This is where Crimson Flower Icy Bloom Continues.

Garmr's head rolled across the floor of Hela's great hall bringing insurmountable distress to her heart. He was her most loyal pet, but now his dead eyes stared at her with apathy. The room grew colder, the fire grew dim, and spikes of ice began forming below her feet.

"I hoped that you liked my tribute, O high and mighty goddess."

A jackal-headed God stepped into the light. He was golden, mighty, and terrifying. He was covered head to toe in dazzling jewels; rubies and lapis lazuli of the finest quality. He shone with an ethereal light like a star that descended from the heavens. He is perfect in every way that even Baldr, the God of light himself, pales in comparison.

He was so beautiful and yet... He's hollow.

"What is the meaning of all this... Anubis?" Hela questioned in a low foreboding tone and yet the entire hall was able to hear her.

"It means your time is up. We are taking your kingdom and kicking you to the curb where you belong. A despicable woman like you does not deserve to lead any realm." replied Anubis with spite.

Hela gasped. She could not believe her ears. Anubis would never say these cruel words to her. He would never dare to hurt her in any way, so why is he doing this?

She stared at the Jackal God who sneered at her so coldly. She tried to find the smallest hint of warmth and affection in his face only to find apathy. Her heart desperately begged that everything is just a terrible joke and he was just teasing her but... Why does it feel like he's no longer the Anubis that she knew? This THING in front of her is a different person. He had lost all his substance, the very essence that made him Anubis, the God of Death.

This is not Anubis.

She turned her attention to Anput, glaring fiercely at the smirking goddess. "What did you do to him?"

"I did nothing wrong. I just returned him to his true self. His perfect self."

"Perfect?! You mean your perfect dog? Anubis is not an object you can do anything you want with! He is his own person! I will not let you disrespect him anymore." Hela summoned her scepter and stumped it on the ground, releasing a shockwave that surged through the entire hall.

"You will leave my kingdom and never return unless you want me to destroy you completely until you're nothing more than a pile of dirt!" Hela commanded making the braziers explode into columns of fire.

"Oh, it seems that you didn't hear us properly. We are here to usurp your throne." Anput raised her hand and undead warriors wrapped in gauzes began marching into Hela's hall.

Dyrroth and Fenrir both took up arms standing in front of Hela. Jörmungandr, on the other hand, was behind his sister observing what was happening with mild amusement. Persephone and Ereshkigal stood beside their friend while the other guests went to the side, not wanting to get in between the showdown of two very powerful deities. Hela wanted to roll her eyes at their cowardice but she didn't have enough time to sneer at them when Anubis began his attack.

It happened in a flash, but he was already in front of her swinging his khopesh over her head. Hela deflected his sword with her scepter while her other hand aimed her dagger at his neck. She glared at him before summoning her spears over him and bringing them down. He managed to get away but her frozen chains chased after him.

"Anubis, listen to me! If you're still there, and I believe you are, I know that you can break through this envious whore's enchantment! I know that you're strong enough to surpass her backwater spells and return to your senses!"

Hela was merciless in her assault on Anubis. She knew that the only way to return him back to normal was through drastic measures so she would not let her fondness for him derail her mission to save him. She spared no effort in bringing him down. She used all elemental magic she knew, all the runes that she had to decimate him but Anubis was also tenacious and powerful. He responded to her brutality with an unmistakable determination to kill her.

"I am fine. I am perfect! Anput cured me of my disease and made me anew. What have you done for me other than make my heart bleed with your disloyalty and your foolish games? You have given me nothing but pain! You made me suffer and doubt myself! You made me feel beneath you! You made me your toy! Now I am perfect. My heart is calm and whole. I do not feel jealousy or ridicule. There is nothing in my heart anymore and now I have gained everything. I have reached perfection." responded Anubis as he activated a hieroglyph that brought forth a massive swarm of shiny blue scarabs. The insects launched themselves at the goddess like a barrage of shooting stars and she fend them off with her scepter.

To neutralize the annoying insects, Hela summoned a murder of ravens to devour his scarabs. Her ravens fell dead after devouring his scarabs but the goddess couldn't care any less about them. She continued her attack on Anubis. Her only clear objective is to knock him out and then fix him later after killing Anput. Hopefully, she'll figure out how to deal with him because Anubis isn't showing any clear signs of relenting.

