Harshal lay in the forest.
Back against an old banyan. Roots curling around him like they'd grown that way. Copy-Blade rested across his knees. Mjolnir sat a few feet away. Still. Heavy. Wrong.
The forest breathed around him.
Then—movement.
A deer stepped out. Watched him. Didn't run.
A fox appeared behind it. Sat. Watched.
Birds landed on branches above. Not singing. Just present.
A wolf emerged from the shadows. Lay down twenty feet away. Resting.
More came. Rabbits. A bear. Snakes curling in roots. Owls with ancient eyes.
They surrounded him. Didn't attack. Just… sat.
Harshal blinked.
Then he felt it. The earth element on his wrist. Warm. Spreading. Root-like lines pulsing under his skin.
They know. They feel it.
Sleep took him.
He woke.
Something was wrong. The light was different. His muscles screamed.
Harshal sat up. Looked around.
The wolf was still there. The bear. The deer. All watching him. All guilty.
"How long?"
The wolf looked away.
Harshal stood. Dizzy. Counted. Sun position. His own stiffness.
"A week." His voice was flat. Dangerous. "I slept for a week."
The bear shifted.
Harshal opened his mouth—
The sky split.
White streak. Fire trail. Something falling.
Harshal looked up. Squinted.
"We are not in Iran. We are not in the Middle East."
He looked at the animals. They looked back. Collective I don't know.
The missile was closer now.
That's a nuclear warhead.
His blood went cold.
"No time."
He grabbed Copy-Blade. Held it tight.
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Wings.
The blade responded. Shifted. Liquid metal flowing.
From his back, wings erupted. Not feather. Not bone. Blade. Extending twenty feet each side.
Harshal launched.
Wind screamed past. The bomb grew.
He reached for his belt. Ur-Blade. Pulled it free.
One shot. One cut.
The bomb was close now. Heat radiating. Air burning.
Harshal swung.
Ur-Blade met metal.
The warhead split. Two halves falling away.
Then—
BLAST.
The half he hadn't cut. The core.
White light. Heat that was ending. Sound that erased thought.
Harshal felt himself burning. Felt his skin peel.
Then—
Nothing.
He was standing. On air. Looking at his hand.
Copy-Blade was glowing. Deep orange. Pulsing. Alive.
The blast was gone. The forest below was still green.
It absorbed it. The whole thing.
Harshal looked at the blade. Hot. Too hot.
He sheathed it on his back.
And screamed.
Heat radiating from his spine. From the blade. From him.
His arms were red. Glowing. Steam rising.
The forest below. The animals.
If I stay here, everything burns.
Ocean. Now.
He flew. Wings spreading. Heat trailing behind.
He saw the ocean. Dove.
Hit the water—and stopped.
Steam erupted. Massive. The water evaporated before touching him. A crater of boiling nothing.
He tried again. Nothing. The water fled.
I'm going to cook alive.
His vision darkened. He fainted.
Floating above water that couldn't touch him.
But something else happened.
On his wrist, where the earth symbol rested, a new shape began to form.
Fire.
Lines of orange. Burning into his skin. Slow. Becoming.
The water below churned. The fire symbol grew brighter.
Then—the ocean moved.
A presence. Deep. Ancient.
Water surged upward. Touched his wrist.
The fire symbol flickered. Fought. Burned brighter.
The water pressed harder.
The symbol screamed—silent—and faded. Erased. Gone.
Harshal's body dropped. The ocean swallowed him.
He sank.
Water everywhere. Cooling. Saving.
The fire symbol was gone.
But something in the deep kept watching.
Harshal sank. Deeper. Darker. Colder.
He floated. Unconscious. Peaceful.
Then—heat.
On his back. Copy-Blade glowing. Burning.
Harshal's eyes opened.
He looked around. Dark water. Endless pressure.
Then—light.
Two lights. Distant. Growing.
Eyes. Gold. Vertical pupils. Ancient.
J?rmungandr.
The World Serpent moved through the dark like mountains moving. Coming toward him. Fast.
Harshal's hand reached—Mjolnir slammed into his palm.
He swung.
The serpent's mouth opened—a cavern, a void.
Harshal flew inside. Darkness. Pressure. Heat.
He burst through its back.
Scales exploded. Flesh tore. The wound healed in seconds.
Harshal raised a hand. "Okay. Stop."
The serpent paused.
"Why are you eating me?"
You woke me.
Harshal blinked.
That thing on your back. Burning. It disturbed my sleep.
Harshal glanced back. Copy-Blade still glowing.
I slept for centuries. Then you came. Burning. Waking. Demanding attention.
The serpent's eyes narrowed.
So yes. I will eat you. For the meal. And the annoyance.
Harshal looked at the hammer. "You don't eat gods."
Silence.
No.
Harshal waited.
But humans destroyed whales. Giant sea creatures.
And you woke me. This is not Ragnarok. I should be sleeping.
The heat changed my habitat. Woke me before my time.
The serpent moved closer.
Harshal raised Mjolnir. "What if I just leave?"
No.
The serpent's mouth opened. Wider. Darker.
Then—
CRASH.
Something massive slammed into the serpent from the side.
The World Serpent tumbled. Scales scraping rock. Water exploding.
Harshal twisted. Looked.
Tentacles. Massive. Wrapped around J?rmungandr's throat.
A Kraken.
It smashed the serpent into the cliff. Rock shattered.
Harshal didn't wait. He swam.
Kicked. Pulled. Mjolnir dragging behind.
He looked back. The Kraken and serpent were tangled. Fighting.
Then—another shape. In front of him.
Second Kraken.
Harshal stopped. Heart hammering.
The Kraken's eyes found him. Tentacles reaching.
He looked around. Nowhere to go but—
A cave. Small opening in the rock face.
He swam. Fast. Tentacles scraped past his heels.
He dove inside.
Dark. Tight. Cold.
Behind him, rocks shifted. The Kraken pushed at the entrance. Rocks fell. More rocks. The entrance sealed.
Darkness. Complete.
Harshal floated. Breathing hard. Alone.
Trapped.
