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"Loki wants to kill you," Valve revealed bluntly.
"I''m sorry, what?" Ax and Ela asked him both simultaneously, shocked and confused.
"Axel and Mithra, they imprisoned the gods and humiliated them. And now the Aesir is back with a vengeance," Valve explained.
Ax''s expression is getting more grim as each moment passes.
"However, that being said. He himself is injured and wounded, much weaker than before, and has no access to Fenrir or J?rmungandr. Don''t expect to see him anytime soon, Ax," Valve reassured.
Ax, somewhat relieved.
"So, I still have to eventually face off against the literal god of Mischief?"
Valve was a bit surprised, but then he remembered. "I keep forgetting that where you come from, the different pantheons were worshipped. Regardless, I assume you''re familiar with the training I''m about to put you through, correct?" asked Valve.
"And before we begin, may I ask when the Codex revealed itself to you? Heard you''re a late bloomer.". Valve finished.
"You''re not going to believe it, Valve," Ela prepared.
"It was... after clearing the final, purple door," Ax replied sheepishly.
"..."
"Valve? You there?" Ax kept pestering him.
Valve''s eyes were wide in shock, his lips parted and mouth slightly agape at the implications.
"You... what?" Valve was gagged, still processing. As if he were a computer buffering.
"Is it that unusual?" he asked him.
"Elaine... she was chosen by the Codex in her first encounter. Ax, the most a late bloomer can take is about halfway, if they are really skilled," Valve explained.
Ax''s eyes widened.
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"Now you know why that''s such a big deal?" Ela asked him.
"As of right now, you and Elaine are equals in strength, whether it be because of brute force or intellect," Valve finished.
Ax immediately thought of the castle gate Elaine pushed open; to think he was equally as strong as her...
"That''s reassuring. So you''re capable of combat, but your body is just not as strong. May I ask how you fought the Dwellers?" he asked.
"I have an oddity, just like you. Along with that, I have firearms," Ax explained as he showed his revolvers.
"May I ask what your oddity is?" Valve asked curiously.
"I''d rather not," Ax replied in a confident voice.
"Alright, but Ax. Burn this into your mind," Valve commanded with a stern voice.
Ax and even Ela stood silent.
"The next week will be hell on Nexus; I will put you through months of training in a single week. And due to the use, not abuse, of apples, you won''t get any time to rest.".
"What about... Elaine?" Ax asked nervously.
"Don''t drag me into this!" she yelped out.
"She''s been training vigorously for the past month. She''ll just spar with you and help out when I''m not around."
Ax gulped in nervousness, his voice meek and his expression full of dread.
"But what''s the alternative?" he asked out meekly, talking to himself. Valve heard it.
"You''ll die," Valve was blunt.
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"Until it''s 12 am, run back to the town and here again over and over. Do pushups till failure, spar till your arms fall off. Eat these fruits till the pain stops; train as if your life depends on it. I don''t care what you experienced in those doors; what matters is your body getting strong enough to compete against every other mortal in these realms. For every one that you''ll face from today onwards, they are just as capable as you or even stronger; your life depends on it." Valve monologued, making sure Ax understood every word of his.
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"Now, I''ll spar with you once every day to see your progress. I''ll come back tomorrow, but for now... I have some business to attend to," Valve said as he put his helmet back on and walked away. The steam obscured their vision as he walked off; it finally dissipated.
"So? What''s your plan?" she asked.
"I can''t just go back home now, can I? If I can come to Nexus, maybe Nexus can come to me," Ax said as he stretched his legs, preparing for another run.
***
Hours have gone by; it''s night now. Elaine had climbed up one of the towers to see the stars before she went to sleep.
SHATTER
CRACK
SHATTER
CRACK
SHATTER
CRACK
"...?"
"Are those gunshots?" Elaine asked herself as she jumped off the roof onto the ground below. She then walked towards the noise.
As she walked closer and closer, cool air sent chills down her spine; it was almost summer. Why was it cold all of a sudden? In the heart of the source, she sees Ax. His hair obscuring his face, tired and sweating. However, he was surrounded by ice, trees frozen in place, and craters formed all around the area, shards of glass shimmering throughout.
Ax flicked his revolvers open, reloading them.
"Ahem," Elaine tried to make her presence known.
This caused Ax to jolt in surprise and aim at Elaine instinctively.
"Can''t sleep?" she asked him, completely unfazed.
"Not yet; also, I need to shower. Right now I''m practicing a neat trick my friend used to do," Ax explained as he held his guns forward at a slight angle inwards.
SHATTER
CRACK
As the ice and glass exited the barrels, due to the angle. It collided with each other. Causing the glass to shatter while being infused with ice, this caused a large amount of ground in front of Ax to get iced.
Elaine''s eyes were wide open, her red eyes reflecting the moonlight.
No wonder Ax was able to clear Floor-0 without the Codex.
"The... shower''s on the second floor... use whatever you feel like," she guided Ax verbally while looking around the terrain, amazed.
"Right... I should call it a night," Ax said sheepishly as he walked back to the castle.
***
"Axel and Mithra... who exactly were you?" she muttered to herself, and she felt the crater etched into one of the trees with her left hand.
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