"That is not perfection, that is emptiness! Nothingness is not perfection! She removed your flaws! She removed who you are because she cannot love them... But I love them. I love every single imperfect thing about you because that's what makes you Anubis!"

"Enough! I do not want to hear any more of your gilded lies! From now on you will never manipulate me!"

Hela roared, hating how foolish she felt for letting this happen to him. Tears gathered in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. Anubis was so sweet and loyal... He would never do something like this without being forced. He doesn't care about pride, honor, or grand titles that's why he gave up his seat of power to Osiris. All he cares about is doing his duty as the God who guides the departed and being a good husband to her. But now... He is nothing more than a doll being moved by Anput's invincible strings.

Anubis teleported behind her ready to strike with his sword but Hela immediately felt him and deflected his attack. They clashed blades continuously, each attack being fiercer and more brutal than the last. Hela tried to swipe his feet with her staff but he blocked it by stepping on her staff and delivering a backhand against her face.

The goddess was thrown away by the force of impact but she maneuvered her body to land gracefully on her feet. She touched her wounded cheek, hissing as it stung before glaring at Anubis.

"I think it's time to show you what no mercy means." As she raised her hand, dark spears manifested around Anubis all pointed at him. They increased in number until they were no longer countable before raining down on him.

The Jackal God summoned hieroglyphs, creating a golden barrier that protected him. He mustered his power within his sword and swung it towards her spears, destroying them. Unexpectedly, snakes slithered across his body tightening and wrapping around him until he was bound. Hela snapped her hand and a gigantic serpent made of ice emerged from the ground. It was made from the likeness of Jörmungandr and it opened its giant maw to devour Anubis.

The giant snake managed to swallow the God of Death but it exploded into large chunks of ice moments after. Vapor misted over the battlefield, decreasing the visibility. Hela carefully observed her surroundings waiting for Anubis to attack. She noticed shadowy vultures circling over her head before beginning their assault. They tried to peck her eyes and scratch her face with their talons but she wards them off with her scepter.

Anput and Kebechet kept Fenrir busy preventing him from going to his sister's aid. Meanwhile, Dyrroth handled the undead warriors stopping them from reaching Hela. They were annoying to combat because their bandages kept trying to wrap around him but thankfully, he discovered that they are vulnerable to fire. Most of the guests fled but Persephone and Ereshkigal remained fighting off the sphinxes.

Hela turned her scepter into a bow and aimed at the vultures. She released her arrow which transformed into a shadowy wolf that ravaged the vultures. The goddess turned her attention back to Anubis but dark slender hands burst from the ground, trying to grab her. They grasped her limbs with their bony fingers but she burned them all with her staff. The little time she was distracted was enough for Anubis to find an opening and kick her through a hieroglyph that increased the strength of her impact against the stone wall.

Hela emerged from the rubble of the wall and raised her hand. "Oh my naughty little puppy, I'll make you regret what you just did."

Stalagmites burst from the ground seeking to impale Anubis. He successfully evaded them but some managed to scratch and bruise him. The frozen spears stopped bursting, giving him pause until he realized that he had walked into her trap. Hela closed her palm, activating the runes that surrounded his location.

A petrifying rune revealed itself under his feet preventing him from moving. Glacial ice began wrapping around his body, imprisoning him further. Despite her love for him, she will not hold back. It would only be an insult to the real Anubis and a compromise from her objective.

Hela snapped her finger and Anubis was suddenly engulfed in a massive column of fire that extended through the roof of her palace. The fire burned and scorched the God. It wasn't enough to kill him but it did manage to incapacitate him for a bit.

"It was foolish of you to think that you could defeat me, Hela, the fucking queen of Niflheim, feared by all beings mortal and divine, and goddess of death. Honestly, what were you thinking doing something so stupid, Anput?" Hela took slow careful steps towards Anubis who was already on his knees. She dragged her sword beside her, and it was obvious that her patience was hanging by a thin thread.

"Anyone would have had enough sense not to challenge me, but you... You are so deranged and so arrogant that you attack me in my own palace nonetheless. Oh, but not only that, you also stole my husband. Do you really seek your own demise that much? Come to think of it, you never had much sense to begin with. Because if you had, Anubis wouldn't leave you in the first place and run to me."

Hela sent a shockwave to the jackal goddess who was sent tumbling through the ground. She lifted her sword seeking to deliver a fatal strike, but before she could come any closer a wavy blade protruded from her torso. Her eyes widened and her head slowly turned towards the person who had impaled her only to find her own brother, Jörmungandr, grinning widely at her.

