38 Challenge between war and death.

After a long night Hela could finally get up and go on her way.

She could feel her body tired and heavy.

She didn't understand much about the physical issues, but it was very real.

Being in the world of humans was a very different feeling than being in divine lands, it was as if they were very different planets.

There were no changes like gravity or atmosphere, there was no lack of oxygen or sunlight.

But the environment filled with magic was enough to overwhelm an organism.

Hela was immortal and would not take long to adapt, but a human body would feel these effects more seriously.

Yes, her body ached and she felt fatigue weigh her down and it was very obvious that she was not used to the divine environment, but the hardest thing was being away from her wife.

She sorely missed turning her face and having her eyes drawn to Ina's stunning beauty.

She felt a little melancholy, but also happy.

She was full of love and anticipation of being able to return home and be reunited with her family.

There was a distinct happiness in lying down and letting the fragrant warmth of the woman she loved embrace her.

She already felt more relaxed about her mission on Mount Olympus.

Her impatience couldn't remain so vivid in her mind, it made her have a really unpleasant time in Apollo's library.

Since the place and people were extremely unfamiliar, Hela realized that she wouldn't be able to get very far if she continued to act as carelessly as she had been up until then.

She didn't sleep, there wasn't any need for that, but resting in a quiet place and thinking about everything that had happened was essential for her to understand how to move forward.

Now she felt ready to face any situation.

Perhaps it would have been too naive to believe that she could simply visit Mount Olympus and speak briefly with Aphrodite.

She wouldn't make that mistake again.

Of course, she now had family and even a dog waiting for her, so she couldn't linger any longer than necessary, but the desperate thought of rushing only made her waste more time.

It was her first time experiencing the flavor of an adventure and mistakes were bound to happen.

In reality, there were already at least half a dozen things she would have done differently, but how could she ask so much of herself?! She has never spent so much time away from home.

First she had never spent so much time away from Niflheim, but now she had never spent so much time away from home either.

Her home being wherever Ina was.

He glanced briefly at the still dark sky and had already decided that when the sun began to rise over the horizon it would be time to finally leave.

Hela now had a little more knowledge of what would come next.

Athena had already warned Hela that there was no need for authorization to walk through her forests, so there would be no problem with that.

She could go on with peace of mind in that regard.

But she also warned her about something: to get to Aphrodite, it would be necessary to cross Ares' training ground.

Ares took care of Aphrodite's protection.

The goddess was very worshiped and desired, there were many who coveted her desperately.

Ares could provide some kind of safety and tranquility for Aphrodite.

When finally she passed by Ares and saw a vast garden of red roses on the horizon, Hela could be sure that she was already very close to what she wanted.

She would find Aphrodite at any moment if she just kept going.

Taking advantage of the darkness that stretched across time.

Hela took a few moments to test the ring she had been given.

The gloves weren't much to test and were comfortable and flexible.

All the movements she had made had not been interfered with in any way.

Really satisfying.

As for the cutting power, it became very clear that they were very sharp as they almost cut Apollo's book in half without any effort.

The ring she hadn't tested yet.

From what Freya had said, the way to use it was the same as creating a portal.

Hela didn't use swords so unlike other gods she didn't lift her weapons, so she just joined her hands and recited the necessary prayers.

"May the light guide us and transform us... In dust and dust in a cry for the blessings of destiny..."

She immediately finished speaking a portal appeared, a portal to nowhere.

When saying the prayers she had not imagined any destination, but the purpose was not that, but to create some object that she could have with her.

"May the light guide us and transform us... In dust and dust in cry for the blessings of fate... And I pray for the protection of a shield..."

The ring made a brief pressure on Hela's finger and the portal that was previously forming to allow getting somewhere quickly turned into a large shield.

Hela smiled in satisfaction, the shield was light, but when touching it she could feel enormous resistance, it would probably easily protect her from many types of attacks.

She continued this way for a while longer, imagining all kinds of objects that could be possible to create... A sword, bow, spears and even an umbrella.

She could use that to her advantage in many circumstances.

The time spent discovering the ring's functions was enough to keep him entertained until it was time to leave.

Hela, finally seeing that there was sun, briefly cleaned up her little mess and left for Ares' camp.

