Beyond the Century of Endless Flame and Ice

...Mr. Fujimaru, are you all right?

？！

You were only daydreaming for about two seconds of real time, but let's go ahead and call this meeting for now.

While it is different from your REM REM state, it's best we be cautious.

Let's resume our discussion of tactics and strategy later, yes?

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Are you sure?

Very well, if you insist. However, as far as I'm concern

Oh?

Pardon my interruption.

Mhmm.

You ask me if all is well? Hmph.

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Ah, hello there, my fair Öndurdís. I hope Your Majesty is well.

Heh. You have not changed, sage of Proper Human History.

The fact that you are wise and kind, yet only half aware, truly separates you from Baldr, the god of light.

I'm humbled by your kind words...

Oh no. There was no kindness in my words.

I actually have business with you, Fujimaru.

Did you see me in your dream?

？！

I see.

This dream...the product of the mental connection between a Master and their contracted Heroic Spirit.

A temporary sharing of memories and records. It's quite interesting to observe that it can even happen when Master's just daydreaming.

Silence, sage.

Your penchant for butting in and spelling out every little detail to unravel each facet of an enigma is most unwelcome.

Bear in mind that any Mystic treated in this way has its eventual death hastened. You should be more cautious.

...Apologies.

Anyway, Fujimaru. If you already saw this in your dreams, I needn't tell you what I desire.

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Well, IYes, I suppose so.

If you already know, I won't bother playing dumb. Yes, I have questions.

Questions for him.

By questions, you mean...

Sage.

Sorry.

I never intended to torment myself over such a thing, but now that it has been made known through my contractor's dreams...well, I...

This is the opportune moment. I must seize this chance now that it has come!

It is time I worked up the courage to settle this.

Can I count on your help, Fujimaru? You will lend your wisdom as well, sage.

？！

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Sounds like a drag, but...what do you think, me?

...Well, I guess this is an opportunity to clean up one of my own messes.

I'm not against being a part of this. I hate owing someone a favor, anyway!

Yeah, I agree. Master's tagging along, too!

So, what do you think, other me?

This is stupid. Do whatever the hell you want.

Not exactly a shocking response.

Well, let's do this, then! A ragtag bunch it may be, but let's get this Celtic-Scandinavian allied force up and going!

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What!?

Hold it right there. Let me get this straight.

You had a dream about the Skadi side of Scáthach...

...and you're telling me she's finally making her move on my Cú!?

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(I don't get it.)

(I gave her every opportunity in the past, yet she never tried to cozy up to any of my Cús.)

(Which has had me wondering all this time how Scáthach could be such a prude.)

(It was super weird to me...but now I get it! She's just a late bloomer! She's finally mustering up the courage.)

(Obviously, I HAVE to see how all of this unfolds for myself!)

(Besides, this involves my Cú!)

Wh-what do you think?

I would find it reassuring if you watched from the shadows.

W-well, I suppose I have no choice.

If you're that set on this, I'll do it. This is a onetime deal, though.

Ah! Thank you, Medb! I am grateful!

I just said it was a onetime thing!

？！

Mhmm!

(Sigh)

So, here's us, a buncha dirty male Heroic Spirits, skulking around a simulation of a forest in the dead of night...

What the hell is going on? Scheme or no scheme, this is kinda creepy.

Don't say that. Cú Chulainn'd never turn tail and run just 'cause he smells a trap, yeah?

Damn right. Anyway, it's that cave ahead.

There's a weird rune engraved inside it, even though neither Master nor Ms. Mash set it up.

'Course, we all know a thing or two about runes, which is why I went to see...

...but I got no clue what it is.

This is where you come in, Caster me.

After Faerie Britain, the cat's out of the bag as far as your connection with the Allfather goes.

So make with the deciphering, yeah? This might be the work of Douman or Moriarty.

Deciphering, huh?

I don't see anything special. Where's the rune?

A little up ahead. Aren't you supposed to be the smart one? Be patient.

Yeah, it should be just a little further up.

...

That does it. Cut the act. They DO call me a sage, for whatever it's worth.

Come on, spill it already. What do you want from me?

The only thing up ahead's a dead end. Trying to corner me like I'm your prey or something?

Uh-oh, guess you figured it out, huh? Strike a nerve, did we?

Not really. I'm sure you have your reasons. Not that I much care.

I can take you both. I'm ready to hang myself up if I have to.

