It was so bright it felt as if the sun had burst open in front of him.

  Alec’s vision smeared into white and shadow. His legs buckled, his body turning to jelly, slow and uncooperative. A high, merciless ringing swallowed every other sound, crushing thought itself.

  Nothing felt real. The hall wavered, distant, unreal—like the last seconds of a dream that refused to settle. He tried to focus. To remember. What had he been doing? Where was the danger?

  Lightning.

  The thought struck almost as hard as the blast itself. A lightning bolt had hit the ground near them.

  He attempted to stand but stumbled and fell to his knees. Someone grabbed him, and he struggled to fight back, but his body wouldn’t obey.

  Gradually, his vision cleared, though everything remained blurry. He saw chaos—people colliding, others crawling on the ground.

  Ulf was holding him by the arm, and Erik was standing in front of them, preventing people from crashing into them.

  The roof of the hall had been breached, a powerful wind had found his way in and was ravaging the place, and outside Alec could see powerful storm was forming

  Ulf was speaking, but the relentless high-pitched noise made his words unintelligible. Alec fought to concentrate, trying to piece together the disarray around him.

  "It's....can...dangerous." Alec succeded to get some of the words ulf said to Erik.

  Erik acquiesced before turning around and saying something back.

  Alec couldn't hear, but he could clearly read the precarity of the situation on their faces.

  They helped Alec get back up, and that's when his gaze locked onto him

  Throughout the chaos of the crowd, his presence commanded attention.

  There were no mistaking it, even if you weren't a believer.

  This was no ordinary man, he towered above the crowd, a living mountain of muscle and power. His long, fiery red hair spilled down his shoulders, wild and untamed, like a storm given form. His beard, thick and braided, framed a face etched with strength and purpose, every line and feature radiating authority.

  Even in the blur of Alec's vision, the aura of pure power surrounding him was undeniable.

  That was a god.

  "Thor." Erick murmured.

  Before he would have spitted on this theory, but now, face to the sheer power that he was radiating, this was the only answer that Alec could accept regarding the identity of the mountain infront of them. This wasn't a man. This was a god.

  The god then raised his hand. The wind furious and defeaning stopped in an instant as the hall fell into a profound silence.

  And as the warriors slowly regained their composure, they formed a circle around the god.

  Alec stayed frozen, waiting for what would happen next. Was this an ennemy? Would he have to fight a god?

  Of course not he would get crushed. He could feel it in every fiber of his body.

  "THOR ODINSON! THOR ODINSON!" The warriors started to chant, their fervor growing with each repetition.

  Thor sat on one of the splintered tables, grabbed a cup from it and downed the liquid in a second as if he hadn't drank in days.

  Cheers erupted around him, louder than ever. Alec could only watch in disbelief as half of the liquid had spilled into his thick beard.

  He then leaned back, slamming the cup onto the table with enough force to rattle the plates, and letted out a thunderous belch that shook the entire room. Again under praises from the crowd

  This definetly wasn't the image Alec had of gods. He looked powerful, but he was acting like a pig. Yet they all looked at him in awe.

  "We should probably leave before he find us." Erik said a point of urgency in his voice.

  Alec agreed, He didn't need memory to know that he had to stay away from people who drinked like that.

  "Yes," Ulf said as she let go of Alec. "Do you see a door or a way out?"

  "I think it's to late for that." Alec said as the god's eyes locked onto the group.

  He could litteraly feel the electricity in the god's gaze.

  "You must be the Tide turner!" He declared. His voice was raspy, deep and gravelly. "Come forward friend." He motioned for Alec to come forth.

  Every warrior turned to look at an frozen Alec.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  His thoughts were all over the place. Was it safe to go? What if he said the wrong thing and angered the god?

  "We got your back brother." Erik said as he patted him on his back. And pushed him.

  He stumbled a bit but took a deep breath then pressed forward. He would make Erik pay for that.

  In front of the god, Alec felt like an ant. His intense electric blue eyes were studying him. The intensity of his aura alone felt like it would burn Alec.

