46 Chapter 46: Collecting A Receipt.

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(General P.O.V)

Asgard.

A floating golden heaven atop the World Tree. It shone the brightest out of all 9 realms.

Pulsing with magic that permeated the entire dimension, the realm of the gods was as wondrous as anyone would expect. It was a hub of advanced technology and Mystical might.

Home to the Aesir. A race of powerful warriors and sorcerers worshipped as Gods. Amongst them was the All-father, arguably the strongest being alive across the nine realms.

Similarly,

The might of Asgard was nothing to scoff at. They had conquered the nine realms before, after all.

However, on this day, the future of Asgard seemed...uncertain.

Files upon files of Asgardian Soldiers stood in neat ranks ready to protect their home to their dying breath.

Wearing gleaming golden Uru armor and holding onto sharp lances, each soldier managed to come off as intimidating as possible.

They stood before the rainbow bridge, focus turned onto the void beyond the bifrost.

A few years ago, Loki had fallen off the bridge and lost in the universe. The void was a section of space filled with chaotic energy and erratic phenomenon.

If an enemy of Asgard were to try to access it, chances were likely they would come from beyond the Rainbow bridge.

A soldier, part of the reserve forces, was patrolling the castle walls when he noticed something strange. A light shining from the far off distance, growing bigger each second.

"Huh, what's that?"

He narrowed his eyes, using his palm to shield his vision from too much light.

"Is that...a man?"

His eyes widened. He quickly turned and ran towards the huge horn located at the corner of the castle walls.

On the battle-field, Odin stood infront of his army, flanked on his sides by the warriors four, his mere aura dwarfed every other Asgardian present.

He held onto the shaft of his powerful godly weapon, Gungnir. A spear that stood taller than all other weapons. Made out of pure Uru, only such a divine lance could channel the full might of his Odin-force.

The All-father looked up, staring at a certain spot in the sky. Beyond the Rainbow bridge, something was approaching...and it was fast.

Just then the horn on top of the castle walls sounded out, filling the entire golden city with it's loud warning noise.

The enemy had been sighted.

The Herald of Galactus, the Silver Surfer had arrived to prepare Asgard for it's fate. And not too far behind, the World Eater advanced forth.

(Elsewhere)

In the dungeons under the Asgardian palace, a certain black haired god was seated in the very middle of the room.

His eyes shone with mirth as he stared out through the clear walls of his cage.

His chance to escape was very close. He could feel it. It was all about... timing.

Loki, the God of chaos and Mischief was sick with his captivity. The world had been denied his presence too long. And once he was out, his first order of business was to deal with those pesky human avengers...

That thought came to a grinding halt when a figure stepped into focus, it's form even while wearing an armor made of Uru, eerily silent.

The familiar red and yellow paint on the armor clued in the second prince on who was standing before him. But what could he be doing here?

The armor's face plate retracted, revealing

Tony Stark, a light stubble across his chin. He gazed at the god with tired eyes.

"I need your assistance with something. In exchange, I'll let you go."

Tony offered.

Loki opened his mouth in shock, before clamping it shut, a slow smirk working it's way to his lips.

"Huh, you didn't even crack joke. How interesting. Alright Stark, I'm listening..."

(Billy's P.O.V)

Could you dream in death?

That question was answered as I drifted in the ebb and flow of sweet slumber.

I immediately recognized that I was asleep. Something that made zero sense as I had no body to speak of yet functions like sleep seemed necessary.

Basically, my soul had temporarily gone into stasis, taking some time off as it recovered from what Hercules had called magic overload.

The last thing I remember the Demigod and I discussing, had been eye-opening for sure. To think that the Gods would actually care about a mortal like me.

Or atleast that was what he had implied. Though, to be honest, I was skeptical. Greek mythology had shown that the Olympians basically treated humans like playthings. It wasn't a smart idea to have their attention on you.

Arachne, Cassandra the daughter of Primus, Medea, Oedepus and even Hercules himself had all been fucked over in some way by the Olympians.

So although everything pointed to the fact I was valuable in some way to them, the whole spiel about being an investment made me feel they cared more about what I could do for them than about my wellbeing.

So just the gods being the gods, basically.

Our talk had been cut short by the loud rumble my stomach gave, signalling hunger.

Fortunately, the Wyvern egg above the fire had finished roasting.

Hercules had managed to scrunch up some bitter leaves and wild peppers from the jungle around us, adding to the overall flavor of the egg.

After that, heavy exhaustion had finally taken it's toll on me. With the lull from the crackle of the wood burning in the fire, I drifted off to sleep without knowing.

And that's when I begun to dream.

Now the first dream made almost no sense.

I saw a vast ocean, one that stretched out across the entirety of reality.

It filled the heavens above with vibrant blue water and a unique energy that felt similar to magic. Strange aquatic life made their home in those heights. Huge clouds acting as islands for wondrous angel like beings.

A chorus filled with nostalgia rose from those same clouds, reaching my ears and sending calming tones through my soul.

