CHAPTER 121: GOD EGG

Magni’s body shook as he forced himself to stand.

Blood dripped from his arms, his flames sputtered, but still he walked. His knees bent, his shoulders sagged, but he refused to fall.

Ymir’s body was half frozen, veins of ice crawling up his chest. His breath came in shallow bursts, his lips pale. He had collapsed against the frost, staring blankly at nothing.

Magni knelt and gathered Ymir in his arms. The motion was clumsy at first, his muscles weak, but once he locked his arms around him he would not let go.

"Listen to me, snow prince." Magni said, his usual booming voice softer than Hermes had ever heard it.

His tone was uneven, like he was unsure how to say the words.

"You are not hers. You are not anyone’s to chain. You are mine. My friend. My master. My... my prince."

He buried his head against Ymir’s frozen shoulder and let out a shaky laugh. "I know I jest too much, that I make myself a fool, but I am no fool now. Stay with me. Do not go where I cannot follow."

Then, without warning, Magni began to sing.

It was in a strange language, one Hermes had never heard before, heavy and old, carrying the weight of the Void itself. Yet there was no menace in it. It was simple, slow, and oddly soothing. Hermes felt it in his chest before he understood it with his ears.

A lullaby, meant for a child shivering in the cold winter.

Magni’s flame flickered with each note. The heat spread under them, his hand pressing against the icy ground. Cracks spread outward, glowing red. The frozen domain could not contain the fire forever.

The ground split open.

Hermes barely had time to react before the three of them plunged downward, fire and ice collapsing together.

They fell into darkness, then into blinding red.

When Hermes came to, the air was heavy with sulfur and ash. They were no longer in Skadi’s domain. They were in the underworld.

Figures rushed toward them. Massive beings of molten stone and burning embers. Some had horns, some had wings of fire, others were twisted shapes of magma and rock.

Magni’s family. His bizarre and sprawling clan, who from his closest kin to his most distant cousin showed love and concern for him.

They shouted in strange tongues, concerned and frantic, quickly gathering around the fallen trio.

A molten hand pressed against Hermes’ shoulder, talking in Voidian. "Evi csy epvmklx?"

Another pulled Magni upright. "Fvsxliv! Alex lew lettirih? Csy qywx pix ks sj xli glmph sj wrsa ex srgi!"

But Magni shoved them all away, clinging to Ymir.

"Leave him!" Magni barked. "I will not let go. He freezes and I burn, but if that is the price then I will pay it."

The lava family looked uneasy. They had seen Magni being dramatically loyal to Ymir before, but never like this.

His skin was turning pale, his usual heat bleeding away into Ymir’s body.

Hermes pushed himself to his knees, sweat dripping down his brow. His hands glowed with pale light as he forced Rewind into both Magni and Ymir. He rewound their wounds, over and over, but the curse from Skadi’s arrow resisted, lingering like poison lodged deep in Ymir’s heart.

And Magni was burning himself out just to keep him warm.

"It’s not fair," Hermes muttered, his teeth gritted.

His voice rose. "It’s not fair!"

His vision warped. The ticking of a clock filled his ears. His body contorted, white light spilling out of him until his form was no longer human.

The beast of Rewind took shape. His body stretched into a tall alien figure of white and gold, hollow at the center where a clock spun endlessly backwards. His head was blank, featureless, his hands long and sharp.

The lava family stepped back in awe and fear. Magni clutched Ymir tighter, refusing to let go.

Hermes’ voice came from the hollow head, distorted but clear. "What she did was cruel. And for what? To prove a point? That is not justice. That is not fair."

The golden clock turned faster. Hermes’ body cracked, the white form shifting. His beastial power fused with the fire he had once absorbed from Magnarok. The white became black like tar.

The gold burned into molten rivers, and his hollow face split open!

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

The scream that followed shook the underworld.

From the cracks in his face poured lava, tears that fell and burned the ground. The once featureless alien creature now wore the face of wrath, with two burning eyes and a mouth of fire with sharp, jagged teeth of stone.

He reached upward, the ceiling of the underworld cracking.

Snow began to fall even here, Skadi’s domain intruding into their sanctuary. But Hermes did not falter. His scream grew louder, until the ground above them erupted.

A snowy volcano burst into existence within the frozen world above, spewing fire and ash into the blizzard.

Magni’s family fell to their knees, bowing their heads low. They had only ever seen such power from the Primordial gods themselves.

The lava family stared. This god was only an egg, not yet ready to hatch. Yet even in its shell, his power had forced the underworld to bow.

They chatter among themselves in their own language:

One of the horned uncles spoke first, voice rumbling like a landslide. "By the flames, never have I seen such a sight. A mortal summoning a volcano in the realm of snow..."

A winged cousin flapped nervously, sparks scattering. "What do we do? He could destroy us if he wakes again!"

"Nonsense," an elderly aunt of obsidian snapped, shoving the cousin aside. "He saved our Magni. We will tend to him. We owe him that much."

Another sibling, taller than the rest, leaned down to peer at Hermes’ unconscious face. "Strange little godling. Soft skin, but teeth of fire. I like him."

"Careful," the old aunt said, swatting his hand away. "Do not prod the egg, or it will hatch too soon."

And then, suddenly, it ended.

Hermes’ monstrous form collapsed, the lava face cracking apart. His body shrank back to human, his clothes burned, his skin trembling and pale. He staggered once, then fell, unconscious.

Magni and Ymir lay beside him, their bodies finally free of the ice curse. Ymir’s chest rose with steady breaths again, the frost gone from his veins. Magni’s heat flickered back into him, enough to keep him alive.

In the silence that followed, Magni shifted weakly, his arms still wrapped around Ymir. "The Unravelling...."

He murmured, half delirious but still stubbornly clinging on to his beloved ice prince.

Ymir stirred faintly, his hand twitching against Magni’s chest. Hermes lay still, his body quiet at last.

The underworld waited, watching.

This god may still be an egg, but cracks have certainly started to form.