Midgar and the Temple of Tyr 2.270

Viggo had finished going through all the scrolls on the second floor of Odin's hidden chamber and found other documents written by Odin himself, but of lesser value. The important thing was the vision and thoughts that Odin left in the form of residual energy that Viggo could read.

Now that Viggo was done with his work, he was in the courtyard, a couple of meters from the bed where Rosewisse continued to sleep from his battle with the other Valkyrie. She was looking to the left, sideways, with her silver hair watered by the bed and her white wings exposed. She slept naked, the weather in the courtyard of Odin's chamber was a warm spring.

Viggo was sitting on the throne of the sovereign, he had already occupied it to order his ideas and thoughts, and now he occupied it as a simple seat. In front of him was a wooden lectern with a canvas and with the help of a color palette and a brush, he painted a picture of Odin. Something about what he had seen of that god and what thought now.

At the end of the courtyard a tree grew to the height of five meters and extended its branches limiting the sun's rays. Its fuchsia leaves fell gently and those already on the ground were moved by the gentle breeze.

In the painting, Viggo drew the giant Ymir in the background with a physical resemblance to that of Thamur. Behind his back were the sky, on the right a night one with the moon and stars. On the left the sun and a clear blue sky. In front of him (several kilometers away) was a mountain and the edge of a precipice. On that edge Viggo had painted a young Odin, took Thor's architecture, and made him younger and less drinking. At his sides he was accompanied as in the myth by his brothers Vili and Vé, both older than the young Odin and with a stronger attitude. Because Odin was a liar without skill. At least, that was the image he gave Viggo after knowing his thoughts and plans.

If Odin had been intelligent and brave, he would not have killed Groa, custodian of knowledge. If he had been braver, he would have taken the knowledge of ragnarok and prepared to face the future instead of seeking to avoid it by killing all those who posed a threat. Odin was not intelligent, wise, or courageous; What he was is a liar, and a very convincing one. All his paranoia did not come from knowing the future, but from his fear of its imminent end. His whole quest for knowledge came from the fear of being unable to do anything against his enemies. All that obsession was driven by fear and that's why he dared to go so far. However, it was still too early to give a verdict on Odin, missing pieces in the painting. For example, who was Vidar? Where was he and why was Odin so confident in him? Besides, why do he destroy Ivaldi and his sons? If Odin had been brave, he would have kept them alive like Mimir and squeezed them to the bitter end.

Viggo pushed the brush away from the canvas and took a deep breath. At that very moment a fuchsia petal fell from the tree and landed on the tip of the brush. Viggo brought his face closer to the brush and gave it a loud blow that pushed the petal away.

Rosewisse from the bed let out a loud yawn and sat up while resting both hands on the mattress. She turned around and looked for Viggo with her eyes. When she found Viggo, she stared at him with eyes full of tiredness —hello— she said.

Viggo looked up and saw it over the painting, smiled and replied —hello, how do you feel?—

—More tired than in my entire life—

—I guess, you lost a lot of blood—

—What can I tell you?— asked Rosewisse with a helpless smile —she found me off guard— she moved over the bed, got off and walked to stand next to the sovereign's throne and in front of Viggo's painting.

—It's Odin, his brothers, and the big guy is Ymir—

—Odin looks a little...—

—Fool? Maybe naïve, ignorant, fearful?— asked Viggo with a smile on his lips —yes, I did so because I can't have any other vision of him. You see, I was looking at some documents and found several made by him. They didn't contain great information, but through my clairvoyance I could see things. In the end, I can only think of Odin as a good liar, coward, but who over time has become a skilled one—

—Well, I don't know what to say, disappointed?—

—A little, I thought Odin was the king of the gods, but he was just someone who had power and suddenly found himself in that position. Nothing, absolutely nothing. He did nothing productive for anyone, that merit goes to his son Tyr. Odin only had the resources and cared to maintain his position, which was all, too petty, and incompetent to be the king of the gods.

—Well, we still must do some more research— said Rosewisse —we must think about how to deal with him—

—I've also asked myself the same question: How to kill him? To meddle in his ranks, to fight him head-on, to poison him? Maybe have his own sons kill him?—

—Ok, ok, ok, those are very sinister thoughts—

—I'm serious, Rosewisse— said Viggo, looking at his painting —before finding those documents the question was: Who is Odin? But after seeing his attitudes and thoughts, I don't want to hear from him anymore. Now the question is what is the best way to kill him?—

Rosewisse shivered to hear Viggo have thoughts as sinister as if it were a simple game. She looked at him, shoulder-length red hair, blue eyes, and square face. That face was still that of the man she loved, but the look had a special glow. He wasn't disappointed, he was enjoying the process.

