Hi! I'm finally back to continue this fic. I'm sorry for putting this on draft for a while. Enjoy reading!

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“The fun comes in telling them yourself—

something I warmly encourage you to do,

you person reading this.

Read the stories in this book,

then make them your own.”

Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology

 

 

It took quite a long time for Ryeowook to put everything together and find the answer. But the good thing was that he finally found it! No matter how much time it took him. No matter how much work he exerted. What was important was that he found it.

 

And the answer wasn’t going anywhere!

 

As soon as he found the answer though, the young God of Wisdom dropped everything and just rushed out of his shared room with Kangin. He needed to meet and get to the one behind all those mysteries… and he needed to get to him fast!

 

He rapidly trudged the narrow hallway and sped as soon as he saw the corridor where the answer was residing. To say that Ryeowook was excited was an understatement. He was more than ecstatic. His heart was pumping with adrenaline and he felt as if he just ingested all the energy potions that Sungmin liked to test on him.

 

Just when he thought he couldn’t be any more excited, his eyes widened in anticipation when he came face-to-face with the door leading to the room of the genius that was yearning to rewrite history. It was now or never, he thought. And with a huff, he opened the door. No knocks, no asking for permission!

 

“FOUND YOU!”

 

Ryeowook shouted as loud as he possibly could earning chuckles from the person—or God, rather—who was sitting on the majestic wooden chair at the corner of the room. It was as if the man was expecting him and the God of Wisdom’s excitement increased tenfold.

 

“Took you quite a long time, kid! For someone who’s the descendant of Kvasir, you’re a tad slow. I expected more from you,” the man chuckled which earned a huff from Ryeowook.

 

“At least give me some credits, would you?” The shorter God closed the door behind him and walked towards the vacant chair in front of the other man in the room. “Your riddles weren’t exactly that easy to decipher. So, it’s you all along, huh?”

 

“I’m guessing you didn’t expect it to be me. Am I right, Kim Ryeowook?”

 

Ryeowook laughed then nodded his head. “Partially. Well, I realized now that if there is someone who could be considered a genius aside from me, it could only be you. Only you and your clan can think of something as… big as rewriting history.”

 

The man grinned at him before handing him what seemed like an old diary. The shorter God scrutinized both the inside and outside of the diary and guessed that it probably dated hundreds of years ago and if not, then more.

 

“What’s this?” He asked, skimming through the inside of the object. The diary was unique, he was sure. There were several handwritings inside and it for sure didn’t just belong to one person… or one generation, to be exact.

 

“Let’s just say that that diary contained all the details of this plan,” the man crossed his arms against his chest. “I thought it would be wiser to share it to you since well, you are not Kvasir’s progeny for nothing, right?”

 

The God of Wisdom nodded, not taking his eyes off of one page he randomly opened. “You mean no one among your predecessors had succeeded?”

 

“Well, yeah. You could say that.”

 

“Wow! Your clan is stupid,” Ryeowook joked and the man in front of him rolled his eyes. “But back to serious business! Are you sure this diary is going to help us?”

 

The God nodded. “I trust my clan and in fact, I already found out what went wrong during the past generations.”

 

“And that is?”

 

“All of my ancestors lacked companions, alliances, and people that will help them in performing the plan. This is not just a simple operation, Ryeowook-ah…” the man looked at him dead in the eyes. “We are talking big here. And when I say big, it means revising the history we all know and expect.”

 

“And when you say big, it also means possibly preventing the God of Innocence, which in our generation is Donghae hyung, to die in the hands of Loki’s descendant which is Hyukjae hyung, am I right?”

 

Ryeowook’s question earned him an eager nod from the other God.

 

“Precisely. Donghae doesn’t deserve to die, or any descendants of Baldur for that matter. They didn’t deserve to be betrayed by Loki and his stupid descendants. That foolishness has to stop!” The God turned his eyes away and settled his gaze on the view outside the window. “If we do this right, Ryeowook-ah, we might not just save Donghae from his own death but we could also pass this fate to the future generations.”

 

The God of Wisdom let the other’s words sink to his mind and he suddenly felt shivers down his spine. The other God was apparently not kidding. The plan might make or break the entire history of not just Asgard, but the whole kingdom. The Eastern Asgard needed Donghae to rule them and him, dying because of a stupid trickery, just wasn’t fair. But this plan will not be easy to accomplish. The two of them needed as much powers and skills as they could accumulate.

 

“So, is that the reason why you have sent the riddles straight to Hyukjae hyung? You want him to be part of the plan?” Ryeowook asked. “Don’t you think that sounds a bit farfetched? Why would someone who is destined to kill the God we’re about to protect join us?” he added, tone laced of curiosity and disbelief.

 

The God briefly smiled at him. “I know it sounded ridiculous, but we could never protect Donghae until the end unless the person protecting him is the one who should be killing him. Trust me on this one, Ryeowook-ah. Only Lee Hyukjae has the capability to change his own destiny. No amount of powers and skills on our part could be used to do that. Only he can…”

 

“…I’m sure I’m not the only who have noticed it. I’m sure you’ve noticed it too, but Lee Hyukjae is different. Unlike the previous descendants of Loki, he has a heart. I am sure one way or another, he would be one of us. Hyukjae has to be one of us. We need him for this plan to succeed.”

