Life Of A Nobody - as a Villain

After dealing with the issue of impatience from Cassandra, and making sure the starry eyed goddess didn't fall for Apollo's pretty lies like what was originally fated. - Rio walked out of the church with a relaxed look.

His white coat, fluttering in the wind, like a banner of the divine.

His thoughts drifting towards reasons why he didn't want Cassandra to play double agent. And directly cut ties.

Because the goddess started off similarly in the novel, whispering prophecies in Noah's ears while secretly hating Apollo in her heart, only to turn foolish under protagonist halo, forgive the god who cursed and caused her grief for an eternity, and then going even further and falling in love with the same said god.

This time even willingly agreeing to sleep with Apollo who possessed Leon's body in an attempt to save her avatar, Noah. Successfully moving her 'heart'.

Rio remembered all this BS and felt the urge to puke.

(I hope she stays in lane, or I'll really need to handle her death. Not that it would be much difficult.) He thought to himself , while silently playing and perfecting plans for any choice or move the goddess makes in secret, in his mind.

But he had probably only taken a few steps, when another goddess crossed her bounds, and pulled him in for a meeting.

Rio looked at Skuld's flashing messages and then stopped resisting.

The next instant, his consciousness felt dragged across the void as a string pulled him towards the youngest of the norn sisters. And what appeared in front of him was a mountain shrouded in fog and frost.

Kailash.

Rio muttered in his mind, while looking around the place with curiosity and awe.

This mystical mountain which is said to be the abode of Lord Shiva in Hindu scriptures didn't originally exist in Arcadia, and no one really knows exactly when or how it suddenly appeared.

Even the author didn't explain it much in the original novel, and just shrugged and said, "It exists… because Gauri wills it so."

Yet for over a thousand years, no one has ever been able to find its location.

Standing here, even if in just his spiritual form, Rio couldn't help but feel… ..

"It's beautiful." He muttered in admiration, but soon the sight of this heavenly peak started morphing into that of a giant tree, with each branch connecting different worlds across the cosmos.

Rio looked at the Yggdrasil and just clicked his tongue in disappointment.

The sight might've been fascinating to him years ago, but after seeing the same screensaver in his system space every time he closed his eyes for so long, he simply felt it lacking.

(I should change the system theme to Kailash when I'm free.) Rio thought, while waiting for Skuld to show herself, instead of putting on a show.

But just then a shadow loomed over his body, shrouding everything in darkness. Making him confused.

Rio looked back over his shoulder, only to stare at something which shook his soul.

From the edge of the cosmos, an entity bigger than even the world tree, Yggdrasil itself, was charging towards him at an astonishing speed.

It was so big that Rio couldn't even see it's head or tail, even if he twisted his head to the extreme.

"What the hell?" Rio cursed as he tried to turn around and flee, but found his body frozen solid.

Just when the creature whose every step seemed to devour distance and create black holes in the skies, was about to crush him to death under its gigantic feet. A soothing voice like that of a young child's lullaby echoed in the environment.

"Be good, Heidrun. He's a guest."

Rio opened his eyes to stare at the beast who stopped. It's hooves suspended mere inches away from his head mid-air, before turning sideways to face the voice.

Skuld stood there, with the same style and smile which he noticed nearly a decade ago. Nothing seemed to change about her, as if the passing of time literally had no effect on her.

After hearing Skuld's command, the giant creature meh'd in response, it's voice causing cosmos to tremble, before it's figure started to shrink and move away at an astonishing speed.

Rio watched in amazement to see this infinite creature's 'small' form, only to feel speechless, when it turned out to be a — goat.

"Mehhhhhh"

It bleated in response like an idiot, before turning around and running towards Yggdrasil. Jumping over it's branches and eating it's foliage/leaves like nobody's business.

"...."

Rio just looked at this weird transformation, trying to decipher the contrast in abilities and appearance - before coming to a conclusion.

The world's been too harsh on donkeys for nothing. Goats aren't geniuses either.

"Why do you always ignore my calls?" Skuld asked, after finally having the mortal in her grasp.

"I called you for a dozen meetings, and every time, it's either ignorance, or a different excuse."

Her voice was demanding, but the pout in her tone only made her sound more like a moody girlfriend than a goddess, which only made Rio feel more strange than scared.

(How come these goddesses all say such easily misunderstandable words?) He thought, remembering how this same was the case for Cassandra. Don't they hear themselves?

(Can't they just be normal? They make it sound like I'm some scumbag boyfriend who left them hanging after knocking them up on their one night stand.)

[...???]

Look, is this something normal humans think about gods?

Who's the abnormal one here?

The system thought in itself , but didn't really respond.

It's silence and absence of a teasing remark only making Rio sigh and shake his head.

It seems the system really changed it's personality from the fun loving friend to the serious assistant after suffering defeat at the hands of the Devil.

He wished things could go back to normal since the Devil was 'gone' , but it seems His short presence still left a lasting shadow not only on him, but system too.

"You really are a jerk, mortal." Skuld said, seeing him still not pay any attention to her.

"Says the goddess who guards a goat." Rio replied with a sneer.

"That's Heidrun, and you'd be wise to know your place and not insult him." Skuld responded immediately after hearing his complaint. "Also I guard the fates and the world tree, not the goat."

"....."

Skuld spoke in a flow, only to realize later what she said, when the 'goat' bleated behind her in anger.

"Ahem, that's not what I mean, I said, Heidrun isn't a normal goat. She's someone who leaps the leaves of Yggdrasil and drinks it's sap to create the mead for all the brave spirits entering Valhalla."

".... It's the first time I heard someone glorifying a mead maker, who turns heroes into alcohol addicts, but whatever…" Rio said, mocking the concept these norse gods followed, before turning his attention somewhere else.

"Since that's Heidrun, where's it's partner? The stag, Eikthyrnir?" He asked, while looking at the giant world tree yet seeing no such creature.

He didn't gaze for Jormungandr, the draconic serpent, who's eating the roots of Yggdrasil, or Vedrfolnir and the eagle, resting at world tree's peak, or even Nidhoggr, the serpent son of Loki, who encircles everything and bites it's own tail. — Because all these creatures were either vast and in places his vision couldn't cover.

But since the she-goat was here, he did feel curious, why the male-stag didn't come?

But in response to his genuine curiosity, Skuld just flinched, glared, and then refused to answer.

After all, how could she tell this arrogant mortal that even summoning Heidrun's form for an illusion in a tactic to threaten him, nearly consumed half her annual faith reserves.

And Heidrun's the weakest of them all.

If Skuld really did as he told and called everyone over, it's not sure if the mortal will die or not, but she sure as hell will.

Anyway the duo's time was precious, so they each stopped wasting it around by joking, and turned serious to start talking business.

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Author note - Skuld and Rio had met each other before if you all remember. Back in his childhood before anything even began.

If you forgot, and wish to know more about their contact, you can go back to chapter 77-78-79 to jog your memories.