"Sorry, sister. But I can't let you take another step."

"Jörmungandr... I knew you were a snake but to do this to me... You are despicable!" muttered Hela. She tried to cast runes but the serpent God neutralized them. Jörmungandr sank his venomous fan into her neck and began drinking her divine blood. He devoured her magic along with it, leaving her lethargic and weak.

Hela tried to resist but he wrapped his hideous tail around her body preventing her from getting away or fighting.

"How can you do this to me? After I've welcomed you into my home and saved you from nothingness. I'll never forgive you for this."

"You don't have to, my lovely little sister. But I'll make sure that I'll take very good care of your desolate queendom. I've always envied how important you are, how revered and exhale you are as the goddess of Niflheim. I never had anything to call my own. Fenrir has his schemes and his little maiden while you... You have everything easy for you. You are given a realm to preside over when I was banished into the sea. And so I envied everything that you have. I can't let you have everything that you want. It's not enough that I'm the only one to suffer among us three."

Jörmungandr raised his hand and placed it on her cheek, caressing her. He leaned his face against her head and whispered into her ear.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure to get this over with quickly."

"What are you-Ahhh!" A loud scream tore through her throat piercing the air.

His fingers inched closer to her right eye, her eye that possesses the authority and vision over her entire realm, and slowly he sank his claws into it before mercilessly tearing it out. Hela screamed in agony, and Niflheim responded with her grief by roaring with thunder and striking the ground with its sharp lightning.

"HELA!!!" Fenrir exclaimed before releasing a gust of strong wind that disoriented Jörmungandr. The wolf god sliced through his scales with his scythe, freeing Hela and taking her away from their venomous brother.

Dyrroth immediately went to their side while Fenrir cradled his sister in his arms and used his runes to heal her. However, now that her Eye of Omniscience is taken from her, Hela's powers have been reduced to a fraction of her glory. He knew that she couldn't do anything more right now.

Fenrir lifted Hela into his arms but as he stood, he found that they were now completely surrounded by Anput's lackeys. Ereshkigal and Persephone had been subdued on the side. Some of the other guests have taken the side of Anput and worked together to defeat the two goddesses. Hela's friends obviously fought with everything they've got, but since they're not in their own realms they couldn't fight at their full capacity. They were overwhelmed and soon they fell but Anput knew that killing them was not an option in fear of evoking the wrath of their respective pantheons.

"You don't have to be in the middle of all this Fenrir. Just give us Hela and you can be on your way back to your quaint little island." Anput offered. Anubis is by her side holding his khopesh, Fenrir growled, threatening them from moving any closer. The wolf god noted that his shepherd's staff is not with him but didn't pay it much mind.

"Hela is my little sister. It's my duty as her older brother to protect her no matter what. Especially from scums like you." Fenrir glared at Jörmungandr who grinned malevolently at him.

The Wolf God stomped his heel against the floor, summoning massive walls of glacial ice that split the crowd in half and even killed some of them. (Imagine Moses splitting the sea in half. It looks just like that but with ice and more screaming.) He beckoned Dyrroth to follow them and they exited the hall. Fenrir left the rune of Isaz (ice) bound with Thurisaz (thorn/giant) all over the floor so that when their first pursuers broke through his wall of ice and stepped on the rune, they would find themselves impaled by stalagmites.

A trio of sphinxes chased after them but Dyrroth used a spear to strike one out of the air and blast the others with his burst strike. They traversed through the massive halls and corridors of Hela's great palace all while being chased by sphinxes, vultures, and mummies. They found most of her servants, pets, and lovers dead in the corridors. The once dull-colored halls have been repainted with blood.

After much running and sometimes fighting, they finally reached the last hall of Eljudnir. Fenrir paused and turned to the demon.

"Dyrroth, listen to me very carefully. Take my sister and run away from here. I will keep the enemy busy while you take Hela to my temple in the north. If my calculations are correct and they are, she'll be here soon but you need to find her. She'll help you fix everything." Fenrir instructed handing him the unconscious Hela.

"Who are you talking about?" questioned the demon as he cradled the goddess in his arms.

"Ruby. I summoned her here. Soon enough she'll emerge through a portal in the north. Find her and ask for her help. She'll know what to do. You need to restore Hela's powers and take back Helheim. Take care of her. Make sure that she is safe. I'll hold them off as long as I can. I've given you a rune. It will conceal your presence. They'll never find you with her Eye so you must make haste."

