anwhile, having used the law of trickery to alter how his existence appeared, Lucifer casually strolled through the palace of gold, passing by the guardian Einherjars and heading straight for the innermost part—the garden.
Most palaces were centred around the King’s Court or the Throne Room, but not this one.
He moved past a group of Valkyries who didn’t even perceive his existence as he went by, making his way toward the artificial moat encircling the garden at the heart of the palace.
’Those Valkyries are strong. Looks like they learned from last ti’s mistake,’ he thought, briefly assessing their power before shaking his head.
’But it’s pointless. If Loki wants to get in here, only Heimdall would notice him. Even Freya’s magic would struggle to detect him.’
With a single jump, Lucifer crossed the lake and entered the garden, which brimd with flora and fauna from various universes.
He headed straight to the temple at the garden’s centre, silently opening the door and slipping inside before closing it behind him.
The mont the door clicked shut, a wave of potent divinity crashed into him like a tsunami, as if trying to force his existence out of this universe.
Unfazed by the pressure, Lucifer turned toward its source.
"Now, that’s a rather rude way to greet your life’s saviour..."
He t the masked gaze of the woman seated at the centre of the temple with a smile. Her golden hair frad a face partially hidden by an eye mask inscribed with runes, concealing the upper half of her face. She was draped in white silk robes trimd with gold, seated in front of an...apple tree.
"Don’t you think so, goddess of Life?"
Facing his smile, the goddess of Youth and Life, Idunn, gaped in shock, her already pale skin growing even paler.
"...you! How are you al—No... you’re not ’alive’..."
Her clear voice echoed through the empty temple, and if one could see her eyes, they would surely be narrowed.
Lucifer shrugged casually, unsurprised that Idunn imdiately saw through the fact that he was currently a homunculus.
She was a goddess of ’Life,’ and as far as she was concerned, Lucifer wasn’t ’alive.’
"That’s a long story, and I neither have the ti nor reason to explain it," he said.
Taking a step forward, his disguise began to unravel, revealing his real appearance Idunn, who simply continued to watch him silently.
"I’m going to get straight to the point."
Taking another step forward, he began.
"You owe a debt of life, Idunn."
Another step.
"I’m here to collect it."
"..."
Idunn frowned in silence, her fists clenched so tightly that golden blood welled from her palms.
But no matter how she felt, it didn’t change the fact that she owed Lucifer her life.
Over a million years ago, Idunn had been deceived by Loki and lured out of Asgard, only to be kidnapped by the Giant Lord Thjazi, who had taken a personal interest in her.
Though Idunn rejected his advances for countless reasons, Thjazi didn’t take kindly to her refusal.
Given Idunn’s vital role in Asgard as the keeper of the golden apples that extended the Aesir’s longevity, Thjazi, a Giant and enemy of the gods, saw no issue with killing her to strike a devastating blow to Asgard.
The one who stopped that from happening was Lucifer, who’d been in Jotunheim for unrelated business. He’d kept her safe long enough for Loki, who nearly had the shit beaten out of him by Odin and Thor, to co retrieve her from the giant’s dwelling.
Lucifer had never been shy about reminding Idunn of the life debt she owed him, and now, he had co to collect.
To soone without a proper understanding of Idunn’s existence, it might seem like Lucifer was here to force her into allegiance or use her to sabotage Asgard from within.
While that might have seed plausible, it couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Idunn was a goddess many didn’t know of. Even among the Main Entities of universal hegemons, many didn’t realize she was one of Asgard’s Chief Deities, her rank equal to renowned figures like Freya and Thor.
Though the ruling Aesir and Vanir were Deity Realm Existences, they didn’t have infinite lifespans. They aged, albeit slowly, and without intervention, they would eventually reach the limits of their lifespan and die.
But the current rulers of Asgard had long outlived the natural lifespans of Aesir of their level.
The reason was Idunn, or more precisely, the domain she governed over.
