New Power

Today, I have no desire to hunt or even search for food. I spend my time sitting in thought, staring at my reflection in the frozen lake.

My face looks handsome, with pale, clean skin and a strong, muscular build. My hair and eyes are black, like obsidian, just like my previous form. My beautiful black feathers have disappeared, replaced by a black fur mantle with strands that resemble my feathers when I was a raven.

I stand tall, around 185 cm. Even the average Jotun in human form is only about 180 cm for men and 165 cm for women. Fenrir herself is a Jotun in the form of a girl standing 170 cm tall.

From the beginning, I was always larger than other ravens, but I didn't expect to be this big when I took human form. Or maybe it's just a manifestation of my own desires? I don't know for sure...

As I was reflecting on my human form, an annoying voice called to me from behind, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yata. You really don't want to go hunting? I'm huuungry… I wanna eat..."

The whining came from none other than Fenrir, who was lazily rolling around in the snow. She didn't seem bothered by Gleipnir, the chain that bound her, perhaps already used to it.

By the way, I let her call me Yata because my full name feels too long for the Nordics to pronounce.

"Can you be quiet for a bit? I still want to think for a while longer," I replied curtly. "Suddenly turning into a human overnight—don't you realize how shocking this is for me?"

"But I'm hungry..." Fenrir whined with pleading eyes.

"I already told you, I'm not used to this body yet."

Though I was once human, suddenly becoming human again after being a raven for so long feels strange. I need time to adjust.

"Why are you so confused?" she asked, her gaze puzzled. "You can just turn back into a raven."

I stared at her in disbelief.

"Why didn't you tell me that from the start?"

"You didn't ask," she responded without the slightest guilt.

How foolish of me, forgetting that this rune belongs to Loki, the trickster god and also Fenrir's father.

In Norse mythology, aside from his cunning, Loki is often depicted as capable of mimicking the form of almost anything, from living beings to inanimate objects. If this rune is truly his, I should be able to do the same thing. I just don't know how yet.

"So… how do I activate this rune?" I asked Fenrir.

She frowned, trying to recall.

"As far as I remember, that bastard told me to vividly imagine the form I wanted to copy. But because I'm an idiot, I had trouble picturing it clearly. In the end, I couldn't use the rune and just gave up."

I kept a straight face when Fenrir called her own father a 'bastard.' Well… given Loki's bizarre antics and trickery, I guess it's fair for her to call him that.

"Vivid imagination, huh…" I muttered, looking down. "Is that all?" I asked, investigating further.

Fenrir nodded.

"Alright, let me try."

I closed my eyes, trying to vividly picture my raven form. With the strong memory possessed by all ravens, I should be able to clearly envision myself.

Several minutes passed, but I didn't feel any change in myself. It made me wonder if there was something Fenrir had forgotten, preventing me from activating the rune.

"It seems I've failed..." I muttered, reopening my eyes. "Are you sure that's all your father did to activate the rune?"

"Let me think again."

I patiently waited as she tried to recall how Loki activated the rune.

"As I remember, that bastard would occasionally mumble something like 'transform' or something similar."

"Ah, I see now," I said confidently. "Let me try once more."

I focused again, closing my eyes, and visualized my raven form in as much detail as possible. Once I felt ready, I uttered a word to trigger my own suggestion.

"Henshin."

A moment later, my body was enveloped in a blinding light. I could feel a slight stinging sensation, like being shocked by electricity, as my body began to change form.

As I suspected, even gods sometimes need a mantra to trigger their own suggestion when activating a rune.

It's like those heroes who still shout the names of their techniques even though they can activate them without saying anything. Sometimes, it's just to prompt self-suggestion.

After a few moments, I dared to open my eyes.

That's when I realized my body had fully returned to my raven form. There was some muscle soreness and fatigue after I transformed, likely a consequence of using my rune. No matter, I'm sure I'll get used to it soon enough.

'This is much better…'

Perhaps because I have no memory of my life as a human, I feel more comfortable in my raven form.

"You seem to have a good handle on the rune now... You're amazing, Yata," Fenrir praised, crouching beside me.

I tilted my head, unsure whether to feel proud or indifferent at her compliment.

"By the way, can you try transforming into something bigger to catch more prey?" she asked.

I nodded, agreeing with her request. Besides, I still wanted to test the limits of my rune.

"Khaaak... (Henshin)."

I began transforming into a much larger bird, one of the alpha predators of the sky—a mighty eagle.

"Wow, you did it!" Fenrir cheered, clapping excitedly.

Though I was still a bird, I could feel a noticeable difference in my body. I felt slightly heavier, my vision became blurry from the eagle's sharp eyesight, and my lungs felt larger than before, allowing me to take in more oxygen than usual.

"Can you fly, Yata?" Fenrir asked, her eyes sparkling.

I nodded, accepting her request, though I wasn't entirely sure myself.

At first, I struggled due to the different body proportions. But after managing to balance myself and adapt to this form, I started to feel capable of flying.

I felt adrenaline surge through my body as I began flapping my wings. Initially, it was clumsy and awkward, like a bird learning to fly for the first time. But gradually, I adapted to this new form.

I braved flying higher into the sky, reaching heights I could never achieve in my raven form.

"Wow… you're flying so high, Yata!" Fenrir shouted with enthusiasm.

For me, this was also the first time I'd flown this high. Unlike ordinary birds, eagles have respiratory systems that allow them to fly much higher than other bird species.

"Khiik… (This is incredible!)"

I couldn't resist letting out a triumphant screech, realizing I could fly this high. Though I knew my cry might scare away the prey around me.

As I circled the sky, I could see the dense forest below and the vast land stretching beyond it. The world seemed so much bigger from up here, and for a moment, I felt like I was on top of the world, dominating like the king of the skies.

