DIVINE CHAMPIONS 5: THE FROSTY FATES

WORLDS INSIDE ONE WORLD

Lord Balder had a weird skill, even dead. He was so nice, he just made everyone forgive him for the harsh step. The god of light seemed to have meant every bit of it, as Aitri said. She said that she could see it in his eyes. And so, the divine champions set sail towards Hvergelmir. Rather, they walked. Balder wanted to atone for the harshness by walking them to the place.

The discussion on the way was huge one. Something that could change their worlds forever. Rishi had just asked Balder about his acting like a living god in Helheim, to which, he replied, "Hel is actually a nice person, when you meet her. She told me to chill since I've been here. She isn't as bad as they make her seem."

"Really? Isn't she supposed to send Garm to take part in Ragnarok? Kill Tyr? And didn't she keep the all crying condition for which you are still stuck here?" Rick asked, pretty amazed at Hel's praise.

"First, its not her wish to send Garm. Rather, its the Norns' prophecy, that says that Garm will take part in Ragnarok. Would you have her stand against that? And second, what choice did she have? Restoring a dead person back to life asks for a price, a price which is very heavy."

"Worse than Mimir?"

"Perhaps." Balder said, "I don't have much idea about these prices. But it is still very heavy. There was this Greek guy who resurrected one without paying the price, and faced the consequences. There is a delicate line between the living and the dead, which maintains a balance between the two worlds. Any tampering with that, and its all frenzy."

"Greek?" Aitri asked, "I heard the mention a few times back there. What's with it?"

"Okay, how do I put this in a way you five would not freak out?" Balder said, starting to think, "Lemme think." They walked through the snow, while leaving the Palace of Hel further behind. The bone chilling cold in Helheim was reducing, as they neared the gate to Hvergelmir. However, the interest was much more in Balder's answer. The imminent truth was not as bad, but seemed to be huge. Could that be a possibility? Before Balder could answer, the question jumped out of Mikael's mouth, "Is that even possible?"

"What is possible?" Rishi turned.

"Well, for the last few years, it seems to have become very much possible." Balder said.

"What is it?" Rishi asked again.

"Our Norse world isn't the only world in Midgard." Balder said, with a deep sigh, "We don't live on Midgard, as you know. But other gods do. The Greeks, the Mayans, the Incas, you name them. Even the ones you four grew up worshipping." He pointed at everyone except Mik.

"The Hindu gods exist?" Aitri asked, gasping.

"Everyone does. Your world has many different worlds living inside it. We don't cross each other's paths, but we co-exist well to avoid any inter-dimensional clashes. But there's an old prophecy, The One's Prophecy, which mentions that one day we will work together for some common interest."

"The One?" Rishi asked, slightly confused.

"Chaos?" Ishaan asked, "Isn't he the common one in everything?"

"Yeah, the one who remains when nothing does." Balder said, "Chaos, Abyss, Ginnungagap, whatever you call it."

"Holy mother of gods!" Rick and Aitri both said in unison, their hands on their heads. Rishi also seemed overwhelmed with the news. Ishaan had either expected the truth, or he was hiding the surprise superbly well. Mikael, however, remembered one thing his maternal grandmother had said in Norrkoping, "The world is bigger than we see it, Mik. As humans, we only see the outermost layer of existence. There are many more layers to discover." Maybe, this is what she meant.

Aitri had covered her face in shock, before she said, mostly to herself, "Just when I thought I had seen all the weird." Rishi went close to her, and asked, "How do you feel?" "Anew." Aitri replied, slowly smiling. Rick seemed to gasp a little, and when Rishi asked, "I can take this, man. Kinda makes the world cooler." Ishaan had his eyes closed, as they started to walk again. Before Mikael could go ask him, Rishi said, "He's doing fine. He has found his own way." 

He was right. Ishaan started to hum, and soon, started to sing. His angelic voice opened itself after quite a while now, and it was so soothing, that it was amazing. Mik understood some of it, but the song was mostly in Urdu, so only Ishaan and the others knew what he was singing. Balder came close to Mik, and said in Swedish, "My only regret, not exploring Midgard a bit more. Song seems magical."

"Ishaan is an amazing singer, to be honest. I've listened to him perform, live."

"He performs?"

"In college."

"Ah!"

Ishaan's song went on like knife through butter, as the dull and dead Helheim seemed to have found life. "Orpheus sang in Hades," Rishi said, "Ishaan sings in Helheim. Talk about parallels."

Everyone nodded and smiled at Rishi pointing out a few things, when Ishaan's song ended. The cold winds were getting slightly warmer, and the snow had gotten thinner. Mikael could feel the frost's end nearby. That is when they stood in front of what was a gate. It was a silver arch with runes printed on it in black. The brick made fences adjoined the arch from both sides, as it looked like a normal gate of an Indian governmental office, not a gateway to Midgard. The runes looked like this:

ᚺᚢᛖᚱᚷᛖᛚᛗᛁᚱ

which translated to 'Hvergelmir'. Oh, just so you know, Mikael could read runes, unlike everyone else here. Outside was misty. The kids moved close to the gate, when Aitri turned, and asked Balder, "Wouldn't see us out?"

"I can't. I'll take leave here. Only the living can pass through the gates of Helheim." Balder said, "One day, maybe. Lets not hope that comes quick, right?"

"Right." Aitri said.

"Be brave, my heroes." Balder said, in the kindest tone, "Nothing is under your control, except for your mind. And that's the true strength, the true light. You just have to follow the light, for the challenges that start from Hvergelmir are ones that will mess with your mind. Remember, follow the light." Balder's image slowly disappeared as the divine champions walked into the mist.