The Ashen Keeper

Chapter 41

The morning sun has risen. It was time for the decisions of both the master and the disciple. After they clean up and had breakfast, Odin summoned them once again. "So, have you decided what you will do?", he asked anticipating her answer.

"I shall agree to thou offer. But know this, King of Asgard that I am no Asgardian and Asgard can never bound me."

"I don't wish to bound you to a place either. You are free to do whatever you want."

She has done a lot of consideration on whether she would accept Thor as a disciple. There were both advantages and disadvantages. However, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. First of all, she was sure that Earth would not accept thousands of dragons roaming around.

Another one is the fact that even a normal person could easily sense the greed of the politicians. She did not allow Odin himself to command her much less the weak government of Earth.

"But first, will thou allow me to take Loki as well. I wish to meet him once again. After all, it has been quite some time since I last saw him. And I wish to gauge the current abilities of both of thy sons."

Truth to be told, she wishes to see how Loki will turn out to be. He would scurry like a rat whenever she tried to get near him.

"Are you thinking of taking Loki as your disciple too?", he asked but with a frown this time.

"That is where thou fail once more, my dear Odin. Thou wish for education on thy eldest son but not on thy youngest son. And here, I believe the youngest to be the most beloved."

He was silent at this matter. After all, he may be a bad father, but it cannot be denied that he has always tried his best. Asgard is no longer in urgent need of another ruler as of the moment.

Killing Hela has lifted a huge burden from Odin's body. He will last a few years or decades before going over to Valhalla depending on when he decided to move on.

Odin got up from his throne and motioned for the both of them to follow along. She obliged and followed him alongside Wanda. "Have thee decided, my dear Wanda?", she asked along the way.

"What should I do, teacher?"

"A friend has told me this once before and I shall pass his words onto thee. Do as thee wish and always remember that it is okay to selfish."

She hung her head once more. She still wasn't ready to give her answer.

"Thou can wait until I hath finish with the two boys.", she put her hand on the head of the girl.

They eventually arrive to the arena where both Thor and Loki were waiting. Thor looked as cheerful as ever even with the knowledge that the woman before him might become his master. Loki looked like he swallowed a bug. The ripeness of his face could have sour grapes.

"Doth thou not feel unacceptable to be accepted as a disciple?", she asked Thor curiously. "No, not at all, because father told us that we will only become your disciple when we lose and honestly speaking, I don't think I will lose."

So, that was confidence. But too much confidence means arrogance and arrogance can kill people faster than poison. Loki left the arena as the fight was more like a duel.

"Start!", Odin declared. They did not move yet.

"Where's your weapon?", Thor asked as she was still bare-handed.

"My dear Thor, I needn't a hammer to slay a fly."

This made him angry as he threw his hammer in a fit of rage. She could have held the hammer, but it would do no good to destroy his confidence right now at the moment. She dodged it as the hammer returned to his hands. He then swung it around. She managed to dodge that too.

"I will depart my first lesson to the two of you.", she addressed to both brothers. "Thy long hair will only get in the way if thou art yet to be a master.", she said as did a front flip and pulled Thor's hair with her feet. It pulled his head down, but he never hit the ground. Instead, she stopped the pulling midway and did a front kick right at his face.

"Although it is good to take the first move in a fight, on some occasions, it is better to defend honestly.", she taught the 'child'. This time, he was smart enough not to get into a close combat with her. He starts raising his hammer as storm clouds gathered. It seems he was preparing a lightning bolt to strike at her instead. She did not interrupt as she wish to know what he could do.

After some time of gathering enough power, the lightning descended in all its fury. It never hit her as she blocked them all with the flames. He flew over with the hammer this time. He wasn't aiming for head but for her body. Another fatal mistake that will cost him dearly one day.

She dodged to one side again and held his wrist. She broke it and did a front kick once again, only this time at his torso. He flew once again but this time without the hammer as his hammer was left behind.

He started vomiting out his breakfast. She then summoned his hammer into her hands and held it up in the sky. Lightning started gathering on the hammer. "This is not possible.", Thor said as he gazed upon his own hammer. She then strikes all that down on him.

"Art thou the god of thunder or hammer? Thou wereth useless once that hammer was out of thy hands. We will have to the change that.", she said as Thor laid unconscious in a crater made by the lightning of his own hammer.

"Now, it is time to move onto the younger one.", she looked at Loki as people came in and carried Thor out of the ring. "I don't think we really need to do this. I will accept you as my master."

"Art thou a princess? My dear Loki, have a spine and come down to the ring."

He did not fell for that. "As I was saying, I believe we can come to mutual agreement or an arrangement depending on how you - "

"My dear Loki, I said get in the ring."

He got into the ring. "Start!", declared Odin once again. Loki was a bit different from Thor. He did not rush up with all his strength right at the beginning. She could sense illusions all around her but of course, they did not work.

Loki too was imitating Odin in a way by trying to stab her despite being a magician. To fix him, she will have to fix what the people of Earth called 'daddy issues'. He never really felt close to Odin and he killed his biological father according to what she knew.

"I shall have to educate thee like the father thou have never hath."

"Wha - ", he did not had time to finish as the backside of a fist was closing in on his cheek.

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This is Chapter 41.

Tell me what you think about it.

Also, do you think that my fight scenes are improving or not? Or is it just getting worse?