You'll make nice charcoal if I burn you just right.

Heh. Not sure how you'll manage that with my lance through your heart.

Hey there now. Is this an insta-death contest? This may be rich, coming from me, but you two are savage.

Enough.

It is unfortunate that the rune I spent so much time carving went to waste...

...but well done all the same, warriors.

And...we finally meet, Cú Chulainn.

Which Cú Chulainn are you talking to? Okay, I guess it's me.

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Ah, so Master's here too.

So what does the Norse princess want from me? Do I owe her some QP? Can't say I remember anything like that.

So can I go home?

No. I would have you stay awhile longer.

You and I must speak.

Sheesh. You're sounding kinda hostile here.

(I didn't expect her to be so intense. Odin must've done a real number on her.)

...Why do you seek to avoid me?

Well, we have nothing to discuss, really. I don't think I can give you what you want, Princess.

I am no princess.

You and I will speak. As gods. Here. Now. I will not accept no for an answer.

It's pretty easy to just say "no."

And yet I will not allow you to do so.

I have already said as much.

I am not so arrogant as to claim that this is a divine decree.

But Medb and I have laid a few spells and other tricks for you here.

I can at least force your compliance if I must!

Ha! Sounds like you're really going for it!

I don't know what you've got up your sleeve, but Medb's magecraft is probably borrowed!

Though, who am I to say about others?

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All right, now!

Time to thrash the unreasonable princess and kid and leave this place!

While I'm at it, I'll punish the two spear-wielding dopes over there, too!

Ha! Freakin' try!

...Not bad.

But don't think this is over. Time for round two.

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I don't usually bother 'cause it's not efficient. But hey, it's a special kinda day.

(Honestly, I sure as hell can't hang myself in front of the princess...)

These guys are a lot sturdier! This round won't go like the last one, princess, kid.

I will simply crush whatever comes our way. Prepare yourselves, nitwits!

Take that back! And where the hell did you even learn that kind of talk!?

Shut up! Medb taught me! Now come on!

...Phew. I lost.

Not bad, princess, kid. You beat me fair and square.

I suppose I'd better accept defeat, then. Fine. What do you want to talk about?

...

That's our cue to leave.

You're in charge now. If talk is what you want, get talking.

Right. So, what're you gonna do, Master?

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...Stay.

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Well, see ya later.

There they go.

So. What'd you want to talk about?

...

Hm?

...

Uh...anybody home?

...Is the princess asleep?

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Uh...okay.

...

...Oh, right.

R-right. There is something I wish to say to you.

Something, rather...that I must ask you.

Okay. This is kinda funny, though.

Weren't you the one avoiding me in the beginning? Or am I remembering it wrong?

Th-that's not true.

Is that so?

Yes.

...

Or maybe...that might...be true...

You may have been avoiding me, but I too...

I, too, may have been avoiding you.

Because...what could I tell you at this point?

You, who left me. You, who left everything to me.

You, who did not save me.

You, who never once greeted me...

Even after I became a shadowy figure from the Lostbelt, recorded in humanity's history, and manifested in this world...

The great hero...the Child of Light. Cú Chulainn of Ulster.

No...

Odin, the Allfather.

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Sorry, but you got the wrong guy. Most of that Allfather aspect is gone thanks to my resummoning.

You should know that, Master.

It just so happened that this pain-in-the-ass job of saving humanity was passed ontoI mean, forced onto me.

I'm not the guy you're looking for.

...

Well, for a start:

Odin the Allfather from the Lostbelt and Odin from Proper Human History are technically the same, but not the same.

Their origin may be the same, but they ultimately followed different paths.

They are each versions of what might have been, so I don't think it's fair to treat them like the same pe

You speak nonsense!

You hung yourself on the tree! You learned what was beyond death after nine nights!

At the price of one of your eyes, you came to know the truth of all things, and devised the Primordial Rune...

You can't possibly not know how to use it.

How to use it?

Yes.

Morgan of Faerie Britain and Odysseus of the Mediterranean are said to have gained the same records from Proper Human History.

I do not believe you when you say you cannot do what they could.

Well, no... Okay, look. The circumstances are completely different.

Morgan and Odysseus are said to have taken that information from their counterparts.

The Odin from Proper Human History doesn't have a counterpart to take from. The same goes for the Lostbelt one.

They're higher beings. Divine Spirits.

