Leon POV
Time had lost meaning in the cell.
I didn't know if it had been hours or days. The darkness was absolute. The cold, constant. The pain, everywhere.
My body shook uncontrollably, violent, full-body shudders that I couldn't control. Hypothermia, probably. My teeth chattered so hard my jaw ached.
I'd tried everything to stay warm. Curling into the tightest ball possible. Rubbing my arms and legs to generate friction. Even doing push-ups until my muscles gave out.
Nothing worked.
I'd stopped feeling my fingers and toes a while ago. That was bad. I knew that was bad. But there was nothing I could do about it.
My enhanced cognition calculated scenarios. Outcomes. Survival rates.
The black ice sucked away heat faster than I could generate it. And without my cultivation to regulate my body temperature, I was just... human. Fragile. Vulnerable to the elements.
I'd stopped feeling my fingers and toes a while ago. That was bad. I knew that was bad. But there was nothing I could do about it.
My enhanced cognition calculated scenarios. Outcomes. Survival rates.
None of them were encouraging.
I'd survive maybe a week in these conditions. Two if I was lucky and Loki decided to provide minimal sustenance.
Unless he wanted me alive for the full three months. In which case, he'd have to provide heat. Food. Water.
The question was: did he want me alive that long? Or would he let me die of exposure once he got bored?
I didn't know.
The door to my cell opened.
Light flooded in. Blinding after so long in darkness. I squeezed my eyes shut, raising one trembling hand to shield my face.
Footsteps. Soft. Measured. Not the heavy tread of ice constructs.
"So this is the mighty Leon Mishima," a woman's voice said. "The human who killed my brothers."
I forced my eyes open. Squinted against the light.
A figure stood in the doorway. Female. Tall. Half her body seemed normal—pale skin, dark hair. The other half looked like a corpse. Decayed. Wrong.
Hel.
Loki's daughter. Goddess of the dead.
"Come to gloat?" My voice came out raspy. My throat was dry.
"No." Hel stepped into the cell. The door remained open behind her, but I was too weak to even think about running. "I came to see if you were still alive."
"Disappointed?"
"Uncertain." She crouched down in front of me. Her mismatched eyes—one vibrant, one milky white—studied my face. "My father says you're a monster."
I laughed.
Me? A monster? Though compared to his father I might as well be a saint, but maybe I suppose I am a monster.
"How long do you think you'll last?" she asked suddenly. "In these conditions?"
"Does it matter?"
"Perhaps not. But I'm curious. You made a choice. Traded your freedom, your power, your life for a single nekomata girl. Why?"
"Because letting her suffer wasn't an option."
"Even if it meant your own suffering?"
"Especially then."
Hel was silent for a long moment. Then she turned and walked toward the door.
"Wait," I called out. My voice cracked. "Water. Please."
She paused.
Hel looked at me. Then she raised one hand.
Ice formed in the air. But not the black ice of the cell. This was much cleaner and purer.
It dropped into my outstretched, shaking hands.
I brought it to my mouth. Sucked on it desperately. The water that melted was the most delicious thing I'd ever tasted.
"Don't mistake this for kindness," Hel said. "I simply want you alive long enough to satisfy my curiosity."
"What curiosity?"
"Whether you'll break. Whether you'll beg. Whether you'll regret your choice." She smiled with half her face. "My father thinks you will. Eventually. I'm not so sure."
She left. The door closed behind her.
Darkness again.
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Rossweisse POV
Rossweisse lay curled on her bed in her apartment, staring at the wall.
She hadn't moved in hours. Hadn't eaten. Could barely bring herself to breathe.
The guilt sat on her chest like a physical weight. Crushing. Suffocating.
Leon was suffering. Dying, probably. In some frozen cell in Helheim.
And she'd left him there.
She kept telling herself she'd followed his orders. That she'd done what he wanted. That getting Koneko to safety had been the priority.
It didn't help.
Nothing helped.
She'd replayed the scene in her mind a thousand times. Looking for something she could have done differently. Some way she could have saved both of them.
There wasn't one.
But that didn't make the guilt any lighter.
Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. She ignored it. Couldn't handle talking to anyone right now.
Then a familiar voice filled the room.
"Rossweisse."
She sat up instantly. That voice—she knew that voice.
"E.V.E.?" She looked around, searching for the source.
A blue orb of light materialized near the ceiling. Leon's personal AI. She'd met E.V.E. several times before, though usually only when Leon was present.
"Correct," E.V.E. replied, her voice calm and synthesized. "I have a message for you."
Rossweisse's heart clenched. Hope surged through her chest. "E.V.E., do you know Leon's status? Can you tell me if he's okay? If he's—"
"I do not have access to Leon's current status," E.V.E. interrupted. "My connection to him was severed when his power was bound. I cannot track his location or monitor his vital signs at this time."
The hope died instantly. Rossweisse's shoulders sagged.
"However," E.V.E. continued, "that is not why I am contacting you."
"Then why—"
"Leon left instructions. In the event of certain circumstances, I was to deliver something to you." The orb pulsed once. "He has a gift for you."
