it. That last vision of Astria truly unsettled her. For, as long as her sisters, Kindra included, were in danger, then there would be no paradise. And so, Selda looked up at Niel again, and took her hand.