...

Th-then what about the King of Heroes?

That ancient king is said to use omniscient Noble Phantasms to see infinite worlds through their different selves.

Aren't you able to do so as well!?

Odin synchronized his own records into his daughters, the Valkyries.

That...may be possible.

If we were talking about Odin himself, that is.

But we aren't. I'm not Odin. I keep telling you this, but I'm not him. Sorry.

Shut up...

Hm? What was that?

Shut up!

!

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Shut up, shut up, shut up! You...!

You are Odin. This cannot be denied...

Why...?

Why...why did you leave me, and only me?

Why...?

Why did you let me live, and why did you leave me the Norse world?

Tell me...

Tell me why you didn't save me...or my children?

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I was alone...

I tried so desperately to reach out within miracle of the Tree of Emptiness. But ultimately...

It was a false cycle of life. A false god. False envoys.

I spoke of love.

I made my children sing love's praises even as I killed them. I gave them no chance to resist or think for themselves.

Millions of lives ended in that world.

A world where Valhalla was a fraud...devoid even of Helheim.

I may as well be the god of death at that point.

Now that I've gained the knowledge of Proper Human History, I can say this:

For more than three thousand years, I was the god who oversaw hell!

...

Even the likes of Thor and Loki would decry what I did, had they been there to see.

Odin, Allfather...

...who holds all the world's wisdom...

...as the gods disappeared during Ragnarök...

...why didn't you...

...kill me, too?

？！

...

Are you not going over there?

No, it's fine.

I'm just loaning out my Cú for now. I'm already surrounded by Cús anyway.

Hey.

Good grief.

Besides, that Cú's got some other stuff in the mix, diluting his Cúness.

Ah, so that is how they convinced you. But, are we not operating under the pretense that he has no other attributes in the mix, so to speak?

...I don't know what you're talking about.

I keep telling you, you've got the wrong guy.

The Odin who helped me and the Allfather you know from the Lostbelt are entirely different beings.

So I'm not going to say anything. That's the vow I made...

...

But...I never meant to make a woman cry.

...

So I'll say this one thing. I'm not under a geis about this, so it should be fine to say.

Odin's meddling and paranoia are boundless.

If you put it that way, there really is no difference between the Odin of Proper Human History and the Odin of the Lostbelt.

As a man who interacted with Odin, even if it was just once...

I can say that the answer's really simple.

It pains me to say this as a fellow male, but this problem really just stems from Odin's...male sense of chivalry.

Yeah, that's right.

Oh hey, you get it too, Master? I guess it's obvious.

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All right. I've made up my mind. I'm going to tell you! If the Allfather comes to gripe at me about this later, to hell with him!

It's better than watching the princess cry a river.

I'm only going to say this once, so listen carefully!

Basically, Odin, the bastard...

...fell for you.

Huh...?

What did you...just say?

I just told you I'd only say it once.

Wh-what?

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But...!

That...can't be...

That's just...

Selfish, yeah? Yup. It's pretty self-serving. Cruel, even.

I might've mentioned this earlier, but he probably peeked into other worlds.

He's got that annoying ability to see everything. The Proper Human History Odin would be able to look into the Lostbelt.

And vice versa. So, I expect the Lostbelt Odin probably saw something.

Maybe a glimpse of what was going to happen to Proper Human History three thousand years later.

In the far corner of the planet that was bleached white...

Let's say he might have seen you with a childlike expression as you enjoyed a frozen treat.

!

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That...can't be...

But that's...such an absurd reason to...

All my beloved children...the days we spent...

Yeah.

A frozen treat, you say?

Yeah.

You're saying that he saw me eat a frozen treat...here?

Yeah.

Oh... If that is true...

Then Odin is a fool. He is the very height of stupidity!

Truly, he is...

...a fool...

Wiser than anyone in the world and still a fool...the biggest fool I've ever known!

A fool beyond any hope of salvation...

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I...

I am far past being enthralled by a god's affections like some innocent maiden!

...

Yeah, you're right.

Anyway, I said what I needed to say. Satisfied?

...Y-yes...

R-right. You're right. His love means nothing after all this time.

From here on...

I will deny myself any further frozen treats, as penance for my children...

I-I mustn't allow the Allfather's whims to affect me...

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...!

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You... Really?

...Fujimaru.

O human child...who has never given up...who forges ever onward.