The Golden Apples of Life, the not-so-secret source behind the Asgardian gods’ false immortality.
And Idunn knew that was exactly what Lucifer wanted from her.
"...You’ll have to co back later... I’ve already done an inventory on the current batch..."
At her muttered words, Lucifer tilted his head and replied in a flat tone,
"I missed the part where that’s my problem. I want my apples."
Idunn frowned, about to argue, when a particular detail in his words echoed in her mind.
"Wait, Apples?"
Not missing her emphasis on the plural, Lucifer took another step closer and nodded.
"Yes. Apples."
The man appeared right in front of Idunn, prompting the goddess to instinctively take a step back.
"Tell , goddess of Life," he said.
With a wicked smile, Lucifer asked the one question she didn’t want to be asked.
"How many Apples of Youth, is yourLife worth?"
"..."
It was exactly the kind of scenario Arthur had predicted would happen. The phrasing was different, but the tactic was the sa. Lucifer had pulled the ’So your life is only worth this much?’ card.
Watching the silent, frowning goddess, Lucifer leaned in slightly and continued.
"Shall I help you do the math?"
"...what?"
Idunn’s instincts scread at her not to let him speak any further. But before she could act on that warning, Lucifer abruptly grabbed both her hands, completely immobilizing her with his cosmic energy as he asked.
"How many years of longevity does each apple grant?" he asked. "And how many years has the life you owe lived?"
When Lucifer’s words registered, the colour drained from Idunn’s face.
◇ ◇ ◇
"I hope to see your beautiful smile again soday."
"I hope I never see you ever again."
That was the reply Lucifer received as the temple doors slamd shut behind him.
He chuckled, slipping the bag of apples into his pocket dinsion before blasting open a cosmic gate to begin his return journey to Muspelheim.
Upon arrival, he spotted Jormungand deep in conversation with Surtr, and the mont Jormungand saw him, his eyes widened in alarm.
"You...what did you do?"
Lucifer raised a brow in confusion, prompting Jormungand to ask again.
"What the hell did you do in Asgard?! Why is that apple goddess’ aura all over you?"
Realizing the reason behind Jormungand’s reaction, Lucifer glanced down at himself and spotted the lingering traces of divinity on his palms, the remnants from when he had held Idunn’s hands.
He slamd his palms together, letting his aura of destruction burn away every last trace of her life divinity, then looked back up at Jormungand.
"Didn’t I say it before? I went to collect a Debt of Life."
He offered no further elaboration, simply snapping his fingers to make the collar he’d placed on Ratatoskr vanish from the beast’s neck and reappear in his hand.
It might not have looked like one, but that collar was a rare cosmic artifact. That was definitely not sothing Lucifer intended to leave on Ratatoskr.
Then, turning to Surtr, he said,
"I’d tell you this as a thank-you for calling that squirrel for ."
Surtr was just about to ask what kind of information could possibly be worth such a gesture when Lucifer’s tone changed.
"Right before I left, Odin got close enough for to sense sothing... unusual about him."
At the ntion of Asgard’s King, Surtr’s gaze imdiately narrowed, and Lucifer, casting a glance at Jormungand, continued.
"Both of you better be on guard. That one-eyed coot is plotting sothing, specifically against you, Jormungand. And given your current location, Surtr would get dragged into it too."
With that warning, the space behind Lucifer tore open, and a surge of cosmic energy erupted, wrapping around him before he vanished without a trace.
◇ ◇ ◇
From the void outside Muspelheim, Lucifer looked back at the Nine Realms, sighed, and shook his head before turning his gaze away.
He had decided to warn them because Odin’s aura had been unusually off, to say the least. But despite the warning, Lucifer received shocking news from the Drifters in Hell less than a week later.
god Killer Wolf Fenrir had been captured by Thor and Odin, and Jormungand had been severely wounded in a battle against the Dragon Slayer Sigurd.
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