Things are about to go...

"Horribly wrong!"

Loki had returned...

After spending two months on the deduction of the fire dragon blueprint, I had been close to completing it, when I was interrupted by this fellow. Since his return, he had been lamenting about his own stupidity of taking so long to get his idea while praising himself for the greatness of said idea.

'If you are down exercising your tongue now, how about you tell me about this idea of yours.'

"What? Oh, guess I should tell you. Since Balder returned, every day he proves his invulnerability. All of us throw weapons, spells and other deadly things at him and he just doesn't get wounded. Apparently, it makes him feel better. Now one of the ones attending is Hod, a blind peak grand duke fighter. I will simply place the arrow in his hand and escape all guilt."

'So I'll just have to make an arrow, right?'

"No, make it look like a plant, a mistletoe. That way I can shift some of the blame on the Vanir."

'Are you looking to drag them into your little game too?'

"Sure but I'll you'll see the specifics later."

'See? How are going to get that to work? You can't be thinking of taking me along!'

"That's exactly what I'm thinking! During the last battle, you disappeared completely, just do so again. Then you can see everything yourself."

'I guess I could force that state and remain undetected. Fine, I'll make the arrow now.'

The arrow was made, a light golden arrow decorated with intricate mistletoe leaves running along the shaft. I tried to increase the density as much as possible, infusing as much sunlight as possible.

Then I formed my spiritual body only to disperse it again, bundling up the energy so I could instantly restore my full state. After that, I attached the sliver of my soul to Loki. I was now undetectable for all intents and purposes. Unless an expert with excellent perception abilities searched for me, I doubted that I would be discovered.

Loki grabbed the arrow and flew off after transforming into a raven. I lost track of time as we flew through the clouds. At some point, Loki began to rapidly descend and as he broke through the clouds, a magnificent golden city appeared before us.

"I am not sure if you are here caw but in case you are caw, welcome to Asgard, the city of gods."

Loki's voice sounded strange when he spoke in raven form. He sounded high-pitched and between his words an occasional caw disrupted his sentence.

The closer we got to Asgard the brighter it seemed. It was truly made mostly out of gold. No wonder they were all so insufferably arrogant and called themselves gods.

Landing before an unassuming house, Loki took the form of a tall long-haired, elf-like male. With a flowing movement, he knocked on the door, producing a dull, ringing sound.

"Come in, the door isn't locked."

A deep, sonorous voice permeated through the door. Loki pushed open the door and entered. The inside of the house was spartan. Despite the walls being made of gold, the place seemed simple, poor even.

In the main hall, a muscle packed man sat on a golden throne, staring straight ahead. He turned his head as Loki stepped closer and I could see his eyes were entirely white. He was Hod, the blind general of the Aesir.

"What is your purpose in coming here, Vanir trash?"

"I have long admired the great strength of the general Hod. Recently, I heard of Balder's predicament and was hoping to help by donating an arrow I had forged myself. Please accept it."

"Fine. Just leave already, I am sick of that horrendously sweet perfume all you Vanir always apply."

Loki placed the arrow in Hod's hand and turned to leave. As he closed the door behind himself, Loki transformed back into his usual self and was wearing a smile dripping with venom and mockery.

"They are so easy to fool!"

Then Loki made his way to the center of the city. There, he entered into a palace made entirely of polar silver, a transparent, silvery crystal that was incredibly rare.

Loki entered the main atrium where Balder was standing above a frozen pool. His upper body was still bare and producing countless sparks as various weapons clashed with his skin, unable to pierce through.

Balder wore the facial expression of a maniac as he kept encouraging the Aesir to try harder. The scar left on his face by my arrow was no longer visible but the mental scar from being wounded was still very fresh.