Hello there,
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Double chapter post today in honor of releasing the tenth chapter of my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. With a genius protagonist of sci-fi, action, romance, and a touch of fantastic elements, I intend to make it into a long term project. If you like my writing and want to be with me the entire path forward, the time is now.
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—
Svartalfheim
In the dead realm of an extinct species, Loki grinned. Seven pulse devices, placed in exact locations around the planet's surface areas, were connected to a computer. Once the devices were activated, the constructive wave interference would go through most of the crust.
If the Dokkalfar hid anything underground or on the surface with their space-blending technology, he would find it.
The first of the devices was next to him. He took great pleasure in pressing the holographic button. The lower half of the cube broke into square panels. The seidr inside spun and struck the ground. He shuddered as the emerald wave washed over him.
Exactly one minute later, the next device activated. The second pulse combined with the first one, creating a larger, stronger wave.
The blank holographic globe began to fill with the extremely detailed map of Svartalfheim. Six minutes after the first device was activated, the computer rendered the entire continent.
Loki chuckled.
—
The Dark Elves did have a hidden city, right on the eastern shore of the continent, far away from the battlefields.
Teleporting to the indicated location, Loki began to understand why no Aesir had ever approached this area. Not only did there not seem to be anything of value, but the sky over the city had a constant dark matter storm.
It was the equivalent of rain for the Dokkalfar, but deadly to everyone else. He, however, could create an anti-gravity field around himself to repel the dark matter.
The city stretched on for several miles. The size of it could explain how the Dark Elves had produced everything they had.
Disturbing the field could reveal the city to Heimdall. He wanted to be able to explore it without his father's ire for disobeying orders.
A short hop with his portal later, Loki was inside the settlement.
His first impression was that it was impressive. The buildings were uniform black metallic spires, built in blocks across the city. At the center where all roads converged lay a much larger building, most likely a palace or an administrative center.
What had his interest was the western side of the city. A half-built ship lay in a cradle. It was long and narrow, shaped like a throwing blade.
There were dozens more of these cradles, all empty.
His scans did not reveal any living being, though it could be because the Dokkalfar were creatures of darkness and were not detected.
Exploring this city by himself was tempting, but having his brother by his side was better.
—
Asgard
"Brother, you seem down in spirits," he said to Thor. His brother was lounging on a chair with a mug of mead.
At noon.
"The simulation room is occupied for the next month, and the new ones will take time," Thor drawled. He wasn't vain enough to use his princely privileges to get ahead of the queue, even though he wanted to.
"How would you like to go on an adventure?" he offered.
Thor swung his legs down and put his mug on the table, "To where?"
"Svartalfheim," Loki said, his lips curling upwards. Thor's eyes widened, and he looked around for any eavesdroppers.
"Brother, that is forbidden territory," his brother reminded him, as if he wasn't all too willing to break the rules he believed were stupid or wrong.
"Is that a no?" he raised an eyebrow.
"It is a how are we supposed to go there?" Thor said. The idea of an adventure in a realm where Asgard had won a great victory would taste sweeter than any ale.
"You leave that to me."
"What will this adventure entail?"
"I found the hidden city of the Dokkalfar."
"A hidden city?" Thor's eyes shone with the promise of unknown territory. "None of the stories mentioned anything like that."
Loki's eyelids dropped halfway down, "Because it was hidden."
"What are we waiting for? Let us leave," he said, shaking his head at Loki's answer.
"Before we leave, you cannot tell this to anyone; otherwise, we will be in trouble."
"My lips are sealed," he said, dragging his thumb and index finger across his lips. They both knew what the Allfather would do if he heard his sons went to Svartalfheim without permission.
—
Svartalfheim
"You can open portals to other realms, and you haven't told me?!" Thor laughed, his eyes lighting up as he came out of the portal.
This was as great as the simulation room. Now, they could go wherever they wanted, as long as he could convince his brother.
"I am telling you now," Loki answered, taking a slower step out of the portal.
"That's," Thor raised his voice but dropped whatever he was about to say, "Forget it. So this is their city? I cannot believe Grandfather Bor never discovered it."
It was massive, and the God of Thunder knew this adventure would be the greatest one they had embarked on yet.
"I doubt they were even searching."
