u/ShakyaStrawberry15

Chapter 001: “Midnight Again”

Oh is it that time again?

The time where we come to an end?

Then let's not waste what's last to spend.

Oh stay awake, 'till it's midnight again.

It's been a thousand years since that fateful event. The eldest valkyrie, Brunhilde, defied the gods for mankind's survival.

This led to the organization of the Ragnarok and to the resurgence of the Primordial gods.

Humanity being one of the key reasons the Primordials could be stopped, was spared.

The gods couldn't have anything against them anymore but the millennial council deciding their fate was still organized, even though the results were obviously going to be favorable to mankind's success... Or... were they... ?

[VALHALLA'S COURTROOM, 3012 CE]

The room was still as grandiose as last time, only a bit more illuminated since the renovation of the building due to the Primordial resurgence.

The gods, like a thousand years ago, took their designated seats in the gargantuan bleachers encircling the entire room.

High in the balcony, a young woman was looking at the chairman entering the room. She had grown quite a lot since Ragnarok, now standing at a good five feet eleven inches, her medium-length hair still sported their characteristic lilac colors and her relatively large eyes their vivid turquoise. She sported a large golden wing-shaped barrette on the front of her hair, the same one her eldest sister used to wear. Her clothes were really modern, a short and long-sleeved jacket over a light-colored T-shirt, as well as short dark shorts, green and white sneakers, and a black tight on her left leg only.

|[Göll, Youngest of the thirteen Valkyrie]|

The valkyrie sighed. "What would you say now? Sister..." Said the young woman as she was standing in the same room as a thousand years ago, now alone...

Or was she?

"I think she would say how proud she is of what you became." Said a quite masculine voice.

As he walked towards her, getting out of the shadow, revealing his amazing stature. The man stood at seven feet two inches, his long, red hair going three fourths of that. He sported very particular eyes, their black scleras encircling irises of an electric gold. Numerous golden lines ran down his body, the two most noticeable being the ones coming from his eyes while his chin sported a short beard the same color as his hairs. He was wearing a full on white rode furthermore of yellow accents along with it, black fur, standing on the top of the robe. And in his back was a hammer much larger than himself.

|[Thor Odinson, New Chief God of the Norse Pantheon]|

Thor smiled at the youngest valkyrie. "Anyway, look who I found while getting up here." He said nonchalantly as usual.

Behind him, a woman stepped out of the shadows just like he did. "Hi darling!" She almost screamed as she saw the valkyrie.

She was a much more imposing woman than the valkyrie, exceeding Göll's height by at least four feet if her two humongous horns weren't included. Her complexion was dark even though holding a hint of red in its pigments. Her eyes were similar of that of the god of thunder, though her irises were glowing like a thousand golden suns more than a lightning bolt. Her long curly hair flowed down her back, white glowy trims in their bluish blackness making it seem like the Milky Way. She was wearing a lot of golden ornaments, from gracious earrings on her bovine ears, to the grandiloquent brasses on her forearms and of course the huge menat necklace hiding a large portion of her upper curves, the under ones clad in a night blue dress held tightly at the waist by a black cloth, another one almost identical was around her neck like a scarf.

|[Mehet-Weret, Primordial Mother]|

Göll chuckled at Mehet's affectionate appellation. "Hello Mama, how has your accomodation been lately?" She asked, filled with sympathy for the resurrected primordial.

Mehet's eyes lightened up as she heard Göll's question, hugging her before answering. "Why, it's going quite well! I'm becoming an expert of these times!" She answered proudly.

*The young valkyrie lifted her eyebrow. "*Oh really? Well you know why we're here then?" She asked expecting the primordial goddess to not know the answer.

The primordial cow's eyes widened. "Erm... I...it's b...beca...because we...." She began before immediately folding. "Okay I don't know!!!"

The two Norse sighed but they knew it would come a long time before she would know everything about Valhalla's society. After all, Mehet-Weret was one of the numerous primordials resurrected due to Odin's actions during the Ragnarok. She didn't even speak the same language when she came back from nothingness so of course she couldn't adapt to everything that happened since the time she was walking the heavens.

Göll was the first to speak. "It's okay Mama, I'll explain it to you. Every millenium, the gods hold a council to adapt Valhalla's society, change laws and most noticeably here, decide the fate of Mankind. And today is the day Mankind's continuation will be either accepted or not." She calmly explained to the primordial cow.

Mama, like Göll affectionately called her, nodded in understanding. "Ok... I think I understood... But that's awful... Deciding the countless lives of a species like that, we started a war over this, you know?" She exclaimed.

