“Let me guess.” Allistor nearly spit on the floor at the base of the throne. “You want to tell me to be satisfied with the deaths of Loki and Hel, and let go of any plans for further vengeance?”
Odin chuckled. “Well, ultimately yes, I would appreciate that. But it will be many years before you could even locate me, let alone grow powerful enough to come against me. My warning has to do with your much more immediate future.” Odin motioned with one hand, and a chair appeared underneath Allistor, forcing him to sit. “But before the warning, let us discuss the day’s events.”
Curious despite himself, Allistor waited patiently for Odin to continue.
“Your ancestors named me a god, one who is all-seeing and nearly omnipotent. The truth is, though I do possess power beyond your understanding, I am neither all-seeing nor all-powerful. My own race has its limits, just like any other. That is why I must admit that I failed you today.” He looked irritated for a moment, shaking his head. “Not just you individually. By not anticipating the depth of Loki’s pride, insanity, and hatred, I failed the entire Collective. You were merely the trigger that brought that failure to light.”
Odin began to shrink physically, stepping off his throne as he did so. Within seconds he was roughly the same size as Baldur had appeared to be on Earth earlier in the day. A table and another chair appeared in front of Allistor, and Odin took a seat across from him.
“Unfortunately for you, being the trigger has propelled you much further along, much deeper into the game than you are prepared for. You and yours will face opposition you haven’t truly earned, and consequences that can not yet be fully foreseen.”
Odin sighed. “Let us begin at the beginning. I have always favored the human race. Since you were little more than upright apes living in trees and caves, my race have fostered your development. We visited your world many times throughout your evolution. And even before that. There was another dominant race on your earth that predates your own. They were wiped out by a natural disaster long before… Ah, but that doesn’t matter now. You need only know that we assisted in your growth, providing small nudges here and there to motivate and enlighten your ancestors. All so that you might someday become viable and valued members of the Collective.”
“Baldur, myself, and a few others took a special liking to humans. You have great potential, combined with deep flaws that make you unpredictable and interesting to watch. You are rash, and quick-tempered, but also creative and loving. You’re rarely satisfied with what you have or who you are, and seem driven to explore and understand. We, most of us, have worked to encourage all of those aspects of the human race. We have been like your gardeners, fertilizing and pruning rough weeds so that they might flower and bear fruit.”
“You can’t possibly take credit for everything we are.” Allistor snapped at him. “We have free will, and the intelligence to learn and choose for ourselves.”
“I’m not here to argue the extent of our influence, Allistor. I merely wished you to know that we meant you no harm, that we wished to help. And would have continued to do so for many more centuries, at least. Had Loki not interfered.”
Allistor fidgeted in his chair, anger warring with his sense of self-preservation.
“Loki’s actions were the beginning of my people’s debt to you. He should not have been allowed to interfere by triggering your world’s Induction ahead of schedule. And today’s events have, due to my own failure, increased our debt to you. And to the Collective, which has now been unbalanced. We will do what we can to restore that balance in small ways, but the Collective is very old, and very complex, and will largely balance itself out on its own in time.”
“What does that mean for my world?”
“You now own four worlds, Allistor. But I get your meaning.” Odin smiled gently at him. “You are like a tiny mouse who, while poking his nose where it doesn’t belong in search of a tasty morsel, has shorted out a vital circuit and caused a power outage across a whole city. You did not intend that result, nor would you have any way to have known that it was even possible. Yet, as that tiny mouse would have been fried to a crisp, you will have to face dire consequences. Loki, his pride unable to accept that he might be outmaneuvered, created a failsafe system to ensure that his daughter and main rival would follow him into death. In his zeal, he caused her entire moon and everyone on it to be utterly destroyed. The additional ripples of consequence from their simultaneous deaths will be unpredictable and significant. In my sorrow after learning of so many misdeeds that burdened Loki’s soul, I failed to pull that final bit of information from him. That is now my debt to shoulder, and part of that debt is owed to you, little mouse.”
“Stop calling me that.” Allistor thumped the table with his fist. “I get it. You’re super-smart and powerful, and I’m just a hairless monkey about a million levels of evolution below you. Pointing it out repeatedly doesn’t help.”
Odin stared at him for a moment. “Fair enough. But be aware, your impertinence also does not help.” His gaze held Allistor’s until the human nodded once in acceptance of that statement.
“I will not give you details now, as things are still very much in flux. But know that Baldur and I will work to lessen the consequences that fall upon you and your people. Still, you will need to proceed with caution, and speed. Learn what enemies you’ve made this day, and allow your friends to help you prepare for them. Continue on the path you’ve chosen, gather your people together and make them stronger. So that even if you yourself do not survive the coming trials, they may continue on without you.”
“As you said, that was always my mission. To make humans strong enough to reclaim Earth.”
“And to venture out among the stars with vengeance in your hearts. Yes, I know.” Odin chuckled. “Well you have your wish. You have the resources now to venture far out into the universe. One of the two planets you won today is much nearer the center of the Collective than your Earth. I recommend you take special note of that fact as you plan your people’s future.” The giant winked at Allistor. “In the meantime, gather your friends to you, and study your enemies. You can learn much from both. And though I may not contact you directly for some time, know that we will be looking out for you, doing what we can under the restrictions of our role within the System. Rest well, Emperor Allistor.”
With a flick of his finger, the light in the room around them went dark, and Odin went with it. Allistor found himself back on the sofa in Denver, Helen snoring in a nearby chair. The sky outside was dark, and all was quiet as he sat upright. His head no longer ached, which he suspected might be thanks to Daigath’s potion, or Odin’s interference in his mind.
Not wanting to wake Helen, he simply sat there with his hands on his knees. With a resigned sigh, he opened up his UI and began the hours-long process of reading all of his notifications.
End Book Five
Acknowledgements
Thanks as always to my family for their love and support. They are my alphas, my sounding board, and the ones who aren’t afraid to tell me when something sucks! A simple thank you doesn’t seem adequate, but here we are. A shout out to John Ward for drawing the cool space station on the cover.
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Shadow Sun Unification: Shadow Sun Book Five Page 38