Andrew lay in bed staring at the ceiling. His eyes adapted to the dark room, a clarity he had never experienced before. It was as if he was wearing night vision equipment. He thought about what had happened to his dad and he knew who the perpetrators were. It was going to be a tough time at school because something in him wanted to destroy them all. He remembered how proud his dad was of him that he protected his brother at school, but that was not what this was all about. He had seen something else in the mirror when he got out of the shower earlier tonight. His eyes had been dark and the flames in his pupils were larger, more prominent. He wished he could call the voices in his head at will, but maybe he was not supposed to. Maybe they were part of him after all. A dark side he oppressed for many years and only certain events called them from their shadows.
Andrew was sucked into his subconscious mind and into a dream world. He found himself sitting on the same hill as before. Opposite him was an old man with much wisdom gleaming from his vibrant eyes as they regarded him. The man was sitting on a rock looking down at Andrew. His beard was long and grey. His skin was thick and tough with deep lines across his face. One could tell by his broad shoulders that he was a big man in his youth, a great warrior. He was at peace with a deep smile.
'Young man, you are stronger than you could ever imagine,' the old man said. 'You are the last of our kind. You have a strong will and your heart knows no fear nor boundaries. You are the only one who can cease this evil, but only with the help of your brother. You are the protector while your brother bears a sacred gift of banishment. You cannot win this war without him. You must protect your family for evil is on the horizon. They are coming in masses. They are weak and therefore walk in packs, never alone. You must destroy them by any means possible without remorse. You are the one who can free us. Save your family, save humankind, save your soul, save us all. They slain my clan many years ago when I looked the other way and turned my back. I will always be with you and I will never turn my back on any of my children and brothers again.'
The old man penetrated Andrew with his piercing blue eyes. They were wise and gentle. He bent backwards and reached for something behind the rock he was sitting on. He pulled out a large axe of immense quality. It had two cutting blades on either side, one larger than the other. The stem was made of something that seemed like solid gold, but Andrew knew that gold was too soft and heavy to be used in any weapon. He knew that this weapon was forged with an ancient craft where it must have been tempered to an unbreakable rigorousness that was almost indestructible, something that did not exist in the modern world anymore. The old man laid the axe across his knees and stared at Andrew again.
'This weapon was crafted in the year eight-hundred-and-seventy. It has slain many who opposed us over the millennia. This weapon is perfectly balanced and possesses a great deal of power, a power far greater than any evil,' the old man said. He lifted the battle axe on both sides holding it out to Andrew. 'Would you accept this weapon as part of the brotherhood?'
'I will,' Andrew said mesmerised by the beauty of the axe.
'With this axe that I'm handing over to you, I pledge that we will stand by your side during the dark days ahead. This axe will become part of your fibre, but remember, it is not enough to slay the enemy. You must believe what your heart tells you. You will be stronger than death. Do you believe that my son?'
'Aye,' Andrew nodded.
'Remember the one you shared your mother's womb with. Your efforts would be futile without him. The time has come to rise. The same force has mercilessly killed and raped our women and children. You are the single most powerful creature on the planet. Go out and kill without mercy. Kill them all,' the old man said. He held the axe out towards Andrew.
Andrew lifted his hands and accepted the gift from the old man. He touched it and felt a surge of energy bolting through his body as if the axe had some magical power besides that it had been forged with the finest craft known to man. There was something different about the way Andrew's heart was beating, it was calm with courage and purpose. There was not the slightest hint of fear in him as he regarded the masterpiece. The axe seemed alive with the moon reflecting from it in a brilliant glow. Andrew could sense a vibration in the axe almost like the slain souls from the past were trapped in there making it even lighter. He felt vibrant. Something had shifted in his mind. There was no more reasoning without hate and violence. His destiny was clear. He was looking forward to his new journey. Andrew looked up and his eyes rested on the old man's eyes again. They were like electrical currents.
'My name young man is Odin, the Viking god, and I have been alive for many millennia. I have summoned all my warriors. They are all part of me now and together we are part of you. Next time you look at your own reflection in the mirror, you will know that we are there. We are in you and you are in us. We have become one. From now forward, if you look into the mirror, know that you have become something else, a monster, a slayer of evil, the monster in the mirror.'
Andrew nodded. Odin started disintegrating. With each second passing, Andrew felt stronger than ever before. Odin did not just disappear, his particles became part of Andrew's fibre, heart and soul. Soon Odin was completely gone and absorbed by Andrew's hunger for vengeance.
'We are one now,' Andrew said with a deep tone, almost absent-minded. 'The monster in the mirror, we are one.'