Goddess Collector: Every Hole is a Goal

Title: Risk to Trust

The soft and refreshing crunch of the footsteps marking the surface of Niffleheim came to a stunning end. Only now Nik felt how small he was compared to so many entities in existence.

"The root of Yggdrasil pierces through the realm right here, you see those marks? Those were left by Nidhogg— Eater of the Dead," Loki smiled proudly as if he owned the World Tree.

In front of them was a blockade. As far as they could see, all-encompassing darkness covered their vision. Even the mist of the ream cleared apart. A wall of wood, too dark to be called a standard brown bark and too old to be simply considered a tree. An existence said to support the entire world itself.

Nik's gaze focused on the clear marks, bites, across the surface of this wooden wall. These marks could better be called trenches. Dug so deep and yet, the bark of the tree never ended, keeping the inner portion of the tree protected.

"Come on, no time to dawdle!" Loki chuckled and began walking while Nik heard Poole whispering, "Holy macaroni! What would it feel like to eat a fruit from a tree this big? No... what would it feel like to pee against the roots of the world tree?"

Spider's expression turned dark.

"Will you stop with such vulgarities?"

"Why?" Poole pouted, "I'm asking whatever's going in the minds of guys and gals watching us!"

'There we go...' Nik sighed.

"Hiss!" Excited, Ignit made its way quicker than Loki. Her tongue continuously flickering as if she had found a treasure. However, when she grew closer to the wall of wood, she stopped and looked around before growling softly and turning back.

"Is she on crack?" Loki inquired, "Why would she suddenly shout— that's mine!— and then stop?"

With Loki's allspeak, she could understand whatever the living beings around her stated. Angela, too, heard the strange shout while held in Morgan's hand, Moon let out a pitiful cry, as if mocking her elder pet.

"The tree enchants those with the same affinity... I just stopped her from trying to bite it," Nik answered calmly as they made their way towards the blockade and as they grew closer, the group found multiple crevices over the surface of the tree.

"Anyway... this Nidhogg. What exactly is it?" Nik inquired with a curious expression. His words making others look towards Loki who instantly chanted a projection spell and revealed an image of a silver serpentine behemoth. Its long body similar to a thick bundle of vines and snapping jaws that roared towards the sky silently.

"A dragon birthed in Niffleheim long ago. It ate the souls of the dead transported into the Niffleheim and for amusement, gnawed on the surface of Yggdrasil. I cannot blame it. What else is there to do in this place?" Loki snickered.

"Still, this Dragon took its amusement too far. A small portion of Yggdrasil's root was finally snapped apart and it fell over the realm. Its existence breaking the space and creating a black hole that swallowed Nidhogg and ended its saga... well, the lore is much more complicated but it is the gist of it. I feel no need to praise the might of a dead being," Loki smiled as the group stood a few meters apart from the surface of the Yggdrasil.

"Anyone who is itching to climb the surface of the root is welcomed to do so. As much as I would love to see you all make a fool out of yourself, it is expected of a good guide to remark that the surface of the roots of the World Tree suck everything for nutrition and... even I fear this kind of power. Challenge its might at your own risk. This behemoth may support the world but it by no means a kind entity."

Loki's words made Angela shiver as she blushed and looked away the moment she felt Morgan's disappointed stare. This time, Angela was truly speechless.

"How can we cross it?" Nik sighed.

"It's good that you really begged me to tag along," Loki snickered, "Only one entrance of the crevice leads to the center of the root which holds the exit while the other crevices are a pool of energy-sucking forces."

Nik's expression turned bleak and he couldn't help but speak out, "Isn't there any other way aside from this point?"

"There is," Loki nodded, "But that route is considered the 'front' of the realm. Since I am already here, it's given that our route will be shorter and without unnecessary interjections. As I remarked, our first stop will by Gjoll," Loki chuckled as she whispered the arcane syllables of Asgard, conjuring a spell while Nik and Morgan both noted down the spell, it was a simple one, after all.

"Aaaaghaaaaa!" Loki suddenly shouted, his voice echoing.

"If you ask me, she's the one who seems to be on crack," Jennifer mumbled. If she wasn't in her Hulk form, she would have already been frozen stiff.

"True," Janet smiled and chuckled, her gaze still observing Loki's ravishing dress while taking sneaking glances towards Morgan. She cannot wait to slip into one of these dresses and make Nik pull her out of them!

'Control... control... Nik can turn small, too... we'll have many chances...' Janet gulped. This truly would be a trip worth remembering.

Meanwhile, Loki continued to shout into the crevices, and finally, from one of the crevices, Loki's shout echoed through, making her smile in satisfaction.