The young girl expressed her agreement with a sigh but as she was about to voice words of reassurance, Thor spoke them before she could. "But do not worry for the human race right now, Mehet. Today won't be the day." The man said nonchalantly.

Mehet-Weret's bovine ears stood upright as she heard the berserker's voice. "Why do you say this, darling?" She asked curious.

This time Göll was the one to speak before the Norse chief god. "Due to last millennia's events, the view on humans drastically changed in a good way. There's no reason for Mankind to be in danger today." She spoke, answering the Egyptian primordial's query.

As their conversation finished, the chairman arrived at the center of the divine courtroom, taking his seat on the throne, his two sons next to him.

He looked very old even though less than a millenia ago, indeed his muscles had developed back since last time giving a semblance of his younger self's looks, his posture also improved, his back standing upright, it almost seemed like he was back from the dead with how much he changed. His almost bare head was still only covered by a small tuft of silvery hair while his face was almost entirely covered by hair, whether it was his eyebrows, mustache or beard. As for clothes he didn't change there too, as he only had his usual white loincloth.

|[Zeus, God Father of All Cosmos]|

The Greek god of lighting looked above with a nostalgic smile. "After a thousand years we're back here..." He spoke more to himself than others.

"It feels strange to be in the center this time..." Said the god on the right of the throne.

His height rivaled the Norse chief god, the same could be said about his muscular stature. His blond hair reached shoulder length and his eyes were of a simple gray. The god only wore a simple white loincloth like Zeus and a red cape and for his head, a helmet decorated with intricate carvings.

|[Ares, Brave God of War]|

"You'll get used to it my dear brother." Said the one on the left.

He was much smaller than his sibling but still quite tall for normal standards he was elegantly dressed in a butler uniform. His black hair was neatly combed into a mop and red tattoos were above his left eye and under his right eye. The final touch to his appearance being the small mole on the right side of his chin.

|[Hermes, Messenger of the Gods]|

Zeus chuckled lightly hearing his sons talking. "Indeed boys." He answered them before grabbing the gavel to begin the formalities of their divine reunion.

As the mallet hit the stone bench, the entire courtroom turned silent. "It's an honor for me to welcome the council today, as you most certainly know, today's subject will be Mankind, its extinction or its continuation." He said with a regal capacity. "If there are no questions, let's jump straight to the vote." He continued.

Hermes took a step forward as he was about to speak aloud. "As per usual, lift the circle sign if you think Humanity's existence should continue or lift the cross one if you are in favor of their annihilation." He explained calmly.

Just as Hermes finished talking a slew of hands were raised, each holding one of the two signs, a majority of which sported the hopeful circle.

Zeus chuckled. It was exactly how he had imagined it. "Well I think the act speaks for itself. Humanity will be spared again." He said as a matter of fact. The gods were already preparing themselves to leave but it seems, the chairman hadn't finished talking. "But this time! If no objections are made. I would like to make this a permanent thing."

The three peers in the balcony were shocked. "Oh my... That's... WONDERFUL!" Göll exclaimed in joy. This decision, if accepted by the council, would mean that the battle her sisters had fought wasn't for nothing, that their sacrifices had been useful.

Seeing the young woman so happy made Mehet feel the exact same emotion, the primordial goddess hugging the valkyrie while Thor let out a chuckle or two at the scene taking course before his eyes.

The rest of the gods were just as surprised at first but after some moments of reflection, it only felt natural, what happened during Ragnarok truly made opinions on humans change for the most part, from pure hate to true respect for a lot of them and so, no one objected to the God Father of all Cosmos' proposition.

It was almost too good to be true.

And indeed...

"I object."

That single voice echoed through the entirety of the colossal courtroom. That voice had a majestic quality to it, a powerful femininity as well as a more than impressive fear inducing factor.

The gods of the council began to speak: "who is that" "another interruption" but soon the room fell silent once again as the goddess walked down the stairs leading to the throne, she stepped out of the shadows, revealing her identity. And immediately after realizing who she was, Zeus and his sons took a defensive stance.

She was a goddess, incredibly tall even for the tallest. Her face hidden under a mask of white and radiant stone, an arrow carved in its forehead and under a hood sewn up from different cloth. Her torso was hidden with the same sewn up clothes that made her hood while her upper arms, right shoulder and midriff were left naked showing her skin as white as the moon. She wore shorts hidden by a robe , another cloth used as a belt over it while her feet were covered by black boots.

|[Nyx, Empress of Darkness]|

Up in the balcony, Göll left without a word quickly followed by Thor, despite their lack of words their intentions were clear: they needed to stop Nyx before she did anything entraving humanity's survival.

