POV: Baldur
Unnamed Planet
A few hours after the battle against Gorr.
It wasn't too difficult to return to the planet where I had previously crashed. As I flew over the endless desert, I could see ahead the remnants of the city walls. Inside them, I saw several Genoshan soldiers aiding in the reconstruction.
(Freyja is doing a great job.)
In the center of the city, I spotted the royal Genoshan ship landed, and Freyja in her golden armor looking at me. I landed right in front of her.
"My king."
Freyja kneels before me as usual. She appears more mature than before. She had the appearance of a twenty-year-old adolescent for many years until she asked me to remove her immortality to be with her husband. She has become more beautiful and mature physically, but it saddens me to see her aging so rapidly.
"Rise, General, and tell me about the situation."
Freyja stands up and stands straight as a rod.
"The city's reconstruction will take another two weeks. We have also begun planting food using Genoshan techniques. According to the scientists, in less than a month, the people of this planet will no longer have food shortages. Most importantly, my king, Queen Amora has awakened and is doing well in the royal castle."
Only good news then. I still have two months until the deadline to reach the planet, as my future self mentioned. I have enough time to go to Genosha and lift this burden from my heart.
"Open the portal. I want to see my wife now!"
"Yes, your highness."
(T/N
The portal, created by us by merging Genoshan technology with the magic of the wizards' portals from Earth, was simply the greatest invention of my people. The portal had a rectangular shape, over fifteen meters in height and six in width. It was being guarded by twenty soldiers and several drones protecting it twenty-four hours a day. As I approached the portal, the soldiers knelt before me.
"Activate the portal!"
With Freyja's command, two soldiers standing on either side of the portal struck the mechanisms on the ground with their golden spears, causing the portal to glow in golden light. Shortly after, a different image appeared in the portal—a golden city with a massive palace in the background.
"Continue assisting the people of this planet. I will return shortly."
When I cross the portal, I feel a cold energy passing through my body for a second, then I'm in a zone farther away from the city of Genosha. The security here is much stronger than at the other portal I crossed, there's even an energy barrier around the place in case someone seizes one of the Genosha portals and tries to use it to attack the city; the enemy would be trapped within this force field. The portal is a magnificent technology, but it may be one of the few ways to enter the city of Genosha, bypassing all its defenses, so every precaution is necessary.
"I'm glad to see your return, my king."
In front of the portal stands a middle-aged man wearing golden armor. General Nordur.
"Any changes in Genosha since my departure, General?"
"As ordered, we've been on high alert for any possible threats, but we haven't suffered any invasion attempts. Minister Seig kept all matters hidden from the people to avoid causing panic, stating that we were only conducting training exercises."
As I left the planet and Amora wasn't in a condition to reign, emergency protocols were activated, putting Genosha on high alert for any kind of emergency.
"The Minister acted correctly. There's no need to cause unnecessary panic. And how is the situation outside the country?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D monitored your entire battle against the invader and are now working to cover up the whole story from the media."
Now S.H.I.E.L.D has a small notion of my power; they will be more paranoid in devising ways to invade my country and kill me.
"It doesn't matter; they would have known about my power anyway. You can stand Genosha down from high alert, General. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to see my wife."
I bid farewell to the general and hurry as fast as I can to the royal palace.
"Alice, where is she?"
When I enter the palace, I see that Amora is not on her throne, so I ask Alice for her whereabouts.
"She's in her quarters, sir."
Our room is in the tallest tower of the palace; only she and I have permission to enter it.
Our room was simple but spacious. The walls were covered with shelves full of books of various types and subjects; the bed was gigantic, made from the trees of Alfheim. There were some pieces of furniture, like a reading sofa near the window, where Amora was reading a book. Since I wasn't very quiet when entering the room, she logically stopped her reading.
"You're back."
She lowers the book and gives me a smile that she always gives when I return from my solo travels.
"Yes."
Amora rushes to me and wraps her arms around my body in a tight embrace that would break the bones of a normal human.
"I was worried when I woke up alone."
She speaks softly as she presses her face against my chest.
"I came back as quickly as I could. Gorr was a worthy enemy who proved to be quite difficult to kill."
"Gorr? So that was the name of that black thing that attacked us? How on earth did you manage to kill that abomination?"
