The Invisible String Theory

Chapter 2 - When Souls Collide

"You're not bad," he said, ducking from a blow I was trying to land, "For someone who seems to be a peaceful guardian."

"You talk too much." I said between breaths.

"And you hit harder than you look. Impressive."

My boots scraped against the stone as I ducked under his blade, countering with a small burst of energy that knocked him back a step.

I know I've practiced, but the confidence I needed wasn't there. "Focus." I whispered to myself. I remembered the moments I had with dad, back when he helped me harness the flow from the heartstream– deeper.

A breath.

Finally, I felt my soul grasp onto something familiar, and without thinking twice, I let it out. A burst of purple energy I managed to muster up, hurling towards him. My magic laced into the air like a pulse, vibrant and hot.

Loki realized the shift, he threw his dagger to try and deflect, it ricocheted wildly. One of his daggers twisted in the air not toward me, but just enough to clip the side of my head.

Click.

The pin holding my hair snapped. My breath hitched as my long, dark brown hair spilled down over my shoulders, catching the glimmer of the shine from the lanterns. I froze– just a moment– but Loki did, too.

He blinked. "Oh... well that wasn't what I was aiming for."

"You sure?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Please, if I wanted to knock you off balance, I'd aim for your pride, not your hair."

A grin tugged at my lips as I flung a burst of kinetic magic his way.

We collided again– dagger to shield, foot to knee, elbow to ribs. It was sloppier than before, more personal now, all tangled in magic and biting banter.

"I'm Miravyn by the way," brushing hair from my face. "Again?" I followed.

Loki spun his dagger lazily in his fingers. "You'll have to ask nicely."

"Try me."

He lunged again, and met my barrier.

I channeled the feeling– harder– a shockwave pulsed from my shield knocking him off his feet completely this time, the walls visibly trembling from the impact. And before I knew it, the protective barrier around the relic crumbled.

The clang from the relic hitting the pedestal echoed for a brief second. We exchanged quick glances at one another. He sprung up from the ground, I countered with a short spark of magic. The closer we got I noticed the cracks within the relic, it was undoing itself.
My heart skipped a beat, I swore to protect it.

"Please, wait!" I blurted out, right before we both lunged– a calm purple flair around my fingertips and a sharp green that felt wrong around his own. At the moment our hands met, it exploded.

Not with fire. With connection.

The air screamed, then silenced. Magic shot through us both, binding fast and fierce. A glowing tether burst from the relic, encircling our wrists in searing light. We flew backwards, crashing into the floor with gasps of shock.

"What–" I tried to speak, the magic wrapping tighter, singing against my skin. "No– this isn't supposed to–"

Loki stared at the tether. "No, no, no. This isn't funny,"

I sat up, heart racing. "What did you do?"

He threw his arms out, "Me? I wasn't the one hiding a relic that latches onto souls like a desperate ex!"

The tether pulsed again, glowing faintly between us. "We're... bound?" I asked slowly, horrified.

"Oh yes," he said bitterly. "And I hate this."

I glared at him. "I deeply hate this."

Then we both muttered, perfectly in sync: "Disgusting."

A moment passed. The realization had sunk in. The Hollow. What happens now? Every hair on my body stood up, as I remembered what it took from me back then. Fear. My heart began to pound faster, harder and he felt it too.

"Stop that," he said as he flinched, "I can sense what you're feeling thanks to this stupid tether, and it's making me feel weird."

I tried to keep my voice from trembling, " I need you to listen to me."

Loki scoffed, already examining the tether of magic linking to our wrists, as if he could will it away by sheer disdain.

"I am listening. I just don't care."

I glared at him, "This isn't about us. The relic– what we touched– wasn't just a conduit for the bond. It was a seal. Something was inside it, something that's not supposed to be out."

"I've heard that before ," he said, waving his hand flippantly. "Every other enchanted object in the Nine Realms has some exaggerated curse or ancient spirit waiting to leap out and gnaw on someone's soul. It's textbook fearmongering."

I snapped, "I was there... you don't get to downplay the reality I went through. What I had to lose..."

Loki finally met my gaze, he breathed out. "Alright, look let's make sense of this shall we? If the relic is still present, then that must mean something. So, now, how do we undo this?"

"I don't know, why are you asking me?" I said, as I shrugged.

"It's your relic isn't it? How could you not know?"

"It's not mine. It was created by my people, but that doesn't mean I know how it works..." I trailed off, hands clasped together in front of me and kicking the rocks that crumbled off the chamber walls.

"Oh gods, we're doomed. There must be something that can tear this thing apart." He had his hand under his chin, deep in thought. Then, he looked at me quickly, he had a plan.

"Let's make a deal."

I furrowed my brows. "Me, make a deal with you? After you introduced yourself with such conceit, about being the 'God of Mischief'... pass."

I grabbed the relic, and walked towards the chamber doors only to be restrained from taking another step. Right, the link. I sighed and turned around to face him.

"Wipe that stupid smile off your face before I do it for you!" I growled.

He raised his hands up and proceeded to lower the corners of his lips. With a flick of his wrists, he had summoned a pendant that clearly wasn't his, using it to open a gateway beside him.

I inched towards the entrance of the portal, but before stepping in I stopped myself. "So, what does this deal hold exactly?"

Loki pressed his lips together before speaking, "We make a truce, help me find a way to break this bond and I'll help you deal with this so-called 'Hollow'. Start off with different realms and search for answers."

He gestured his hands towards the portal, as my silence seemed to have answered for me.

I looked up at him, "You first."

He scoffed, "Are you serious?"

"Completely." I said immediately.

"For the record, it's supposed to be ladies first," he said followed by a wink.

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"Fine. You're already such an impossible woman."