As Odin suddenly closed his eyes and began counting, my disbelief surged forth in a torrent of questions.
"Hold on! Are you serious about seven days?! We're starting now?! How are you even going to count for seven days?!" I exclaimed, but Odin remained undeterred, steadfastly continuing his count.
As Magni and Modi wasted no time and took off, I could feel Horsey's urgency as he nipped at my arm, urging me to follow suit.
"Is he seriously going to count for seven days? Won't he lose count?" I pondered briefly before urging Horsey forward to join the chase, trailing behind Magni and Modi.
"Hey! Why be ye following us?" Magni's voice boomed like thunder across the open plains.
"Hush it, lest grandfather's keen eye catch wind of our whereabouts!" Modi's words carried a sharp edge of caution.
"Art thou telling me to shut up?!" Magni's temper flared, his voice a crackling fire in the chill air.
In the midst of the brewing argument, I realized that jumping in might only make things worse. But then, a thought struck me.
"Hey, do you guys even know where you're running off to?" I queried, hoping to shift the focus to something more practical.
"Aye, of course we do! We've been wanderin' these lands longer than ye," Magni asserted with a hint of pride in his voice.
"Actually, we were sent hither at the same time. 'Tis only that the headless knight hath been slumberin' since then," Modi corrected, his tone firm and direct.
"So where are we heading to?" I asked.
"We?"
I didn't like the way Magni said that.
"He speaks truth. There be no cooperation in the game o' ghost in the graveyard. The aim be to stand alone when all others have been vanquished," Modi declared, his words carrying the weight of conviction.
"Yeah, but Odin's rules say it's whoever's left standing, so it doesn't necessarily mean just one person. It could be more than one, which means we could team up," I suggested optimistically.
Both brothers wore expressions that clearly showed they weren't too keen on the idea of working together.
"Working together be for weaklings! I've no need for ye lot, especially not from my younger brother and a coward!" Magni's words lashed out like a whip, triggering Modi. As for me, his words stung, knowing I was the one he called a coward.
As we dashed across the golden coastal sand, I stole a glance back at Odin, still with his eyes closed, steadfastly counting away. Turning my gaze forward, I braced myself as we approached the edge of a dense forest.
"Alright then, I'm veering left! Don't be tailing me!" Magni bellowed.
"I'm heading right, so don't be trailing after me!" Modi countered.
"Hold on! I don't know where I'm headed! I need help! I'm not familiar with this place!" I pleaded.
In a matter of seconds, a huge bushy blue hedge loomed before me. Focusing solely on moving forward, I left Magni and Modi to their chosen paths. With determination, I plunged into the forest, leaping through the hedge. As I entered, fear gripped me, and I closed my eyes tightly, uncertain of what lay beyond the obstacle.
As the blue bushy hedge enveloped me, I felt every tiny leaf brushing against my armor. It was as if I was being drawn deeper and deeper into its depths. But it wasn't just the leaves; I could also feel something else—arms, legs, arms, legs—brushing against me in the darkness. The sensation sent shivers down my spine as I continued to be pulled further into the unknown.
Arms? Legs? "AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
A ferocious scream ripped from my throat as I realized I might be inside some monstrous creature, surrounded by the remnants of its victims. The sensation of other body parts brushing against me only fueled my terror, echoed by the terrifying screams I heard within the hedge.
But then, a glimmer of hope pierced the darkness. My scream seemed to awaken others, suggesting I wasn't alone in this nightmare. Before I could call out to any potential survivors, a small, flickering light appeared amidst the darkness. As it grew brighter, it flooded my vision, and suddenly, I was expelled from the hedge, landing hard on my backside.
As I blinked in the sudden light, I saw Modi sprawled beside me on my left, his presence bringing a mixture of relief and confusion.
"Magni?!"
"Headless Knight?! Why art thou following me?!"
Then I feel another presence near me which I realise Modi is on my right.
"Modi?!"
"Headless Knight?! By the gods, did ye both follow me?!"
"Magni?! Modi?! Wait! That means those body parts I was feeling inside there were you guys!"
"Huh? What are you chumps doing here?!" Magni exclaimed, his voice sharp with surprise.
"Wait! Why do I see you guys?!" Modi interjected, confusion evident in his tone.
"No! Magni, you said you were going left, and Modi, you said you were going right. So I ended up just going straight. Why are both of you here with me?"
...
Huh? Why are they both quiet and standing still?
"I wanted to ask where's right?" Magni muttered, his voice tinged with embarrassment.
"I wanted to ask where's left," Modi whispered, equally embarrassed.
Sometimes I wonder how I can be scared of such idiots, or maybe I should be scared by the fact of how two pairs can be so idiotic. But at the same time, this could make things easier.
"If you guys don't know your left and right, then I suppose I can tell you!" I said.
"Haha! Of course ye'd tell us!" Magni boasted, his voice booming with confidence.
"Hahaha! It's not like ye'd have a choice!" Modi retorted.
"Oh, but I do have a choice," I replied.
"WHAT?!" both brothers exclaimed simultaneously as they stepped toward me, causing me to slide back in fear.
"Hold on—hold on! If you do anything to me, who's going to—"
Then, a realization struck me.
"Wait a second, Magni, where were you actually planning to run if you don't know your left and right?" I asked.
"Um, I don't know. Probably run till I get lost, since the game is about hidin' from grandfather,"
What a very simple way of thinking.
