A Nascent Kaleidoscope.-Chapter 607 - 549

I didn't immediately go back to Kamar-Taj.

Truthfully, I was still pissed off, and I knew it was noticeable.

I admit, it took substantial self-control not to make heads fly with my little visit to Wakanda. The thing is though, I don't know why I was still so annoyed.

How many times has someone treated me like utter shit? I'm not usually the type to lose my temper when someone does something utterly stupid. Sure, I get mad, who wouldn't? It's a normal emotion to exhibit when someone does something like start shooting at my ship when Jeanne is on board.

But once I'm done, it's usually easy for me to leave the negativity behind.

So, I just wanted some time to cool off before going back to Jeanne. I know she would worry and get all sad if she could see me like this. And she doesn't deserve to have her time be taken up by my nonsense.

May as well knock out something else too.

Helheim was just as dreary as I had last been here.

And it didn't take me long to find the single occupant here.

Hela hadn't even moved. And I wondered if that was more literal than I thought, in that she had been sitting there this entire time I'd been away. I know I couldn't sit still like that for a couple days like she had.

There was clearly a hint of excitement when she noticed me return.

"I'm back!" I casually greeted her.

There was something else, almost like surprise that I returned. "I can see that." She said rather pointedly. "I believed you would have stayed away." She grunted.

"If I wasn't coming back, I would have said I wasn't coming back." I responded simply.

I can't say every word that comes out of my mouth is truth, but I don't....blatantly lie about things like this.

Maybe to mess with someone, I'll be a bit cheeky, but if I wasn't going to come back, I wouldn't have told her I would.

She stared at me, though her eyes drifted upwards.

"Ah, I forgot I had my horns out still." I ran my fingers along them. "Don't mind me." I recalled my Demonic properties, returning to normal.

"I care not if you reveal your normal state." She rolled her eyes. "I am not some mortal that will cower at the sight of a demon."

"Actually, this is my normal state. The horns, the tail, and what-not are something I have to bring out with effort." I hummed. "My human heritage took precedence. Funnily enough, I thought was I a normal human until I was about eighteen years old."

"How could you possibly not know that you were a demon?" She looked at me incredulously. "Even if one of your parents was a human, surely there should have been signs?"

"Nope." I chuckled. "When it comes to being a 'demon' as you put it, I'm so untalented that I passed as a human. That was until a stray exorcist noticed and stabbed me through the chest."

"What is an 'exorcist'?"

"Oh, I suppose you wouldn't know that, it's something that popped up int he last couple thousands years or so on Earth – Midgard." I hummed again. "A sort of devoted believer in a certain god that hunts monsters."

"Ah." She caught my drift pretty easily. "I know the type. Surely your demonic parent wouldn't have left you alone? They're not ones for giving up something of value, and a demon that could pass as a regular mortal would be....valuable in certain cases."

"Let's just say that my demonic parent is an asshole and leave it at that." I didn't feel like overly explaining the situation with my father.

"And what mortal creatures earned you ire enough to....show off?" Was she making polite conversation?

It's a far bit detached from our first and perhaps second meeting.

I would almost call it pleasant.

"Alright, get this. I approached a country openly, I was very polite, I asked to barter for something they had. They have this metal – Vibranium. Pretty good stuff, very resistant to magic, absorbs kinetic energy and dispels it making it nearly immune to vibrations, hence the name."

Hela tilted her head. "Midgard has hljómstál?" She said a word that sounded somewhat foreign, ancient Norse – or I guess Asgardian in this case.

"Echo Steel?" I repeated in a more common language. That was the more...direct translation.

"The name is old, from when it's forged, and the echoing of hammers reverberates far longer and further than normal metals." Hela briefly explained. "Vibranium I suppose isn't a poor naming choice either. However, I was not aware that Midgard has hljómstál, at least in quantities enough to trade for."

"Is it strange? From what I understand, a meteor of the stuff hit the planet a long time ago and there's a literal mountain of it owned by Wakanda - the country I went to barter with."

Hela's mouth gaped. "A mountain?"

"...yes?"

"How has your world not been conquered yet?" She asked in disbelief before blinking. "What am I saying, no one would be foolish enough to attack Midgard when it is protected by Asgard." She pursed her lips. "How did I not know about this!? If I had known, I would have taken it and armed my warriors with better weapons!"

"I take it that it's a valuable metal elsewhere then too."

"It's not horrendously rare like Uru or Adamantine or Orichalcum." She waved her hand flippantly. "But it is a very good metal that any civilization would gladly conqueror worlds for. The dwarves of Niðavellir like to use it as components in some of their weapons. Even the All-Father has deposits of it in the vaults of Asgard. The mighty Gungnir has some miniscule amounts of it melded with various metals in its crafting. Not to mention the Destroyer...."

"Destroyer? You mean the giant metal magical divine automaton?"

