"Ragnarok?" Xaloc asked.
If he could close his eyes, he could taste the rain and he could smell the blood and mist in the air.
The dream remained vivid in his memory.
The dream showcased an ancient battlefield with layer upon layer of golden mist in the air. Gloomy winds whistled by, the ground was suffused with bloodstains, and countless weapons were densely pierced into the ground.
Booming sounds echoed out, and half of the lands of this entire dreamworld quaked. Massive fissures appeared from both sides.
Thousands of creatures clashed, each one looking more inhuman than the other and the blood was soaked with so much golden liquid that leaked from the wounds of the creatures.
Thundering booms could be heard, and countless bolts of lightning rained down. It was as if the entire world had turned into hell.
To the young Xaloc, that was a nightmare too much for his childish mind to bear so he had gone to the only person that he could at that moment, his grandfather.
"Ragnarok." His grandfather had said, his sleepy eyes becoming alert at once. He pulled at Xaloc's cheeks, "Are you a talented little cookie?"
"Grandpa, stop." The young Xaloc said as he made his way away from his grandfather's grabby hands.
The grown Xaloc could see the scene a little differently.
"His grandfather had known exactly what this Ragnarok is? He had married a goddess? He could not be ordinary. Could he really be killed by a sea animal?"
A sharp tang of betrayal struck Xaloc and he closed, the last thing he wanted was to come to a conclusion. He could as his grandmother later but for now, he wanted to understand more about this new world he found himself in.
"Ragnarok, isn't it in the Norse mythology? Grandma, you are Greek?"
The way Xaloc phrased the question made Nyx brisk. The Greeks had a lot of pride in their identity and heritage. "Of course, I am Greek. Initially, we thought that Ragnarok was something that would only bother the Norse Pantheon. It is one of their core beliefs. They foretold all these about the weather, long winters and no summer and how Fenrir would swallow the sun and return for revenge. it was a bit too dramatic if you would ask me."
"Fenrir's chains weakened and he was able to break out. He caused a ravage, killing and swallowing Sol, the God of the sun. He also attacked Odin but his einhari fought back. Countless fallen monsters formed an army behind Fenrir and battled the einhari. We are still not sure how that battle went but we have not heard from Odin since then, he is presumed dead."
Nyx paused. In all her eons of existence, the Ragaronk had been the singularly, most frightful thing she had ever witnessed. she swallowed, trying her best to stay calm. "The Ragaronk happened in every pantheon. Aether dissipated and all kinds of barriers, chains and weapons lost their power without him to support them. We also did."
Nyx looked at the eyes that were fixed on him, "Can humans survive without oxygen?" She did not wait for them to answer her, "Imagine if the entire oxygen in the world vanished. Plants decayed and our fighting strength diminished with them. Our storage capacity is greater than humans but our Aether levels were not being replenished. Can you imagine a war where one side got stronger with time and another side got weaker?"
She laughed, "It was not a battle. It was a plain massacre. Thousands of gods fell. All pantheons had to gather together, melt down most of our treasures and palaces to use the Aether within in order to seal those monsters in Olympus." When she mentioned the monsters, she gashed her teeth, her eyes glowing with hatred. "Zeus had built Olympus as a fortress so it was our safe bet. Thankfully, it worked."
"Sealed? Not killed?" Xaloc asked. There was a difference between the two and it was very essential for him to know.
"Killed." Nyx chuckled and her eyes softened at the naivety, "If they could be killed then would we have killed them in our prime. Most monsters and creatures are immortal. Their souls are immortal, even if you destroy their body, they would just regenerate at another time."
"Like the hydra?"
"Kind of. Their children and offspring are not the same and they can be killed." After saying that, she walked to the centre table and poured herself another glass of wine. Mortal wine was weak but it could do the job.
"So you are not strong enough to help them because you don't have Aether. Is there nothing you can do?" Felix could not help grasping at straws.
"There should be some healing gods, right? Or someone who still has a little bit of Aether."
"Grandma. Why did you come to earth?" Xaloc's concern was different from theirs? While the story sounded moving and all, he had the feeling that his grandmother was lying to him.
"The new residence for gods is called Shangri-La. It was the home of Aether and his power resides in very small doses all around the city. If Maya and Mason go there, they will be healed."
Felix was dumbfounded, "Healed?"
Hot tears ran down Karen's face as she reached out to hold her husband. For so many years, she had felt it was her fault for bringing them into the world with a bad constitution.
Could it finally be over? Her husband held her small frame and she wept against him.
Xaloc watched both of them with cold, unfathomable eyes till the crying scenario ended.
"Mum? Then why…"
Nyx understood the question, "I have an enemy in Shangri-La. Erebus is sleeping and I can not deal with her alone. But yesterday, I heard she got into a fight and was defeated so I decided to take you guys to Shangri-La. It would mean leaving your wealth behind, I understand the decision might be difficult for you with everything that you have built yet but…"
"We will go." Felix said without any hesitation. "We will go." He looked at his wife who nodded vehemently.
"Is grandfather at Shangri-La?" Xaloc asked suddenly. He rubbed his thumb and index fingers together as if he was fiddling with something.
"What are you saying Xaloc? Dad is dead, we buried him." His father shouted before he hesitated and carefully asked his mother, "He is dead, right?"
Nyx sipped her drink, "Not sure. The last time I checked, he was in Atlantis."