Valhalla Palace received a light blizzard that floated in the air before breaking up on the marble stones of a beautiful balcony where Hilda watched the range of mountains and forests distant on the horizon; behind her, always her counselors Sid and Siegfried, dressed in their Divine Robes and kneeling behind their mistress. An atmosphere of tension between the three of them, as the woman walked from one side of the balcony to the other.
"Excuse me, Miss Hilda." Alberich also appeared among them.
They all looked at the handsome young man, who was also wearing his sacred Divine Robe; aware that the rivalry between them could not be shown in front of Hilda, they all behaved on their knees waiting for the designs of Odin's representative in that land. Hilda's pale eyes reflected the white of the cursed sky of Asgard, and in the distance she saw a black figure looming against the sky and settling in her hand: a great northern crow, which she caressed to ward off the weariness of her flight. The animal cawed lightly and Hilda seemed to lose her breath for a moment before she released it to the freedom of its mysterious flights.
"Fenrir has betrayed us." Hilda communicated to the counselors behind her.
Among the God Warriors behind her there was some commotion and the three looked at each other, with Siegfried punching the ground in front of him and breaking the stone with his enormous strength.
"Not surprising." commented Alberich, drawing the dismayed eyes of everyone there. "Perhaps we were naive that she would fight alongside Asgard, given the tragedy that befell her family so many years ago."
"She is still a daughter of Asgard. That should be bigger than anything!" protested Siegfried.
"The family grief may have been greater than her duty to our land." added Sid.
"By Hel, I can't believe she betrayed Odin like that." the greatest of the God Warriors still disagreed. "We must get her and throw her in the dungeons."
"This is no time to grieve." said Hilda to them. "Our cursed land misses its valiant warriors of old."
"Our land misses any kind of warrior." said Alberich, with a certain venom.
Sid and Siegfried's livid faces immediately stared at him, but Alberich paid them no heed and his eyes remained riveted to the dress of the Valkyrie Hilda ahead of them, who was still looking down at Asgard. He continued, bravely.
"Miss Hilda, we are being attacked by the Sanctuary of Athena and we don't even have enough God Warriors who are loyal to this land we love so much. Perhaps it is time to revoke the arrest and pardon Sigmund, as he could certainly be of great help at this time, once it is now evident that we are being invaded."
"Alberich!" shouted Siegfried, getting to his feet and lunging at the man at the mention of his imprisoned brother's name. Once again Sid seemed slated to try to contain his friend and got up to separate the pair, and once again Alberich escaped death thanks to Hilda's strong voice that made them stop.
"Listen, Alberich, and listen to me very well." her eyes were heavy as if Odin was looking at them through her. "Sigmund's betrayal is as grave as that of Fenrir in her forest. To doubt my authority is to doubt Odin. His prison will not be revoked and we will no longer speak the prisoner's name from here to the end of this battle. Is that clear, Alberich?"
He was standing, removed from Siegfried's wrath, for after all the councilor seemed to insist on bringing that wound that hurt him so much inside before Hilda, the person he most esteemed. Siegfried knew well that Alberich did it on purpose, so that his heart would waver with hatred and disgust. But Alberich finally knelt before Hilda and swore.
"Forgive me, Miss Hilda. I will not repeat this mistake again."
"Very well." she finished. "Siegfried, tell me, where is Hagen?"
"Hagen has been summoned along with Mime to Valhalla Palace, miss." replied Sid, for Siegfried was still livid and unable to answer.
"I thought the call was for all God Warriors." snapped Alberich.
"Well, that Athena Saint can stay away from this Palace!" Siegfried shouted again at Alberich, who seemed to insist on provoking him.
"Why, Siegfried, that Athena Saint you refer to is now a loyal God Warrior who even defeated one of his former companions in battle."
"I do not trust him."
"Is it him you don't trust or is it me, Siegfried?"
"I can't even make up my mind." he returned.
"Siegfried." Sid took his friend's arm again.
The tense atmosphere was once again interrupted by Hilda, who had in front of her two men apparently unable to be together in the same room without grappling.
"Enough!" she said without hiding a slight smile on her face. "It's nice to see you fighting over who will be the most faithful and loyal to me, but right now what we need is for Valhalla Palace to be protected from those invaders. Siegfried, make sure the God Warriors protect this Palace of Odin, and if Phecda is indeed a problem, eliminate him yourself."