She looked at me strangely. "Do tales of the Destroyer reach even Demons and Midgardians?"

".....in a manner of speaking."

She looked pleased with herself. "It was my idea to have it craft. A weapon of destruction that knows not fear or fatigue. Fueled by the deaths of gods, powered by the Odin-Force itself. The ultimate protector and destroyer of Asgard."

"..."

"What? Why do you look like that?"

"Hypothetical speaking..." I raised a finger. "How would you feel if your younger brother gave the Destroyer away to me without a second thought."

Her eye twitched. "I should question the fact that I have siblings. But I am too overcome with anger to care about that. You have my Destroyer!!!?"

I dropped the remains of the Destroyer on the ground.

She let out a screech and threw out a blast of divine power into a nearby rock. "

I'll strangle him!"

"Who?"

"Whoever my supposed 'brother' is!"

Oof.

Sorry Thor.

"To be fair, he did do this to it." I pointed at it.

"It can repair itself!" Hela growled.

"Well, he didn't think much of it after fighting and beating it. That was after your other brother used it to attack him."

"How many brothers do I have now??"

"Two." I replied. Well, that was what I knew of, I didn't want to make assumptions regarding others. "And... a new sister? But she was just adopted rather recently."

"So, I have two siblings that squabble, one sends the Destroyer after the other, and you somehow end up with it?" She looked at me, I think she was hoping I would say it was a big joke.

"Yeah..."

".....what is wrong with Asgard? Where is Odin? As much as I loathe him, I am embarrassed by this!"

"He's sleeping or something."

She pursed her lips, calming down as I said that. "The Odin Sleep, of course." she scoffed. "He must have overused the Odin Force recently. It explains why the Destroyer was 'defeated' by my idiotic sibling. The Destroyer without the Odin Force to power it is like.....a sword without an edge."

Huh, so it is stronger than Thor thought.

I knew my instincts weren't wrong.

"Well, it's mine now."

Her eye twitched again. "The only solace I have from this is that Odin will be utterly furious when he finds out."

"I also have the Casket of Ancient Winters."

"Did they just raid the vaults and throw all our treasures at each other!?" Hela threw up her hands.

"Honestly, I'm still kind of vague on the details. I figured it was best to distance myself from that mess after I reaped the rewards."

"Congratulations, you have more intelligence that seemingly both my brothers put together." She drawled. "Please, talk about something else, I'm going to die of anger or second hand embarrassment if this continues?" She groaned. "You mentioned some mortals that needed punishment?"

"Right, the Wakandans. So, they have a mountain of Vibranium."

Hela groaned again. "I don't know why this makes me as angry as it does. Knowing that Midgard has a mountain of the precious metal that we missed."

"If it makes you feel better, they have their own protector god."

Hela perked up. "Oh? Perhaps it's a god I know, what's their name?"

"Bast, or Bastet, depending."

Hela looked deep in thought. "Perhaps it's a name I've heard in passing, there are far too many gods for me to remember all of them across the universe."

"Do you know the Celestial Heliopolis?"

Her eyes lit up when I said that. "The Celestial Heliopolis? I know of them, they were a powerful tribe of Gods, not ones that we would lightly cross without proper preparation. They were certainly among the ones that we didn't intentionally provoke while we waged war across the cosmos."

"Right, she's one of their number."

"That makes it more acceptable I suppose. I don't know if we would have diverted the necessary attention to excavate a simple mountain of hljómstál at the cost of war with them. I vaguely recall them having some attention spent on Midgard along with some other Pantheons."

"Olympians?"

Hela scoffed. "Don't even mention them."

Huh, there's a story there.

"What about Takamagahara?"

Hela tilted her head. "That sounds familiar, but I do not recall anything specific."

"Svarga?" The Hindu name for 'Heaven'.

"Ah, them." Hela nodded. "I've met several of their gods, very strong."

"The Celestial Bureaucracy?"

"I know not that name. It sounds....odd."

"Uh, the Jade Emperor?"

Her eyes lit up in recognition again. "You mean Tian." She spoke in a distinctly not Norse language. "Another powerful Pantheon." She nodded.

"Huh." I was just a little curious, so I threw out some names I knew. "But I went off topic. Wakanda. I asked to barter, they shot at me. They're apparently the most advanced civilization on earth, but they've completely hidden themselves from every other country. Nobody even knows that they have a mountain of vibranium."

"That sounds utterly idiotic." Hela gave her own opinion.

"I said the exact same thing when I found out." Which may or may not be a thing since I left. And I was very petty in destroying their illusionary barrier. "Anyways, I was understandably upset. I went with good intentions, I was polite, etc. They shot at me, and they shot through my hat. I of course couldn't let that stand, so I may have done something that they found insulting. One thing led to another, and they attacked me when I was out and about doing other things. I visited their little country and Bast made and appearance. We negotiated and that was the end of it."

