Hand in hand with Solana, I raced upward through the twilight sky. Ahead of us flew the gigantic eagle carrying Lu away. Each of its wings had to be several meters long, yet from this distance it had already shrunk to the size of a speck.
But I couldn’t let it escape. I would never let it escape.
The wind roared in my ears. I tightened my lips and pressed forward. Solana’s fingers tightened around my hand.
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah…!”
When my gaze drifted downward, a took a breath.
“…Amazing.”
The earth below was stained crimson. The temple, surrounded by monsters, looked like an island floating in a black sea.
“I’m bringing Lu back… and we’re coming home.”
The great eagle passed through a ring of rainbow light. Then it disappeared into a hole torn open in the clouds. We headed for the same opening.
A memory surfaced in my mind—something Solana had once told me. There was a bridge that connected the heavens and the mortal world. Its name was—
“The Rainbow Bridge, Bifrost!”
The instant we plunged into the hole in the clouds, seven-colored light flooded my vision.
The wind vanished.
Gravity vanished.
Everything vanished.
Afraid that we might be separated, I gripped Solana’s hand as tightly as I could and refused to let go.
“S-Solana!”
“We’ve entered the entrance to the heavens! Hold on, Rion!”
The heavens and earth spun around. After several rotations, I fell onto the soft ground on my back. A warm light pressed against my eyelids. And a gentle breeze blew by.
I slowly opened my eyes.
Under the blue sky, I was lying on my back on a green hill. I am still holding to Solana by my right hand. I let go and stood up. The ground where my palms touched was soft with grass. I inhaled, and smelled the scent of green.
“Where… are we…?”
I looked around while still sitting. Solana floated up and peered down at me.
“Awake?”
“Yeah…”
I stood up.
Around the hill, a breathtakingly beautiful scene unfolded, as if the battle from earlier had never happened. A city of white. The pristine white cityscape stretched endlessly, bathed in sunlight. Each wall, each sculpture, gleamed proudly, showcasing a material and form unlike anything found on earth. In the distance, a large ash tree and a castle with a spire were visible. The canals flowing through the city sparkled with crystal-clear water.’
“So this is… the Realm of the Gods?”
“Indeed. A thousand years ago, this was where we lived. The name Asgard Kingdom now belongs to your nation, but originally, it referred to this Celestial Realm.”
I listened carefully, but all I could hear was the sound of the wind passing by.
This city…
It must be deserted now. It’s beautiful, yet devoid of life. Perhaps that was why its beauty felt so unreal.
“Many gods lived among humans on the surface, but the principal gods—Odin, Thor, Heimdall, and the others—made this place their home. Here rested their divine treasures as well. The water mirror that watched over the world below, the spear that never missed its mark, Thor’s hammer…”
I pressed my foot into the grassy hill.
“Is this really above the sky?”
Solana shook her head.
“It is certainly higher than the mortal world. But… explaining it is somewhat difficult.”
Just as the goddess hesitated, the sound of footsteps brushing through the grass approached.
A woman is climbing the slope to my left. She wore a robe dark as shadow, and her hair was black as well. For some reason, she reminded me of a raven.
Her gray eyes narrowed slightly.
“To you, this place exists in a different dimension.”
Her voice was low and calm. And yet it sounded strangely familiar. As though I had heard it countless times—so many that forgetting it would be impossible.
“It is not a place one can reach simply by climbing higher into the sky. It’s an alternate dimension that can only be reached by passing through a special entrance—that’s how you should think of it.”
The woman smiled.
I felt as though I understood… and yet I didn’t understand at all.
As I stood there in confusion, she gave me a graceful bow.
“Adventurer… welcome.”
At those words, I suddenly froze.
I recognized that voice.
“Y-you’re… the one giving the gods’ messages…?”
The voice that echoed throughout the world, delivering messages to adventurers. The voice we heard when using skills or leveling up. At countless moments, it informed us of our status and conveyed information to us.
“Indeed I am. You are quite perceptive.”
The goddess’s long black hair swayed as she bowed once more.
“My name is Norn, Hero. It is my role as a goddess to inform you of your talents, skills, and status.”
Then she turned her back to Solana and me and smiled.
“Allow me to guide you to the Chief God.”
I exchanged glances with Solana.
“Rion, let’s trust her.”
“…All right.”
After all, nothing could begin until we reached Odin.
We walked through the city of white stone. Part of me desperately wanted to hurry. Ymir and the others were still rampaging below, on the surface. But there was no harm in remaining cautious.
Suppressing the urge to run, we followed Norn’s leisurely pace through the Celestial City.
“Is this okay, Norn?”
“Is something wrong? Oh, it’s been a long time, Daughter of the Sun.”
“Aren’t we intruders to Odin?”
“Certainly. But for many years I have conveyed status information and messages to adventurers. I do have a slight inclination to side with you.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean the chief god feels that way though...
Norn continued to guide us.
“Gods and heroes once traveled back and forth across the Rainbow Bridge, Bifrost.”
We passed beneath the towering gate alongside Norn.
Beyond it stood a colossal castle. Its spires might have reached a hundred meters into the sky. The royal castle below had seemed enormous when I looked up at it, yet this place dwarfed even that. Past the gate stretched a vast courtyard. Far off to the right, the surface of something like a lake glittered in the light.
Solana murmured,
“Mímir’s Mirror…”
“That’s Odin’s water mirror for looking down on the land.”
There was a shrine-like building by the water’s edge. I noticed someone sitting on a stone chair.
“…Lu!”
I started running.
However, frost swiftly crossed in front of me. The next moment, a wall of ice blocked my path. An old man with a large backpack walked out from the palace entrance.
“Antique shop owner….”
I clutched the gold coin in my pocket.
The beginning of everything…
I used the gold coin he gave me to ‘unseal’ Solana. And that’s how I met the goddess. Everything started on that cold morning.
The antique shop owner smiled.
“Thank you, Rion.”
The expression was exactly the same as when he gave me the coin.
But only his eyes narrowed coldly.
“But this is as far as you can go. Thanks to you, your sister has truly awakened. Now—can you leave it to me?”
I shook my head. I drew my short sword and pointed it at the old man.
“No. I can imagine what you’re planning to do there with Lu—but I won’t ask now.”
The old man remained silent.
“I just want to cherish them. Both the horn and Lu!”
The old man’s body was enveloped in light.
What appeared was an elderly god, clad in a robe and wielding a spear. He had silver hair and a fierce face. His gentle demeanor vanished, replaced by eyes as deep as starlight, gazing at me.
“Pardon me.”
Odin spoke.
His voice resonated deep within my stomach, filled with dignity.
“…Then I, too, have a responsibility as the one who created the world.”
The chief god raised his spear and swung it like a staff. A fierce white light enveloped Solana and me.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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