Lord Shadow

His clear brown eyes almost seem to be clouded, his yellow wine gourd cracked. Then Loki looks at Morgana in disdain as he said

‘It seems you forgot Morgana. You might be my teacher and you must think you can demand things from me but I don’t recall that I’m such a generous person to treat the people I rejected twice so nicely.’

Morgana still look at Loki with that expressionless face, her hand itching to open the Investiture of the First Race.

Loki could see her thoughts. After all she used to be his wife. So, he only smirks. Unless Morgana wanted to suffer, she would not do any rash decision.

So, unconcerned with what Morgana would do, Loki smirked and said

‘Just because I dint smite you two since the beginning don’t think that I can’t.’

‘Lord Loki we only come to talk.’ Louise said as he slowly tries to get up. Loki did not object anymore. The silhouette of Loki past appearance as a Sovereign slowly faded as the soul pressure slowly dissipated.

‘Hmph. Since I did not show my fangs both of you think I can be bullied? Yes, I’m not a Sovereign right now and only an Energy Disperse Stage High Realm but if you think you can defeat me easily you got another thing coming for you. I might not have my powers as a Sovereign but since I cross time and Space to be here, could you imagine how powerful my soul is? This is the soul of a Sovereign. You underestimate me too much.’

‘Loki…..why so stubborn?’ Morgan asks as she wipes the blood dripping on the edges of her mouth.

‘You have your way and I have mine.’ Loki simply replied

‘Do you trust the memories they given you? Did the memories tell you everything?’ Morgana ask with a hint of anxiousness in her voice which perplexed Loki.

‘So you knew.’ Loki said.

‘I knew. Hirate skills of transferring memories onto other are a secret but I know. ‘

‘So?’

‘Do you think they gave you all their memories?’ Morgana ask again

‘What does this have to do with anything?’ Morgana did not say anything but she smiles and did not continue.

Then she ask

‘You are here in Kyoto disguising as an Old Beggar? Why?’

Loki eyes narrowed before he asked back

‘Why do you care?’

‘Because if you have read the memories that were given to you then this is the place where the Acolyte of Dark Tidings will make an appearance.’ Morgana calmly answer as she looks at Loki face trying to see his expression.

This time Loki face changed. He certainly did not expect that Morgana would know this. Morgana smiles as she has confirmed her suspicion.

‘HE will descend here right?’ Morgana asked as her eyes becomes sharper. Louise was puzzled. He did not know who this Acolyte of Whatever is.

Loki did not answer. Only his face becomes sullen like he was caught in a lie

‘You are really going to let our personal problems affect the Universe?’ Morgana ask before Loki sighed and then nodded as he put his hands up

‘To be accurate one of the people here will become the vessel of Yewa- Hafar.’

‘Yewa- Hafar?’

‘So, you only know his title but not his name? Understandable.’ Loki said as he pours wine into his glass again.

There was also a smile on his face. A mocking smile. Then he explained

‘The Destroyer before he descended will send his Acolyte. This Acolyte will bring with it Dark tidings that will envelope the world a few days before the arrival of the Destroyer. Expect earthquakes, fires, and mountain and abyss appeared out of nowhere. End of Days kind of stuff. But since Yewa- Hafar was sealed inside a Cube Galaxy by the Creator he could only send his soul down and take a vessel and strengthen his vessel.’

‘Could it be?’ Morgana finally understanding something.

‘Yes, I was waiting for someone to defeat the Wolf Demon to appear.’

It is clear that the memories that Loki have contains information that said the person who will defeat the Wolf Demon will become the vessel.

And he is here waiting. This conclusion quickly formed in Morgana mind as her fist clenched.

Then, why did father did not stop that person when he knows who the vessel is? She asked herself and at the same time always felt like she was grasping at shadows.

‘Tch’ she click her tongue.

Even now, it felt like her father is giving her a question. And Morgana always hated that. Because most of his question has no answer and those that do, the answer only he knows.

‘That person will be the vessel?’ Morgana asking for confirmation. Loki looks at her, hesitating before nodding.

