Chapter Text
“Don’t disappoint me,” The god of thunder’s voice boomed in Brunhilde’s ears, coupled by the wind that had kicked up from his presence. “Or else I’ll kill you.”
The valkyrie took a deep breath as the faint sound of footsteps slowly faded away. As the completely faded into obscurity, Gӧll collapsed to her knees, leaning on a pillar for support.
“I… that was almost too much!” The youngest sister panted out as she stood up to regain her bearings. “I don’t know how you manage to remain calm like that, Sister.”
“Oh? Do I really look calm?” Brunhilde asked. She could feel her sister flinch as she laid eyes on her. As the elder valkyrie exhaled, she could see steam escape from her lips. “Let us hurry. There isn’t much time. We have seven million years to comb through and we can only select thirteen humans.”
“I-it’s impossible, though!” Gӧll cried as Brunhilde took out a device and pressed on the screen, letting a projection of thousands of faces flare to life. “Is there even a single human who can stand up to the gods?!”
“Oh ye of little faith,” As soon as a third voice entered the conversation, Brunhilde was on her feet, her arm extended in an attack. The newcomer, an old man with a beard and distinct red eyes was mere centimeters away from her fist, regarding it the same way a human would regard a fly. The eldest valkyrie’s brow twitched at the man’s presence. That punch was aimed to kill. He knew where exactly her fist would be for him to narrowly avoid it like that.
“Who are you?” Brunhilde grit her teeth. She had never seen a man like this in Valhalla. Whether it be god or demigod, Brunhilde would at least have a passing knowledge of anyone who resided here.
“Just a simple passerby. One who could not help but take interest in your little act of defiance,” The man took a step to the side before dusting off his suit, gripping a cane in his hand. The man was elderly, roughly seventy years if Brunhilde was judging off conventional human aging. “I would like to offer something to you. A selection of humans that have escaped your sight.”
“What do you mean? I have the record of every human that has ever been born,” Brunhilde said, lowering her hand. She didn’t know who this man was, but even with the other valkyrie on her side, the battle against the gods was stacked against her favor. She was willing to hear out anyone offering assistance.
“You see, there is a much wider multiverse that goes beyond this place,” The old man said as he reached under his coat and pulled out a device with a similar look to Brunhilde’s own. Switching the device on, faces appeared, except none of them were faces that Brunhilde recognized. “You see, when one looks into the Kaleidoscope, many opportunities show themselves to you.”
“And these humans… they can kill gods?” Brunhilde’s voice wavered. Some of these people certainly looked powerful, but she didn’t have any knowledge of them. She already had an idea of who to call forth as her vanguard, but if there was someone even more powerful than that brute…
“Take a look for yourself,” The man handed her the device. Brunhilde hesitantly took the device and started looking through it, her eyes widening as she did. Every single person that was registered in this device was a powerful warrior. When she had thought of the thirteen humans to participate in this tournament, she had struggled to fill the list. But with this?
“What do you want from us?” Brunhilde looked up at the man. For him to be here in Valhalla, he must have at least some divinity in him. Gods were fickle creatures. Ones not so easily trusted. So there had to be a catch.
“Put on a good show,” The man said with a small chuckle as he started to walk past the two warriors. “Show the gods what humanity is truly capable of.”
“If that’s all you ask, then it shall be done,” Brunhilde nodded solemnly. “Before you leave, may I ask for your name?”
“My name?” The man paused, his smile only widening. “Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.”
As the man walked off, Gӧll rushed to Brunhilde’s side. “Just what kind of humans could he be talking about?”
“Powerful ones,” Brunhilde felt a smile growing on her face as her eyes fixated on a specific profile. “And I know just who to choose for this first match.”
“This is the moment I’ve been waiting for!” Heimdall shouted, more to himself than to the crowd of both humans and gods that were gazing down on him. “After all these years, I can finally blow this Gjallarhorn, for the time to open the curtain of Ragnarok draws near! ARE YOU READY?! ”
The messenger god cackled as the crowd cheered with all their might. He started to walk as he continued his speech. “The rules are simple. This is a fight to the death! The winner is decided by the complete and utter annihilation of the opposing side!”
“Are you sure you can trust that man?” Gӧll asked as she watched with Brunhilde. “I know our vanguard is strong, but I’m still doubtful…”
“Have faith,” Brunhilde said as she looked at the screen of the device Zelretch had given her. “The gods are powerful foes. In order to defeat them, we need to show them something that they lack. We need to show them that there are qualities that are inherently human that make them worth keeping around.”
“I-if you say so,” The younger valkyrie said as they returned their attention to Heimdall.
