The sounds of calm before the storm were deafening... In a room of the empty palace, a woman lay quietly on a luxurious bed with a panoramic ceiling, the stars shining over the silent battlefield, but her mind was far away, lost in the space between dreams and memory.
There was something familiar about that slow falling sensation, an emptiness opening beneath her feet as she fell inward. She recognized what was coming.
Fenrir's dreams were never ordinary, for they carried echoes of the past and shadows of forgotten prophecies. And this time, she knew she would see her father.
The cold wind embraced her as she found herself in a vast expanse of ice and snow. Fenrir immediately recognized that setting—it was the realm of Jotunheim, home of the giants, the land of her father, Loki. The landscape before her was cold and barren, with ice mountains in the distance and a mist that seemed to conceal ancient secrets.
She looked around, searching for a familiar presence, knowing what was to come but feeling no less nervous about it.
And then, a figure appeared in the distance. He had his back to her, wrapped in dark garments, his golden hair cascading in wild curls over his shoulders. The unmistakable presence of Loki.
Fenrir's heart leaped in her chest, mingled with the sadness and anger that always accompanied her thoughts of him. Her father, the trickster god, the deceiver, the visionary. The one who had risked everything and lost.
He slowly turned around, a familiar smile forming on his lips, a smile that always seemed to hold secrets. Loki's bright eyes met hers with a mix of love and mischief, as if he knew something she had yet to realize.
"So... my little wolf finally comes to visit," he said, his voice smooth and full of charm. "It took you long enough, Fenrir."
Fenrir felt a knot form in her throat. Even knowing this was a dream, that he wasn't really there, the pain of his loss was real, as was the longing she had never admitted to anyone.
"Dad," she began, the word coming out hesitantly. There were so many things she wanted to say, but the words felt trapped. At the same time, the environment around her began to change. The mist dissipated, and before her eyes, images of Loki's life began to unfold.
She saw the birth of his siblings, Jormungandr and Hel. She witnessed his childhood in Asgard, where Loki had always been treated as an outsider, even as he grew up alongside Thor and the other gods. She saw the hatred in his eyes, the envy and resentment, but she also saw the love he had for his children, something many overlooked or simply didn't understand.
"You always had a way of making others not understand you, didn't you?" Fenrir asked, her voice sounding firmer now as she watched the moments pass. "How did you get so lost? Everyone despised you, but you never made it easy for them, either."
Loki laughed, a sound that seemed to echo through the void. "Ah, daughter, I've always been the wolf in sheep's clothing. And you, more than anyone, know how that feels. The difference is that I accepted the role I was given. You, on the other hand, ran from it."
"So what should I do?" Fenrir asked, her voice filled with frustration. "Accept that I'm trapped in this damn prophecy? In this eternal war?"
"No," Loki replied, his eyes shining with fierce intensity. "You should not accept anything you do not want. But you also must not flee. Use this to your advantage. If war is coming, then make it your war. Fight for what you believe in.
And if destiny insists on pushing you toward Ragnarok, then make it Ragnarok on your terms."
Loki's words resonated in her mind as the image of him began to fade, dissolving into the cold mist of Jotunheim. The scenery around her started to change again, this time faster, as if the dream was losing its consistency. Moments of her life flashed before her eyes — her childhood, her siblings, her training, her battles.
She saw herself running across the icy plains, wild and free, before being captured by the gods. She witnessed her fury, her pain, her determination to escape that cruel fate.
And finally, she saw a battle. The moment when Loki tried to invade the world, only to be killed by an enraged woman with fiery hair wielding Odin's own Gungnir, a memory that was far from her own... But it set off alarms in her chest.
"Why am I seeing this? Why does she look so... furious?" Fenrir wondered before seeing something...
Gungnir betraying Loki.
The damaged weapon of the woman exploded against Loki's body, sending him flying away. The terror in his eyes was unmistakable, and he refused to remain silent, roaring in a language Fenrir knew all too well...
"I didn't want it to be this way! I had to do this to you for the good of the world!" Loki roared, but no one understood his words, and his gaze fell upon the red-haired woman wielding Gungnir with fierce resolve.
Loki paled, sweat beginning to trickle down his temple, and then Gungnir pierced his skull.
"How could you say... 'I had to do this to you?'..." Fenrir murmured, watching the scene unfold before her before disappearing once more.
The surroundings crumbled completely, and Fenrir opened her eyes, back in reality. She lay there, moonlight filtering through the panoramic ceiling, illuminating her face. The dream still lingered in her mind, but this time there was something different. Instead of uncertainty, she felt a renewed determination.
"What... did my father do?" she questioned, the weight of the revelation settling heavily in her heart.