"It will be my pleasure, Miss Hilda." he agreed.
The huge God Warrior then knelt before her with a huge bow and retreated from the balcony into the Palace, leaving behind Sid and Alberich, who also had little in common. The two of them withdrew as well, leaving Hilda alone to watch the lower town in the distance, reflecting on her future and the challenges that lay ahead.
She took a deep breath of the cold air. Forest-Fenrir had betrayed her trust and Odin's gift, but at least she was able to hit the invaders hard and that Athena Saint who was now dressed as God Warrior also knocked a sister down on the main road. Perhaps her luck was not so poor, since it was possible that those outlaws who invaded Asgard had no chance against the God Warriors, however apart they were.
The same snow that fell with extreme lightness from the white sky in Valhalla Palace was the one that also faded the black fluff of the crow that flew from the fortification throughout the region of the Realm like a sentinel always attentive to the deviations of that suffering population. A pair in the forest inside the fortified complex caught the clever bird's attention; it was a region that slowly went down and rose in snowy hills in which the ancient mansions of the rich of Asgard were scattered.
Ahead, a broad-shouldered, serious-faced young man stomped down, while in his wake ran a girl in a threadbare dress and blond locks. A scene that the villagers saw happening all these years, perhaps not so seriously and certainly full of laughter and jokes, for those two always lived together and where Princess Freia was, not far away was her friend.
"Wait, Hagen!" asked Freia from behind him.
And for the first time since he'd left Freia's parents' old hut, Hagen stopped in the snow, his cloak he pulled out of the way so he could look at his old friend. She, entirely soiled from her days in prison, her face tired, her blond hair disheveled, one of the trinkets she wore now lost, her dress torn and smeared with mud at the ends; whereas he was now the owner of a marvelous cape fluttering over the shining armor of his Divine Robe, the pointed helm and silver eyes on the crown, the beautiful Sapphire at his waist, the gleaming skull of a steed that protected his right wrist. He, like a prince, the Princess, like a prisoner.
Hagen did not recognize her, as the roles were always reversed; he was the kind but lucky villager who had the fortune to walk around the most notable ladies of Asgard, son of none, owner of nothing, he was the ragamuffin who followed the ever-shining princesses of Asgard. But here he looked like a king, while she pleaded with him like a commoner.
She fell to her knees and he stepped forward, so that it would never happen, for if one should ever kneel before anyone, it was he with her. He held her and lifted her again.
"You have to listen to me, Hagen."
"I cannot bear the thought that you have been deceived by these invaders, Princess Freia. Nothing infuriates me more than imagining that your goodwill towards our people has been manipulated, use it as they please."
"But what if they're right, Hagen? The Ring of Nibelungs only serves the End-of-Times."
"Well, perhaps we are at the end of days, Princess Freia. And I'll fight so you can see the sunlight after they're gone."
"I want you to see the sun rise beside me, my dear Hagen."
The young man's chest sagged with the suffering face of his dear friend pleading with him; that was why he always ran away or at least tried to avoid lingering in her eyes, for he knew his austere God Warrior posture would be over in moments. His salvation was the arrival of two out of breath palace guards.
"Lord Hagen." the first introduced himself and then left talking. "All God Warriors have been summoned to Valhalla Palace. Hilda's order."
"What is happening?" asked Hagen, curious to see them in that state, and was answered by the second guard as the first gasped for air.
"Lord Alberich said that the invaders managed to escape the dungeons with the help of the wild girl of the forests."
"Fenrir?" Hagen asked them, confused, for he knew about the escape, he just didn't know about the betrayal.
"Yes, they were last seen at the entrance to the Realm and then parted ways. The Palace has issued a summons for all God Warriors to return immediately."
"Tell me, where did they go?" asked Hagen, stepping forward.
"To Valhalla." said the man, a little confused, as if the information was already clear.
Hagen looked over his shoulder, where in the distance, on top of the mountain, rose the beautiful palace veiled by the Colossus of Odin that watched over them all.
"Actually..." interrupted the first guard, drawing the gaze of the God Warrior and his partner in arms as well. "There are reports that the invaders split up on the main road. It seems that some of them actually left for the palace, but invaders were seen heading towards the southern caves."
"The caves?"