Is that what you truly feel?

Am I correct in believing that you did not speak out of pity?

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Very well.

Then...

I accept that your words are heartfelt, and yes, I will continue enjoying frozen treats.

It seems I have no means to learn of the Allfather's intentions from him directly, for the time being.

But I shouldn't stop eating the frozen treats. They are not to blame.

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Heh heh. Is there an issue with me eating a frozen treat?

Why are you so flushed, Medb? You keep muttering to yourself, and I can't understand you.

Do not tell me you've mistaken me for the other me.

NO, I DID NOT! Why would you think that, anyway!?

Now I'm pissed! I'm mad all the time, but today I'm extra, extra mad!

Let's go outside, Scáthach! Today, I'm showing you who's best, once and for all!

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Master is right.

Ugh.

Oh?

Fighting is a waste of time. She wants to enjoy her treat, so let her enjoy it.

Frozen treats are wonderful. They're sweet, they're cold...

They're sweet and cold!

Mhmm. Exactly!

Everyone knows that! And cut it out! I don't want to see the same two faces nodding in the same way!

Fufufu.

Fufufu.

Stop it, stop it! But, now that I look closer, your expressions are completely different.

Argh! I said, cut it out!

Frozen treats?

What is that? Is that what you call snow in your native language?

Apologies, Your Majesty.

Ice cream and ice pops. They are both considered frozen treats in Proper Human History.

Something called gelato is another type of ice cream.

Which is why...um...

...when I said that Mt. Galdhøpiggen from Proper Human History was like gelato, my metaphor was not accurate.

That may have caused you confusion. Please pardon my verbal gaffe.

Frozen treats...

Hmmm...

Your Majesty?

Yes, sounds good. Now that you've brought that to mind.

I'm not at all interested in Proper Human History, but I'd like to take this opportunity to ask you something.

...?

Hehe. You make the cutest expressions.

The cultivation of the Tree of Emptiness is going well. That means your mother has some time on her hands.

And I am a naturally curious one, at that. Since you, my new daughter, have mentioned this strange new term...

I am compelled to know more about it. Hehehe.

So, let me ask you again.

These frozen treats...are they ice that you consume?

If you are speaking of simply adding flavoring to ice, I have done that to amuse myself on a few occasions.

So are these frozen treats of yours anything like the ones I made before? What are they exactly?

W-well...

Frozen treats, as the name implies, are basically food made by freezing something.

Ice cream is made by freezing a mixture of cow's milk, sugar, and sometimes chicken eggs.

Ice pops are generally frozen fruit juice.

They are both sweet and cold...

Mhmm.

They melt in your mouth...

Oh?

P-personally, I rather like them.

They are by no means foods necessary for survival.

But the sensation of a sweet treat melting in your mouth is...

Tell me more.

I-I do not know how to explain it...

But it feels wonderful. It's like a little moment of happiness...

Happiness, you say?

Hehehe. Very good. This pleases me. I never expected to hear you, of all people, speaking of happiness.

Mother is delighted, Ophelia.

I am humbled.

This is just my own experience, but whenever I eat ice cream...

...it brings back things I've long since forgotten.

Heh. You mean like a past fling?

Wha...!?

Sigurd! Control yourself! And no, you are incorrect.

Oh?

Your Majesty too? No, it is not like that!

Whenever I eat ice cream...

...as it melts in my mouth, I am suddenly reminded...

...though in a hazy sort of way...

...of my youth.

...

Interesting.

Ah, that sounds lovely. Hmm, Ophelia...

...if I were ever to taste one of these frozen treats of yours...

...I'm sure I would think back on this world in its heyday.

Back to when there were seasons, gods, and an Allfather watching over everything with his one-eyed gaze...

Back when, if he smiled, Ēostre, the spring goddess, would dance to end the harsh winter and summon the new life of spring.

I'm sure that is what I would think of... The age when the world overflowed with the gods' love.

I'm sure of it. ...Well, runes cannot be carved into forms I have never known...

But yes...

One day, I would like to taste these frozen treats.

...I swear to you. I shall provide some for you as soon as the Tree of Emptiness is in full bloom.

Very good.

But then again...um, well, this is just my personal opinion...

...but I do not know whether the frozen treats will live up to Your Majesty's tremendous expectations...

Very poetic, Ophelia. The skalds are no match for the words you've spoken here.

Sigurd!