We remained embraced on the couch as I recounted what happened after she was injured, telling her about waking up in an unfamiliar world and my battle against the beasts created by Gorr. When I reached the part of the story where my future version appeared and sent Gorr away, Amora interrupted me.
"Baldur... Did that future version say anything about us in the future?"
I sense something strange in this question. She wasn't surprised by the time travel, but she became very tense when she asked me this question, her whole body stiff with fear as she waited for my response.
"He didn't go into details, but he mentioned that you still have the habit of getting angry with me for traveling alone."
I feel her body relax in my arms and see her smiling at me.
"It's good to know that we're still together after all this time."
(Then the reason for the question was the fear of us being separated)
"Don't be foolish. We'll stay together until the stars go out."
"I'm glad."
Then we spent a whole day embraced and doing other activities. I told her that I would have to stay away for a few months training how to use the dark energy, and finding out why my future self told me to go to such a distant planet. Amora also said she was going on a trip to enhance her magic, and find another worthy weapon, since her staff was destroyed.
"Be careful."
In front of the portal, Amora tells me with a smile.
"You too, take care."
"You've put a tracker on me that sends the signal of my heartbeats to you in real-time, how could I be in danger without you knowing?"
"I don't want to have to see you injured like that ever again."
"The image of Gorr piercing Amora will stay in my mind for years, the feeling of almost losing her still weighs heavily on my heart. I won't allow her to be in that situation again. So I asked the dwarves and my scientists to enhance the communicator we used when I spent my days with the dwarves. The idea was for it to work independently of distance, and since the technology was only an upgrade of what we had already created, it took only a few hours for them to adjust it. Of course, I'm also using a similar one, built using vibranium, so it won't be destroyed during my fights, and it also serves as a link to Alice, keeping me updated on what's happening in Genosha.
"'You won't. Now go, the sooner you leave, the sooner you'll return to me.'
"We spent a few seconds embracing, and after a kiss, I crossed the portal back to the unknown planet.
"'Welcome back, your highness.'
"I was greeted by Freyja and the guards at the portal.
"'How are things here, General Freyja?'
"I asked as we walked through the now practically rebuilt city.
"'The city's reconstruction is almost complete. The only thing the natives need our help with now is supplies, until their own farms are operational.'
"'I'll stay here for a few more days, General, then return to Genosha. Leave the portal in the third mode, and teach the natives to ask for help through it if they need it.'
"The third mode of the portals was a security protocol that allowed them to be activated only from Genosha's side, ensuring they could be left in other locations without falling into enemy hands.
"As you wish.''
"'Is my ship ready?''
"'It's ready to depart at any time.''
"As we walked to where the ships were parked, I could see several of the planet's natives working on rebuilding their homes. They all seemed happy and hopeful for the future. After all the suffering they had endured, I'm glad I could give them hope back. I even saw from a distance the two children I saved playing with other children their age.''
"We arrived at the Genosha ships, the one I'll use to reach my destination being the largest ship Genosha had ever created, equipped with the best technology. It has the capacity to carry up to twenty people with supplies to last a year in space, and the ability to produce and recycle supplies in case of unforeseen events."
"'Safe travels, your highness .''
"'Until next time, General Freyja.''
"The interior of the ship is quite simple, with a resting area, another for sleeping, the bathroom, and the front part of the ship where the command is located."
"'Have you obtained any information from the coordinates I gave you, Alice?"
"The satellites only managed to capture a few distant images of the planet in question; unfortunately, due to the distance, the sensors are ineffective, so we cannot perform a complete analysis."
The voice of my AI echoes through the plane, responding to me.
"Show me the image."
A holographic screen appears in front of me, displaying a picture of a planet covered in greenery, with no sign of a blue ocean, which makes me wonder how this planet managed to be dominated by plants.
"How long until we get there, Alice?"
"If we go at maximum speed, disregarding our safety, and with minimal deviations or unforeseen events, we will arrive at this planet in approximately ten days, sir."
"We have time to go there slowly; we just need to arrive a few days before the deadline."
"Understood, sir. Would you like me to take control of the ship?"
The ship could be controlled by Alice, leaving me completely free to carry out my training.
"Yes, assume control and take off immediately."
The engines of the ship roared to life, and within a few seconds, we were ascending out of the planet's atmosphere, heading towards another destination with the objective still uncertain.
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