Hagen looked from Valhalla to the direction he knew well of the southern caves, for it was, after all, exactly the region where he had been born and spent much of his solitary training. For if the cold of Asgard was stinging and harsh, in the heart of that land burned a fiery lava that flowed through the caverns of the southern grottos, exactly where he manifested and perfected his seidr to the point of being summoned as a God Warrior by Hilda and by Odin.
But as he quickly pondered what they might want away from Valhalla, the God Warrior was seized with a chill down his spine that made him stare hard at Freia, the Princess of his day.
"The Cave of Surtr..." he stammered, and Freia understood too.
"Hagen..." she lamented as she saw the pained look that crossed his face.
"You told them about the Cave of Surtr, didn't you?"
"They just want to seal the Poseidon Relic." she said fearlessly.
"It only took one night with a foreign prisoner for you to believe everything he says."
"I've been in jail for weeks for not believing this lie my sister forces us to live."
"She's Odin!" shouted Hagen.
"She's my sister! Always will be! Woman like me. Flesh and blood like the two of us."
"How dare you... I can barely recognize you, Freia."
"Hagen, don't say that." she asked.
"I can't believe you did this." he began, and inside the girl an enormous rage began to boil. "A suffering people like ours. A people Thor sacrificed to feed."
"Don't talk about Thor." she asked.
"And now you have given the invaders the secrets of our homeland as if offering it to the wolves. I can't believe you betrayed your people like that..."
But he didn't finish the sentence, because Freia slapped her dear friend in the face, who staggered backwards; she was still trembling and panting from answering that vile accusation with such violence. And like a stone toppling noisily, silence reigned among all; sore in his face and chest, Hagen turned his back on his Princess and ordered the palace guards.
"Take her back to the hills. I will take care of the invaders from the south."
And he left without looking back at a speed that Freia could never keep up, even if she had tried, but then she was stopped by the two guards from going forward.
Swift as the steed that his Divine Robe represented, Hagen won the leagues from that hill to where the trees all disappeared, giving way to the soft cover of snow that buried valleys. There was an underground complex used in antiquity by the greatest craftsmen in the forging of useful or precious metals; a place evidently abandoned, if not for the few animals that ventured to live under so much heat.
The footprints in the snow were clear, and Hagen knew that at least one person had been there, somewhat confused, looking for any path; and like a snow chaser, the God Warrior followed his trail into a deep grotto he knew well where it would end up: in the heart of the earth, where rock oozed in lava. But just as the God Warrior advanced into the cave, he was attacked by someone in the darkness; agile as the eight-legged Sleipnir, he dodged and tried to counter the shadow, which also leapt away.
He saw a girl on guard, her Bronze Cloth gleaming, her eyes determined and hard.
"Very good." Hagen told her. "Not bad for a fugitive."
"You talk too much." she retorted.
"And you run away too much." Hagen continued. "Why don't you walk away and go back to Greece where you came from, or surrender so I can take you back to the dungeons you shouldn't have escaped from?"
"I don't like any of those options."
"They're the only ones you have."
"How about I beat you up and make my way through this cave, what do you think about that?"
Hagen let out his laugh.
"Wounded as you are, you couldn't do anything to me." he said, noticing that there was blood on her robes. "I am the wild horse of the North, Merak Hagen, the Beta Star."
"And I am the immortal bird, Phoenix Ikki. I often shut up wild warriors like you."
"You choose to fight, then."
"I will be merciful and give you the opportunity to get out of my way, leave your Sapphire on the ground and return to your castle." said Ikki, calmly.
"My Sapphire?" Hagen asked, touching it with his right hand.
"You heard me very well." Ikki doubled. "So... what will it be?"
Hagen was silent and his breathing deepened.
"It would be an unforgivable waste for a prisoner like you to have a Sapphire of the God Odin." laughed Hagen. "What does a poor thing like you know of the gems of our Almighty God?"
"I know it can help me seal Poseidon's Sea Relic and put him back to his slumber in the Seas. I will do it with or without your help, but at least with Odin's Sapphire I can guarantee your queen will survive."
The God Warrior was possessed, but only his heavy breathing gave him away, trying to contain his feelings within himself. Blinded with fury to find who might have scrambled his dear friend's ideas, perhaps Hagen would be certain even a palace guard who looked at him the wrong way was to blame for Freia's vile manipulation.
"And I suppose you heard it from a princess in prison." he tried to hide his anger in mockery.
Ikki let out a laugh, but didn't respond.