"It sounds juvenile."

"Honestly, in hindsight, it kinda was. But the funny thing is, I had the moral high ground the entire time. They're the ones who kept escalating and doing some pretty illegal things in other countries."

I can freely admit that most of my actions came out of pettiness.

"Still pisses me off though, don't know why. Already went over to give them a good slapping, but my anger hasn't disappeared."

"Why did you not simply kill the mortals?" She asked me like it was the most obvious thing.

"Pardon?"

"You allowed mortals to attack you." She pointed out. "And you....did what? Gave them a stern talking to from the sounds of it. If it were me, they would have all been killed and their treasures looted."

I wanted to just roll my eyes and dismiss her, but I actually paused to consider it.

Why didn't I just kill them?

It's not like I'm a very good person. I've killed a lot of people without batting an eye. But I always do it with a clear conscious. I was morally, objectively, in the right when I went to express my anger at Wakanda.

Yet, I most assuredly treated them with kid's gloves.

I can't say that no one died when I tossed them about, but I didn't intentionally kill anyone.

Pride?

Maybe.

I have no qualms about killing powered individuals who would have done the same shit. But....they were normal humans. Albeit normal humans with fairly advanced technology, but normal all the same.

I let out a sigh, realizing the answer. "I think I just don't want to let myself become the type of person who kills whenever he's angered. Realistically, I was never in any danger from their actions, even if they deserved a thorough slapping."

"How novel, a demon with a sense of morality." She snorted. "You're going to get taken advantage of because of those useless ideals."

"Maybe, but it's the choice I make." Oddly, I was starting to feel a little better.

She didn't seem to care to comment on it further. "You said that I have two brothers, what are their names?"

"Thor, the God of Thunder, and Loki, the God of Mischief. Though, I'm fairly sure Loki is adopted. If I'm not mistaken, he's a Jotun."

Hela scoffed. "Of course, the hypocritical old man would do something like that. You should have heard all the things he said about the Frost Giants in the past, then he goes and adopts one? Ridiculous."

I shrugged. "Thor actually spoke fondly of him despite the.....incident."

"Hmph." She rolled her eyes. "God of Thunder you say? That is not a bad domain. Zeus, Indra, he sits among exalted names." She paused for a moment. "Does he wield a hammer?"

"You mean Mjolnir?"

"You know its name?" She questioned.

"It's a fairly famous hammer. Thor and his hammer Mjolnir make up a lot of old myths and legends about your Pantheon."

She scowled. "Of course that old man would give away my hammer."

"Your hammer?" I was the one surprised this time.

"What? Does it shock you to know that I used to wield that weapon?" She grumbled. "Admittedly, I always felt that it wasn't meant for me. I suppose I now know why."

"Strange, most of the stories say that it was made specifically for Thor." I rubbed my chin.

She barked out a laugh. "It wasn't even made for me. Do you think that old man would give someone else such a powerful weapon? The only reason he gave it to me is because it outright rejected him to wield properly. And as I said it.....tolerated me."

Well, I'm learning a lot of things today.

Specifically, it sounds like the Odin here is a gigantic asshole.

"Well, I suppose we should cut to the chase then. I said I would come back after thinking about bringing you out of here."

She looked at me intently, and her desire was obvious...obsessive even.

"You know if I let you out, you become my responsibility. Anything you do, anything that happens, it's my fault." I said outright, not sugar coating it at all. "And at this point, you know where I stand on certain things which may put us into conflict."

She crossed her arms, pursing her lips. "What are your terms. Am I to become your servant, am I to be collared and used as your weapon this time? I suppose anything is better than this prison I'm in now."

Oh wow, Odin really did a number on her, didn't he?

"I'll let you out to Earth." I told her.

She raised an eyebrow. "And what conditions do you demand?"

"Ten years." I raised a finger. "I want you to not go take revenge for ten years."

She dropped her arms, looking at me strangely. "You want me to hold my anger in for ten years."

"Yes."

Why 10 years? Well, I don't think she even cares about Asgard anymore. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe the moment that ten years is up, she's going to march up to Asgard and declare war.

In which case, I would be responsible to stop her.

But.....if I was taking responsibility for her anyways, I may as well give her a chance.

I admit, part of her situation did sort of hit me due to my own circumstances when I was younger. Obviously, things were significantly different, but it would be a lie to say I didn't empathize. I was fully aware I was projecting some of my own issues here, but I would take responsibility.

"And during this period, what do you expect me to do?" She hesitantly asked.

"Nothing in particular. I have no overt demands for you. I have no tasks or goals. Just....live your life carefree. However, I do expect certain....decency if you're going to live on earth for a while. No wanton killing, no demanding worship or obedience. Just....pretend you're mortal for the time and respect the planet and its people and their rules."