 

Silence then followed the other’s words. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, but one of realization, understanding, and anticipation. Protecting the innocent God was one thing. Convincing Hyukjae to be one of them was another.

 

Ryeowook hummed, “But I still can’t believe you sent those riddles straight to Hyukjae hyung. That hyung might have been the strongest among all of us but he is slow-witted beyond words. Hyung, for someone who is supposed to be a genius like me, you’re quite stupid.”

 

That earned him a snort.

 

“I didn’t know he was that slow, okay? And that move was in accordance to the diary. I can’t exactly abandon what’s written there just because I thought of something better.”

 

“Hmmm… your ancestors overestimated Loki’s clan, I see,” Ryeowook laughed, before a question dawned his mind. “But hyung, I want to know why.”

 

“What do you mean why?”

 

“Why are you doing this? Why is your clan so eager on saving Donghae hyung’s life? Why should we do this? And don’t start me with it’s the right thing to do and all those reasons. I know there’s something else.”

 

The other nodded his head, smiling at him. “You really are the God of Wisdom. No more doubts about that. Well, let’s just say that my ancestor owed Baldur in the past which literally translates to my clan owes Donghae’s clan. And it’s about time to pay them back.”

 

“I see,” Ryeowook nodded. “Good enough reason.”

 

“So, I think we’re done here for now, Ryeowook. And that leaves us with the final question: will you finally join us in this adventure?”

 

The God of Wisdom’s eyebrows creased in confusion. “Us? Do you mean there’s someone already onboard aside from you?”

 

The other God chuckled, “Of course, little Wookie. To be fair, it took you quite a while to find me—”

 

Just then, the door slammed open as someone strutted inside and the two of them jumped to the sound of sudden intrusion. The God sitting in front of him chuckled.

 

“Here he comes!”

 

Ryeowook’s eyes widened. “Hyung? What are you doing here? You mean you’re—”

 

“I can’t believe you guys are discussing matters without me. I knew it,” the newly-arrived God huffed in annoyance before turning to look at Ryeowook.

 

“And finally, Ryeowook-ah! I really thought you were just an imposter as you couldn’t find us, but you proved me wrong. Anyway, the reason I’m here is because I’m quite positive we are so close in convincing that darn Lee Hyukjae in jumping on the bandwagon. Here’s what happened…”

 

 

Donghae was doomed. He really was. It was a Sunday and he promised his Heechul hyung that they would practice archery together, but he overslept once again. It wasn’t really his intention since he asked his Sungmin hyung to wake him up but he didn’t expect him not to be in the room when he woke up. That itself was weird since Donghae noticed Sungmin wasn’t exactly an early riser. In fact, the older God valued his precious sleeping time so much that he was more prone to oversleeping than anyone in their class.

 

He couldn’t understand why everyone seemed to be rather busy these past few days. He could barely meet anyone outside their class which didn’t just confuse him, but hurt him too. Donghae felt like they were purposely avoiding him and keeping something big from him.

 

And so, when Heechul offered to train him in archery yesterday, Donghae’s heart warmed and sang in delight and excitement. He just wanted everything to go back to normal.

 

As he scrambled to run out of the dormitories and into the archery field, his eyes narrowed as he stumbled across one of his hyungs. He watched as the God of Strength, Kangin, tried closing the door of Leeteuk and Yesung’s shared room. Donghae watched in slight amusement and curiosity as the bulkier God seemed keen on not making any noise but failed miserably when the door closed with a loud thud.

 

“KANGIN HYUNG!”

 

Donghae called out and noticed how Kangin almost fell to the ground with his right hand on his chest.

 

When Kangin’s eyes met his, he offered him an apologetic smile.

 

“What in the world is wrong with you, Donghae?!” The older sighed, then returning his smile with a small grin. “Your hyung is not getting any younger, kid. Stop doing that to me already.”

 

“I apologize, hyung,” Donghae grinned, walking towards the older God. “What were you doing inside Leeteuk hyung and Yesung hyung’s room, by the way?”

 

Kangin’s gaze traveled to the door and shook his head. “Nothing. I just returned Leeteuk’s sword I borrowed the other day.”

 

Donghae may not have the brightest mind but he could easily tell when someone’s lying to him. It was a special skill that he inherited from Baldur. And let’s just say that the descendant of Magni wasn’t telling him the truth at the moment. The other God seemed unaware of this skill of Donghae’s.

 

“Okay, hyung!” he said.

 

Kangin’s eyes then traveled to him—his outfit rather. “Where are you going, kid? Training grounds?”

 

Donghae nodded, hair bouncing on its place. “Yes, hyung. Heechul hyung is going to teach me archery.”

 

“Kim Heechul?” Kangin snorted, playful smile on his face. “That crazy God is going to teach you archery? How is he going to do that when he can’t even win against me?”

 

“That’s not a good thing to say, Kangin hyung,” Donghae pouted. “Heechul hyung is good. Maybe not as good as you or Hyukjae but he is in the top five.”

