DIVINE CHAMPIONS 3: THE RISE OF THE ELEMENTALIST

THEIR OWN GOLDEN TRIO

Though Aitri found out that her glasses had been shattered in the battle, she had zero care for that. This was the second time Rishi had made a hero's entrance, and saved her life, movie style. She felt that it was her own stupidity that had landed her here and Rishi had to come and save her. But she didn't care. Rishi was here, and the form he seemed to be in, everything seemed to be under control. 

As Rishi flew down at Inga, she gave him a wry smile and said, "You won't kill me. You can't."

"Why so?" Rishi asked.

"You are their leader, right? You are a noble man. You can't possibly hurt a woman."

"Oh yeah?" Rishi asked, and caught hold of neck, "Try me. I lost my nobility a long time ago. And given you almost killed her, I don't care if you are a woman or a man."

"Don't touch our alpha, Midgardian." Damian shouted from the other side, and tried to get up, only to be kicked down by Rick. Aitri got up, and looked at Thiazi, who was intently watching this, and saying, "Interesting!"

"You can't kill me, boy." Inga shouted, and pushed Rishi away with strength, "I am a thousand years old. I saw the rise of us, the Vikings, and our fall. I saw the world completely move on from us. I saw it rebuild itself. I saw both the World Wars. You don't stand a chance against me."

"Holy mother of gods!" Rick exclaimed from afar, "Hairy master is actually oldilocks."

However, before Inga could even attack, Aitri reacted. She held her right arm forward and finally, took control of the earth just the way she wanted. A little chasm opened under Inga's feet, which Aitri had broken the tiles of, and she lost footing. Aitri closed the chasm at the right moment, and Inga's feet got stuck in the soil. "Let me go, girl." She screamed in anguish.

"So much for being thousand years old, oldilocks." Aitri said.

"Well, you maybe thousand years old, but you are not older than nature itself." Rishi said, with a victorious defiance in his face, "And we are representatives of the nature." He raised his arms and the circular window on the ceiling broke. Lightning entered Rishi's hands, charging him up. Electricity flickered in his hands, as he walked on and cupped his hands around Inga's face. All Inga felt were shocks of the highest voltage. She shook violently, and screamed in agony. Rishi said to her, "No one touches the love of my life and lives to tell the tale. Not even a thousand year old Varulv." Inga's face turned blacker by the second, and when finally, all the lightning in Rishi's hands were spent to electrocute and kill Inga, her lifeless body flailed in front of his feet. Aitri gasped with the suddenness of the attack, but she quickly got over it.

That is when Damian stood up. "You will die for this, champion." He clenched his feet. Rick still had his sword in his hand, and before he could react and strike, Damian kicked him in the gut, flailing him aside. He turned into Varulv, claws and fangs out, skin turning hairy, and the face snarling at his prey. Then, it happened.

As Damian bent down to pounce, Rishi moved his leg in a semi-circle around himself, and howled. Like an actual wolf. As if his voice was no more his own. As if a wolf had taken his voice's place. He seemed very much into the howl. He put so much dedication into it. He was enjoying it. And then, in through the broken door, came a pack of actual wolves. White fur, yellow eyes, fangs and claws baring, these seemed to be the same wolves that had surrounded Rishi in Jotunheim. They came at heavy pace, and pounced on Damian, completely covering him. He struggled, and cried for help. But there was no one. "Rick, away from there!" Rishi shouted, as Rick jumped away from the wolves, who were tearing Damian apart, and stood beside Rishi. Both him and Aitri were highly shocked about Rishi summoning an entire pack of divine wolves. However, even more shocked was someone else.

Thiazi had risen up from his chair, and his calmness was gone. For the first time, his face had a look of worry on his face. "He is nervous about seeing his daughter." Rishi said.

"She's with you?" Thiazi asked, in disbelief.

"She is."

"She chose wrong. She chose totally wrong." Thiazi seemed to lose it, as he covered himself with his black wings, and turned into a bald eagle. And he flew out of the room through the ceiling window. 

While the wolves took the dead Damian in the other room for a good feast, Rick jumped on Rishi and hugged him. "Dude, I have never missed you more."

"Why?" Rishi asked, playfully, "Was Aitri that bad a company?" Aitri looked at Rick intently, and mouthed, 'I will tell him your secret if you say bad about me.'

"She was amazing in her own way. But can anyone ever be you?"

"Nope." Rishi said.

"I'll just give you two a moment. But, where's Skadi?"

"How did you guys know she was going to be here?"

"The wolves gave..."

"Heimdall showed us everything." Aitri interrupted.

"Ah! She's around here somewhere. She'll appear at the right moment."

"Okay." And so Rick walked away from the two, walking around the hall that had turned into a death bed. Rishi walked up to Aitri, made a highly innocent face, and tried to say things. He uttered, "I came."

Aitri felt like she could just get a hold of his face and kiss him right now. But she held on, waited for him to finish. Rishi went on, "I was never going to deny you your chance to save the world. But I needed you to understand the pressure that it brings. I wanted you to be ready for everything. I feared that I would lose you. I couldn't let that happen."

"And yet, you let me come here." Aitri said, with made-up anger.

"Hey, I sent the best person with you." Rishi said, "And you decided that you would come to the mission, with or without me. You dumped me to do that."

"Why didn't you stop me?" Aitri's heart felt heavy at Rishi's last line. She knew that it was a dumb move to break up with Rishi. She could barely last a day with the anger. She loved him too much to stay away from him. And she knew that. She held his hands tightly. Rishi replied, "I let you have your wish. But I wanted you back. So I came. Do you want me back?"

Aitri said nothing. She got hold of him, and hugged him tightly. "Of course, I want you back, you idiot. What would I do without you?"

"You made this far without me." Rishi said, as they separated, "I am very proud of you." Then, he pulled her in for a kiss. 

"Aww!" Rick said from behind, "Guys, I gave you a minute. Thiazi is still loose. Gods know where he has kept Idunn."

"Yeah, let's go." Aitri said. Rishi picked Rick up, and took flight, as Aitri followed him. They got out through the ceiling window shaft, and landed outside, on Svartalfheim land. The sky was still very dark. Nearly nothing was visible. Rishi stepped slightly forward, with Aitri standing to his right, and Rick to his left. He looked exactly like a leader of a certain golden trio. Like Harry among him, Ron and Hermione. These legendary books and TV shows always have a golden trio. Aitri blurted out, "Look at us. Our very own golden trio."

"Woah!" Rick said, "Well spotted."

"Seems like Rick's company has grown on you, honey." Rishi said. However, when he looked at her, Aitri let out a slight scream. His eyes were glowing yellow. "Rish, your eyes..."

"Oh, yeah. I discovered that on the way here." Rishi said, "I can see a bungalow from here. He might be there. Let us go."

"Rish, what is wrong?" Rick asked, "First the howl to summon Skadi's wolves, and now this eye thing. What werewolf-like thing did Ms. Wolfwoman contaminate you with?"

"Let's get to the bungalow. I'll tell you on the way."

As they walked towards the bungalow, Rishi described everything. He had discovered his fylgja on the way. Apparently, fylgja was the spirit animal inside a human, that is reflection of a person's qualities. And apparently, even Rick and Aitri had one. They just needed to find one. Rishi had found his, which was a wolf. Now, he could howl, and with those yellow eyes, could see in the dark. As they neared the bungalow, which Aitri could barely see (she could see even less without her glasses even in light), Aitri gave this a thought. What was her fylgja? Which animal was an outgoing nerd? That was a good thing to think some other time. There was a goddess who needed freeing.