—Tell me, Rosewisse— said Viggo —that you think it's habit or belief first—

—What do you mean?—

—In this aspect, it's always about Odin, so, based on that, do you think Odin started behaving like a paranoid king once he became king of the gods or was it much earlier than that?—

—That, it would be hard to say—

—Well, I think it was after he became king of the gods— said Viggo, gave her a brief look with a sly smile and then looked at the painting again —you see, I think it's first the belief and then the habit. In this case, Odin saw himself in the position of king of the gods, crowned himself AllFather and once he believed his own lie, he behaved in a paranoid manner. However, what triggered his madness was the knowledge that one day he would die, and his kingdom would perish with him.

—In that case, are beliefs lies?—

—Lies that one embraced and protects oneself with them— replied Viggo —I have always thought about it and I tell myself "I was born lucky". That way I have always moved irresponsibly thinking that I was always going to be lucky, I believed in that and transformed it into my protective armor. Always thinking, no matter what, I'll be lucky and if I try a little, I'll get out of trouble. It is, like a mask, the mask that allows me to move cheerfully and confidently in front of others— Viggo raised his face and looked Rosewisse in the eye —Tell me, Rosewisse, do you have a mask? Something that allows you to move forward and be sure that it's okay how you act—

Rosewisse investigated Viggo's eyes and thought that those blue eyes had never seemed as cold to him as they are now. It seems that for an instant they had turned gray with a sharp sheen like that of a sword. She shivered and looked in another direction —me, I don't know—

Viggo watched as she avoided the question and he showed a sly little smile, looked back at the painting, and wondered aloud —I wonder if from now on I will have to assume beforehand that people are always lying to me—

—I've never lied to you, Viggo— Rosewisse said worriedly.

—Don't feel bad— said Viggo, holding that little smile on his lips —everyone can lie. I lie to myself and create things because that allows me to move forward and live as I live. That way I think that if one day I become a king of the gods I should be wise. At the same time, think about the advice given to me by my father, Aunt Hera, and Grandpa Xiao. Be someone with a balanced mindset. Everything, because I think I'm someone who was born lucky—

—It's sad when you put it that way—

—The truth is rarely a happy thing— Viggo muttered, thinking about everything he had had time to think about while meditating inside the painted painting. Viggo took a deep breath, kept the brush and color palette inside his ring. Then he got up, brought his index and middle finger into the space between his eyebrows, concentrated, and the throne of the sovereign vanished from the physical world. In return, Viggo gained a red dot in the middle of his eyebrows. Viggo opened his eyes, looked at Rosewisse and asked —Are you hungry? I would like to eat something delicious—

Rosewisse stared him up. Now Viggo was a head taller than her, red hair, blue eyes, and sensually fleshy lips. However, now Viggo's look was sad. She stretched out her hands, took both cheeks and forced him to bend down so she could kiss him. That kiss was silent, soft, and comforting. She turned away from him and looked into his eyes —no matter what the logical truths are, the heart doesn't understand those things, and I only know that I love you.

Viggo showed a happy smile, nodded, and kissed her back. It was just the two of them in the courtyard outside, the tree in the background was their witness dropping its fuchsia petals on them as the gentle breeze caressed them.

After eating, they sat on chairs in front of the table. They drank some estus and ate Idunn apples, they shouldn't as both products were valuable, but the mood warranted.

—I have a place I want to go— Viggo said.

—Where?— asked Rosewisse, she looked inside the glass and saw that it was empty. So, she took the emerald bottle and poured some more estus into her glass. Then she made the gesture with the bottle to Viggo, and the latter brought his glass for her to serve. Once the estus was served, Rosewisse drank, but Viggo left his glass on the table.

—There is another chamber of Odin in this realm, to be precise, inside the temple of Tyr—

—That's something unexpected, did you see it in your visions?—

—Sure, he's in a high position. From my vision I could see the top of the representation of the Yggdrasil—

—Well, do you have any things left to check here?— asked Rosewisse.

—No, not at all, I already checked everything and put away all the scrolls—

—In that case, what are we waiting for?—

—Yes, but before that, let's clarify something— Viggo said with a serious look.

—What things?—

—No more battles with Valkyries for you for now— said Viggo.

—Viggo—

—No buts, you know well that you are not well, you lost a lot of blood and if it were not for the estus, you would be with one foot in the grave—

—Ok, in that case, you will help me, we cannot postpone the situation—

—That seems logical to me—