"And did you really believe the words of the imprisoned princess?" asked Hagen.
"It's ridiculous that you try to manipulate me, wild horse." laughed Ikki, walking towards him. "Your eyes, your posture, your perspiration. You have no idea who is in front of you. Your faltering words could never lead me away from the truth."
And then she stopped in front of Hagen, looking at him deeply, as if invading his mind.
"And the truth is; you love her, don't you?"
For the first time, the God Warrior hesitated; and if the Phoenix Saint had guessed so much with so little, that embarrassed silence of his spoke louder than any song he could have recited at that moment for her. It was really sold, for Ikki had always operated in the shadows, watching her prey and using against them what was usually most dear to them. He couldn't even hide his love from a palace guard, let alone an skilled observer like her.
"So you really were the one who put these ridiculous ideas into Freia's head. I will punish you for that." the man threatened. "No, even death will not be punishment enough for you who threw thorns into her heart."
"I doubt you can do that, God Warrior."
Hagen pulled back his cloak and manifested an aura that differed from the one Ikki had seen manifest around the wild girl; the dark earth of that cave lit by the rivers of lava that ran through the walls trembled at the feet of the God Warrior, who shone a fleeting white mist around his body, but also shook the whole place to some surprise of Phoenix, who did not imagine a warrior lost in love so powerful.
Ahead of him, the God Warrior saw how matter slightly distorted at the touch of the flaming cosmos of the Phoenix Bird that shot out of her finger like a golden thread at tremendous speed towards him. He didn't dodge, as he felt compelled to discover the mysteries of that blow, but then he lifted a wall of ice with his arm and reflected back the Phoenix Phantom Fist, which hit the rock behind Ikki, knocking it to the ground.
"You should abandon this fight, for your death would surely make that princess very sad." said Ikki.
"Who do you think you are to talk about Freia like that?" asked Hagen.
He leapt towards the girl, who easily dodged Hagen's passionate onslaught.
"If you really like the girl, don't fight and give me the Odin Sapphire."
"Don't be such an idiot, Phoenix." laughed Hagen from under his helmet.
"I would be helping her."
"You're delusional!"
"I'll say it one last time out of respect for that girl: we're only interested in sealing the Poseidon Relic. She believes that with the Balmung Sword we can save her sister's life and then seal the Relic in peace. That is your Princess' wish."
"Don't tell lies, Phoenix! Princess Freia would never ask anything of a foreign invader like you. You're making it up just to get away from my power. You are a shame!"
His seidr was glowing and Ikki noted that although his aura was warm, his power seemed to be able to conjure up the freezing force of that region as well. His voice tore through the cavern walls and made Ikki marvel at Hagen's breath.
"Freezing Universe!"
The ray of ice hit Ikki and lifted her against the cave, pinning her frozen against the upside-down stone face; her body could still see itself through the translucent ice conjured up by Merak Hagen, who walked away believing he had made yet another victim of his aura. But the ice that locked Ikki slowly cracked and sublimated all at once, revealing the Phoenix's fiery glowing cosmos.
"I don't think I've ever seen such misguided choices in a battle." she commented to him.
The God Warrior was even surprised to see Phoenix so easily get rid of his freeze.
"Trying to freeze myself in a hot place like this would be a primary mistake, but ignoring the nature of your opponent's Cosmo is an even more unforgivable mistake."
"You will pay!"
"Listen, God Warrior Merak Hagen." said the Phoenix Saint calmly, closing her eyes. "I will kill you. And that will break the heart of that Princess."
"Shut up!"
The God Warrior attacked, but Ikki easily dodged it.
"You would have to be punished forever to pay for your sin!"
The man was beside himself; Freia was indeed the most important person in Asgard to him, and Hagen was afraid to admit it, but it was more important to him that she loved him than to Hilda herself, who ruled all that land. Freia knew all about Hagen.
The Cave to the south of Asgard was then torn to its bowels by the fierce combat between the God Warrior and the Athena Saint, who crept deeper and deeper into the inner path of the ancient artificers, to the point where they were actually facing of a huge lava lake, where Hagen noticed that Phoenix seemed to be starting to struggle with the high temperature of the place.
"Now, Phoenix, are you already suffering from the heat? I thought you told me it was a mistake to attack you with fire."