"Since the crevices are filled with energy-sucking pools, I cannot recklessly control my magical energy and make contact lest I will be sucked dry, a job meant more worthwhile for some other wench, to be perfectly honest. But, if I infuse my voice with mana, only my echo will be absorbed and not my entire magical reserve. Once an echo blows out, it means that there is no threat of confronting such dangers," Loki grinned, already knowing that the spell would be seen through Morgan. So she might as well explain the reasoning, right?

But how could she have expected Nik to have already touched the realm of grandmaster in the concept of spellcasting and wizardry?

"Let's enter. An amazing tourist site awaits us," Loki walked into the crevice without any hesitation while the group followed. The moment all of them entered the path, it felt as if they had entered an extremely dark cave with seemingly no end.

It was chilling.

"I smell something strange," Nik whispered while Ignit, a little unnerved by the darkness, stuck close to him.

"Snakes," Morgan whispered, her words making Loki nod with a smile.

"Precisely, Hel-Snakes. Too many to count, and too poisonous to face head-on. Nurtured in the pits of Neffleheim, reared by the exhales of Yggdrasil, and the dweller of the poisonous stream of Gjoll, these creatures can be considered an exotic feat of poison," Loki sighed in admiration, clearly, her likes and dislikes diverged way too much from the ordinary choices.

"Snakes? Ugh," Poole and Spider shivered at the same time, sharing their well-deserved fear of serpents.

"It's honestly a pity about Nidhogg... if it was still alive, we could have tried to tame it," Nik opened up to break the silence.

"Don't you have enough reptilians already?" Angela frowned.

"Not enough dragons," Nik traced his chin while sighing, "And most of them are nutritious. If I can find a way to breed and produce dragons... hehe..." A greedy grin stretched across his lips. Of course, he meant true dragons and not half-assed descendants of the species that needed to climb-up the bloodline once again. That process is simply inefficient.

Shaking her head, Morgan focused forward. As the group continued to walk while chatting softly, commenting about the realm and their expectations of the adventure. they soon came to hear the faint sound of gurgling liquid accompanied with the echoes of endless hiss combined into a single dreadful call of snakes that even made Ignit feel cold in her heart, much less the shivering Moon who was almost at the end of whatever little wits her animalistic senses had.

"We have reached it," Loki's expression turned a little fervent, "Hvergelmir!"

---

In the regal halls of Asgard, a long-haired woman wearing a long, enamored gown suddenly looked towards the exit of the palace. Her mud-blonde hair shimmering under the natural glow of celestial stars and eyes as deep as the ocean looked in a certain direction.

"I sense anxiety from you, Mother," a rough grunt broke the woman's focus as she looked towards the charming blonde god. His blue eyes holding arcs of electricity as he continued to stand in front of a certain gate.

"A mother's foolish instinct, Thor," the woman replied softly, "But it is not well of you to stay and seek your Father's awakening. His body and soul are stressed after years of battles. I don't understand however Loki found out about both of your half-sister but... I saw her life escape in front of me. A cold dagger through her young bosom," sadness flickered in the woman's gaze.

"Loki... he, no she. She wants me here for a purpose, by now I'm sure of it. She has probably cooked up some scheme for the mortal realm but... after such a long time, how would Loki find out about our Sister if not through a trusted source of hers? I..." Looking at Mjolnir, its handle clenched in his strong fist, "I will wait. If the tenth realm is sealed, I will demand its unlocking. If there is a chance that a sister of mine... your daughter is still alive and still unknowing of her true heritage... I will bring her back."

Thor looked into his mother's eyes. A woman not bound by blood but nurtured emotions of thousands of years. The only woman to tolerate him at every turn of events, how could he not even try to bring her firstborn back?

Freyja's shoulders trembled but her expression remained still.

"I cannot possibly hope to break your convictions," she finally spoke after a few moments of silence.

"But promise me something."

"Anything, mother," Thor nodded.

"Should you have the fortune to find her, do not treat her as an exiled enemy even if she thinks of you as an enemy. I cannot begin to imagine the venom the Angels of the tenth realm must have drowned that poor soul in to put her against us. The Angels are vicious, every move made to hunt and predatory purpose. Glory is lost to them in pursuit of power... but... please," her eyes warmed up slightly, "do let me see her once."

"I would want nothing else," Thor presented a not-so-boorish smile. His expression the most humane one that any of the Asgardians could ever achieve except for Loki.

"Now, your father needs time. Till then, rest... I feel troubled deep down."

As the pair of divine beings left, they failed to sense a very thin film of energy covering the interior of the guarded room. Within the shrine, all the guards lied on the floor. Meanwhile, covered by a layer of astonishing energy, an old man with an eyepatch over his right eye slept on a raised bed with a peaceful expression.