  "The winds brought your feats to me boy," The god stood up, towering over Alec." You bested Bjorn- no easy feats, and not only that but you went on to save your comrades and win the game."

  He then turned to the crowd. "Learn something, you leeches.” He burst in a thunderous laugh, and the crowd followed him.

  "You're smaller than i expected," he admitted as he took down another cup.

  He raised his hand and the storm quiet down.

  A huge black screen appeared on top of their heards as the god stood up.

  Alec look like an ant next to him.

  "For you my friend, this is only a formality." He said as static began to play on the screen. "But here, before we accept heroes, we make sur that they died an honorable death."

  Would Alec's death play on that screen?

  Nadia appeared to the crowd. She stepped next to Thor and he barely acknowledged her.

  Static flickered across the screen for a moment… then blackness swallowed it all.

  "What?" The god muttered.

  The crowd had the same reactions. Was something wrong?

  "Why did nothing appear?" Thor turned to Alec as if he was supposed to have the answer.

  "No idea. " Escaped from his lips.

  The gods frowned and pressure nearly drop Alec on the spot.

  He turned to Erik. The boy was looking at him with straight caution on his face. This wasn't good.

  Nadia chimed him.

  "The All father warned me it could happen, the boy have no memory lord. And the valkyrie that brought him left, so there's no footage to see." She calmly explained.

  "No footage? How do we know he’s worthy? Valhalla isn’t a daycare." Thor sat back.

  Worthy? Alec barely wanted to stay here.

  "He is." She said.

  "And how can a simple valkyrie know?” Thor’s voice rolled like distant thunder.

  Alec felt the air thicken.

  The god's gaze sharpened.

  Thunder struck in the distance.

  "You weren't there when he was brought." He added

  The winds began to howl again, slowly rising

  Things were going south, Alec didn't need help to understand that

  He turned to Ulf but she motionned him to stay quiet.

  The hall shivered . Thunder rolled, low and threatening, shaking the wooden beams overhead.

  Winds whipped through the splintered rafters, tugging at banners, tossing cups from tables, and ruffling the hair of every warrior in the hall.

  Shields rattled in their holders, clattering like distant storm drums.

  Even the black screen above flickered.

  The warriors audibly gasped.

  "I told you he was." Nadia said looking at him.

  The god look surprised.

  Nadia wasn't looking at him, but above him, matter of fact they all were.

  He lifted his head up, expecting the worse.

  Floating above his head, a simple rune carved cleanly into the air.

  Lines straight and solid, it caught the storm’s light, a blue light pulsing in rhythm with Alec’s heartbeat.

  The winds stilled for a heartbeat, shields quivered, and even the shadows seemed to bow. Alec felt it resonate through his chest. A pulse that whispered and promised familiarity and safety.

  "Njord's rune?" The god stood up, astonished.

  "Here it is. The tide turner has been claimed as a demi-god. Please give a warm welcome to Alec Chase, son of Njord."

  The hall erupted. Chants rose, thunder and human voices intertwining. Alec’s heart pounded, and for the first time since he arrived, he felt the weight of being more than just a boy.

  The rune slowly descended and reduced size, then carved cleanly into Alec’s forearm. It glimmered faintly in the light before stopping.

  "Enough!!" The god roared.

  The hall excecuted and Alec's heart nearly did.

  "As a son of a Vanir, the boy is to be treated as a guest of honor." That might have seemed good but Alec could read clear annoyance on the good face.

  "Treat the Vanirspawn with the regards he deserve."

  The crowd erupted again and Nadia winked at him.

  Did that meant he was now worthy? He looked at the rune. So he was really a demi-god. And Njord was his father.

  Somehow he was left with more questions than answers.

  Even though he didn't want to admit it, everything seemed to show that he belonged in this hell.

  He exhaled, a breath of relief that almost escaped him before the weight of the hall pressed back.

  “Where are his friends? If I’m not mistaken, he didn’t defeat my einherjars alone.”

  The hall fell silent, every eye snapping to the figures the gods commanded forward. The air seemed to thrum with anticipation, wooden beams creaking under the storm’s residue, banners twisting as if caught in an unseen wind.

