"Sometimes, war is a necessary evil for peace, but it is a cruel reality that for peace, war is necessary. This is a paradox that has no end, only suffering and pain." Godwyn, the Golden.
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After leaving Sindri's house, Godwyn and Thalia walked around the world tree, a winding path with an extremely beautiful view. The space looked like a colorful work of art full of beauty.
"This place is beautiful." Thalia commented, looking at the space around her. It was the most beautiful place she had ever seen.
"After you see it for a long time, the landscape that was once rare becomes common." Mimir said with a smile, his single eye gazing at the space between realms with a calm look.
"I'm not that old." Thalia replied, she really didn't understand the feelings of the gods, especially such old gods. She was twelve years old and definitely hadn't seen many things in her life. For her, any landscape was beautiful, especially the one before her at that moment.
Mimir agreed with Thalia's words; unlike old people who saw the world calmly, children, teenagers, and young adults saw the world with more beauty.
"Mimir, is this the correct branch?" Godwyn took Mimir's head and pointed to the space ahead. Mimir looked at the branch and said. "Yes, this is the branch that will take us to Helheim."
"I'll leave it to you, Mimir." Godwyn said.
"This is uncomfortable…" Although Mimir was muttering this, his eye began to glow with an intense golden light. The next moment, a ray of golden energy hit the space, opening a rift in space.
Taking Thalia's hand, Godwyn jumped into the portal without any hesitation.
Thalia only felt her world change for a moment, before a chilling cold made her body shiver. She looked around and couldn't help but feel a deep sense of despair.
However, before she could say anything, Thalia felt a warm, comforting, and gentle feeling surrounding her body. Looking back, she noticed that Godwyn was hugging her. The warmth she felt was Godwyn himself.
"Put on this ring, it will dissipate the intense cold of Helheim." Godwyn said aloud, the cold, gray winds muffling his voice, but Thalia still managed to hear him carefully.
Thalia put the ring on her finger and felt that the world around her didn't seem so hostile. Despite the cold and strangely gray winds, she managed to see where she was at that moment.
A huge dark stone bridge that apparently had no end. However, the most frightening thing was what walked on the bridge. Incorporeal beings of pure, semi-transparent energy.
Souls of the dead.
Thalia shivered seeing the lifeless and expressionless faces of these souls. She understood why her uncle was so grumpy; if she lived in such an environment, she wouldn't be happy for long either.
However, something even more frightening made Thalia's body paralyzed with fear and horror. Amidst the mist, a pair of huge red eyes stared at her with a cold and indifferent gaze.
The creature's enormous body was obscured by the mist, but she could still see an approximate outline, and even being far from the creature, Thalia knew it was a huge monster.
"Lady Hræsvelgr." Godwyn said in Thalia's ear. "One of the few Jotuns still alive, she lives in Helheim and acts as the Queen of the Dead's watchman, Hela."
When Godwyn spoke the name of the Queen of the Dead, he felt a pair of eyes staring at him. He wasn't surprised and just smiled gently, knowing that Hela was looking at him at that very moment.
"She won't attack us?" Thalia asked in a cautious tone, looking at the crimson red eyes. Seeing such a large and frightening creature was too intimidating, even for her.
"She only devours corpses and the men who annoy the beautiful Queen of the Dead." Godwyn said with a laugh as he pulled Thalia, taking her by surprise. Looking at their hands together, a smile appeared on the bastard princess of Olympus's lips.
Even being stared at by a giant and frightening monster didn't diminish the sweet and warm feeling she was experiencing at that moment. Her smile couldn't be happier and more joyful.
Mimir, who was attached to Godwyn's belt, watched the whole scene with a knowing smile. Every great king needed a worthy queen. In his eyes, Thalia had the chance to become queen of the gods of the Golden Order.
The girl possessed talent, beauty, and status; she only needed a powerful divine position to become even more perfect. But that was for the future; both were still children and needed to mature to truly have a lasting relationship.
After all, choosing a queen of the gods was an important decision. Especially with the example of Zeus and Hera. Having a jealous wife is one thing; having a wife crazy with jealousy was something else entirely.
"Golden Boy, these souls seem to look at us with a malicious gaze." Putting aside the feelings he was experiencing at that moment, Thalia said, looking at the souls around them. All seemed to look at her and Godwyn with a fierce gaze.
"They are dead; they hate anything that is alive. That includes us." Godwyn replied in a calm and indifferent tone. "But they are afraid of fire and thunder, so it's not a great danger."
With his words, golden lightning covered Godwyn's arm, and he made a gun gesture with his fingers. He pointed at the souls that were closest and made the firing and recoiling motion of the weapon.
The thirty-centimeter ray hit the soul directly, destroying it instantly, turning it into a black dust that was soon carried away by the cold winds of Helheim. Godwyn didn't stop and continued to shoot with a smile.
However, Godwyn's display of force didn't seem to have an effect, as the souls of the dead didn't retreat, but slowly advanced towards him and Thalia.
Thalia didn't stand still while being attacked; she manifested her lightning and struck the souls of the dead around her. However, she soon discovered that there were simply too many souls. There were so many that the amount she destroyed was no different from taking a drop of water from an ocean.
Suddenly, skeletal horses riding in a black mist appeared in Godwyn's field of vision; he looked at Thalia and said with a smile. "Our ride has arrived."
Thalia looked at the horses with curiosity; it was the first time she had seen skeleton horses, and it was definitely a rare sight for any demigod and god. After all, even Odin couldn't survive for long in Helheim.
The cold of the Realm of the Dead was not as simple as Thalia thought. It was like a concept capable of affecting even the most powerful gods. Godwyn and Thalia were only fine because Hela was using her power to block the influence of Helheim's laws.
"Come on, the queen is waiting for us." Godwyn said, climbing onto the skeleton horse. There was no saddle, so he pressed his thighs firmly against the horse's belly bones and held the neck bones with his hands.
Thalia imitated Godwyn's movements and climbed onto the horse. At the same instant, both horses quickly ascended towards the dark and gloomy sky of Helheim.
Godwyn looked down and saw the Bridge of the Damned getting further and further away. Looking to the side, he could see Hræsvelgr more perfectly. It was a huge bird perched on a mountain. Honestly, it was a truly frightening sight.
Thalia also looked at the enormous bird with wide eyes full of disbelief. It was truly the largest creature she had ever seen; even Ladon seemed small next to the enormous black bird.
Taking a deep breath, she calmed down and bowed amicably to the enormous bird. It cost nothing to be polite to such a powerful being.
Surprisingly, Thalia saw the enormous bird nod and then return to watching the surroundings with a penetrating and sharp gaze.
"It seems Lady Hræsvelgr likes you, Thalia." Godwyn said with a smile. It wasn't every day that the Devourer of Corpses could be so friendly with a mere demigod.
Thalia was also satisfied and happy; she truly felt flattered that such a powerful being responded to her greetings.
Suddenly, Thalia glimpsed a palace of bones on top of a dark and gloomy mountain.
She didn't need to be a genius to know that this was the palace of the Queen of the Dead and Ruler of the Dead.
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Read my other books:
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos (500,000 words written).
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.