"This will be glorious," Thor said, heading to see inside the closest building. The door did not have an obvious way to open. His brother's solution was to kick it in, but Loki stopped him.
If something was alive, they did not need to draw any attention. Gathering seidr, he created a plasma torch at the tip of his index finger. It cut through the metal like butter, and he levitated the door away.
The inside was dark and sparsely furnished. A white, blank mask hung on the wall, with decorative rifles on both sides. The first floor seemed to be the living area, with a kitchen and a communal space. The communal space had flat, cushioned seats placed in a crescent shape around a holoprojector. He didn't know what kind of entertainment the Dokkalfar had, but it most likely was Asgard's equivalent of holovision.
Thor went up to explore the second floor, finding the sleeping quarters and a small armory.
"Loki, look. Even after thousands of years, this works," Thor grinned, holding a rifle in his hand. It was short, with a wide barrel that had a long handgrip under it. He pulled the trigger halfway, and the weapon lit up. He handed it to Loki, who put it in his pocket dimension for later studies.
"Anything else there?" he asked. Dokkalfar technology in working condition would be extremely valuable in getting his hands on some other materials that had piqued his interest.
"Explosives, I think." His brother pulled out a cylindrical object with a stony appearance that narrowed towards the bottom.
"It could be a black hole grenade; be careful," he said, remembering mentions of these deadly weapons.
Thor winced and put the grenade down on the sofa gently, as if it might go off any second.
Beyond the weapons, there was nothing worthy of notice in the building. The brothers entered several more homes, once again only finding weapons.
So they decided to head to the palace.
"You know, you could add this place to Realms of Valor," Thor said. A hidden city on Svartalfheim, open to the exploration by any Asgardian that wished to live the glory of the old days, would be very enticing.
Loki combed his fingers through his hair, "I could claim I created this using the records on Dokkalfar."
Because their father would definitely be inquisitive.
"Good idea. A small army with a boss at the end, and the reward could be the Aether," his brother added, snapping his fingers.
"Then let's see what else we can learn here," he replied. Stopping before the gates of the palace, he gestured to his brother, "Go ahead."
Thor smiled and slammed Mjolnir into the large door. The first strike left a massive dent, and the second tore it off the walls.
Which apparently was a terrible idea, because something roared inside.
Thor turned to him sharply, his teeth shining, "You said there was nothing alive."
"I also said there was a chance I was simply unable to detect if there was something alive," he reminded, taking a
A creature stomped out of the building. Each step sent a small tremor, and what came out was something unnatural. Taller and buffer than Thor, the Dark Elf seemed more bestial than the records suggested.
"I can't believe one of them lives." His brother sounded way too excited to be fighting this creature.
"If you can call that living, then yes," he explained. He didn't know what held this monstrosity together, but its mind was long gone.
"Dodge, don't block," he advised, taking to the skies. He had already tried to bring it down by increasing the gravity, but it did not work. The dark matter of the elf might be negating the effects of the increased gravity.
Or it was strong enough to push through it.
His brother nodded, throwing the Mjolnir at the monster. The elf stumbled when the hammer struck his shoulder but did not stop charging at Thor. His brother rolled to the side, allowing Loki to blast the elf with plasma beams from both hands.
He roared in discomfort, but the beams did not go through.
Thor summoned Mjolnir back, bringing the Dark Elf to his knees when it struck his back. Lightning gathered at the hammer, and Thor brought it to the side of the elf's knee. There was a sickening crunch. The monster bellowed in pain, thrashing around.
Loki conjured dozens of seidr cords, binding the creature to the ground by the arms.
His brother began to beat the elf mercilessly, his hammer slamming into his face left and right.
"Thor, fly and don't miss," he shouted, straining to hold the creature down.
His brother didn't question it, spinning Mjolnir and taking off. Loki had reduced the gravity's effects on his brother, and he shot up to the sky at neck-breaking speeds.
"Now!" he screamed. Thor dove at the creature. The effect of the gravity was now reversed, pulling him down faster than ever.
The hammer struck the elf's head first, crushing it to a pulp. It continued down, tearing the creature in half. The resulting shockwave threw the rest of the corpse away and left a giant crater.
"Thor, are you alright?" he asked, creating a gust of wind to blow clear the area.
"Alright? I am great," his brother exclaimed, climbing out of the crater covered in dust and viscera. "I don't know what you did, but we'll definitely add it to our combination attack manual."
