Mist gasped for air as she hid behind a crumbling building. She folded her white wings to make her look inconspicuous and tried to calm herself. Her hair blew into her eyes, obscured her pale face, and brushed her battle gear. She was one of the last Valkyries, the others being slain in a battle with a dark force.

She was still in shock from what just happened. A fleet of dark monsters had come out of a huge portal made of darkness and descended upon Asgard, taking many of the gods, Valkyries, and einherjar* by surprise. Many of them perished, for in this world, not even the gods were immortal forever. Most of the monsters had been destroyed, but there was at least one still on the loose, hunting the remaining forces down one by one.

“I have to avenge you all,” she whispered. She steeled herself for a coming battle. Just then, one of the last surviving Valkyries, badly injured, crashed at Mist’s feet.

“Hurry...They’re not far behind....” she rasped before fading away.

Mist swore in Ancient Norse and flew off to find her enemy. But as she flew over the demolished city, a nightmarish chuckle sounded behind her, and she slowly turned around to face her opponent.

“Looking for us?” it hissed with its many heads. All of its eyes glowed and it stamped its feet. The curved talons gleamed sickly in the night, and its spiked tail lashed. The body made of darkness moved forward. The mouthes frothed with yellow foam, and the forked tongues whipped in and out of its mouthes as it hissed. “What, are you scared?”

At that, Mist lost it. She summoned a spear of pure light, and stabbed downward with all her might! “HYAH!”

The monster simply batted it away with an agile swipe and laughed. “You can’t defeat us so easily with your petty little tricks! We will rule the worlds after our master arrives with his army. But you...you will find something that can stop us. YOU MUST BE DESTROYED!”

The monster slashed at her with one of its huge claws! Mist barely managed to get out of the way in time. It sliced again, and this time Mist dodged and embedded her spear deep into one of its heads! "RAUUGH!" The monster howled in agony.

As the monster swiped at her, Mist found that the monster’s powerful aura was tearing the dimensions! She found a tear that looked serene inside, so she decided to jump in.

The monster screeched! "Yes, run! It will do you no good. We will find you again!" Its piercing shrieks split the sky.

And with that, Mist was gone.

Author's Note

*Einherjar are warriors that died bravely in combat and were selected to train in their afterlife for Ragnarok, where they would fight in one last battle for the world.