“It’s time to introduce the contestants of the first bout!” Heimdall spread his arms as he shouted. “Fighting for the gods is someone I’m you’ve all been waiting to see cut loose! His Mjolnir can split the seas and break apart the lands! If he wasn't going to step forth, then who would?!”
As Heimdall spoke, a single footstep was heard, turning everyone’s attention to the source. At that instant, hundreds of human faces fell and hundreds of divine faces brightened as a man started to make his way towards the arena.
“Living by fighting and dying by fighting, it’s the Nordic’s strongest Berserker of Thunder…” Heimdall said in an exaggerated movement. “GIVE IT UP FOR THE GOD THOR!”
The crowd roared with excitement as the god of thunder stepped onto the arena, letting his giant hammer crash to his side. Brunhilde grit her teeth and clenched her fists. Just as she expected, Thor made his appearance as the vanguard of the gods. Even though she picked someone she thought could go up against him, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.
“AND FOR THE VANGUARD OF MAN!” Heimdall shouted, grabbing the attention of the audience once more. Brunhilde’s breath hitched. She knew that the gods didn’t notice any discrepancies with the people she submitted, so she was fine on that front, but were the gods really so arrogant? Or did they know about these people already?
“THIS MAN IS CHANNELING THE WILL OF MANKIND!” Heimdall shouted as a loud boom came from the other side of the arena. “ANSWER ME! WILL THIS MAN BE DEVOURED BY THE GODS?!”
“NO!” Brunhilde turned to see a group of people in the stands. Hundreds, if not thousands of people were bunched together as they shouted their defiance. That wasn’t the odd part, however. All of these people came in shapes and sizes Brunhilde didn’t even know existed. Some of these people towered even over the gods themselves and there was a particular creature that was easily over 100 feet tall.
“THAT REMAINS TO BE SEEN!” Heimdall extended his hand towards the human side of the arena. “LET US INTRODUCE THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD, A MAN RIVALED ONLY BY THE KING OF THE PIRATES HIMSELF, EDWARD “WHITEBEARD” NEWGATE!”
A roar of applause welcomed the man as he stepped forward, a thud being created with each step. Brunhilde felt joy creep in her heart as she saw the astonished faces of the gods.
“Is… that truly a man?” Brunhilde heard Aphrodite mutter. Brunhilde had to ask herself the same question. The man, if you could even call him that, was almost triple Thor’s size. Despite being called Whitebeard, there was no beard in sight. Instead, a crescent shaped mustache rested upon his lip. The man carried a naginata that was roughly his height as if it was nothing.
Brunhilde smiled as she remembered Randgriz meeting the hulking man for the first time. She didn’t know for certain if she would have been compatible with her initial selection, but with Whitebeard, his overwhelming compassion spoke to the Fourth Sister. Though the two didn’t exchange many words, they weren’t needed for Vӧlundr to happen.
The man stepped onto the arena with a smile as he looked down at the god, who wordlessly looked up at him. In a second, Brunhilde felt her muscles tense. That same overwhelming aura that Thor had emitted earlier… it was amplified. Thor was showing his true intent here.
“I see,” Whitebeard’s smile quickly faded away as he stamped his weapon onto the ground, creating a small tremor across the arena as he did. He closed his eyes before opening them quickly. A wave of pressure hit Brunhilde, causing her to stumble. As she looked up, she saw human onlookers collapsing one by one, falling backwards unconscious as they all succumbed to the man’s greater will.
“W-what was that?” Gӧll said, forcing herself to her feet, as she had also collapsed from the overwhelming pressure.
“That is the Color of the Supreme King,” Brunhilde turned to see a man smiling as he looked down at the arena. He towered over both Brunhilde and Gӧll at roughly 9 feet tall and was draped in red pirate’s attire. Resting upon his wide smile was a spiky mustache and his messy black hair was covered by a red pirate’s hat. “Edward is asserting his willpower right now. Anyone who has a lesser spirit would crumble.”
“And you are?” Brunhilde asked. Clearly this man knew Whitebeard, but for him to make his way up here, he must be someone of that status.
“The name’s Gol D. Roger, and I’m lucky enough to call that man my rival,” The man introduced himself, his eyes locked onto the two contestants. “Now keep your eyes peeled, girlie. Here you’ll see that humanity’s ambition can surpass that of the gods.”
“ARE YOU READY?!” Heimdall shouted as he prepared his horn. The two men stared each other down, not saying a word. Despite that, Heimdall clutched his horns with two hands and blew into it. “BEGIN!”
And thus, humanity’s final struggle had begun.