Ikki didn't answer him, as she was equally surprised. She was a Saint molded in the hell of the Death Queen Island, where lava was not uncommon and her training none the less intense. She healed her wounds in the mouth of a volcano on Canon Island and made the fire that burned in places paths for her wings to fly to impossible distances. But here they really seemed to be in the heart of the planet, where nothing could withstand the heat and melt to its most primordial form. The lava lake was huge, and the low ceiling of stalactites created a kind of greenhouse that magnified the stuffy, warm feeling that the radiance of that bright, amber spectacle gave her.
Sweat dripped from her forehead, but in front of her Hagen looked like he was living a simple summer day. There was even a smile on his face.
"This is the only place in Asgard that doesn't have snow. And it will be your grave, Phoenix. What an irony."
And then the God Warrior jumped into the lava lake, leaving Ikki amazed to see him land on a rock that was in the middle of the lake.
"How is this possible?" she wondered, as she realized that if she was going to try to follow Hagen, she would have to overcome an even more incandescent wall of heat above the lava.
The God Warrior laughed and displayed his seidr aura like ice mist around his body.
"The cold of Asgard has shaped the strength of the God Warriors, but it's the heat of this cavern that has made me the strongest of them all."
"Now I see." Ikki understood when she saw that it was that icy aura around Hagen that allowed him to live peacefully in such an inhospitable environment.
"It's going to be too easy to cook you with this magma, Phoenix."
The Athena Saint walked along the edge of the lake of lava, unable to overcome the unbearable heat that was on it. Sweat covered her entire body and salted her eyes, which she tried to clean so she wouldn't lose anything from her opponent; the truth was, she needed to get to the Relic, but she knew that that passionate God Warrior wouldn't let her leave without a battle. He commanded the magma with his arms and a wave of heat surged up to sweep over Ikki.
She cringed and felt as if her skin was slowly scorched. Her Cosmo avoided the worst, but Ikki never imagined that she could find herself faltering in the face of such heat. Her legs trembled for a moment and she had to lean against the back wall of the cave, as if to breathe less hot air and get her head on straight.
Hagen, in turn, crossed both arms in front of him and his aura, once bright and icy, turned red and around him the magma began to rise like a wall of thick, dancing drops. He shouted so that the entire cavern could echo as a gush of fire, lava and magma shot towards Ikki.
"Ardent Pressure!"
The Phoenix Saint jumped to avoid that terrible blow, one, two, but the third time she tried to flee, she was barely saved, but she felt the terrible heat of that blow on her skin, being brought to the ground for the first time. With difficulty, she got to her knees, but then she found herself facing a huge lava wave raised by Hagen's aura that would engulf her on the lake shore. Her phoenix wing feathers glowed one instant, and the next, she reappeared behind Hagen's back. The heat was unbearable, but she had one chance.
And the God Warrior's haunted face was surprised by Ikki's flaming fist which violently hit him in the stomach, knocking him off the rock he was standing on and into the sea of lava. But Hagen, to avoid falling into certain death, manifested a freezing ray like the one he had used earlier and, to Ikki's amazement, simply froze and created an ice shelf where he could avoid being engulfed by lava. From there he quickly jumped to the shore and the ice shelf collapsed.
Ikki jumped back up as well and dropped to her knees, scorched by the heat.
"Impressive, Phoenix." Hagen was surprised, also panting, for he had almost fallen victim to that lava he boasted of enduring. He didn't fight someone common.
In front of him, Ikki was shivering from the heat and sweat was running down her face; she was the girl who had deceived Freia, his dear friend. Played with her feelings and her pure heart. Perhaps any other enemy suffering like that Hagen way would again offer some chance to flee or surrender, but that one needed to be punished. And again his fiery fist raised the magma and for the first time hit Ikki in the chest, throwing her against the stone and causing her helm to roll at the God Warrior's feet.
The God Warrior walked up to Ikki, took her by the hair and lifted her up to throw her forever to disappear into the lava hell of that cave. But a dear voice made him stop.
"Stop it, Hagen."
He looked to the side and saw Princess Freia emerge, suffering from the heat of the cave, but still there, to his amazement.
"Don't do this, please, Hagen." she asked, and her suffering eyes trembled for mercy.
Hagen was no match for those eyes he adored so much, and he hesitated for a moment, remembering so many afternoons with her; so many games and snowballs thrown at each other. So much joy. So much sadness.
"But Freia, I am a God Warrior."