The Cow goddess was caught off guard stumbling a bit before following the two others.

The goddess continued to walk down the stairs, each step increasing the tension tenfold. "Zeus, Zeus, Zeus... Let me say, your rule over here has been... Mmmh let's say, debatable. First you sent me and the other goddesses in Vanaheim to quell that stupid revolution in Teteocan caused by, let's all remember, your need to get them under your reign... And now you say such inepties... You need a break don't you?" As she finished her sentence, she took the last step to the center ring.

The war God next to the throne was terrorized as he looked at the goddess. "Y..You p...p..promised father you'd never ch... challenge him!" He screamed at the daughter of Chaos.

The goddess chuckled softly at Ares' words. "Oh darling, times have changed since Titanomachy, you know?" She spoke, her every word sounding like a threat.

But on the other side of the throne, the second son of the Chairman saw through her words. "The Nyx I know doesn't care about Valhalla's wellbeing, you have something in mind, what is it?" He asked her undisturbed.

Nyx slowly looked towards the messenger. "What a smart little boy, such flair is almost deserving of an answer." She answered with the slightest hint of esteem for the butler through the obvious sarcasm.

Finally Zeus began to speak. "I think I know the true reason... And I won't let you do that... Do you understand me, Nyx?" The God Father of all Cosmos sternly claimed.

The goddess of the night sighed. "I hoped you would understand, well, enough talk." She said in a mix of deceit and... Terrorizing confidence.

The aggressiveness was almost visible, but instead of pouncing onto the three gods in front of her, Nyx simply snapped her fingers.

And right after, two figures emerged from Ares and Hermes' shadows, taking no time in immobilizing the two sons of the chief god.

The two figures were almost completely identical being relatively small and having soft faces and curves, the only differences being their clothes and their hair with their styles and colors.

The first one had pink curly hair almost looking like a piece of cotton candy placed onto his head, his pretty face decorated with a beauty mark right under his lips on the right side of his face. His clothes were modern and flashy, looking like they were taken out directly from a pop music clip.

The second one was much more gloomy, his medium length hairs were wavy and as black as coal, his beauty mark was on the other side of his face compared to his brother. His clothes were black and monotone with a clear gothic aesthetic.

But through it all the most striking features of the twins were the pairs of wings hiding most of their face, their point of origin differing between the two gods. The pink twin's two pairs of wings originated from the side of his face while the black twin's originated from his nasal bone. But both served the same usage, hiding their eyes and by the same occasion, their emotions.

|[Hypnos & Thanatos, Brother of eternal slumber]|

As soon as he saw his two sons being held captive, the God Father of All Cosmos stood up and in an instant tripled in volume, his muscle now straining against his skin. "Let my children go, this is between you and me!" He erupted in anger.

"Then come and fight me, Zeus and they'll be safe." The goddess of the night answered calmly.

The king of Gods charged forward but in the same way Nyx's sons appeared, both the goddess of the night and the god of thunder disappeared into the shadows.

The gloomier twin took an annoyed expression. "Come on Hypnos, do your thing, we don't have the time for this useless banter..." He said exhausted by this whole situation.

Ares, the hostage of the god of sleep, panicked at the entire intervention. "Wh..what are y...you going to do with us?! I won't let you hurt Father!" He screamed, afraid but determined to do whatever he could.

Hypnos didn't answer the war god's words. Instead he simply took his staff and touched Ares' temple with the puffy balloon on the tip of it. And soon enough, the god of war fell fast asleep. "Woah! It was quite slow, he's stronger than I thought." The cheerful twin exclaimed surprised while gently laying the colossus on the floor. "Now off to little Hermes!" He declared happily strutting off to the messenger held against his will by the god of death.

The Butler sighed before being put to sleep. "Well... That definitely wasn't how we planned things..." He ended in a yawn.

Thanatos gently laid the messenger of the gods. "I'm sorry, my dear psychopomp. But mother's orders are law." He simply commented while adjusting the sleeping butler's coat.

The drowsy twins stretched, one definitely more annoyed than the other. "So now what?" Hypnos asked calmly. "We wait for mother to finish 'talking' with gramps and we stop anyone who dares to get in her way." His brother explained just as calmly. "What about the stronger gods, like the other chief gods? You think we're enough to beat them on our own?" Hypnos asked again, almost falling asleep like this whole ordeal didn't stress him at all. "You should stop sleeping during reunions... Our siblings are fighting the chief gods in other shadow realms that mother made." Sighed the death god. "But yes we could."

