In the year 2045, the gaming world was swept by storm thanks to the launch of the ultimate, super-realistic VRMMKMORPG - Midgard: Eve of Ragnarök. The name was a bit confusing as it took place in a post-apocalyptic version of Earth that was being invaded by the 8 other realms (the 9th being earth itself - aka Midgard) from Norse mythology. The Aesir of Asgard, The Vanir from Vanaheim, Elves, dwarves, giants, undead, fire giants, ice sprites and other abominations of the gap all wanted a piece of the pie. The whole idea of the game was to essentially pick a team, change your race and level up your way to glory. Essentially it was about Ragnarök, the war of the gods, the end of the world as you know it.
Despite that, it was called Eve of Ragnarök, as if the dreadful Armageddon hadn't taken place already …
And indeed, it hadn't as exactly 5 years down the line, in 2050 the game shut down. The players of the game weren't disappointed though. As instead reality had become the game instead.
The 8 realms invaded the real earth this time, all higher grade NPCs had their memories from the game intact and all players were replaced by their avatars. Ragnarok had descended. The game was just the last saving grace that humanity had to prepare for the end and devise a way of survival.
Now 5 years since then in the year 2055, a shocking event will take place that will change the fate of the entire world.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"- do tell me, what scheme are you planning … Loki?"
"Now, now, now! Why is your first response me scheming something? Do I look that sinister to you? Sam, my boy, you are going to break this old man's heart..."
Sam rolled his eyes at what he deemed to be obvious bullshit.
"So you aren't scheming anything"
"Well, now that depends on what one can categorize as a scheme and what one cannot. It a philosophical question, that has plagued all sentient minds since the beginning of existence itself."
" …" Now it was Sam's turn to be speechless. After all, as the saying goes - there is always a taller mountain, there is always someone more shameless.
" Well philosophy aside, I assure you that I mean you know harm, though we haven't interacted directly in-person before, we have had previous dealings with each other and I am perhaps the only god left that doesn't want you dead. In fact, I have come here to save you"
"Oh how very generous of you indeed, when everyone in the nine realms has abandoned me to my fate, it is thy honourable self who has decided to have mercy upon this poor lost lamb and save my soul from the clutches of these sinful beings"
Loki took a step back, staring incredulously at Sam. It was rare, that he conversed with someone with a cursed silver tongue as slippery as his own.
"Oh shut it! The words ' honourable' and 'poor lost lamb' are the farthest from the adjectives that truly describe the likes of us. Let us talk business, are you interested in hearing out my proposition"
Sam shook his head mirthfully before exclaiming, "And here I was thinking that you had decided to rescue me out of the goodness of your heart. Go on, let's hear it. It's not like I have another choice if I want to live."
Loki chuckled before continuing,
"Well, one of the reasons I chose you for this task was because you do resemble my younger self a lot. Now take a look at this pretty thing"
Loki dangled an archaic-looking pocket watch from his hands. The watch looked so old, one could smell the scent of time from it.
"Neat little trinket you got there, what does it do."
"This 'little trinket' here is called the 'Hourglass of Kronos'. As the name suggests, its original form is that of an hourglass made from the remains of the ancient titan of time- Kronos"
Sam stared at the pocket watch again, this time with way more emotions. The implications and possibilities that lie behind that name horrified yet excited him to no end.
"So is that what you are using to stop time?"
"Yes, though it won't last for much longer. I intend to make you use it to go back in time and reset this cursed timeline"
"What is wrong with this timeline... since you have already frozen time, can't we just break out of here."
"This isn't about you numbnut! I want you to do something for me by going back in time. I would go back myself, but as a god, I am way too overpowered, the time-reversal cannot take me as far back as I want it to. Besides, I wasn't joking when I said this timeline is doomed. Where do you think this artifact came from. Think a little."
'What was this crazy guy talking about?' Sam's eyes slowly widened in horror as he thought of another possibility
"Kronos, wasn't he from Greek mythos? So far, Ragnarok has been all about the nine realms of Norse mythos"
"Exactly, while we have all exhausted ourselves from in-fighting, the Greeks are planning on swooping in and taking all the benefits. Unlike in the game world, the real world is full of gods from other mythoi. They didn't interfere with the game, but there is no way they were going to sit back and watch from the shadows as the 8 realms invade this one."
"So you want me to go back in time and save the world? I don't think I am the right candidate for that"
Loki sneered in response,
"Who gives a damn about the world, I personally do not care which mythos, which realm, or which faction wins this goddamn war. The nine realms can all burn to ash, and I would not give a shit"
"Then what do you give a shit about so much that you want to reset the timeline."
"It's a little embarrassing and out of character for me to say this... but it's about my family..."
"Hela, Jormie, Fenrir, Sleipnir, Vali and Narfi. Each and every one of my kids has suffered a fate worse than death, simply because they were related to me."
Honestly, seeing the infamous god of mischief Loki make such a sad and... even humane expression really affected Sam. Loki was the last person he expected to pull the - "You don't turn your back on family" card.
"So you want me to go back and time and save them?"
"Yes, and hopefully free me ahead of time as well. Once I am free, I will be able to prepare a few countermeasures against the weak."
"Countermeasures?"
"Of course, that involves getting information and details about every single variable on the battlefield. Only when I have prepared for every single possibility do I dare to go around and cause chaos, as I make sure everyone will be busy with other problems to bother about me. Thus learning about an entire pantheon of gods that were out of my knowledge has thrown me off my game."