"What about you?"

"Me? I am the strongest beast of the Norse World." Fenrir chuckled as he summoned his scythe. "I might be outnumbered but none of these runts can hold a candle against the might of Fenrisulfr. Now, get ready. I'll blow a gust of wind that should take you far away. Remember: find Ruby."

"Okay, I'll find Ruby, restore Hela, and return her to her throne. Got it. I'm ready." Dyrroth held tightly onto the goddess as Fenrir took a deep breath and sent them flying through the gale. It was a rough ride but it successfully carried them over the spires and battlements of Eljudnir. The wind gave them safe passage and delivered them far away from the palace.

Fenrir finished casting the spell and turned to the crowd that gathered around him. He shed his false human façade and returned to his massive and majestic wolf form. His enemies backed away from him, some were brought to their knees afraid of his terrifying and mighty strength.

The great wolf brought his foot down bringing forth an earthquake that shook the entire palace. He released a deafening howl that reverberated throughout the entire realm, activating the deep magic slumbering in Hela's halls.

The quaking grew stronger as massive glaciers burst outside the palace encasing everything under thick sheets of ice from the outermost battlements to the highest peaks of the towers. Dyrroth could only watch as Fenrir locked down the entire castle, allowing nothing to enter or exit to pursue them. It was a truly magnificent feat from the wolf but after that, there was nothing else he could observe. He doesn't know what happened next to Fenrir but he hoped... He KNEW that he'll be fine given how strong he is.

Dyrroth didn't have enough time to worry about the wolf after seeing several creatures pursuing them. Thankfully, he is still wearing some armor as per Hela's request to show him off to her friends so he is in perfect condition to fight.

He smirked. What is one more adventure before he returns to his cute little prey? Additionally, he'll have more stories to tell to their little offspring.

"This will be fun."

Author's Discussion:

For those curious, Hela, Jörm, and Fenrir are triplets (in my story at least). They are children of Loki with the giantess Angrboða. Fenrir is the eldest, Jörm is the middle child (ahahaha kaya di siya mahal ng magulang niya/ that's why his parents don't love him 🤣🤣🤣), and Hela is the youngest.

Just a short Norse myth trivia, the Aesirian gods (Odin, Thor, Tyr, etc) feared that Loki's children would only bring mischief and destruction so they captured the three siblings. Fenrir was brought to Asgard because he was cute and cuddly when he was young (then imprisoned later when he became too big and too wild), Jörmungandr was thrown at the Midgard sea, while Hela was brought to Niflheim (land of mist and ice) to rule over a portion of the dead from all the 9 worlds.

According to the sources I've read, half goddesses like Hela (she is half god and half giantess) are more powerful than their male counterparts. Among the three siblings, Hela should be the strongest. Jörmungandr hated the fact that Hela got everything while Fenrir doesn't care about anything besides his plans. Hela is well-respected by everyone. She is an accomplished sorceress and a responsible monarch of her queendom. She is the only one of her siblings who has an entire world/realm of her own (Guys, bunso talaga favorite kaya selos si middle child.) and she has a very colorful love life. (Tanginang yan sino ba namang di maiinggit dyan. Author nga walang jowa TTwTT)

If you are a very keen observer, you would notice that Hela's spells in this chapter paid tribute to her brothers. She created a giant ice snake to bind Anubis. She used an arrow that transformed into a wolf representing Fenrir and she also summoned ravens to deal with the beatles paying tribute to Odin who made her queen. Finally, she mostly utilizes ice spells to honor her Jötun or frost giant lineage.

Today two different principles of magic were displayed, one is Norse and one is Egyptian. Runic and Hieroglyph magic are based on symbols or icons to perform spells. In this world, Runic magic is discovered by Odin and is basically the energies that exist in the universe represented in simple symbols. Combining runes with different attributes creates different magical spells. Runic magic works by creating a set of commands for the energies to follow. There are 25 total runic symbols that can be arranged or bound in different ways.

Hieroglyph magic on the other hand draws power from certain deities or elements that the deities represent. Hieroglyph magic is a kind of divine magic and the symbols are discovered by the House of Light/Life. It has more than 800 symbols that represent certain sounds. These symbols summon magic from their respective forces/elements which they represent.

That's all for today. I hope you enjoyed today's chapter.