The gods in the bleachers were stunned but it was true. In such a short time span, all the chief gods had disappeared to unknown places, they were left on their own against the most renowned duo in the heavens. It was so surreal no one even thought to run away.

But then one booming voice made everyone come down to earth. "I, THOR, CHIEF GOD OF THE NORSE PANTHEON, ORDER EVERYONE PRESENT TO EVACUATE THE ROOM!!!" The berserker screamed with authority as he entered the room accompanied by the valkyrie and the primordial goddess. Suddenly every god followed the Norse king's order.

The chief god waited for an instant so that the crowd got out of his ways before winding up his first attack. Lifting Mjolnir high above his head, Thor brought it down in a familiar manner, with one hand and the violence of a charging bear. The strike was made into the empty but still the sheer force of the hit, moved so much air the kinetic energy travelled with it right towards the twin gods, devastating everything in its path while high above the clouds were split in two.

[(Sky Eater: Tribute to Mankind)]

The two sons of Nyx crashed into the walls of the courtroom, left stunned by the impact for a second. "Well, it seems Eris' chief god wasn't captured. Hypnos, give me the staff." Said the death god without much worry.

Without waiting, the sleep god handed the staff to his brother before jumping on his back, swirling his arms around Thanatos' neck. Placing his head on the left of Thanatos'.

As soon as the staff touched the god of death's hands, the cotton candy colored ball at the tip disappeared, being immediately replaced by a long curved blade, transforming the staff into a war scythe.

But as soon as they started running the twin gods were left surprised once again as they saw the young valkyrie arriving towards them mid air, fee**t first. The two gods carefully dodged Göll's dropkick with a quick hop to the side but as all their attention was focused on the young women, they didn't notice that the god of thunder had thrown Mjolnir right at them.

Unable to dodge now, the twins held their divine weapon with all the strength they had in an attempt to deviate the hammer with a strike of their own. And to the surprise of their opponents, their attempt has been successful, Thor's weapon was now flying right past them.

Seeing the twins occupied by Thor's attack, Göll took advantage of the situation and threw a swift front kick right in Hypnos face, separating him from his brother.

Despite the surprise of seeing the valkyrie being so effective, Thanatos struck back almost immediately, slashing down her face with his blade so expeditiously the young valkyrie couldn't entirely dodge his attack.

The blade traversed Göll's face, from the top of her forehead to the tip of her chin, the cut avoided her left eye by a single centimeter to the right. Blood dripped from the wound, obstructing half of her vision. The slash continued down her collarbone before the blade definitively left her body.

On the other side of the makeshift battlefield. The Norse chief god caught his weapon back running towards the sleep god on the ground to crush him under his hammer.

Hypnos swiftly avoided the hit by rolling to the side, avoiding a gruesome death under Mjolnir's weight before launching an upwards kick right in his opponent's chin, destabilizing him enough to make him fall with another kick to his heels.

While the fight happened, back at the entrance, the primordial cow was left open-mouthed, both the persons she learned to know and love since she was brought back were fighting while she was just standing there unable to do anything by herself. Her eyes watered as she saw her honey pies of a valkyrie getting hurt.

But as she was about to take the bull by the horns and finally ran towards the young woman to help her. The current battle had been interrupted as the dark shadow reappeared in the center of the room, numerous others appearing in the stands.

Both sides stopped any action they were doing to watch as two figures emerged from the center shadows. The two were noticeably on the verge of dying but it was clear there was a winner and a loser. Nyx was bruised almost everywhere and her guts had been pierced by the king of the gods' fist, her organs dangling down the hole in her stomach. But on the other hand... Zeus had been pushed to use Adamas... and still, the God Father of all Cosmos missed half of his right arm while the rest of his body was covered in wounds, his skin pierced everywhere.

Zeus... Was the loser of this fight.

The god of thunder looked right into Göll's eyes. "I'm sorry, I did.... My best... Good luck..." And just as he whispered those small words, he fell unconscious.

Göll and Thor ran towards the Olympian while the twins ran towards their mother helping her stand up, the rest of her kids, having emerged from the shadows around the room, looking right at her.

The goddess of the night laid her hands on her sons' head. "I declare... The second Ragnarok... Open..."

Record of Ragnarok: Endless Night, Context.

Record of Ragnarok: Endless Night | Chapter 001: "Midnight Again"

New roster and explanations for my absence.