618 DCXVIII. The Hlidskjàlf (1/2)

Flying at incredible speed, Dag managed for a few moments to look around, noting that he had already overcome all the city of Asgard, leaving it behind him.

As if he was a small meteor, his ethereal and invisible body swooped towards Skjold, barely visible from the height where Asgard was, impossible for anyone to reach.

Taking a final look at the floating city, Dag noted that the Bifrost, the sacred rainbow bridge, was broken: the enormous fractures that plagued it for many years were blackened and imbued with a strange purple substance, very similar to the dark matter.

The indestructible bridge connecting the sky to the earth, Asgard to Skjold, had been destroyed by the Xis.

With bitterness in his heart, Dag tried not to be distracted by that horrible vision and continued his quick journey home, materializing Jernhest's memories in his mind and trying to imagine what was going on on his farm.

In about ten seconds, crossing the clouds and passing through a flock of birds, who did not even notice the presence of his ethereal body, Dag arrived above the capital of Okstorm, stopping in mid-air.

”The farm... mom, I'm coming to you!” he thought, who could not believe that in such a short time he had managed to travel all that distance and that he was witnessing real-time events.

In the twinkling of an eye, he passed the walls of the city, traveling without ever stopping to his beloved hill, the slopes of which led him for years to the Arena where it all began.

When the farm was finally visible, Dag catapulted himself into it and what he saw was so beautiful that it moved him.

His mother Asa was there, in the same place she was the last time they had met: sitting on her squeaky wooden stool, the woman who had previously been one of the strongest Shieldmaiden ever was now milking her beloved cows, stroking them and taking care of them.

Some of the animals Dag loved to play with as a kid were gone and one of the two fences had become partly a store of wood and other groceries.

The house did not seem to have changed at all, remaining the small and modest dwelling ever.

Seized by a sense of deep love for Asa, Dag got even closer, stopping less than a meter from her, sitting by her stool, on the grass.

His mother's face was marked by the advancing age and obvious wrinkles stretched from the side of her eyes to the top of her cheeks, without changing her gentle beauty.

A braid of white hair fell on her shoulder, dangling in front of her brown linen robe.

”If you only knew how much I miss you, Mom...” he whispered as if his mother could hear him.

He quickly noticed that the front door to the 'secret' room, the one in which the Red Executioner was located together with all Brann and Asa things, was closed.

When she lay the bucket of milk next to two other identical buckets, she leaned on her knees and got up with difficulty, heading for the bedroom.

Dag followed her again, knowing that Odin would allow him to stay there for a few more minutes.

Unexpectedly, none of that room had changed over time: in addition to the double bed on which she and Stein slept, the other three small beds had never been moved.