The forest was not very dense and there was a very well marked trail.

It was enough for Hela to follow in a straight line and she would definitely get somewhere.

If she looked back she could see Apollo's library, so she used that to keep her location well.

The zones were very linear and really were one after the other, it became very clear that if she moved forward she would go where she wanted to go.

And maybe it even worked inside the library, one hour or another she would leave there even if it took a while.

Hela walked with steady steps, she could see people talking and walking around.

There were waterfalls and streams everywhere.

Hela had even overheard two strange men discussing whether it was possible to dip twice in the same river.

One said yes and the other no.

It was a rather fervent discussion over something in many ways silly, she didn't have the capacity to understand the importance of it.

So all Hela could do was pretend not to exist and hope that no one would notice and engage her in this kind of conversation.

The Greeks were very passionate in their dialogues.

With a little more than an hour of walking, Hela can see the end of the denser vegetation and gradually a lower vegetation emerged.

It wasn't long before Hela could see Ares's training ground, she could hear screams of pain and rage.

Soldiers seemed to fight valiantly even if it was just a practice run.

Approaching the training ground she could see people carrying sandbags, others practicing exercises and others simply sharpening their swords.

It was a slightly more familiar feeling for her.

The Norse breathed epic battles and stories, so seeing all those people fighting was very refreshing and uplifting.

"Hey girl!"

Hela heard the call, apparently everyone seemed to think she didn't have much more than a few decades to live.

Did she really look that young?!

She turned to look who called her and curiously it was a woman.

The woman he called Hela was Otrera, wife of Ares.

"Did you call me?"

Otrera smiled, yes she really had called her.

She walked towards Hela and smiled a little curiously.

Otrera vaguely remembered that person... Well, how could she forget the first marriage between women that Zeus had officially blessed?!

"Hela, right?!"

Hela nodded, the woman was dressed in battle clothes, but despite her rustic appearance she was pretty and had a soft smile. "Yes it's me and you are?"

"I am Otrera, wife of Ares… Are you looking for him?"

Hela agreed. "Yes, I need to go to Aphrodite and I heard that I would need to go through here... You need a permit to cross without causing problems, right?!"

Otrera agreed, permissions really were needed.

The only area where permission was not required was the first, many just wanted to be able to drink some wine or talk about any kind of thing among the thinkers who would easily be found on any corner in the main market.

But to move forward and gain access to the other zones would not be so easy.

"Yes, Ares is in a meeting… Have you eaten yet?"

Hela denied it, she had left immediately after sunrise.

She hadn't had time to look for food.

"No... But I don't want to bother you..."

Otreta smiled gently. "Idiocy, it will be my pleasure... Come on..."

Hela followed Otrera, keeping still as they passed several soldiers.

There were all kinds, whether they were a thousand years old or fifty years old.

Some had swords in their hands and others carried rifles.

It was a bit curious to see that there were people practicing target shooting with arrows next to people training with firearms.

The gods really stood their ground whatever the age.

Otrera noticed that something seemed to catch Hela's attention and when she saw what it was, she smiled slightly.

She slowed her pace to keep up with Hela. "We have some soldiers who fought for Sparta... Faithful followers of Leonidas... When they met these other Greek soldiers who served in war during the second great war they felt a little melancholy..."

It was no secret to the gods all the wars experienced by humans, many were even motivated by gods.

But World War II was special in some ways.

It was an experience that brought so many peoples together that there was great confusion about which gods should act and which not.

Many abstained and refused to do anything, others even if they were not important in the central conflict, stood firm and helped their people in the ways they could.

"Why?"

But Hela didn't know much about the relevance of Greece in this regard. "The motivations of surface wars remained... Honor and patriotism... But between the lines there are very petty motivations and that over time became more and more complicated for the honor of these soldiers."

Hela could understand what Otrera meant by that and in some ways she agreed, but she also disagreed.

A people's struggle should be primarily to defend those who could not defend themselves.

That was her thinking about the necessity of war, but she wasn't going to expose that to a woman who was married only to the god of war.

"I understand ...'

Otrera smiled and added. "You must understand well, you are still preparing for Ragnarok, right?"

