29 Runic Legacy - 1

-Royal Palace-

-Throne room-

Odin stood in front of his throne, garbed in a bright white cloak which covered a robe that was finely crafted, and adorned with the symbols of power and wisdom. His current presence was a complete contrast to the man, who was always clothed valiantly in his signature golden armor and red cloak.

As he stood facing the throne, resembling a priest, the spear in his hand was the odd one out from his current appearance. The spear edge fell on the throne from time to time, as he altered the functions of certain runes on his throne.

The walls along the chamber all flickered with runes, as he started fortifying them as well.

"He should be arriving soon" he murmured, as he never stopped what he was doing, while being deeply absorbed in his thoughts.

-------

Vali headed towards the palace with a cold face, with Vespera who had found her way onto his head, completely disregarding his vexation. She always listened to him, but Frigga made sure the little fairy had her fun every now and then.

He didn't mind it much, considering the fact that she was weightless, and his mother reminded him that it was needed for her mental health. She might be an extremely intelligent being, but at the end of it all, she had close to no interactions with other beings. She was essentially a child, with tons of power and a crucial need for worldly experience.

So, his mother 'convinced' him to treat her like a child, until she adapted to the environment. It would have been all fine and dandy, if not for the crowd that normally avoided him, now treating him like some kind of a circus freak.

There were a lot of eyes on her, as more and more people spotted her sitting on his head. It only got worse when they saw her staring, mixed with her stern and regal face, along with her curious eyes. He then decided to hand over the duty of a palanquin, to his guards who were besides him.

The burden of carrying the curious fairy fell on Skarf's 'head'. He wasn't thrilled to say the least, as he had to face this little monster's torture everyday. Over the years, the prince had made him a practice target for Vespera, who used her illusions on him. Just thinking about it made him almost breakdown, although it eventually helped him train his mind and will.

They had almost willingly stayed behind with weird expressions on their faces, after he mentioned that he was meeting the King. He long understood what went on, in their heads even without reading it, but he couldn't be bothered.

Ever since he had returned from the trials, after solving his problems with his magical talent, he only had one last thing to learn on Asgard. The most spectacular art that made the entire realm, and Odin himself stand out from the rest, RUNES!

And he needed to learn it, as it was a vital piece of the puzzle, that was his future magical pathway. Odin had agreed when Vali asked him, without hesitation, but he needed time to prepare the inheritance ritual.

[Flashback]

-2 years ago-

"Father, I have almost completed absorbing all the knowledge I need for creating my own magical path. Rune Knowledge is something that would immensely help in what I'm about to create." said Vali with a meaningful look on his face.

Odin seeing the look in his eyes, understood what his son wanted. He might have been a little hesitant if this was before he knew about the responsibility and burden that Vali carried. Now, he was eager for him to inherit his most precious legacy.

He had a deep look in his eyes, as he observed Vali and nodded. "You are worthy! I shall let you inherit the chance that I obtained. Receiving it requires an immense will, but I'm sure that you are qualified."

Vali didn't really understand what he was talking about, but he realized that this was some chance related to inheriting the knowledge of runes. He nodded with equally sharp eyes. "I won't let you down, Father."

"This process requires an ancient inheritance ritual that I have devised, and it will take a while for me to set it up. Go now, I shall start preparing and will call for you, when it's close to getting ready." said Odin, as he was deep in his thoughts after he was done waving him off.

Vali who had managed to convince his father quite easily, was now left to his thoughts as he left the place.

Vali didn't know how the inheritance worked, but he knew that it wasn't a simple process. In one of the realities based on his memories, Thor went on to become 'Rune King Thor' and that was a being on another level. He could probably stomp Prime Odin, the same way Odin did Vali some time ago.

But like most endeavours, Thor inherited all that power after losing everyone, and going through all sorts of painful trials in life. And even that reality was an outlier, so that spoke volumes about how rare that was.

Vali might be stealing Thor's future opportunities, even though It mostly wouldn't happen in this reality. Thor had to make a series of sacrifices and undergo various trials to become that monstrous being, but even then, by that point in time he had lost everyone. Even Asgard was completely destroyed by then.

'USELESS! I would've never let that happen!' Vali exclaimed in his mind, after slightly losing control of his emotions. He took a deep breath and calmed down, as this was somehow always a sensitive subject for him.

So, in Vali's opinion he was a complete failure. He'd do a lot better than him, without all the sacrifices and whatnot. But in the end, he figured he might as well repay Thor and help him reach the same level as his counterpart, once he reaches his end goal.