A gift? Now? When he was trapped and powerless and—
"Before his imprisonment," E.V.E. clarified, as if reading her thoughts. "He prepared for multiple contingencies. This was one of them."
"What kind of gift?" Rossweisse asked, her voice shaking.
"I am not authorized to provide details. However, delivery is imminent."
"Wait, E.V.E., what does that mean? What kind of—"
The doorbell rang.
Rossweisse's head snapped toward her apartment door.
"That would be the delivery," E.V.E. said. "Good luck, Rossweisse."
"Wait! E.V.E., come back! Tell me what's—"
The blue orb vanished.
The doorbell rang again.
Rossweisse scrambled off the bed. Her heart pounded as she rushed to the door. Hope and confusion warred in her chest.
A gift. From Leon. What could he possibly have left for her?
She threw open the door.
No one was there.
The hallway was empty. Silent.
But on her doorstep sat a small box.
It was ornate. Made of dark wood with silver inlay. Intricate patterns were carved into every surface—runes she didn't recognize, geometric designs that seemed to shift when she looked at them directly. Zodiac symbols glowed faintly along the edges.
Rossweisse knelt down. Picked up the box with trembling hands.
It was surprisingly heavy for its size. And warm. Like it had its own internal heat source.
She brought it inside. Closed and locked the door behind her.
Then she sat on her couch and stared at the box.
What had Leon left for her? And why now? Why this specific moment?
With shaking fingers, she undid the silver clasp and opened the lid.
Inside, nestled in black velvet, was a key.
But not just any key.
It was beautiful. Ornate. The shape of a dodecagon—twelve sides catching the light from different angles. The metal looked like silver but had an otherworldly quality to it. The symbol of Virgo was etched prominently at the top, glowing with soft golden light. Along its length, constellation patterns sparkled like embedded stars.
Rossweisse lifted it carefully from its case.
The moment her fingers touched it, warmth spread through her hand. Up her arm. Into her chest.
And with it came... knowledge. Understanding. Information flooding directly into her mind.
This was Virgo's Hektos. One of the twelve Zodiac Pieces.
Leon had told her about them once, in passing. A system he'd been developing. Similar to the Devils' Evil Pieces but based on the Western zodiac instead of chess. Twelve unique artifacts, each shaped like an ornate key, each tied to one of the zodiac signs.
But she'd thought it was just theoretical. Something he was working on for the future.
She hadn't realized he'd already completed one.
The knowledge continued flowing. Not words, but pure understanding.
The Zodiac Pieces granted enhancements to their users. Improved physical strength. Immortality—or something close to it. Enhanced magical resistance. Accelerated healing. All the benefits of supernatural enhancement without fundamentally changing the user's race.
She would still be herself. Still Valkyrie. But... more.
Enhanced. Empowered. Stronger than she'd ever been.
Her hands shook as she held the key.
Leon had made this. For her. Had somehow known she would need it.
A small card fell from the box. She'd missed it before, tucked beneath the velvet lining.
Rossweisse picked it up. Leon's handwriting. Neat and precise.
Rose,
If you're reading this, things didn't go according to plan. I'm sorry for that.
Virgo's Hektos is yours now. Use it. Become stronger. And when the time comes, do what needs to be done.
I love you.
—Leon
Rossweisse's vision blurred. Tears spilled down her cheeks, dropping onto the card.
He'd known. Somehow, he'd known something might go wrong. And he'd prepared for it.
Left her a way to become stronger. To fight back.
She clutched the key to her chest. The warmth spread through her entire body now.
She could feel it already. The power waiting to be claimed and to be accepted.
All she had to do was say yes.
Leon wasn't giving up.
And neither would she.
She stood. Wiped her eyes. Looked at the key in her hand.
The constellation of Virgo glowed brighter, as if responding to her resolve.
"I accept," she whispered.
The key pulsed with golden light.
And then it began.
The warmth exploded into heat. Not painful, but overwhelming. The key dissolved into pure light, flowing into her body through her hands.
Rossweisse gasped as power surged through her. Every cell in her body lit up. Enhanced. Strengthened. Transformed.
Her magical reserves expanded. Doubled. Tripled. More.
Her body became denser. Stronger. She could feel her bones reinforcing themselves, her muscles compacting and enhancing.
Her senses sharpened. She could hear the neighbor's heartbeat two apartments over. Could smell the faint scent of coffee from the café three blocks away. Could see individual dust motes floating in the air, each one crystal clear.
The transformation lasted only seconds but felt like an eternity.
When it finally ended, Rossweisse collapsed onto the couch, gasping for breath.
But she wasn't tired. Wasn't exhausted.
She felt... incredible.
Strong. Powerful. Enhanced in every way that mattered.
She looked at her hands. They looked the same. But she knew they weren't. Nothing about her was the same anymore.
She was still Rossweisse. Still Valkyrie.
But now she was more than that.
And for the first time since leaving Helheim, Rossweisse felt something other than despair.
She felt powerful.
She felt ready.
Leon had given her the tools she needed.
Now she just had to figure out how to use them.
To save him.
To bring him home.
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