The grand staircase leading to the temple.
As snow drifted through the air, Freyr knelt before Luisia. The God of Fertility took the girl’s hand and gazed into her eyes, his own a deep blue.
“…Are you certain?”
Luisia lowered her chin in a quiet nod.
With the power left behind by Freyr, the God of Fertility, Freyja could be released from Luisia’s body. If Freyja carried her magical power to the Celestial Realm, the gods might be able to regain their strength.
But if they went that far, her weakened brother god would—
“I believe in you.”
Freyr closed his eyes and pressed Luisia’s hand against his forehead.
Green magical energy enveloped the young man’s entire body. It flowed from his body into Luisia through the hand she held, traveling up her arm before gradually pouring into her.
In response, a green light began to glow within Luisia’s chest. The magic grew warmer and brighter, spreading from her chest to her shoulders, then throughout her entire body.
Before long, the green magic flowing from Freyr and the identical light emanating from Luisia’s chest began to mingle together.
Freyr looked up at the sky and cried out.
“Odin!”
His voice reverberated through the air before fading into the snowy wilderness.
“If you are watching, then please answer me! To save Freyja and deliver this immense magical power to the celestial realm, I ask you to remove the Miko skill from this girl!”
Freyr continued to shout.
“You know it now, don’t you!? The strength of the adventurers! I will use the last of my power to save Freyja and repay the adventurer, Rion!”
A raven flew over the temple, cawing as it crossed the snowy sky.
—The price will be myself.
Click.
A sensation like a lock coming undone stirred within Luisia’s chest. In that instant, her vision rapidly blurred. Her eyes grew dazzled, and she could no longer remain standing.
“…!”
Just as she began to collapse, Mia and Felix caught her and held her up. Many people were shouting toward Freyr. Judging by the look on Luisia’s face, they were probably trying to make him stop.
Luisia desperately forced the words from her throat.
“…I can still endure it!”
Her vision continued to fade. Even through the haze, however, she could clearly see her companions—Mia, Felix, and the others—gasp in alarm.
“Oniichan’s friends really are good people”, Luisia thought vaguely.
Compared to the suffering she had endured while sick in the royal capital, this was nothing.
Then she heard Freyr’s voice.
“Odin weakened the Miko skill that he had bestowed upon you. The gods must be able to see what is happening on the surface through that raven… or perhaps through that Water Mirror.”
Luisia sat down on the grand staircase.
Something hot surged up from deep within her chest.
With the protection of the skill gone, perhaps Freyja’s magical power was trying to swallow Luisia whole.
Freyr spoke in a whisper.
“…From here, I’m going to separate your heart from Freyja’s. But—”
“Do it.”
If the attempt failed, Freyr, Freyja, and Luisia would all be broken beyond repair. Even so, Luisia’s feelings did not waver.
“…I understand.”
Freyr nodded and spoke to Luisia.
“I want you to close your eyes.”
She lowered her eyelids as she was told. Yet even though her vision had vanished, there was no darkness. Two green lights floated in the void. They gradually grew brighter, and from within them, the figures of two people slowly emerged.
One is a beautiful woman with long golden hair, clad in a green dress. Her blue eyes looked as though they might spill over at any moment, while her petal-like lips were so beautiful they seemed to take Luisia’s breath away.
The other is a dignified swordsman. His flowing golden hair and finely straight nose bore a striking resemblance to hers.
“Freyr… Freyja…”
At Luisia’s whisper, the two gods smiled.
Freyr took his sister’s hand and gazed at her, as though savoring the sight of her.
There were no words between the siblings.
Tears traced paths down the cheeks of both brother and sister.
Luisia somehow found herself thinking, “Maybe Freyr had wanted to see his sister again, like this. Perhaps that was why he could not accept Odin sacrificing his sister. Perhaps because he wanted to see his sister again, he, too, had to survive.”
Freyr took hold of Freyja’s arm and pulled her toward him.
At the edge of the darkness, a light began to shine through.
“Take care.”
Luisia spoke softly. Tears dampened her cheeks.
“So… we’ll be together forever now.”
Freyr raised a hand sadly, then walked with Freyja toward the bright exit.
The light grew stronger. Before she knew it, Luisia had opened her eyes. The green light that had filled her chest was gone. So was the heat that had been eating away at her body.
The adventurers were all looking up at the sky.
Luisia turned her gaze toward the sky just before dawn.
Leaving trails of green light behind them, Freyr and Freyja flew through the heavens, supporting one another as they went. Their destination lay beyond the grand staircase—the rainbow bridge Bifröst, shrouded in snow and already beginning to fade as though it might vanish at any moment.
When the brother and sister gods stretched their hands toward the earth, light scattered beneath the grand staircase.
The magic stones of Jörmungandr, the World Serpent, and Fenrir—the legendary monsters—shattered as well, breaking apart into countless motes of light that mingled with the radiance emanating from the two gods.
Freyr’s body began to break apart, gradually crumbling into particles of light. Even so, the two gods continued toward the celestial realm, carrying with them the magical power that Freyja herself had left unused at the time of creation.
I’ll keep the ending understated and emotional, especially the mysterious voice and Luisia’s final prayer.
At the moment Freyr’s body completely dissolved into light, Luisia heard a mysterious voice.
—You did well.
It was the voice of her father, Rutger.
Wiping away her tears, Luisia watched over the end of the brother and sister gods.
The instant the two gods reached the rainbow bridge, Bifröst—the seven-colored light began to return. The magical power they had carried to the celestial realm at the cost of their very existence finally reached its destination, reconnecting the path that had been on the verge of disappearing.
As an immense radiance stretched across the sky at dawn, Luisia prayed,
“May everyone come home.”
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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