I blinked and saw the sea from a different angle. Now it was violent, it's depths dark and murky as it filled the hells below, breaking off into numerous underworld rivers.

It felt as if something was staring at me from those depths. Golden eyes opening in response to my presence.

I didn't want to be there.

The urge filled my soul and I was ejected from that space, heading up somewhere else.

This time I was a simple ghost hovering inside a strange chamber.

The chamber was dark and gloomy. The walls dripping with a strange red liquid that joined the dark pool below, which was a well of oily substance that filled the chamber.

A walkway came from the entrance to the middle of the chamber led to a staircase that face way to a raised platform.

I ascended the staircase, pulled on by something glowing from the platform.

Once I arrived at the top, this no longer felt like a dream.

The Ancient One and a being clad in red, stood facing each other, a pedestal holding a rainbow colored ball of energy in between them.

I felt a connection to that ball of energy.

Infact, it was way more than that. I rubbed my chest, feeling a sort of tangible link to the sphere.

Is that...me?

My soul... Hercules said it was in the possession of Mephisto.

My thinking was interrupted as The Ancient One and the being I now suspected was Mephisto begun to talk. They hadn't sensed me yet, so I descended towards them slowly.

Only for a field of blue energy to spring around the platform and block my way.

I looked around, trying to push through it to no avail. The energy field seemed designed to specifically halt someone like me.

Designed to stop...( dream-walking)

The answer came from the trident.

It had spoken to me once more.

Could it be responsible for all this? The whole ocean in the heavens thing wouldn't be out of place if it was.

That said, I was left with no choice but to watch and listen from afar. Luckily, they were the only two in the chamber so their voices reached me just fine.

"...Shall we commence with the extraction?"

Mephisto offered with a sickly sweet smile.

The Ancient One said nothing, instead she walked forward, her hands inside the sleeves of her robe. She stopped before my soul and removed something from her sleeves.

A simple gold coin. She threw it into the air and as it flipped, I managed to see the images imprinted on both of it's sides,

On one side was a grinning face and on the other was an angry one. The coin reached the apex of it's throw and stopped in the middle of the air, hovering above my soul and the pedestal.

A screen of energy left the coin, washing down the pedestal and covering my soul in a protective cocoon. The cocoon pulsed with power and then before our very eyes, the whole thing disappeared.

The ground around the pedestal had a hole in it, as if the whole thing had been forcefully torn away. I frowned, I could still feel my connection to my soul.

Naturally, Mephisto did not take kindly to that.

"Treachery!"

Mephisto roared out with an angry expression on his face, a clawed hand stretching out to grab the Ancient One by the neck.

The Sorcerer Supreme made no move, allowing herself to be captured.

Shit. He was going to kill her. I had to stop it!

I slammed my hands onto the walls of the energy field denying me access but the strength of my attacks was weak. I tried to call for Neptune's Trident but it somehow...refused.

Left with no choice, I could only watch as the events unfolded.

"Why?"

Mephisto bit out, his eyes blazing with fury.

"You do understand what you have done right? By betraying our pact you have forfeited your soul. Do you know what I'm going to do to you? Do you know what I'm going to do to your precious planet?"

The Ancient One choked.

"What? You want to beg for mercy? Maybe strike another deal? Or maybe you want to insult me, have the final laugh because you've sacrificed yourself like some noble martyr."

The demon mused to itself, easing the vice grip it had on her neck,

"Go on, beg me to spare Earth."

The Ancient One coughed out in laughter.

"The coin of Dolos...is not the most powerful of artefacts. Neither is it the most valuable."

She begun explaining, her response contrary to what Mephisto was expecting.

"There exists only 5 of these coins, each containing the essence of the god of deception, Dolos. They're simple one time use items. But their effect makes up for that."

She clenched her jaw.

"You see, Mephisto. One coin can allow you to cast an immensely powerful illusion. An illusion that can trick the mind of anyone. Including a Hell Lord like you."

Mephisto blinked, letting go of her while stepping back in shock.

"No. You didn't."

Did what?

"Yes. I did. I cast an illusion to make you think I broke our deal by teleporting away the soul. And that made you break the pact we had to not do me harm. So in other words..."

A massive pressure fell onto my shoulders, causing me to sink onto the steps below the platform. I looked up towards the ceiling, my senses going haywire. Something was out there.

"MEPHISTO YOU SNAKE!! SHOW YOURSELF!! RETRIBUTION HAS ARRIVED FOR YOU!!"

A familiar voice declared.

"And because we made the pact on Earth, the mother goddess' flesh and atop a leyline, her blood... she's here to collect what she's owed."

The Ancient One finished explaining.

"No, no, no...she can't be here! I won't allow it!"

Mephisto roared, his form exploding into a gigantic flame being with wings just as a blow shook the entire chamber.

Then a hand made up of stone, wood and glowing minerals shattered the entire ceiling, the fingers poised to grab onto Mephisto.