She didn't answer him, but her eyes were all the pleading he needed.
He couldn't resist. He could never deny her anything; and if he usually avoided those terrible eyes, in there he could not escape the enormous courage that Princess Freia had to summon to appear in that inhospitable cave, suffering the heat that was capable of bringing down even an Athena Saint.
He dropped Ikki's body at his feet onto the stone.
Freia walked over to Ikki and helped her to her feet, sharing with her one of the gold bracelets she wore on her wrists. Upon feeling that bracelet on her wrist, the Phoenix Saint felt her body cool down.
"It will help you with this heat." said the Princess, while helping Ikki up.
"Again, you are in a place you don't belong, Princess." she replied, staggering to her feet and leaning against the stone wall of the cave.
Inside the God Warrior, fury flared again when he saw that Freia was helping that foreigner, who didn't even seem grateful for her enormous affection. But when he set himself up again to punish her, Freia caught his attention.
"Hagen, please." asked the Princess. "I need you to listen to me for once. It's for Hilda. We need to save her. I need to save my sister."
"Your sister doesn't need saving, Freia, understand this once and for all. She is the Representative of Odin who will lead us to a world of light, who will guide us against the invaders of our lands."
"There is no invasion, Hagen! The Athena Saint just want to seal the God of the Seas."
"Now, can't you hear yourself? Can't you see that this is a lie you've been told?" Hagen despaired, his eyes glazed and his voice wobbly, not believing what his friend was saying. "It's her fault for putting these things into your head. This stupid foul bird."
"No, it's not true, Hagen."
"Wake up, Freia! I beg you!" he asked. "For weeks you've been looking for a reason to believe the things you say, to the point of letting yourself be trapped by madness; I know you really want to believe that you're right and your sister is wrong. And so this bastard offers you everything you need to remain blind to the truth. But the truth is that Hilda was right all along. Our people are in danger!"
"No, this has nothing to do with what I suffered, Hagen. It's about all of us!"
"You were tricked by her!" accused Hagen at last. "And I can't forgive that! All your sister wants most is to lead us to a different place. A place where our people can feel the sun on their faces. Sleep a dark night. Is that so terrible? How could she be wrong?"
"No, Hagen..."
"And to achieve that dream for our people, for Hilda... and for you, Freia. I am willing to give up my life."
"Oh, Hagen..."
"What the Princess is saying is true." Ikki said, interfering in the couple's conversation, placing herself next to Freia. "You should believe her."
"Silence!" interrupted Hagen, his finger pointing in the direction of the Phoenix. "You're the big instigator and you're to blame for all of this."
"You're wrong." commented Ikki.
"Hilda and Asgard will reign!" Hagen said forcefully, his eyes flashing red quickly.
"Hagen, please use your strength for peace. Didn't you train to protect us?"
"Oh, Freia, it's terrible to know that you no longer trust your sister or all of us. You prefer to hear the words of this wretch carcass." and then Hagen looked back at Ikki, his eyes smoldering with hate. "Phoenix, you are a despicable woman. I hate you with all my might. Prepare to die!"
The God Warrior crossed his arms causing the lake of magma to become even more violent behind him, but saw that Freia placed herself in front of Ikki, like a human shield. The complete shock on Hagen's face reflected the state of fury that roared in his chest; the spell over his Princess's mind seemed so deep that she risked her own life for Phoenix.
"What are you doing, Freia?"
"Stop it, Hagen."
"Get out of there, Freia, let's go!"
"I won't allow it."
The tie between them gradually made him close his eyes and intensify his aura even more in that cave.
"Phoenix, I hate you from the bottom of my heart. I am a God Warrior who defends Hilda, while you are an invader who hides behind a Princess."
"The Princess makes her own choices. The Princess chooses her own thoughts." replied Ikki behind the girl. "If you truly love her, you should acknowledge her requests."
"Freia, get out of there!" asked Hagen.
"I won't move!" said Freia.
"Are you really going to let her die, Phoenix!? Is that what the Athena Saints are made of?"
"I already said she made her choice." said Ikki again, closing her eyes.
"Damn you!" scolded Hagen, still with the lava rising in a wave behind him, moving to the side so he could hit Ikki without Freia being hurt, but she again protected Phoenix.
"I'm not leaving!" she said bravely.