‘According to my memories that is. At the Final Battle the vessel has already regain his final form and the mortal he inhabits has already turns into husk of dust thus we could not identify his original appearance. But since I was experienced in reading Karma, I cut a strand of Karma relations and from that I decipher that he used to kill a Wolf Demon somewhere in Kyoto. The moment I heard a Dungeon appeared in Kyoto and a wolf demon is one of the monsters I rushed to come here to observe the people coming here.’

‘So, not other people memories?’ she mused. Morgana reevaluate the information. Sometimes she forgot Loki was also a Sovereign.

She still remembers the weak little teenager swinging sword. In the end, Loki did not become a warrior instead a cunning trickster

And of all the Sovereign he is the one most proficient in sorting Karma.

That comes in handy when making deals that would profit him.

‘However how do you know?’ Loki asked

‘I have my secrets Morgana said remaining mysterious.’

‘Thank you for the intel’ Morgana said as she grabs Louise to slowly get up. Then she walks back to the staircase to climb down from the bamboo hill.

‘Where are you going?’ Loki asked.

‘Why do you care?’ This time Morgana return back Loki words

‘You do not think the descent of the vessel of the Acolyte worth of your notice?’

‘I just wanted to confirm some question that has been bugging me. Now, that I know you are here, I am not worried. Like you say, dear husband, you follow your way, I will follow mine.’

And Morgana walk away, with each steps, her back seems to be further away and Loki felt his heart hurting.

Knowing what she had done and why she did it…..Loki sighed as his hand formed into a fist. He was powerless yet again.

He could not help…and once again he disappointed the people he loves.

He might not marry Morgana because of love, and she did not marry him because of love but after so many years of knowing each other…there is affection.

Loki knows how much Morgana wanted children. To refine her own child…she is cruel…both to the child and to her.

One could only imagine her desperation and despair. Out of everyone Loki understands her the most.

That is because he once felt that same desperation. He felt desperate. He felt despair.

So, he seeks power to never felt that kind of feeling again. He uses everything he had. Nothing….would stand in his way.

He was ruthless and merciless in his pursuit.

But at the end of the road he finally knows what is important and acknowledges the thing that has gone missing in his journey for power.

It is a joke. In the end he could not surpass the other Six Sovereigns. The answer is simple. It is their Heart.

His heart was not strong. He might be the fastest user to reach Sovereign but his power could not compare to any of the Sovereign.

He understands it clearly when he saw the War of the Sovereign. It was at that time he finally knows the gap between him and the other Sovereign.

The problem was not resources; it was determination, perseverance and the heart that will stand strong no matter how hard the world is beating you.

Each time you fall, bloodied and beaten, you need to get up even if that means being beaten again.

It is stupid.

But this stupid method is what gave the other Six Sovereign their special aura, their special presence akin that of a star that shines the universe.

And seeing the slowly fading back of Morgana, Loki earnestly wished she would not walk the same thorny path he walked.

So before he realizes he said

‘It is better to give up Morgana’ Loki said before sighing, in his eyes reflected his loneliness and tiredness.

‘I have lost too many people. I…don’t want to lose you too.’ Loki admitted.

The wind blows and ruffles Morgana robe as her steps halted and she turns back to look at Loki face.

Her heart quickened but she quickly calms it.

‘Hmph’ Morgana snorted.

‘You think you can kill me?’ Loki shakes his head.

She always does this when she is flustered. Always….wanting to cover herself with barbed words.

‘What makes you think I can’t?’ Loki said softly.

‘Loki…we both know the reason why you did not knock me dead the moment you knew what I was planning is because my role in this destiny is large. You read Karma. You know killing me would changes many things. There are some people you just cannot kill before it is time. You know this law better than anyone. You would not risk the destruction of your grand plan just because I have a different plan from you Gods.’

‘Is that what you believe?’ Loki asks, his eyes could not hide his disappointment.

Morgana gritted her teeth and nodded.

‘So, be it. If that is what you believe, then that was probably it’ Loki said with a bitter smile on his face.

