Chapter 303: Of Dreams and Stories

Chapter 303: Of Dreams and Stories

If you want to support me check out my patron at /athassprkr

I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.

I would like to thank my beta, Akisu, for his help in this chapter.

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7th May 2013, Land of Shadows

(King of Shadows POV)

In the end, the King decided to take a risk. He would trust Loki, at least for now. It was a risky move, but he couldn't see any other way out of their current predicament. He hoped that he wouldn't regret it, but he knew that only time would tell.

"Very well, Loki," the King said, his voice echoing throughout the throne room. "I will trust you, for now. But know that if you betray me, you will suffer the consequences."

Loki nodded, a sly smile playing across his lips. "I understand, my Lord. You won't regret this decision."

The King watched as Loki left the throne room, a feeling of unease settling in his stomach. He knew that he had just made a dark bargain, one that could potentially have disastrous consequences. But he also knew that he had no other choice. The fate of his Asgard was at stake, and he would do whatever it took to protect his people.

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(Loki Odinson POV)

Loki waited until he finally left the realm of shadows to almost break down. The plan had worked, and he was alive. He didn't understand how the Morrigan had this much faith in him but promised himself that she would not regret it.

Considering that the King of the Shadows did not give him a way out of his realm, probably a test to see how he broke into his realm in the first place. Luckily, the Morrigan had given him an enchanted single use bracelet that could open a portal for him to escape the realm of shadows by using the convergence as an anchor.

The moment he felt himself return to Midgard once more, he teleported to Sayre manor once more. He was greeted by his enthusiastic brother and his teacher. Who gave him looks of both worry and curiosity. His brother spoke first, "Are you hurt in any way, brother?"

Loki could do nothing but shake his head, and his brother's blinding smile comforted him. He was still scared shitless by what he had just experienced, but Thor's presence oddly comforted him. What an odd feeling. He had always felt jealous of his brother, jealous of his charisma, of his strength, of his power. But he was never comforted by his presence.

The Morrigan smiled lightly at his denial and asked, "What happened?"

"You were right," the God of Mischief replied, "they fell for it hook, line and sinker."

She pointed at one of the largest strands which were gold in color, and she continued, "it represents your connection to your power, to Odin's magic system. It's by far the biggest one. There is a small connection to the Casket of Ancient Winters which contains the powers of the Jotun race that Odin sealed away during his original conquest. But by far your connection to Asgard is the strongest. However, this right here is your new connection to the lands of Shadows and the energies of Ragnark."

She pointed at a rather thin dark strand that seemed out of place compared to the numerous strands of green, blue, and gold. After examining it for a few seconds, she sagged in relief, "It seems like the connection is simply an incentive. It's supposed to grant you small bursts of power and keep you in a state of euphoria when you use it. It gives an illusion of more power than there actually is, but it's a connection, nonetheless and with it, full access to the realm of shadows. It doesn't corrupt you nor is it used to spy on you in any way, but it can be removed or strengthened at any time. You're in the clear, Loki."

Loki paled at the thoughts of what this connection could have entailed, "I didn't think"

"Exactly, you didn't think. What you have done is a boon for our cause Loki, and a strong one at that, but you shouldn't accept power just like that, without a second thought. Power always has a price and most of the time it's not a good one. You are a smart guy, Loki. You just need to think things through sometimes. For some reason for all your intelligence, you have the tendency to make rash decisions that almost always hurt you in the long run."

The God of Mischief looked down in shame. It seems even now, his greed for power often blinds him to the prices that might entail. His thoughts were interrupted by the Morrigan, "However, what you accomplished is still very impressive. With your connection to Ragnark's energy, you have saved us a lot of time and effort, and we can more easily set our trap. You have done well, Loki, and I am proud of you."

Before Loki could react, his astral form was pushed back to his frozen body and time resumed. He saw his brother leap towards him, "Loki!!"

The God of Mischief was then levitated telekinetically by the Morrigan, and he was able to stand up once more, "Don't worry Thor, she just wanted to see if there was something wrong with the connection. Everything is fine."

The God of Thunder let out a sigh of relief and nodded, "You did very well, brother. I am glad that you are well, this will be a boon in our fight for Asgard's freedom."

The Morrigan nodded, "Honestly, I would have been happy with the clouding enchantment alone. We can now fully start our preparations for the attack. But your ruse with the Dragon of the End, and your proximity to them will be a crucial advantage that we did not have earlier. You have succeeded in your mission and more. Your father will be proud of you, Loki."

Loki had to physically stop the small tears of joy from leaving his eyes and just nodded to seem composed. This was the first time anyone had acknowledged him and his achievements. That was all he ever really wished for in his childhood, and he guesses that he still wished for it from the number of emotions he was doing his best to repress.

But one thing was still bugging him, "I still don't know why you revealed the fact that Thor was planning on releasing Nidhogg to kill them. They will prepare against a heavy assault to prevent this."

The eternal witch nodded, "yes, they will. And they will be distracted by fighting it, to stop the hidden traps that we will have in the frontal attack."

Oh, that made sense. They pretended that the army was the distraction while the Dragon of the End was the true weapon. This way, the shadows would be distracted by the dragon while the army would activate the Morrigan's trap, whatever that may be.

Wait a minute, did she say that they will be fighting Nidhogg? "Please tell me that I heard it wrong, but you just said that they would be fighting Nidhogg. You're not planning on really releasing the Dragon of the End, are you?"

The infuriating woman didn't answer but instead gave him a smug smirk. She turned around and left, "It's time for Odin to start his phase of the plan."

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I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.

Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.