 

“Yeah. He’s literally on the fifth place. How is that good?”

 

“Hyung!” he whined. “I’m currently in tenth place. Insulting Heechul hyung who is fifth is like insulting me twice.”

 

That earned a laugh from Kangin. He suddenly felt a hand ruffling his hair and Donghae hummed at the affection.

 

“Fine. Fine. I won’t tease that limp noodle anymore. Run now before he goes bat crazy on you for showing up late.”

 

Donghae nodded before continuing his morning run towards the archery field.

 

 

 

He was expecting his Heechul hyung to be there waiting for him but the God of Vengeance was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Donghae watched in amusement as an arrow flew straight to the board and into the center of the target. Bullseye.

 

He tried controlling his expression but he couldn’t help clapping his hands in awe.

 

“Wow!” Donghae exclaimed. “You really are great at this, Hyukjae.”

 

The other seemed unfazed by the sudden compliment but Donghae didn’t mind. He was just telling the truth and even if Hyukjae was supposed to be his enemy, he couldn’t deny the other God’s skills. Donghae’s eyes followed as Hyukjae picked up another arrow from the ground and loaded it into his bow. His heart warmed at the sight. How could someone look this good just by playing archery?

 

When Hyukjae pulled the string and arrow back with grace, he prepared himself for another cool exhibition.

 

If Hyukjae is this good in archery, just how good is Loki—

 

“Wha—WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Donghae shouted at the top of his lungs when Hyukjae suddenly turned around and aimed at him instead of the target board. “HYUKJAE, STOP IT!”

 

Not knowing what to do, Donghae closed his eyes shut expecting for the worst to come.

 

Was this finally his end?

 

But he was sure his ancestors all died not from arrows. He couldn’t exactly recall how they die but he was convinced that arrows were not involved.

 

One minute… two minutes had passed and there was still no movement from Hyukjae. Donghae wanted to open his eyes and check but he was too afraid.

 

Just—just do it and spare me from suffering, Lee Hyukjae.

 

Just then, he heard a snort and that forced him to open his eyes. The arrow was no longer pointed at him but at the ground and Hyukjae was looking at him in both amusement and ridicule.

 

“Such a crybaby!” Hyukjae huffed and Donghae’s hands went up to his eyes. Sure enough, tears were silently streaming down his face.

 

“I’m not. I was just shocked,” Donghae frowned.

 

“Coward,” Loki’s descendant murmured but Donghae managed to hear it despite the distance between them.

 

That single word deepened Donghae’s frown. “Have you seen Heechul hyung? He told me he’ll meet me here today.”

 

“No,” Hyukjae immediately answered. The other’s gaze suddenly focused on his right hand—or rather at the single piece of paper. “What’s that?”

 

Donghae raised his hand and waved the paper, “This? I found it on the ground outside our door on my way here. I’m not sure if it is for me or for Sungmin hyung so I can’t exactly open and read it yet.”

 

He analyzed the outside of the letter and his eyebrows creased at the unfamiliar symbol stamped on it. Silver roof with golden pillars. Now where did he see this emblem before? He was so sure he had seen it before but Donghae couldn’t recall.

 

“Hyukjae,” Donghae looked up. “Do you know the owner of this weird symbol? Silver roof with golden pillars. I think I’ve seen this before but—”

 

And in just three large steps, Hyukjae was already in front of him as he snatched the paper away from Donghae’s hands.

 

“Give me that!” The other God said with spite.

 

“Hey! Give that back. That’s not for you and it might not be for me either. We should give that back to the owner—HEY! DON’T OPEN IT!”

 

But Donghae’s attempts fell into deaf ears. He watched helplessly as Hyukjae ripped the letter open and read the content. He also watched as Hyukjae’s expression morphed from complete seriousness into an unreadable one.

 

“Stop reading it, Hyukjae. That could be for Sungmin hyung—”

 

"This is stupidity." Donghae heard Hyukjae angrily muttered under his breath. The slightly taller God looked so damn scary that Donghae visibly flinched on his spot.

 

“It’s for you,” Hyukjae then proceeded to throw the paper to his face which he barely caught no thanks to his reflexes.

 

“For me?”

 

“Is this your first time receiving that kind of letter?” Hyukjae asked and he shrugged. It wasn’t just his first time receiving that kind of letter but it was his first time receiving a letter.

 

Donghae unfolded it and read the content. His eyebrows creased even more because apparently, it wasn’t a normal letter with a normal message.

 

It was a riddle.

 

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Just as two became three

The wingless bird will soon be free

 

He read the letter three… four times but it still didn’t make any sense to him. And the fact that Hyukjae was still standing motionless in front of him wasn’t exactly helping either.

 

“Hyukjae, are you sure this is for me?” He asked, not taking his eyes away from the letter as he traced the symbol with his index finger.

 

Hyukjae then cleared his throat. “Meet me at the swamp of that stupid dwarf later before the moon replaces the sun.”

 

And that was all Donghae heard before the God of Mischief jogged away from him and inside the dormitory building.

 

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Just as two became three

The wingless bird will soon be free

 

But if Hyukjae was convinced the letter was for him, how come the mischievous God knew that?