West.
As the goddess of ice and snow, Skadi preferred the cold and was unaccustomed to warmth, let alone the heat of the East. So, as they entered Valhalla, her hand remained firmly clasped in Shiomi's. The warmth of his palm felt unfamiliar to Skadi, leaving her with an odd sense of discomfort, as though something was off.
As the last deity of the Scandinavian world, Skadi had ruled for three thousand years. She regarded all life, including the Valkyries, as her children, loving them equally. This included not only the many giants but also the tens of thousands of humans scattered across the hundred villages. Skadi loved all life equally, yet never allowed any being to come this close to her—let alone hold her hand.
As the gates of Valhalla closed behind them, her eyes slowly adjusted to the fading light. Though only a few seconds passed, it felt longer than expected to Skadi. Once he could clearly see her surroundings and confirmed that Skadi was also present, Shiomi naturally released her hand. The sudden loosening of the grip was like waking from a dream, and Skadi quickly pulled her hand back.
"How strange. Is this the interior of Valhalla?" Shiomi asked, walking at a steady pace along the stone path. "It's not quite what I expected. Do you know where we should go from here, Skadi?"
"Hm?" Skadi froze for a moment. "I don't know much about Valhalla itself. Odin only entrusted me with the prophecy and this place. That's all." Her tone grew hurried, as though she feared Shiomi would notice her distraction.
"Are you really okay, Skadi?" Shiomi turned around, watching her from five or six meters away.
"It's fine, just a bit..." Skadi began to answer, but as soon as she met Shiomi's gaze, her words faltered. Patterns like stars appeared in his eyes, one red, one blue.
Mystic Eyes. Shiomi was using his Mystic Eyes to scrutinize Skadi.
"Star Eyes," Skadi murmured, recognizing the eyes and quickly regaining her composure. "What exactly are you?"
"That's a long story," Shiomi replied, slowly blinking and closing his Mystic Eyes. "Seems the real deal. I thought Valhalla might have swapped you out the moment we entered—when I took your hand."
"Such a response might well be within Valhalla's prearranged parameters. If you now underestimate me, it won't serve you well," Skadi replied with a hint of displeasure.
"Then could you stop getting distracted, Skadi?" Shiomi chuckled softly. "You've been absent-minded since we stepped in."
"You were the one who touched me without permission. The fault lies with you," Skadi replied, walking toward him at a calm pace. "As the Mother of All, no one in this world has ever been granted the honor of touching my hand."
Shiomi stared at her, slightly speechless. "Yes, yes. I'm terribly sorry for touching you without permission, all in the name of guarding against Valhalla's traps."
"...No need to apologize. Because you are already mine—" Skadi's voice trailed off. Her words became a whisper as her lips stopped moving entirely.
Clearly, there was something she couldn't express just yet—whether due to the reserve of a goddess or something else—she needed more time to prepare herself. Even a goddess, after all, couldn't escape the constraints of protocol.
"What?" Shiomi frowned in confusion. He hadn't caught what Skadi had said—her voice had trailed off mid-sentence.
Skadi's brows knitted slightly as she lifted her gaze, about to dismiss Shiomi's question, when she suddenly gasped.
"The—!"
Before she could finish, Shiomi, gripping the Holy Sword of the Planet, adjusted his grip on the hilt. In one swift motion, he spun violently and unleashed a powerful slash.
The armored warrior spirit was cleaved in two at the waist, tumbling lifelessly to the ground. The luminous form within the armor, composed entirely of magical energy, dissipated in that instant, losing all vitality.
"The soul of a fallen warrior? No, just a spirit soldier made purely of magical energy." Shiomi slightly adjusted his grip on the longsword.
His habitual use of a spear didn't mean he was unskilled with other weapons. As Scáthach's disciple, Shiomi had been honed to master countless weapons; the longsword was no challenge.
The last time he used a longsword was during the Fifth Holy Grail War, when he borrowed Durandal from Archer's Reality Marble and used it to slay Heracles in a single strike.
His hands weren't rusty. Shiomi silently assessed himself.
"Seems the trial has begun." Skadi gripped her wand like a teacher's rod.
She actually had dual pistols as well—likely a gift from Scáthach, her constituent element, similar to her Noble Phantasm. It was possible that the vanished gods had blessed her with this power.
"This is merely an appetizer. A handful of spirit soldiers hardly qualifies as a trial." Shiomi raised his sword, watching the spirit soldiers emerge from the thick fog.
They were deep within a place resembling a ruined temple, shrouded in mist.
"It seems you're not only skilled in Magecraft, but also an excellent warrior," Skadi spoke slowly. "Fight with confidence. I'll support you with magic."
Shiomi smiled. "Provided you can get there in time—"
"Huh?"
Before Skadi could react, Shiomi had already charged into the spirit soldiers like a streak of light. Whether they wielded giant axes or warhammers, or whether archers perched high, drawing their bows to ambush her, he countered each attack with lightning-fast strikes.
These spirit soldiers seemed incapable of resurrecting after being slain. In a way, this relieved Shiomi of any lingering worries.
At first, Skadi attempted to support him with Magecraft, but she quickly realized it would be better not to interfere. As Shiomi weaved through the swarming ranks of dozens of spirit soldiers, charging left and right, she knew that carelessly casting spells could harm him.
No... perhaps even such collateral damage was within his realm of reaction.
Watching Shiomi's figure blur, moving too quickly to follow, Skadi felt a sense of disorientation. It was as if she were witnessing the departed Scandinavian gods: Tyr, Thor, Frey, Heimdall...
Those gods who were also warriors.
But Shiomi was different from the Scandinavian gods. He possessed a personal quality they lacked, though Skadi couldn't yet discern what it was.
Regardless, she understood why she too must follow Shiomi into Valhalla.
'When the world nears its end, a man entrusted with Gungnir shall arrive. At that time, you are to serve as his bride and guide him.'
This was not an absolute command, but a decision Skadi herself had made.
Thus, Skadi would endure this trial to personally witness whether the man before her possessed the necessary worth.