  To Alec it felt like the storm was answering Thor's mood.

  Ulf's face was grim, she said something under her breath before stepping first.

  Erik followed.

  They stopped at his level, unflinching. Erik’s arm went around Alec’s shoulders.

  "Please don't mess this up for me." Ulf said.

  “Long time no see, old friend,” he said, a quiet anchor in the chaos.

  Thunder rolled overhead. The god rose from the Table.

  Ulf was talking about Erik.

  “You?!” His roar cut through the hall, and a wave of electricity jumped across the floor, locking every eye in place.

  "You dare show your face here?" He screamed at Erik.

  A shockwave ran through the hall.

  The god raised his hand up and lightning felt it in. A crackling spear that he aimed at the group.

  Alec felt the air tighten, hair standing on end, and knew in an instant—the game had just shifted

  Ulf pushed Alec back behind the duo.

  "I, Skadidóttir ask for Asile!" Ulf's screamed.

  Nadia placed herself before the god.

  "Waitt!" She screamed too.

  "The all father himself introduced them as guest. Killing them would violate the rules." She quickly interjected. "The law of asylum applies to them."

  Yet the god hand did not drop.

  The crowd was holding his breath. The hall had felt into a deafening silence.

  What had Erik done to hunger the litteral god of lightning.

  "Look like you've missed me." Erik said amused.

  If Ulf's eyes could kill, Erik would have been ashes on the spot.

  The god's expression darkened in anger. His eyes twitched and the crackling of electricity intensified.

  Fighting a god wasn't on Alec's to do list. Actually it would have been more on the "things to never do list".

  "If this is a guest, then i'll take the punishment." Thor quietly said, but the wind carried the words to Alec's ears.

  His hand raised higher. He was going to smite them.

  Killed by a god's wrath?

  Alec couldn't believe it., he couldn't let that happen.

  he couldn’t let him strike. He was finally learning who his father was.

  His story was finally moving forward, it couldn’t end here—not with so many questions still unanswered.

  Without conscious thought, his arm moved. A mix of instinct and familiarity answered the danger before his mind could process it.

  Every cup within reach lifted.

  Liquids twisting through the air, coiling around Thor’s arm.

  Ice formed in an instant, halting the god mid-motion. Gasps swept through the hall; Nadia’s eyes widened in shock.

  The rune on Alec’s arm dimmed, its pulse slowing. He stared at it, disbelief washing over him as he realized what he had just done.

  Without a small movement of his arm, the ice shattered.

  Clearly this wasn't enough to stop the god of Lightning.

  But the spear slowly dematerialized in his hand.

  The whole hall fell into a deep silence as Thor sat back. Upright this time.

  At first, it felt like a hand of pressure on Alec’s shoulder as the god stared at the three of them.

  “Alec Chase.” Thor said.

  The name hung in the air.

  A wave of raw power swept through the hall. The pressure nearly drove Alec to his knees. Arcs of electricity crawled upward around him, then spread across the room. The wind stilled.

  The storm outside fell quiet.

  There was no mistaking it anymore. Alec had just angered the god of lightning.

  Erik’s grip tightened.

  “I offered hospitality. But you and your friends showed defiance.” Thor’s voice was deeper now, every word heavy. “You have shown yourselves worthy. Welcome to Valhalla. Let us see how you handle a god as your enemy.”

  Lightning struck the center of the hall.

  The shockwave sent plates, cups, and warriors flying.

  This time, Alec stayed standing.

  Had Thor just declared himself his enemy?

  What had he just done?

  Nadia turned to him, her face grim with shock and disbelief.

  He looked to Ulf. Her face had gone white, her eyes flicking between Alec, the others, and the scorched hole Thor’s lightning had carved into the floor.

  She muttered something under her breath.

  Laughter and applause rose again—but hollow, forced.

  A desperate attempt to pull the feast back together, even though no one truly wanted it to continue.

  Alec could see it in everyone eyes.

  Something terrible had just happened.

  And something far worse was coming.