And for the first time Hagen hesitated, scared, because Freia was really determined and if he wanted to fulfill his promise to bury Phoenix, there it seemed that he would only succeed if he also killed the one he loved.
"You'll have to kill me first." said Freia, sure of herself.
"But... Freia, why are you doing this? How can you protect her like that?"
"My friend." lamented Freia. "This is not what we are. It's not her I am protecting. It's your heart. We suffer in this icy land, but the sun we cannot see in the sky burns in our hearts. And so we are virtuous. And so we are Children of Odin. I cannot allow you to kill Phoenix, for you would be committing a terrible sin."
"And what will become of my heart if I kill you, Freia?" Hagen asked, his voice wavering.
"Perhaps you will finally realize your mistakes and fight to rescue my sister."
"No. You are wrong, my dear friend." wailed Hagen, his aura taken on by even greater intensity.
The lava behind the God Warrior surrounded him like a tense shield.
"Is this really the end, Phoenix? Will you survive both of us? Will you let me kill a simple girl who protects you?"
"That's exactly it." said Ikki, determined.
"Damn it, Freia..." Hagen lamented.
And it was weeping that his voice echoed throughout the cave, raising the lava and causing that wall of fire to converge in his hands, hurling himself like a terrible flamethrower before him.
"Ardent Pressure!"
The cave echoed Freia's cry of pain, who closed her eyes awaiting her sad end; As the heat in the cave grew as if the planet's core had exploded between them, she dropped to her knees, breathing in the hot air that rushed into her lungs and heard the tinkle of something metallic bouncing on the floor. She noticed that she was still alive. She opened her eyes and saw before her the silver-finned helm her beloved friend Hagen wore; she looked up to see him frozen in front of her, his arms still crossed in front of him, but scorched by the fire, his eyes trembling and his breath syncopated, while a golden glow seemed to burn his forehead.
"Hagen? Hagen!"? she called.
"He will not attack." said Ikki, appearing behind Hagen, her flaming fist letting out. "He never could."
Hagen's arms finally parted and fell to his sides, still smoldering from the fire he'd held back in the last moment of hitting Freia, curbing all his seidr's fury in his own hands. Ikki then walked in front of Hagen, who was now unable to do anything else, as his mind had been torn apart by the Phoenix Saint. Calmly, she withdrew the Odin Sapphire from Hagen's waist and the Divine Robe left his body, separating in the air and uniting above the lava lake in the beautiful figure of an eight-legged steed, slowly submerging into the magma. .
In front of her, Ikki saw that Hagen was still wearing the very simple and shabby robes of the villager he was in Asgard, and then she turned her back on him to continue her mission, when she heard Hagen's broken and painful voice speak behind her with immense difficulty.
"Phoenix." stammered Hagen, drawing her attention. "Who are you? Are you really unable of feeling anything? Are you unable to love?"
Ikki didn't answer him and her eyes were on Freia's who, kneeling, mourned the fate of her beloved friend. The Phoenix Saint walked up to her and gave her back the gold bracelet, got up and left them both there, but Freia got up bravely and called out to her one last time.
"You won't get to Surtr's Cave from here. You will have to go to Valhalla. Only there will you find the way."
Phoenix stopped, pondered and then spoke to her.
"The poor lad will be back to normal in some time if what he feels inside his soul is really deep and true. Take care of him. Take care of your heart, Princess Freia."
And in that fiery cave, Freia rose and embraced the catatonic and injured body of her beloved Hagen, while Phoenix Ikki walked out of that cave into the cold pondering the God Warrior's last words. He, forged in fire like her, had his chest burning with passion for a Princess, while she, also forged in terror, seems to have only the strength of the power of hatred left.
On the way out of the cave and lost in thought, Ikki was surprised by another God Warrior who hit her violently and left her lying in the snow still reflecting on her heart. Could she really not be able to love?
ABOUT THE CHAPTER: Hyoga became a God Warrior, so there was no way to pit him against Hagen, although he is very good in the anime. It was important to maintain Hagen's motivation to take revenge on whoever had 'put ideas' into Freia's mind. And in this adaptation, it was Ikki. I struggled for a while to accept that Ikki would suffer from the heat, but I think in the end it didn't turn out too bad.
NEXT CHAPTER: A SECRET IN THE SNOW
Aldebaran awakens and shares with Shaina the mysterious circumstances of his attack, which forces the Master-at-Arms to leave for Asgard as well.