"Huh, that's honestly pretty good advice. If I was a bit more aware I wouldn't have suffered as much as I had"
"Exactly, so now all you have to do is help my kids out a bit and you get to have a second chance at life. A full reset, where you are the only one who knows about the future."
Honestly, the offer was tempting, but Sam knew that there is no way Loki hadn't hidden some fail-safes in his plan, or that there was no hidden agenda. There is no way this is all about saving his kids. In the end, his kids were disaster level monsters, they weren't exactly the type that needed saving.
Well, that's not exactly true as what happened to Fenrir after he freed him... t'was a real shame.
Well no matter the consequences, there was no way in Helheim he was passing up on this offer
"Very well I accept! So... how do we do this?"
Loki smiled gleefully, he had clearly been expecting a positive response. Well duh, the lighting arc might have been frozen mid-air, they were still a bit too close for comfort.
"First let us do a blood oath, and I will pass on the ownership of the watch to you"
"Is there an instruction manual for this thing?"
"It is a titan level artefact, it will feed the information directly into your brain. Also, you will not be able to use its time freeze and time reverse functions after this."
"Why?..."
"I kinda broke that function by using it to freeze the entire cosmos right now, instead of just our surroundings, or our current realm. That is because I can't let anyone interfere with this."
"Okay, what about the time reverse?"
"Well, that is because once you go that far back in time, the resulting shockwaves in space-time continuum will alert every single god in existence that someone has reset the timeline. They will thus be on the hunt for you and the minute they determine that you are the one who has it, they will go all out to eliminate you from existence."
"Well fuck me..."
"And if you think you can just escape by going back in time, you are wrong, even a minor reverse, will cause a minor shockwave, that the already bloodthirsty gods won't miss."
"So I can use it if I am stronger than them all?"
"Yes, but if you are that strong, then like me you wouldn't be able to use it to its full potential."
"Well whatever, what other functions does it have?"
"Well, you can set up a time loop ahead of time. You can set up multiple loops simultaneously too."
"Okay... well something is better than nothing."
Then Loki brought a golden chalice out of nowhere and dropped a few drops of his golden blood into it before passing it onto Sam.
Sam then bit into his finger then dropped a few drops of his blood into the chalice as well.
The red and gold blood then proceeded to swirl together and mix into an unholy amalgamation.
"I Loki, God of Mischief hereby pass on the ownership of the Hourglass of Kronos to the human Samuel Quetzal. I also accept him to be my chosen"
"I Samuel Quetzal, accept the Hourglass of Kronos. I accept Loki, God of Mischief as my Patron. In exchange, I swear to save his children - Vali, Narfi, Sleipnir, Fenrir, Jörmungandr and Hela from their fates and try to free Loki from his chains, ahead of time."
The swirling mixture of blood started to spin more violently before evaporating into nothingness. An unbreakable bond could be then felt emerging between the oathtakers.
Sam then saw the pocketwatch float on towards him before landing on his palm.
Loki smiled in response. It was a complex smile, one unbefitting the God of Mischief. It was the smile of a crazy old man at the end of his life. It was a smile filled with relief, resignation and anticipation for what would come next.
'I really hope this gamble pays off" Loki pondered internally, 'In all my life as a God, this is the first time I am letting my fate rest in the hands of another'
"Do it! Reset this cursed timeline!"
Sam smirked in response, no matter what he would face on the other side, he had the resolve to face it head-on!
Based on the information that just entered his head, he turned back the dial on the watch left and right, as if using an old dial-up telephone before finally releasing it.
"..."
"..."
"Why am I still he-"
Then, it happened.
Time started flowing again, but in the opposite direction!
Loki was gone, the electric arcs went back, the lever went back to its original position. People moved and talked backwards and the speed of the rewind picked up rapidly.
Soon Sam found himself witnessing key moments of his life flash by, in REVERSE!
...
Soon, Time came to a stop again, a huge shockwave was released throughout the space-time continuum. Announcing, that someone had meddled with the timeline.
As the shockwave dissipated throughout the universe, Time started back again, flowing in the correct direction this time, at its proper pace.
Sam blinked and shook his head as he slowly began to take note of his surroundings.
He was standing in the living room of a tiny little studio apartment. Bags of waste were piled up in one corner, and unwashed laundry in another. The disorganized and messy state of the apartment was a clear reflection of the mental state of its owner.
Sam turned to the calendar on the wall.
31st March 2045.
It was exactly the night before the launch of the third phase of the game's release: The Secondary Beta. The newly bought VR headset rested on top of his bed. It was the only thing that looked new in the mess that was his room.
Sam grinned to himself in pure ecstasy, before howling out his suppressed emotions!
"I AM BACK! SAMUEL QUETZAL IS BACK! NO ONE WILL STOP ME NOW!"
However, his joy was short-lived, as an even louder and grumpy voice shouted back from the hallway!
"NO ONE WILL STOP YE ONCE YOU PAY THE GODDAMN RENT YOUNG MAN!"
" ... WHEN YOU PAY YOUR GODDAMN RENT YOUNG MAN!"
" ... PAY YOUR GODDAMN RENT ... "
" ... GODDAMN RENT ... "
" ... RENT ... "
Well, fuck! So much for facing all problems head-on...
"I WILL PAY IT BY THE END OF THE WEEK MRS.KAREN!"
...
After a long and exhausting yelling match, Sam made his way to the bathroom to freshen up.
He soon found himself face to face with his reflection.
'Oh yeah... I used to look like that when I was 25. Life really sucked before I made it big in Midgard'