"I just increased gravity for you," he said. It was a simple but effective method to enhance Thor's strikes.
With a wave of his hand, his brother was as clean and pristine as before the fight.
"By Asgard. I can't believe there was a living Dokkalfar."
Seeing how delighted his brother was, Loki would add this creature to the simulation room.
"I think that was one of their cursed soldiers," he explained. Studying the Dokkalfar had revealed a trove of common knowledge that was not mentioned in the stories. "The thing is, the records say these transformations mean certain death."
"How long does it take for them to die?"
"A couple of years. The transformation burns their life force like an inferno in exchange for the increase in physical capabilities."
That one of them lived for thousands of years did not bode well.
"How do you think he survived?" Thor asked, pointing Mjolnir at the left half of the corpse.
Loki gazed at the other part. There wasn't much left of the body, but finding one in the first place was incredible. "The Dokkalfar may have been researching a way to keep the cursed soldiers alive. Perhaps his remains will tell us something"
Thor's eyes shifted to the entrance that he had opened, "Or an answer could be inside."
"Well, not like the body is going anywhere."
Thor stepped inside first, watching the dark corridors, and Loki followed him. Just like the houses they had explored, this palace had a very spartan and militaristic feel. The walls had white engravings of battles, mostly against Asgard. Weapons, either two swords or a sword and a shield, were kept in display cases.
The hallways were narrow, giving the defenders an advantage. Coupled with the weapon emplacements, this palace was built with the idea of being ready to repel invaders.
The Dokkalfar knew their plan would not go unopposed and had prepared accordingly.
The twisting hallways led to a large, ornamental door that Thor knocked down. The hall beyond it was the throne room. A white metallic seat, engraved with the image of weapons, stood at the back on an elevated platform. Climbing the steps, Thor sat down on it.
"This might have been Malektith's seat. Imagine if we can gift it to Father."
"Without revealing the truth? I'll leave that hurdle to you."
Thor smiled and rose from the seat. Loki placed it in his pocket dimension as well. If nothing else, it would make a good footrest.
Leaving it to Lady Luck, they took the door on the left. It led to another corridor that split into left, right, and down.
"We should go down. If the Dokkalfar had a vault, it would be underground."
"Fair enough."
Loki snapped his fingers, creating orbs of light that illuminated the dark stairs. It was deep enough that Thor chose to jump down rather than walk it.
A door thicker than any they had seen so far stood at the end of the stairs.
"How many hits do you think it would take me to knock this door off?" Thor challenged.
"Ten," Loki said after a quick calculation, "but perhaps I can help."
Grasping his brother's shoulder, he closed his eyes to focus.
"What are you doing?" Thor asked.
"Giving you a boost in strength," he explained. The seidr in his veins pulsed, and a white energy spread from Thor's shoulder. When it was done, his brother glowed like the second phase of the Enraged Phantoms of Niflheim.
Thor guffawed and motioned for him to stand back.
It took one hit that consumed the entire boost for Thor to knock the door off to the other side of the room. The noise of metal on metal caused their ears to ring, but his brother did not care.
"Look at all these weapons," his brother replied with a beat too late.
Racks full of rifles, swords, bladed gauntlets, shields, and black hole grenades were all in pristine condition. The armory was far larger than Asgard's vault, and the value of these weapons to the right people would be immense.
"It would be a shame to leave them all here," he muttered, and everything inside slowly sank into the dimensional gate opened beneath them.
"We should take the right side this time."
"I'll trust your instincts on this, Thor," Loki replied. The armory did not have anything extraordinary, such as the stones used to transform Dokkalfar into cursed soldiers. However, the number of items more than made up for it.
Leaving back the way they came, Loki followed Thor into the entrance on the right.
The sight in the room caused both brothers to seize up.
"I guess we know where that thing came from," he said, sharing a wide-eyed look with Thor.
Now, this was interesting.
—
In the next chapter:
"I am not here as a prince, but as an individual looking to make a trade," he explained. Uru was a vital strategic resource. One that they would never give away without the Allfather's express permission, even to his son.
"Trade? For Uru? It has never been done before," the dwarf replied, his eyes sharpening.
"But…" Loki started, letting Eitri continue.
"But if you could make an excellent offer, I can be persuaded to."
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