Chapter 354: Time Travel

"The one who did this to you… is here in Asgard as we speak, Master Hermod."

"He… is here?"

The drops of water that shot from his hair once again made ripples on the water. He was already handed a towel to wipe dry himself, but as soon as his servant's words reached his ears, he instantly stopped.

His head was discovered by some villagers from a secluded town; in which he stayed until his servants from the Palace got word of his existence there. Even with his body still recovering, even with the nerves that wriggled and struggled to recover his entire body, Hermod chose to quickly report what had happened to him to King Odin.

And with Dionysus's presence there, it wasn't that hard to confirm his story. But perhaps it was exactly because Dionysus was there, that the rumour had spread like wildfire-- with details, true or not, adding to his story with each whisper.

And this caused him to be humiliated, he could feel the other Aesir laughing at him as he walked down the Palace walls. What's even more infuriating was that even the lesser Aesir were able to mock him, and he could do nothing about it since he was still regaining his strength.

And now that he has fully recovered, and one might even say improved, he was ready to show those Aesir that looked down on him who was truly superior. But now, upon hearing that the main cause of his humiliation was right here in Asgard, he could not help but tremble in anger.

A sizzle began to travel in the air as the water in the pool began to boil, almost rippling with every bubble that pops out from it. And soon, the whole area was filled with steam as the heat being generated by the speed of Hermod's anger reached its peak.

But after a few seconds, he let out a long and very deep breath, quickly dissipating the fog he had created fortuitously. And when everything was once again clear, he turned to look towards his female servant.

"Since you know of this information, then might I assume that King Odin and the others are privy to it as well?" Hermod then stepped off of the pool, not minding that his servant could see his privates dangling as he continued to wipe himself dry.

"That is correct, Master Hermod," the female servant did not seem to mind as well, as she only bowed her head after nodding.

"Then why... why are we not gathering our forces to subdue this dissident?" Hermod's tone once again began to shiver.

"I do not know King Odin's plan at this moment, Master Hermod," the female servant then took Hermod's towel, before handing him a new one.

"Is King Odin in the Palace right now?"

"I am afraid not. He has been spending a lot of time outside lately."

"This... is troublesome," Hermod then suddenly placed his hand on his servant's cheek, "But this might also work to our advantage. I assume Lord Thor is here?"

"He... is currently indulging himself with booze and women."

"You need not tell me that," a small smile then slowly started to appear on Hermod's face as his hand then moved its way to the back of his female servant's head. And as soon as he did so, the female servant quickly kneeled on the ground.

"If King Odin will not do anything, then I am sure his son will. After all, this Evans is connected with the person who killed one of his sons," and without even a hint of grace, Hermod pulled his female servant's head closer to his groin, "I…

...will not stand for this humiliation."

***

"So, how are you liking this experience so far, King Evans?"

"...It's okay."

"You're learning about the Aesir, yes?"

"More than I want."

With Van now being an instructor in the Academy for more than a month, almost every student in the college knows his name; he was probably the most famous instructor there, despite also being the newest.

He and Athena were currently out of the Academy, and casually walking in one of the towns near the college's island. This was the only day that both of their schedules were clear, and so they were always using it to update each other of their situation.

But besides talking about the students and their developments, Van really sees no point in having these weekly meetings. He had also expressed this to Athena, but her only response was that this day was also for them to have fun.

Fun… a word that Van could never imagine coming from Athena's mouth. With how long she had been living in the 9 Realms, the stories and the experiences that she has been telling him were probably not even a fraction of what she truly knows.

Van could never imagine it, living for that long. She had already lived a very long time even before all of this, back in her own universe. As for how long, Van did not really want to know-- as he too, was probably cursed with eternity.

That is… if the World Eaters from Seraph Azrael's universe don't devour them first.

"When we met, Dionysus told me that you were searching for Evangeline," Van then opened up, "How was it? Did you find anything worthwhile?"

"No," Athena quickly shook her head as she let out a somewhat frustrated sigh, "Just tales and fables about Allmother."

"Is… that really her? Surtr has mentioned it to me before, but I just can't wrap my head around it."

"Everything points to it being her. Depicted as having wings, older than the 9 Realms herself; guided the enhanced humans that would one day become the Primal Aesir. If I lay out every information I have on her, it would take years to tell it…

...and yet not even one clue as to her current location."

"You think she's still alive?"

"Of course, you're proof of that. Or more specifically, the System that you hold."

"My... System?"

"Most of the so-called System Holders could no longer access their Systems, but they could still strengthen it when absorbing the Crystals that the 9 Realms geologically produces," Athena then raised a finger as she stopped walking, "But you, on the other hand, are able to use it."

"Yes?"

"Your System once again made its appearance as soon as you absorbed enough energy to resurrect it, the energy being Charlotte's soul. However, all of those are just substantial. The proof that Evangeline is still out there are the Objectives that you have been getting since your System was revived, you have reached the same conclusion as well. Isn't that right?"

"...I did," Van nodded.

"And what's the Objective now?"

"Go to Vanaheim."

"We'll ignore it for now," Athena then once again started walking, "Let's see how your mother would react."

"This… is really starting to get more and more complicated," Van could not help but let out a sigh as he walked beside Athena, "Is there now way… for me to return back to the past?"

"You mean Time Travel?" Athena chuckled, "I am afraid not, everything that happens, happens in only one direction. There have been many stories even in my universe claiming for it to be possible, but it is not. There may exist a universe out there that does not follow the same, but this one is not one of them."

"But Evangeline did it, she sent us here."

"She did not send us anywhere. I believe that she just trapped us in some sort of dimension where time moves differently, and when a certain threshold is reached, we are then released. 

...Perhaps rather than travelling through time, it is more suitable to say that we skipped through it."

"...Isn't that the same thing?"

"A fine line between them, but it no longer matters as we are already here."

"But if you could travel to the past, wouldn't you want to?"

"I would need to," Athena once again stopped in her tracks as she looked Van straight in the eyes, "Then I could have definitely found a way to stop the destruction of my universe-- perhaps even fight alongside the Seraph to repel the World Eaters… but I would not want to."

"...What?"

"Because doing so would mean that you would not exist in the first place, King Evans."

"..."

"Everything that happened led to giving birth to you, a being that would one day become the greatest god that would be known in all of the universes that exist and could exist."

"You're over-exaggerating," Van shook his head, "If you were able to become allies with the Seraph back then, then my world would have been spared of the existence of Portals. My very existence is a reminder of why the Portal Calamity happened in the first place, Athena."

"Perhaps," Athena once again chuckled, "But I believe you are destined for something greater."

"And how did you reach that conclusion?"

"Faith."

"...You truly have gone crazy, Athena," Van could only look Athena straight in the eyes, before letting out a long and deep sigh, "You're reminding me more and more of my Dionysus."

"How curious you thought of him at this exact moment," Athena then blinked a couple of times as she too, looked Van straight in the eyes, "We're actually going to him right now."

"...What?"

"He's in that tavern over there," Athena then pointed towards a very flamboyant building; made of wood that somehow glittered in all sorts of colors, "King Evans…

...I believe it is time for you to lay down the punishment for his betrayal."