The three young boys followed Sigurd, they had passed Folkvangr, Freyja's palace.
They were nearing the border between that realm and the next. The ground sloped upward, leading them toward the next plateau.
"Whose realm is the next one?" Sōsuke asked.
Akyo answered him, "It's the land of a god named Vidar. Do you know him, Sigurd?"
"Absolutely not, but Njord said he was almost as powerful as Tyr," the blind god explained. "Maybe Magnus knows more than we do."
Magnus replied, "I don't know how strong he is, and he doesn't appear in any of the memories I've recovered. My knowledge stops at what the writings say. Even Frigg didn't tell me anything."
They reached the entrance to Landvidi and suddenly stopped. In front of them stretched about fifty meters of tall grass leading into a forest. A dark, dense forest.
"Why are we stopping? We're losing time," Akyo said.
Sigurd crouched down.
"What are you doing?" Sōsuke asked.
"This forest looks dense. Very little light must get through the leaves, so I'll be able to scan it and move ahead first." He planted his hands into the ground, right into his shadow.
Sōsuke didn't understand why Sigurd wanted to go ahead alone and got upset. "What?! Why? We prepared for this, so why are you trying to sideline us?!"
"Calm down, I'm not sidelining you. But it's too dangerous to bring you in right now. If Vidar really is that strong, it's better if I go alone. Having you around would stop me from going all out," Sigurd explained. "And if anything happens to Magnus, then almost the entire operation falls apart."
Sōsuke still didn't calm down. "So what do we do, wait patiently until you win or lose? If you die at Vidar's hands, he'll just come pick us off next—"
"That's strange," Hodr said.
"What is it?" Akyo asked.
"I can feel everything bathed in shadows. I can see the forest clearly… and yet, I can't feel anyone," he explained. He pulled his hands out of the ground and stood up.
"So that means no one's there?" Akyo asked.
"Looks like it…" He started walking forward. "I'm still going ahead. Wait here for about thirty minutes. If I end up fighting, you'll feel it. If there's no one there, then come meet me at the other side of the forest."
Sōsuke made one last attempt to convince his master to let him come. "Why don't you just teleport us to the other side of the forest?!"
Sigurd sighed. "One of Tachi's rules was not to get attacked from behind. If we do that and Vidar really is there, we'll get caught in a pincer." He turned around and smiled at Akyo. "I'm counting on you to keep him on a leash."
Akyo nodded, while Sōsuke stomped the ground in frustration.
Sigurd slowly moved away, gave one final wave of his hand, then sank into his shadow until he vanished, leaving Sōsuke, Akyo, and Magnus behind.
—------------------------------------
A few minutes earlier,
Tachi had just taken off from Himinbjörg and was flying quickly toward Thrudheim.
He held Gjallarhorn in his right hand and could already make out, in the distance, the outlines of the main residence of that realm.
'So that's Leif's 540-room palace… does he really need all that?'
He landed heavily on the dirt ground, kicking up a cloud of dust around him.
He spread his arms, sending out a burst of wind to scatter the dust cloud, and Thor's manor was revealed.
The largest and most imposing dwelling in all of Asgard: Bilskirnir.
"It really is big, don't you think?" said a deep voice a few meters in front of Tachi.
He immediately took a fighting stance and searched for the god.
'How did I not see him?' Tachi thought as he realized Tyr was sitting cross-legged on the ground, about ten meters in front of him. "You were waiting for me?" he asked.
"That's right, Ehecatl. Lower your guard. We do not have to come to blows right away, do we?" asked the red-haired god.
Tachi lowered his arms and asked, "Where is Soren?"
"The boy? He is alive, do not worry."
"I know he's alive. Loki needs him," Tachi replied coldly.
"Loki? What are you talking about?" Tyr answered with a laugh. "Since we're talking about Loki, did your young friend make it?"
"Akyo? He's alive."
"Interesting. Glad to hear it. Loki went too far, and he will pay for it. I swore an oath." He placed his golden hand over his heart.
Tachi exhaled sharply. "Stop that. You despise Loki because he hurt one child, but you helped kidnap another one so he could be taken away and executed? Crazy double standards."
Tyr did not answer immediately. He waited a few seconds. "I stand against Jormungandr's execution, but I cannot refuse to capture him. Right now, he is in another kingdom, in a cell. Odin is waiting for someone to execute him, but that person is nowhere near returning. I am going to do everything I can to convince Odin to let him go, but until then, the boy needs to remain in his cell."
"So you really don't know…" Tachi murmured.
"What did you say?"
"Njord was right. You look righteous, but even the most righteous god in Asgard is being tricked by him," Tachi said.
"By who?" Tyr asked, his tone turning serious.
"The man you're following is not Odin. Not anymore. Twenty years ago, Loki killed him and took his place. You are working for the man you despise, Tyr, and he is tricking you into causing Ragnarök. The real Odin is with us," the Pillar declared.
A long silence followed. Only the wind of Thrudheim could be heard between the two gods.
Tyr let out a slight laugh that he tried to hide. "I don't know who the man with you is, but there is not a single world in which Loki managed to kill Odin. I, Tyr, would never let that happen. And even without me, Loki does not have the guts for it. He can attack children, but that coward would never dare strike Harbard."
'You already let it happen,' Tachi thought as he took his stance.
The wind rose around him. "Njord told me you wouldn't believe us. I was prepared for that."
'Njord is with him? I knew I recognized that energy… Has he lost his mind?' Tyr stood up, "Tell me one last thing, Tachi. Do you fight with a weapon?" asked the god of war.
"No."
"Good. Then I won't use my sword either," Tyr declared.
Both of their auras exploded, creating true bombs of divine energy that crashed into one another before each of them fully measured the other's power.
Tyr remained standing straight, arms crossed. "What are you waiting for? Come here, God of Wind!"
Tachi launched himself at full speed toward the red-haired god.
The most important battle in Asgard had begun.