Hela nodded, indeed Ragnarok was still the great fear of the uncertain future between her people and her family's gods.

But she had no direct involvement when it came to warriors.

She had never fought despite having prepared for it, and in her kingdom she had no warriors.

And when she did, it was those who had been humiliated, enslaved or killed outside of combat.

In definition a death in dishonor.

"My kingdom does not have the same profile as these warriors... If we were to put it simply, I mainly receive civilians, I am responsible for taking care of them."

"Oh I see."

Otrera seemed to understand a little more about Hela... She was like Hades to her people.

It didn't take long for them to finally arrive in a huge cafeteria.

Soldiers happily ate and the smell of food was everywhere.

It looked really delicious.

Hela and Otrera helped themselves lavishly and ensured there would be no hunger for the next few hours.

The two talked softly and the topics always hovered around wars and the people.

Otrera seemed like a woman really passionate about the universe she was a part of.

After a few minutes of conversation it didn't take long for soldiers to whisper and huddle together, Hela found all that commotion strange, but seeing Otrera's reaction she felt a little funny.

Otrera looked happy.

"Wife! I missed you so much..."

The voice echoed throughout the cafeteria.

Finally Hela seemed to understand what was going on, Ares had arrived and was passionately looking for his wife.

Ares didn't take long to get to where Otrera was sitting and consequently it didn't take long to notice Hela's presence.

Ares, who was clinging to his wife, quickly tried to compose himself to act properly in front of Hela.

"Ohh... Forgive me for being rude... Hela, someone had already warned me that you were on Mount Olympus... I wondered how long it would take to see you."

Ares had a warm smile, he was as polite and kind as Otrera.

They seemed relatively easy people to talk to, which made Hela feel a little more relieved.

"I haven't been here for a long time...."

Hela lied lightly, it was a little embarrassing to admit that she had been trapped in the library for hours.

Ares nodded satisfied, visits were always welcome... But this visit was special.

Hela had been the reason for their last meeting, the woman had really caused a commotion even with a few hours of stay.

"This is good, I hope you're enjoying it."

Hela nodded softly, but moved closer briefly so that only Ares and Otrera could hear.

It wasn't like she was bothered being with them, but she had a goal and couldn't waste time.

She wasn't there for fun or to see friends.

Hela whispered briefly. "Would it be possible to have your permission to continue your journey? I need to talk to Aphrodite..."

Ares listened carefully and glanced at his wife briefly, maybe that wasn't possible.

The man became thoughtful, but smiled a little satisfied. "Um... Let's make a deal, what do you think?"

Hela sighed a little tiredly, of course it wouldn't be easy, right?! "What do you want to propose?"

The meeting between Ares, Apollo, Athena, Aphrodite and Zeus had been very clear about immediately expelling Hela.

Well, actually Ares had no opinion on the matter, but Hades had strongly asked him to forbid her to follow her path.

Apollo thought that Hela was not worthy for the simple reason that she was not worthy, but he wondered how much they should interfere in this chaotic relationship between Hela and Hades.

Athena had misgivings about Hela following her path, but she didn't stand against it.

Zeus didn't want Hela to follow the path, the reason was simple: he knew that all that was because of Ina and he didn't agree with that.

In the eyes of Zeus, Ina's punishment should be strictly enforced and he was even irritated by the fact that Odin refused to intervene when they decided to live among humans.

And what about Aphrodite? She was full of curiosity.

Someone finally seemed brave enough to visit even after so many years.

Simply let the lost kitten appear in the wolf's den, if she is able she will be able to return without any problems.

But in the end, even with so many opinions the zone belonged to Ares and it was up to him to decide what to do.

He was especially curious about what was so special about her that Hades would chase him around trying to convince him not to allow her to go on.

But an option came up that would be enough for all sides.

Ares shared Hela's whispered tone and finally spoke. "Fight me... If you win, you can pass and you will always have my permission to come and go... But if you lose, go back home and forget about Aphrodite's existence, what do you think?"

Well, just let her prove her determination and strength, even the naysayers will have to agree that she got it on her own terms.

Hela sighed and mentally thanked her aunt for coming up with those weapons. "I have a choice?"

Ares smiled happily. "Of course not."

____________________________

Yes! I came back with everything!