[Flashback ends]

Vali who entered to throne room, found the Allfather in weird ritualistic clothing that shimmered with runes, with his back facing him. He saw Odin holding Gungnir parallel to the floor, as it flowed like a brush in his hands, with the canvas being the throne.

The runes on the giant golden throne, flickered on and off as they were seemingly altered in preparation for the coming ritual. Vali might have memorized the basics that were available to him about runes, but even he couldn't decipher what was happening right now.

Odin having long sensed his son's presence, exclaimed with a serious look on his face, without turning around. "You've come! Come and sit on the throne, and we shall soon begin."

He went straight to the point, having no interest in delays as he proceeded to finish altering the runes. Vali complied and went along with whatever Odin was up to. He took Vespera from Skarf's head, and the little fairy magically disappeared into his inner world.

The seed had grown to become a barely few dozen centimeter world, and it was enlarging at a snail's pace in his opinion. He would have to find some other external items that would help it grow, but for now, all the space could hold was the little fairy. He was fine with that for now since the storage space was just a bonus.

The space was pitch black with just enough area for her to sit, and she could see things from Vali's point of view from inside, which is exactly what he wanted. He wanted to see if she could gain a few benefits from the ritual he was about to undergo.

Skarf and Frodi stayed behind in the corner of room, as they minimized their presence and essentially merged into the background. They were already satisfied with not being thrown outside, and they adopted serious postures after they saw what was happening.

As soon as Vali was seated on Valaskjálf, the throne with a composed expression, Odin slammed the spear on the floor finishing up with his alterations. The runes shimmered on the surface of the throne for a few seconds, before it disappeared.

"There are some things you need to know before the ritual begins. This ritual can only be conducted once, so you only have one chance at absorbing all you can see. There might be a formless will that constantly acts on your mind, that will attempt to interfere and throw out those unworthy." Odin started speaking in a strict tone.

He continued with, "I don't doubt that you'd hold on for a long time, with that powerful will you've honed somehow. After resisting, you'd have to learn as many runes as you can see in your vicinity, so prepare your mind.

I can't give you any descriptions of the runes, because each person sees different runes based on their life experiences."

'I would've preferred letting an older version of yourself inherit it, but clearly we don't have much time based on my foresight, and based on the way you're rushing to grow.' thought Odin as he sighed inwardly.

Vali just nodded and closed his eyes, to prepare his mind by meditating for a few minutes. He also asked the little one in his inner space to prepare herself, as he wouldn't have the time to worry about her once the ritual begins.

He noticed Odin's worries, and even though he wasn't really close to him as much he was with his mother, he respected this version of the man who hadn't given up struggling against the upcoming calamity.

He stared at this aged battle-hardened warrior, who carried the entire realm on his back and decided to comfort him for once; with slight nod on his face he said, "Don't worry, father! I'll deal with everything."

Odin's eyes widened for second, as he was surprised to see his extremely reticent son genuinely comfort someone throughout the years. Even though it was a short sentence, with his experience he could see that the short sentence held deep meaning.

His thoughts lasted for a split second as he smiled, and nodded back.

He quickly switched to a mock-stern tone, before he said, "Ah, my mighty son, the God of Vengeance! I see you still struggle to hold a conversation with others. Perhaps you're shy, so I shall ask a bard to spread words of your glory!"

Vali who genuinely regretted speaking his last sentence, wanted to reply that he simply didn't care, but he knew that this was Odin's attempt at teasing him, so he just stopped talking.

Odin seeing that his attempt had failed, receiving no response, decided to begin the ritual as he stepped forward, and tapped Vali's forehead with his forefinger sending him the chant. He then adopted a look of authority and power, as his magic flooded the runes throughout the chamber.

Vali who had just received the chant, understood what he had to do as soon as he saw his father begin the ritual. He imitated Odin and flared his magic, as it flooded the same runes alongside his father's. He then began chanting in a placid manner,

"Upon Valaskjálf, the throne of might,

I invoke the runes' eternal light.

Let their essence flow through mind and vein,

A legacy passed, never to wane.

As Odin's heir, this ritual complete,

The runes' power and wisdom, I shall meet.

May the magic of Asgard forever reside,

Inherit the runes, with honor and pride."

***********************

[A.N]: MF, I made this chapter into 2 parts, so essentially there are still 2 more chapters before Volume 1 ends :') It's going on forever :|

Hand over the power stones! NOW!

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