"....that's it?" She questioned.

"Yes?" I answered back.

"You make no demands of me but to.....play nice with the mortals?"

"Essentially." I nodded.

She looked at me with her mouth ajar. "I would have willingly done almost anything with these terms as the reward."

I shrugged silently.

"You....are the strangest demon I have ever met in my existence."

"Have you met many demons?"

She blinked a few times. "I have not conversed with many demons. Our interactions usually amount to me running a great many blades through their bodies as I hear them scream and beg for mercy."

"Kinky."

"You are a strange person." She notably didn't just call me 'demon' this time. "You give me much without asking anything in return. I don't know if I should be insulted or not that you think so little of my value."

"I can retract my offer if it makes you feel better."

She shot up. "I have a sudden change of heart."

Yeah, that's what I thought.

"Alright, anything you want to bring with you?" She gave me the driest look imaginable as I chuckled, opening a portal. "After you."

She didn't even hesitate.

For all she knew, I was leading her to her death. But maybe, that was a better alternative than potentially staying here for eternity.

[Line Break]

"Welcome to Kamar-Taj." I spoke as I followed behind Hela.

Hela...well her expression was hard to discern. That look of disbelief, like something was too good to be true.

She stared at the sun for a solid minute or so before looking away.

People walked by, they looked at her curiously, but otherwise didn't pay much attention.

"There is a lot of magic in the air." She muttered.

"This is a gathering place for Earth's Sorcerers." I briefly explained, not given a chance to say anything else as Jeanne came running over and threw herself at me for a big hug.

It wasn't just Jeanne either, the Ancient One walked over with a certain look on her face.

"It's just one thing after another with you, isn't it, Mr. Schweinorg?" She stated with a bit of exasperation. "I see you brought a friend."

Hela looked at her, and she looked back at Hela.

"This is –"

"I know who she is." The Ancient One cut me off as I tried to introduce her. "Welcome to Kamar-Taj, Hela óðindóttir."

Hela's expression hardened slightly.

"I thought you said you didn't know who she was when I asked?" I questioned.

"I said I didn't know who the person you vaguely described was. I am more than aware of who she is." The Ancient One corrected. "You're incredibly lucky that the Watcher of Asgard cannot peer into Kamar-Taj."

"Heimdal?"

"Who else would have that title?" The Ancient One shot back.

"I know not this Heimdal, but the name sounds....familiar. Which tribe is he from?"

The Ancient One looked at me, sighed, then looked back at Hela. "He's Vanir, if I'm not mistaken. And if I recall, his mother was a Valkyrie? But I admit my knowledge on Asgardian history is not particularly thorough."

"I see." She said simply. "What makes him earn his title?"

"Mr. Heimdal said that he can see anything in the universe!" Jeanne added helpfully.

That got Hela's attention as she snapped her head at Jeanne. The Goddess of Death furrowed her brow a few times in contemplation. "I can obscure myself if needed when I leave."

Right, I had forgotten about Heimdal.

Woops.

"I'm afraid you would fail quite spectacularly in your current state." The Ancient One sighed again. "It seems I will need to teach you some of our methods so you don't cause any unnecessary problems."

Hela frowned, it was fairly obvious she didn't like how she was being talked to. "I am a Goddess."

"Quite." The Ancient One was nonplussed.

"Not many have gotten away with speaking to me in this way." Her eyes narrowed. "I have killed for far less."

The Ancient One smiled calmly. "You're more than welcome to see how that turns out. I've had a bit of a day, so some minor exercise would not be remiss."

There was a tense silence as the two women eyed one another.

Slowly, the corners of Hela's lips curled up into a vicious yet....almost genuine smile as she turned to me. "I like this one. I was not aware that the Midgardians now had such...spirit."

"You have been away for a long time, you will find that many things have changed." The Ancient One spoke.

"Perhaps I will." Hela seemed to back down, or maybe, she never intended to be hostile from the start, but it was just a small little game between the two.

"Kamar-Taj has a history of accepting those who are lost or need spiritual guidance. If you pose no threat to the world, I see no reason why you cannot stay." The Ancient One informed.

"Then....I will gratefully accept such accommodations." Hela returned rather...politely.

"Well, I'm glad you both are making friends!" I clapped my hands.

Both of them gave me almost the same look.

"Oh before I forget." I put a hand on Jeanne's head. "Jeanne, meet your new sister! Hela, meet your new sister!"

"Neh?"

"Eh?"

Both of them made a noise of surprise.

I was pretty annoyed earlier, but now, I was in a much better mood.

And now specifically, I believe it was time Jeanne and I had a certain talk if that kiss was anything to go by.

[Line Break]

A/N

Hela comes to earth, I'm sure this won't have any consequences at all.

If you want to read 10 Chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

I also have a boosty if you can't use the above under the same name.