Ragnarok (2): The Rainbow Bridge to Paradise
Paradise was structured so that souls underwent judgment in the underworld and only those granted permission could enter. Naturally, there had been no way to access paradise from anywhere else.
Until now….
"What the heck is that?"
In one corner of paradise, a tunnel-like structure made of rainbow light had appeared, and from it extended a rainbow bridge that connected directly to paradise. Crowds of gods were crossing that rainbow bridge.
"Those are…."
"Valkyries."
Low-ranking gods belonging to the Aesir. Goddesses who called themselves Valkyries. Even if they were called gods, they were mostly just divine bloodlines or the like, so they weren't particularly powerful.
But that wasn't the important thing right now.
"Why the hell are those guys here?"
"That's what I'd like to know! How did they even get into paradise?"
"Looks like they came through that rainbow tunnel…. Hmm…."
Whoever made a passage like that… Could it be Odin? No, what I told Odin was to create another world, not to make a passage to another world.
Well, I'd find out once I checked. Whether it was Odin or someone else.
Whoever dared to lay hands on the paradise I had so carefully crafted wouldn't get off easy.
I let out a small sigh and approached the area where the Aesir gods were… Hm?
"What? This?"
An invisible barrier blocked my path. What was this? I hadn't created anything like it. Why was it here?
"Ah…."
"Ceres. Do you know something about this?"
"Uh, well, um…. You see…."
Ceres stammered, clearly trying to say something but hesitating. It looked incredibly suspicious.
"Tell me honestly. Everything you know."
"Y-Yes! Um, please don't get too mad when you hear this."
What was she about to say?
"Depends on what it is."
"Ugh…. Okay. Um…."
Ceres hesitated several times before finally opening her mouth.
"You promised me before, right? That in exchange for me becoming the goddess of death, you'd create an afterlife for dragons."
"I did."
Dragons had such long lifespans that no one had died yet, so I'd kept putting it off. But even the oldest dragon was only a few thousand years old… right? As far as I knew, they were all still kicking strong, with not a single dragon dead yet.
"Since the Goddess of Life kept putting it off…. I thought, maybe I should try making it myself? So I tinkered around a bit?"
"Hm…? You did it yourself?"
"Yes. You seemed busy with other things, Goddess. I figured I'd give it a shot. Even if it doesn't look like it, I'm one of the goddesses of death, and I get a fair amount of faith too."
Hm. I had promised and then left her hanging for ages. But with no dead dragons, building it felt like a waste…. Should I have just made it right away?
"That was fine up to the point where I tried to make it somehow, but creating a world isn't easy. I was wondering how you did it, Goddess, so I looked around paradise."
Hm. She looked around…. Looking shouldn't cause much trouble.
But what did that have to do with this invisible barrier…?
"Paradise was so amazing that I just… touched it a tiny bit. Very tiny."
"Touched it?"
"Y-Yes. I thought referencing how you made it might help…. So I tinkered just a little, and suddenly paradise got huge."
"Huge?"
Oh, come to think of it, it was bigger than when I made it. Hm. I thought it expanded because more souls entered…. But maybe when Ceres touched it, the system recognized her as a paradise soul and expanded accordingly?
"I got flustered, so I put up a wall to keep other souls from entering the new space."
"Hm. So that wall you put up is this invisible barrier?"
"Yes. I didn't want paradise souls wandering into that new space by accident."
Hm…. I see.
It was a bit much for her to mess with my paradise without permission…. But considering she blocked it off with this invisible wall to prevent souls from crossing over, maybe I could let it slide. If anything, it was partly my fault for not keeping my promise.
Hm.
"From now on, don't touch anything without telling me first. That way, if something goes wrong, I can fix it right away."
"S-Sorry…."
Well, paradise just got bigger—no real harm done. If souls had crossed over, that would have been a bigger mess.
"And for the dragon afterlife, I'll make it right after this is over. It'll be empty for now, though."
"Really? Thank you!"
Putting it off forever wasn't great anyway.
"For now, let's head over there."
"Yes!"
I parted the invisible wall with magic, creating a path, and crossed through.
Hm…. A dragon afterlife, huh. Should I link it to paradise? If I shaped the dragon afterlife to envelop paradise…. Maybe the dragons could beat the crap out of invaders like those guys?
Eh, food for thought later.
"I'd love to just beat them all down…. But doing that in the paradise made by the Goddess of Life would cause problems."
"As long as it doesn't affect paradise, no issue."
Let's see here. In that case….
"I'll scout ahead alone first. I'm curious how they even got in here anyway."
"Ah, okay. I'll wait here then."
With that, I left Ceres behind, concealed my presence, and approached the Aesir gods.
"How the heck did Lord Odin even find this place?"
"He's the wisest god. Probably figured it out somehow."
"I heard he learned about it from a sage."
The Valkyries chattered nonstop as they hauled cargo. What were they moving…. Hm. Uh…. Weapons, stone, armor, and so on. All infused with special power—probably items touched by gods' hands.
Were they planning a war or something?
"Quit yapping and move the cargo faster! We gotta hurry!"
"Yes! Right away!"
A Valkyrie in fancier armor than the others barked, and the chattering ones scrambled into action. She must be the leader.
"No breaks! This place will soon be the world for us Aesir! Lord Odin said he'd remake this world for us, so we—his hands and feet—can't slack off!"
Odin? This world? Hm?
What I told Odin was to create a new world. How did that turn into building a connecting passage to paradise?
Maybe while making another world, he accidentally created a link here. If it was an accident, no big deal—just a minor hiccup. Without intent, I could brush it off as a trivial incident….
Hm. For now, find the highest-ranking Aesir god here. A calm talk should resolve it.
After observing the Aesir gods who had crossed into paradise….
"Fortification of Valhalla proceeds smoothly. Basic construction should finish in about three days."
"Good to hear it's going well. I was worried Odin's mania would flare up if we fell behind. Still, push the Valkyries to speed it up just in case."
"Yes, Lady Freyja."
In a makeshift tent, I spotted the highest-ranking goddess. The golden-haired beauty nodded slightly after the Valkyrie's report.
Was this Freyja? They said she was the most beautiful goddess among the Aesir, and yeah, she was a stunner.
"No other reports?"
"No. I'll take my leave."
"Alright. Keep up the good work."
The Valkyrie bowed and exited. Then….
"Whew…. I'm exhausted."
The noble beauty Freyja suddenly slumped, sprawling limply on the floor.
"Ugh…. Valhalla? What even is that? Can't we just stay in the Pantheon? And this place is super dangerous…. If the Goddess of Life catches us, we're done for…."
The goddess flopped weakly over the table, whining in a cute voice.
"That old Odin is insane. Totally nuts. Dragging all us Aesir gods along just 'cause he doesn't wanna die!"
Hm?
"What Valhalla! What paradise! Senile one-eyed geezer!!! Wasn't stealing dead souls with the Valkyries enough for him?!"
"What did you just say?"
"Eek?!"
I couldn't let that slide.
"Stealing dead souls?"
"Wh-Who?! Show yourself!!"
At Freyja's shout, I slowly revealed myself.
"That idiot Odin… stole souls…?"
"E-Eek?! Y-You?!"
"Spit it all out. Did that fool Odin order the Valkyries to steal souls?"
"G-Goddess of Life…!"
Freyja trembled at the sight of me. Like a small animal facing its natural predator.