Morgana harrumphed before she takes another step and Loki ask a question

‘Why did you hate the God of Death so much?’ Loki suddenly asked and Morgana face changed.

‘What?’ Morgana steps halted again.

‘There are other Sovereigns yet I got the feeling your animosity was always directed at the God of Death. What did he ever do to you?’

‘Why do you care!’ Morgana suddenly lashed out which startles Loki and Louise. Morgana was usually calm.

This the first time Louise ever saw Morgana lost control. Loki senses something. Then his eyes narrowed.

‘Come to think of it, your Karma should have been connected with the God of Death since you once met him. Yet, when I recall the past, even though you have seen him Karma should have formed. Yet, Karma has never been formed. That is impossible….unless’

And for some reason hundreds of possibilities are running inside Loki mind as he recalls Morgana hate for the God of Death.

And his mind recalls a certain memories. At the time he was at the Heavenly Island that the God of Death created for Annika.

Every time he is troubled he would come here. Many people think that Loki hated Azief but actually after fighting and bickering for so long all across the Universe, they become more like an old friend.

They do not like each other but they also didn’t want the other to be gone.

At the time Loki was also spending time with Annika.

In Azief realm, Annika remains immortal.

The reason why Loki remembers this particular memory is because that day Azief has formed another Universe in the vast galaxies and he intends to reincarnate Annika soul into one of the planets of that Universe.

Since he could not reciprocate Annika love for him, the only thing he could give her is a blessed life.

As Azief reincarnate Annika soul and send her into a new life the God of Death grew sentimental as he recounts a tale of his stepdaughter.

From the gist of it, his stepdaughter committed a terrible crime, a crime he could not forgive and so he banished her from his realm forever to be marked with a curse.

She will find no love and never be loved and she will have her heart desires unfulfilled. At that time, Loki did not understand why Azief told him this story.

‘Loki! I’m leaving!’ Morgana said as she rushed down the hill.

Loki comes out from his memories and suddenly so many thing makes sense.

He did not even have time to stop Morgana when Morgana flew to the sky with wheels of fire under her feet, streaking through the night sky.

Loki sighed before he remembered Morgana words.

“I’m cursed”

“There is someone I have to defeat”

“I will not love you and I know you will not love me”

“You ask who I hate? My father”

“I need a strong person”

All these words now make sense. Now, he knows why she said these words in the past. And he knows why even after so many things he did the God of Death never kills him.

Looking at the night sky, Loki smiles.

But it was a smile that was full of sadness. One could not help but think that such smile is sorrowful.

‘Could it be, you are his stepdaughter?’ Suddenly feeling himself to be so stupid Loki laughs, with his hand covering the tears that is slowly dropping down from his eyes.

‘Is that why, Morgana?’ Then he remembers her betrayal and now knowing why, he wondered if he knew at the time would his and her story be different.

He remembers that Morgana leave him in the Underworld. Could it be he misunderstands her at the time?

‘Never to love and never to be loved. That is a heavy punishment, Morgana. But I bet you didn’t know. Human will is stronger than a curse.’

Wiping the tears on his face, Loki eyes become even more determined.

‘I will change that future. This Azief is not that Azief. And maybe…..by changing his future, I will change your future too. No matter what you felt about me, it is the truth that you are my teacher’

Clenching his fist, that night his determination was once again confirmed.

***

MILKY WAY GALAXY

A ripple in the Universe marked a rip in space as suddenly a huge spaceship appeared that blot out Saturn.

It is the Starwarship of the Weronians. And this is their Mothership. Then suddenly from the rip of space millions of smalls spaceship appeared behind the Mothership

Sitting on the Throne in the front deck of the Mothership is a ten feet Weronian King.

He has humanlike body type. But each muscle on his body are as hard as steel. His body is full of tattoos that resemble a bit of runes.

And their skin color is dark green. Wearing a red armor that emitting bloodlust the Weronian King spoke in Weronian

‘Arratus’

If people of Earth prime heard this word they would immediately understand thanks to the translation ability of the World Orb.

The Weronian King said

‘Earth’

***