'So this is what it feels like to be the king of the sky…'

But then something caught my attention. A small figure moved through the trees below. My sharp vision automatically zoomed in on a small deer, peacefully grazing on some shrubs.

Without a second thought, my instincts took over, and I began diving toward it. The deer had no idea what was about to happen as I swooped down at lightning speed.

In just a matter of seconds, I had snatched it with my sharp talons and beak, swiftly killing it to enjoy my meal in peace. Afterward, I easily lifted it back into the sky, carrying it to where Fenrir was waiting.

A wolf-girl's cheer echoed from below as she saw me returning with a large catch.

"You're amazing, Yata!" she praised proudly. "You're my best pet!"

I dropped the deer in front of her before returning to my true form—a raven once again.

Fenrir's face lit up with joy as she saw the fresh deer meat before her. She quickly began devouring it, a wide smile spreading across her soft, pink lips.

I watched the smile that framed her face—so beautiful and enchanting, like that of any ordinary girl. It made me want to protect her smile, hoping that she would never become the fearsome wolf as prophesied by Odin.

*****

Fenrir sat on the large stone that served as the center of her seal, while I perched on her right shoulder. We tilted our heads back, gazing at the full moon shining brightly behind the dark veil covering the sky. Its dim light kissed every inch of the frozen lake, creating a picturesque scene.

"Hey… Yata." Fenrir turned to me, calling softly. She began to smile slightly and asked, "Don't you want to take your human form and chat with me?"

I tilted my head, not understanding why I should do that. However, I chose to relent and fulfill her request.

After hopping down from her shoulder and transforming, I sat beside her. Initially, silence enveloped us before Fenrir finally broke the ice.

"Can you tell me a bit about yourself, Yata?"

I hesitated to reveal my identity as someone who had been reincarnated. I feared... it would bring too many changes to the original fate of this world. 

"It's not an interesting story," I replied with a wry smile. "I'm just an ordinary raven that hatched in Jotunheim."

"No problem. I'd love to hear it."

Fenrir gave me a thumbs-up and smiled widely. I could only return her gesture with a faint smile.

"I have three younger sisters and a mother. When I was a teenager, I decided to explore a bit of Jotunheim. Then, by chance, I hitchhiked on a ship and arrived here a few days ago."

"I see," Fenrir nodded her head, her tail flicking back and forth. "Such an ordinary life. By the way, where's your father?"

"Dead, eaten by a bear when I was still an egg."

"I'm sorry," Fenrir interrupted, covering her mouth. Her enthusiastic expression immediately shifted to one of sympathy. "I didn't mean…"

"It's fine," I replied flatly. "That's our fate as beta predators. At any moment, we must be ready to die or lose someone. That's what my mother taught me."

"Your mother must have been an amazing person."

"Thank you."

In the end, I chose not to tell her about my true identity. But at least, I would share my life as a raven so far.

Silence enveloped us again after that. No words escaped our lips; we simply sat together, gazing at the beauty of the night sky.

"Do you have any friends?"

Fenrir's question broke the awkward tension. I turned to her and replied, "Of course, I have many friends. Why do you ask?"

"Must be nice… I'm so jealous."

Fenrir sighed and lay back on the stone. Her eyes stared blankly at the twinkling stars dancing in the sky.

Knowing where this conversation was headed, I remained silent, waiting for her to continue her story.

Before long, Fenrir began to share her past. "When I was little, I was taken to Asgard and forcibly separated from my family by Odin, that old, smelly geezer. They even sealed me with these annoying chains just because of a stupid prophecy Odin received."

I could sense the bitterness in Fenrir's tone. The girl must have harbored a burning resentment towards the gods who treated her cruelly. After pouring her heart out, I could now understand why Fenrir held such deep-seated animosity towards the gods.

"Damn!"

"I really want to kill them!"

Fenrir shouted at the top of her lungs, venting all her pent-up anger at the full moon.

I could only smile bitterly at her. Now I realized how heavy the burden was that Fenrir carried.

"Why do you have that face?"

Fenrir's question snapped me out of my thoughts. I hadn't realized she had been watching me all along.

I sighed and shook my head. "No, it's just... I feel a bit sorry for you."

"Huh," Fenrir huffed, a thin smirk appearing on her face. "Why should you feel sorry? Even like this, I am the strongest wolf in the North. There's no need to pity me."

"But…" Fenrir's words caught in her throat. She turned to me, wearing a sad smile. Her usually sharp eyes now looked at me with sorrow. "Forget it. I want to sleep. Let's continue later."

Fenrir turned her body away from me and prepared to sleep. Although I was curious about what she wanted to say, I chose not to pry further. For me, it was better to let her express what she wanted when she was ready.

I transformed back into my raven form and prepared to sleep in the nearest tree. However, before I could take off, Fenrir stopped me by gripping my leg.

"Where are you going?"

I tilted my head, not understanding why she was stopping me.

"Sleep next to me here." Fenrir patted her stone bed. "Don't you want to?" she asked with a slightly insistent tone.

I sighed. I knew the girl only intended to use me as her sleeping doll. But thinking about it… maybe spending the night with her wouldn't be a problem for me. Hey, I mean, she's not going to eat me, so what's the harm in sleeping near her? In the end, I chose to relent and snuggled between her arms.

"Yeps, I like this."

Fenrir immediately hugged me tightly, truly making me her sleeping doll.

Honestly, it felt warm and cozy. Somehow, Fenrir retained a slightly fragrant, natural scent. Her unique smell made me feel drowsy.

Her gentle caress on my feathers only made me want to sleep more. Slowly but surely, my eyes began to close. A moment later, everything went dark; I had fallen into a deep, beautiful slumber.