When Shiomi and Skadi broke through Fenrir during the trial, Skadi unleashed her Noble Phantasm to support Shiomi in liberating the Holy Sword. In a single strike, she absorbed the full pressure of Fenrir's divine power, vanquishing the colossal wolf.
It was impossible.
By the time the giant wolf was defeated, Skadi's entire arm had been corroded by the frigid divine power, frozen solid, and rendered immobile.
As the Goddess of Winter, her power was of the same type as Fenrir's. Thus, the stronger entity possessed overwhelmingly superior power.
Even after the battle ended, the traces of that power remained. Skadi should have used Runes Magic to slowly heal the damage Fenrir had inflicted, but she did not. Shiomi was already neutralizing the harm from Fenrir's power for her.
They crossed the barren wilderness where Fenrir had dwelled and returned to the temple built within the mountain range. Before entering, Shiomi and Skadi paused briefly to rest.
He cradled Skadi's arm, wrapping it in a warmth that felt like spring returning to the earth. The warmth coiled around her frozen limb, which had been immobilized by the cold, and Skadi felt sensation slowly returning to her arm.
It was warm.
Skadi gazed at Shiomi with complex emotions as he held her palm. His eyes were lowered, silent and still, focused solely on his healing work. Compared to the man who had just moments ago fought Fenrir to the death, he seemed like a different person entirely.
"What exactly is this...?" Skadi felt the answer was on the tip of her tongue.
"The power of life," Shiomi murmured. "It's something only the Earth Mother Goddesses, who created countless lives upon the land, possess. I don't know why I can access this power, even if it's only a fragment..."
"So it is..."
Skadi couldn't say she was surprised. After all, Shiomi had already demonstrated the ability to counter Fenrir's powers in battle.
Where the giant wolf froze all life with ice and snow, Shiomi had awakened endless life from beneath the millennia-frozen ice. It was precisely this power that allowed Skadi's arm to heal at an accelerated pace. A speed and efficiency even Runes Magic couldn't achieve. A power not belonging to the goddess Skadi.
As sensation gradually returned to her fingers, Skadi felt the solid warmth radiating from Shiomi's hands. Almost instinctively, she tried to pull her hand away. But this time, her strength wasn't quite enough; she couldn't fully withdraw from his grasp.
"Just wait a little longer. It's not fully healed yet," Shiomi reminded her with a wry smile.
"...Hmm, I'll wait then." Skadi turned her face away slightly.
Shiomi sighed softly. "It seems you aren't very fond of physical contact with others. I'm sorry to put you through this. Had I realized sooner, I wouldn't have acted that way."
"You needn't worry about it. I just..." Skadi shifted her gaze slightly, meeting Shiomi's eyes—still lowered as he monitored the condition of her arm. "...am unaccustomed to human body heat."
"Whether human or god, have you never touched another being besides yourself?" Shiomi asked.
"That's correct." Skadi nodded.
"Then it's understandable." Shiomi smiled with understanding. He adjusted his grip, cradling Skadi's hand more fully. "Through touch, humans learn what warmth is. This is profoundly important. The warmth of skin is never a bad thing. I hope you remember that."
His voice was as gentle as the power itself. Skadi felt her heartbeat accelerate uncontrollably. She frowned, forcing a detached tone:
"I am not your master, Scáthach. I am merely Skadi, the goddess formed as the final deity, infused with elements of Scáthach. That is why I call myself Scáthach-Skadi. You needn't treat me as you would Scáthach. After completing the trials of Valhalla, we—"
"Will become enemies again, right?" Shiomi shook his head, meeting her eyes earnestly. "I know. I've long prepared myself for that. But I simply can't see you as an unrelated person. So I hope matters concerning you will ultimately reach a proper conclusion."
"Proper?" Skadi stared at her own hands, still motionless. Her wounds had vanished, eliminating the need for continued contact with Shiomi. Yet, she remained in this state.
"We come from different histories; our worlds cannot coexist. As a goddess, I have guarded this world alone for over three thousand years. How could a mere human who has lived barely twenty years understand my resolve?"
That was her pride, and her dignity.
As the last deity of this world, she protected the remnants of humanity. Even though this world was destined to vanish, she never abandoned her mission.
To Skadi, Shiomi—who appeared barely twenty—was like any villager from those hundred settlements: past the age when even those who'd raised children should leave the village and meet death.
"Of course I understand..." Shiomi met her gaze, speaking deliberately. "I spent six thousand years in the Lostbelt known as Fairy Britannia, alongside Morgan. I know full well how much more you've sacrificed, carrying out your mission alone, compared to us who supported each other."
Skadi fell silent.
She suddenly realized that Shiomi, who had touched the power of life itself, should possess an extraordinary lifespan.
But… six thousand years...
"No wonder… no wonder…"
Skadi finally understood why Odin had left that prophecy.
She had assumed that even Shiomi, a Magus from the Age of Gods who wielded the Primordial Runes, could only live slightly longer than ordinary mortals—a few centuries at most. After that, his soul would be unable to withstand the decay of time and would have to embrace a proper death.
Through his eyes, the goddess Skadi could see it—the weight of countless millennia, yet a soul still vibrant and youthful. Only another god could make the goddess his bride.
—Even one who had not yet ascended to the Throne of Gods.
"Why the surprise? From the moment we first met, you've been hiding something from us. What exactly—"
Skadi slowly revealed an elegant, reserved smile.
"You said you wished to properly resolve matters concerning me. The prophecy left by the great Odin mentioned one more thing."
Finally, she resolved to tell the man before her, no matter the outcome.
"What?"
"Because I was once beloved by the gods, constantly courted by them… yet ultimately, due to Ragnarök, I lost my chance before I could make a choice. To someone like me, Odin told me before he vanished—"
Shiomi held his breath, a faint premonition of the answer stirring within him.
"…A goddess who never became a bride of the gods may, upon the appearance of the prophesied one, choose whether to become that person's bride."
Gazing into his eyes, Skadi revealed the part of herself she had kept hidden.