Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons 241 CCXLI. The Long-awaited Touch

At that moment, Karl walked out of the stone building's front door, followed by Freydis.

Dag looked away from the hill intently focusing on the girl, the only reason that had prompted him to go crazy like that, in the middle of the night.

Freydis walked slowly toward him, incredulous that she could finally touch her man. 

Dag's two large dark arms continued to float in the air around him as if they were two insect antennae ready to pick up any approaching object.

Tears of joy came down from her eyes.

"I apologize, Freydis. I'm sorry I only arrived now, I'm sorry if I didn't come to you before you left for this cursed island..." said Dag, forgetting for a moment about everything else.

"Dag... I thought I'd never see you again!" she said, snapping at him and jumping into his arms, hugging him tightly, ignoring the dark, inhuman material coming out of his shoulders and the purple eye.

Dag, during the embrace, looked up again, noting that the enemy warriors, even if they were giving him a few moments, were ready to charge towards them.

He tightened Freydis even stronger, smelling her hair, whose red shone under the moonlight, which after the storm was clearly visible.

Before thousands of thoughts could once again crowd his head, Dag turned Freydis's shoulders and gently kissed her on the lips, closing his eyes.

The feeling he had was the most beautiful ever, as he dreamed of it every night since they said goodbye to each other in Jernhest.

He put his hand in her hair and continued to kiss her, using his other hand to wipe away tears on her face.

"I'd like to tell you a million things, Freydis. But I'm just going to tell you that I love you and that I'm sorry. After I heard they were holding you here as a prisoner, I couldn't reason anymore and left for the island. Now here I am, sacrificing my life, yours, and that of my companions, just so I can tell you this and be able to kiss you one last time. I apologize for my selfishness..." whispered him in her ears, keeping his eyes closed, trying to enjoy the peace of those last moments with her, when time seemed to have stopped.

"I love you too, Dag. The Gods will reunite us in Valhalla and we can be together forever, I can feel it. If our destiny was to jointly die here... well, who are we to change it?" said Freydis, who after leaving Dag's arms walked a few meters away and approached the corpse of an enemy, bending down and picking up his sword.

"And so… is this the end? Even a warrior like you can't save himself in these circumstances, am I right, Dag?" asked Karl wryly, pulling out his tomahawk and shield and looking at the enemies with shiny eyes.

Dag looked at Reidar, realizing that he too was ready to fight and accept death if necessary.

But the same could not be said of Gridd.

Her sister, always strong and fearless, was standing and trembling like a leaf, with blood coming out of her nose, after the blow suffered by Roar. 

"I don't want to die, Dag... not now! I still have a lot to do, you know it! You know my objectives... I can't die before I've achieved my revenge... I can't... help me, brother. Save us, please!" she yelled, panicking, crying towards Dag, who did not expect a similar reaction from her sister.

Dag looked down.

He slightly stretched his arms downwards and tapped his legs twice with his hands.

At that very moment, a slight breeze blew around him, spreading to all of his companions and gently wrapping them. 

Reidar looked at his hands and arms, and Karl did the same. 

Gridd closed her eyes, feeling for a few moments an irresistible sense of relief and invigorating force. 

"What is this stuff, Dag? I feel stronger, I feel my muscles rested as if I had just woken up from a long sleep!" asked Karl, continuing to open and close his hands.

"The Captain activated 'Champion Aura', a level 8 skill that allows him and all members of his team to temporarily increase their stamina" Reidar said, looking pleased with Dag, who was upgrading them to prepare them for combat, indicating that, perhaps, there was still a glimmer of hope inside him.

"I'm not going to die here and today. You chose to follow me to save Freydis, now I ask you one last favor... it is impossible to escape, we must fight, as we have never done. The enemy Clan is without leaders, the Masters have been defeated or forced to retreat. Let's stick together, my brothers... "We must do it!" exclaimed Dag, looking at Oyvind's corpse out of the corner of his eye, near which numerous flies and insects of various kinds began to fly, smelling dead flesh.

"We're never going to make it, brother... you also know that this is an impossible feat. Look at how many enemies are in front of us... they will be a thousand, more or less… how do you think we'll do this?" asked Gridd, positioning herself next to him and Freydis, ready to engage in the battle.

"I was certain I would die many times since I left the Temple Of Orn, sister. But I've learned that sometimes, hope is worth more than fighting skill. The Gods are watching us. They know we are fighting to save ourselves, while our adversaries do so because they are thirsty for power and blood. Trust yourself and your teammates, fight to the fullest, use every skill you've learned over the years... if we die, we will know that we have fought to the end" Dag continued, looking at Freydis, who had her eyes pointed at the hills.

Karl and Reidar stepped forward, forming a row alongside the other team members.

Chapter end