had served a greater purpose and the gods imbued us all with glory.
With my soul back, I felt the loss of the gods, a world devoid of meaning without them. When they’d died, I had, too. Having come into my living body once more, the loss was fresh to me now, a sharp blade in my heart.
With each movement on the battlefield, I felt that loss gnawing in my chest, eating at me. The only bright spark in this world of darkness was Ali.
I had no idea how long I’d been fighting, and I was only fighting defensively. I didn’t want to kill Night Elves, just to stay alive and to protect Ali.
Still, my arms ached from slashing, stabbing, and parrying. I’d killed, and would continue to kill until either I fell or I found Ali. And yet, as much as I scanned the elves around me, I didn’t see a single sign of her.
All around me, blades clashed, steel scraped against armor. Elves grunted with exhaustion and pain. The cries of the dying mixed with the shouts of the living. The mass of battling elves surged in random directions, driven only by each elf’s desperate fight for survival.
As I stepped over a body, steel flashed in my peripheral vision, catching my attention just in time. I parried, my blade carving through the attacker’s neck. Another one dead, and my sword gleamed scarlet.
Something slammed into my helmet, and my vision flashed white. I faltered. My visor was smashed, stuck, and I couldn’t see. I couldn’t see.
The fucking Helm of Awe didn’t help the situation.
With a snarl, I ripped off my helmet. My blade dripped with fresh blood as I breathed in the frigid air. An elf nearby took a spear in the neck, and warm droplets sprayed the side of my face. All around me, elves fought, bled, and died. And I knew only one thing with certainty.
We were losing.
Without the gods, without purpose, perhaps I wasn’t the secret weapon they’d imagined.
Five minutes earlier, the Vanir had slammed into our right flank. They were clearly more interested in killing us than in slaughtering the Night Elves. Now, we faced two enemies, not one.
Unencumbered by plate armor, the Vanir leapt and spun, dervishes with razor-sharp sabers. I’d seen five High Elves fall in the first ten seconds alone. I killed the Vanir one by one, whirling and cutting them down, but my heart wasn’t in it. Not like it used to be.
And no one had anticipated the Night Elves’ spears.
The other High Elves had slammed into them at a full sprint, and the spears had torn through our armor. I’d lost my cuirass, dented beyond repair. My armor had been damaged. Now, I fought bare-chested, wearing only pauldrons for protection.
Screaming, a Vanir charged me, black hair flying and emerald eyes bright with bloodlust. For the briefest second, I wondered if I’d met him in Vanaheim, but I didn’t have time to think about it before he was upon me. His saber was a streak of silver slashing at my now uncovered head.
With the speed of a storm wind, I thrust my sword up, parrying. Hot sparks stung my face as our blades met, and I knocked him back. He twisted, trying to slash again, but I hacked downward. Fresh blood streaked the snow.
“Galin!”
I spun in the direction of my name.
Like a cursed apparition, Revna appeared beside me. Her hair was matted with blood, and like me, she’d lost her helmet. Unlike me, when her golden eyes locked on mine, her expression was one of pure ecstasy. Strange to think I’d once felt that battle lust. Now, it felt perverse.
“How many?” Her voice fluted melodiously, in awful juxtaposition to the carnage around us.
“What?” I whirled, cutting down another Vanir who charged for me.
Out of the fray, a Night Elf lunged with a spear. I chopped the weapon away. “Haven’t been counting,” I replied breathlessly. “Where’s Gorm? Sune?”
But she was already gone, back into the swirling maelstrom of blood and blades. I was on my own again. Free for a moment.
I scanned the battle around me. Elves were fighting. Shouting. Screaming. Dying.
The Vanir were advancing. The Night Elves stabbed the fallen with their daggers and pressed in upon us. The battle was turning against us, but I didn’t care. Because all I wanted was to make sure Ali was safe. I scanned the battlefield for her, trying to see her beautiful face through the haze of