"And what about you, Modi?" I asked.
"I was gonna do the opposite of what stupid Magni'll do," Modi replied.
"Who are you calling stupid? Stupid!"
So basically, Modi wants to get caught. Honestly, I could just leave these muscle heads to do whatever they want, considering it's a game about being the last one standing, and I only need to win for myself to protect my peace. But...
I placed my hand on my chest, feeling a heaviness settle in. My heart didn't want to abandon these boys. They've already been abandoned by their father, but they don't know it. My heart yearns to help and support them. They're innocent, yet they have to pay the consequences due to their parents' quarrel. But where is this sudden empathy coming from? Did I really have kids in my past? Suddenly, I feel kind of emotional. I quickly brush off the feeling.
"Hey, Headless Knight! Are ye listenin'?" Magni impatiently calls out.
"Oh, sorry, didn't know you were saying something?" I said genuinely, which seemed to catch Magni off guard. He took steps back, looking cringed out, and coughed, "Ugh! You didn't have to apologize, just answer the question!"
"What question?" I responded.
"So are you going to teach us our left and right?"
As I looked at both Magni's and Modi's faces, their expressions appeared so sincere that I couldn't help but burst out laughing. However, they seemed insulted by my reaction.
"Why are ye laughing?!" Modi said angrily.
"These kids, how can I leave them? Their stupidness is so innocent. Although I'm scared of them, I think I might fall for these kids."
"I've got a better idea." I mentioned.
"You do?" Magni replied.
"Yeah, we've got seven days, right? Why don't we use today and the next days to explore this place and get familiar with it?"
"Huh?! Ye're goin' to waste some o' the days out o' the seven just to go sight-seeing here?!" Magni exclaimed.
"No, it isn't, since we'll be able to know which spots are good hiding places and some that are not. Why rush into things when we can use the time to prepare ourselves?" I explained.
"That's a great idea coming from Grandfather's long-time friend! Obviously, stupid people like Magni won't get it," Modi added, casting a disdainful glance at his brother.
"Who ye callin' stupid! And also, I don't want to work with ye guys, especially my brother, or else how am I going to get the Gungnir?" Magni retorted.
"Ye're right! If we work together, then I won't be able to get the Gungnir! Headless Knight, yer plan was stupid after all!" Modi chimed in, turning his back on me.
Damn it. Odin definitely did this on purpose to ruin teamwork.
"Then let's just make a deal," I proposed.
"A deal?" Both brothers echoed simultaneously.
"How about we help each other, and on the day when Odin looks for us, it's every man for himself. That way, we're benefiting from each other but no hard feelings after that," I suggested.
"Ooouuu! I like that idea, so basically we should help each other and then betray each other! I like ye, Headless Knight," Magni chuckled.
I'm really concerned about the way Magni thinks.
"Also, where's ye stupid horse?" Modi inquired.
That's a good question. Where's Horsey?
Suddenly, Horsey emerged from my shadow and immediately kicked Modi to the ground, eliciting laughter from Magni.
Well, that's what you get for calling someone stupid, especially coming from someone who's extremely stupid.
I patted Horsey on the head but then realized what was before me.
Oh. My. Gosh.
The trees that I thought were trees were actually giant tall mushrooms, each with a giant blue eyeball implanted in them, plainly staring at us.
"Are those eyes?!" Magni yelled out.
"I thought you've been here before?!" I screamed.
"When did I say that?!" Magni yelled back.
"I know he definitely said that.
"Goodness gracious, what are those animals doing?!" Modi screamed, pointing at the yellow pigs and purple cows standing on their tongues.
"Ar-are we dreaming? Or did we take in a magic mushroom?!" Magni slightly panics.
Suddenly, we witnessed a herd of rhinos performing constant backflips as they moved toward our direction.
"Are those creatures somersaulting?! But how is that even possible?!" Modi exclaimed.
"It doesn't matter! We need to run!"
"I'm not running away from these creatures! I, Magni, son of Thor, will never run away!"
"If it was normal creatures I'd understand, but seriously, when do you see creatures as heavy as those rhinos performing nonstop backflips? Look how they're all in sync! That stampede will kill us!"
As I took a step back, it felt like my foot pressed on something and it sunk. I looked below and saw that I had stepped on some sort of piano key. Wait? Was that always there?
"DO!"
A loud, deep voice emerged behind me, making me jump. I turned around and saw that the hedge we just came out from had a face. IT HAD AN ACTUAL FACE! IT'S GOT EYES! A NOSE! AND A MOUTH! AM I GOING CRAZY?!
I looked over to Horsey to double-check if I'm going mad, but I saw Horsey retreating back to my shadow, which made me yell, "Hey! Don't leave me here alone!" Horsey simply gave me a wink, which for some reason I could tell he's trying to tell me good luck.
As I took another step, I stepped onto another piano key, and the hedge then said "REI" Modi accidentally took a step, and the hedge then proceeded to say "ME!"
Being distracted by the piano tile floor, the somersaulting rhinos were on the verge of about to clash towards us, and we all prepared to brace ourselves.
"Daaaammnn it!"
As I screamed, suddenly, a hole opened in the floor before the rhinos, and they all fell into it, swallowed up. Then suddenly, the ground from the hole began to stretch upwards into the shape of a volcano and began spitting out the rhinos, which transformed into giant fishes with tusks and a long trunk as they swam through the air.
Am I going crazy?"