"This is the All-father?" a mischievous chime echoed as much to the shock of the speaker, he gazed at the red-skinned cloaked devil.

"Yes. If it wasn't for Supreme Sorcerer, we couldn't have hoped to reach this location directly," Mephisto admitted while Strange floated mid-air, maintaining the stealth spell around the room.

"The All-father is sleeping only in a physical sense. He has perceived all of us and his wrath once woken up would be unimaginable. According to your terms... he is rank 6, too. But far stronger than I or Mephisto. Can you handle it?" Strange inquired the lithe figure as he scratched the back of his head with a wry expression.

"I told you guys, I don't have a plan. I mean... effort is always awarded, right? I should be awarded this time, too!" Ray chuckled, his pink pupils glimmering as he entered the mind of the god.

"Brian, now!" Ray suddenly spoke up.

More devilish than the self-proclaimed demon Mephisto, the blue-skinned bald Brian grunted as an extremely strange force erupted from within him.

Impressed by the force of time, Mephisto couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"The time around the two of them is slowed down by 11 times... that's the max I can achieve. If I stopped the time around them then it wouldn't last more than a few seconds and the barrier around the old man is resisting my trick," Brian groaned. However, his mind was extremely alert.

This was an extremely risky act of invasion. To go straight for the weakened leader... it could have worked if they wanted to kill Odin. However, that was far from Ray's thinking. He wanted to control this God after a battle of mind and consciousness. Deep down, Brian had no hope for the success of the plan unless they used one specific item in this case.

Knowing that their opponent was an extreme case of God. A being named mighty even by Mephisto and Supreme Sorcerer. Ray and Brian were working on assumption that Ray might not just be injured on a physical and mental level.

"His soul is weakening! Hurry," Mephisto broke the silence. Unlike the raid on Mephisto's hell where the Ghost Rider and the Hulk did the major work with Strange supporting with his arcane arts, the current act was a silent one and they couldn't get assistance from those two.

With a thought, a small ball of light appeared in front of Brian as he pushed it towards Ray.

Unimpeded by the delayed time around Ray and Odin, the ball entered Ray's body.

"Amazing! Hey, you should really share the fruits of the world tree! These are already extinct in here but you've probably got a motherlode!" Mephisto rubbed his hand together.

This orb of light was in fact the Sap of First Tree, the item that greatly excited Nik.

"Shut the fuck up," Brian growled, his gaze turning a little cruel, "Don't stress me out too much. If you guys still had that Time Stone, all of this would have been far easier!"

"Krodh."

As Krodh materialized around Brian, the butt chinned man finally sat down, "Tag, you're it. We'll take rest after three minutes."

"Yes," Krodh nodded instantly and took over the task. With Krodh being Brian's familiar, they did not have to break the spell and could seamlessly transition into the control of the spell.

"Hmm... Nik is late about his consignement of symbiotes..." Brian suddenly remembered the greatest item of the trade during their group-up.

"Oh, well. He should get here... this isn't a place one will leave unintentionally and if he has support, he'll be even quicker," a smirk touched Brian's lips as he recalled the fact that Nik still had two amazing services. The art of fusion and the guide of evolution.

"I hope we find something as great as those two acts... but..." Looking towards Ray as he concentrated on Odin, Brian licked his lips, "This time, conflict is unavoidable. Whether it's for the share of the loot from Ray, or Nik arriving later on. Common Sense suggests that we should take what we can and leave this realm. Act as robbers and rob this place blind... but that wasn't the reason why we opted for this riskier route to gain control of the realm before Nik."

Deep down, the trio now needed to test each other's true depths. Find out what's the truth. How much of their boasted capabilities are lies? As they move forward, they would need to develop a trust for each other fend-off opponents numbering more than one.

How could that trust be developed?

Idle chit-chat? Continuous trades? Or running into each other in a bar and acting as a wingman?

To Brian, the answer is Combat.

It is already high time that they get through this phase so that they can be even more open about their capabilities and discuss worst-case scenarios and develop strategies to overcome such situations.

In the long-term, what was more important their life?

This realm and its ownership, probably, will become the excuse for their conflict, or so Brian hoped. That was the reason why he was interested in coming to this location. Although he didn't have this talk with Ray explicitly, Ray did suggest his own acceptance of the matter in the passing once Brian brought it up.

'Still, I am promised more resources. To Ray and Nik, human 'resources' matter more than material resources... hehe, sometimes, it pays off to not be a licentious slut~!' Brian thought with a gleeful expression.

They are robbing a divine palace for god's sake! The number of goodies they'll get would be astonishing!