On a bench made of light wood tree trunks, positioned next to the grandiose gate at the entrance to Alfheim, the beautiful elf duchess sits. Elin holds a mobile phone, decorated with glittering crystals, close to her ear. A serene smile adorns her delicate features without her realising it, so no one would suspect that her conversation is about a matter of extreme importance involving her duchy and the kingdom, but all her cuteness comes from the fact that she is listening to Diarmuid's voice.

Elin receives information that the Eyrwisdom, who were under Zephyros Okeanós' watch, have escaped, which was necessary for his subordinates to proceed with part of the mission. Diarmuid's report is detailed, but she is interrupted by an Absconditus on a swift white eight-legged horse who rushes through the gate and snatches the mobile phone from her hand.

Elin's once serene features have vanished, her eyebrows furrow and everyone's expectations of ever seeing her calm are shattered. She jumps up to try and reach the shoulder-length red-haired Absconditus, who wear leather armour over green clothing and is standing on his horse while smiling mischievously, showing a scar on his lips that indicates that they have been sewn together at some point, but it's not as obvious as the scar that appears to be a liquid that has run down his face.

— Give it back! — Before she can order the chaotic and childish absconditus to do anything, the horse is already far away.

Sleipnir is extremely fast due to the extra four-legged buff. While it is travelling a long distance, its owner, Loki Aesir, is still looking back after putting away the mobile phone and contemplating the angry duchess disappearing over the horizon until he is abruptly interrupted by Sleipnir's unexpected brake.

As a consequence that anyone who knows basic physics can understand, Loki flies out of his cell and falls into the lake in front of him. As the horse was not ordered to change course and dodge the water, Sleipnir only stopped when he realised he was going to get wet.

A laugh echoes, someone has witnessed what has happened. A red-haired man, with a great physique and a beard as imposing as his Viking armour, is leaning against the trunk of a tree near the lake. Realising his presence, Loki gets up and walks normally over to his nephew.

— Hi, Thor — he extends his hand.

— Hey uncle — he shakes Loki's hand and pulls him into the lake, but he doesn't let go and they both fall in together.

The lively ripple dominates the still, crystal-clear waters, which reflect the splendour of the twin stars' light. It's not a bad idea to act in a way that many adults would call "childish", even those who despise these simple amusements yearn to be able to enjoy them without being condemned by society's harsh judgements.

An impenetrable barrier of ice emerges behind Thor. There's no need to explain the event to this illustrious warrior, he realised the sound of a laser gun going off at the very moment his uncle raised the wall to protect him.

Thor summons Mjönir, looks at Loki and signals him to create a staircase in the ice barrier and a bridge ahead. He climbs the steps, runs across the bridge and three elves underneath try to get a shot at him by the sound of his footsteps, while the other elf, the leader of the quartet, waits for him on the other side of the bridge.

Surprising them, Thor smashes through the bridge and falls next to sharp shards of ice. The red-haired twins and the albino are quick to dodge, but one of them is hit in the leg. Thor immediately runs to the leader, Siegmund, and starts a close-range fight.

— It's been a long time since we met, Thor — says Siegmund — what was the result of your revenge? Are you feeling better? – This provocation has no relevance for Thor, who continues the fight in earnest and strikes the elf's shoulder with the Mjönir — How discourteous of your friend, that would be a disappointment for his parents, it wouldn't be good if Odin and Jord knew — his cutting words about the death of Thor's parents don't come close to penetrating the dense armour of this warrior's heart, who just keeps fighting quietly.

Loki removes the barrier and no enemy is able to see him, he supports Thor from the shadows. Great stakes of ice appear from the air, but one of the twins and the albino elf protect their leader's back, melting them with the laser of their weapons united in a single point as they try to locate him.

The hands of the four spies are bound by handcuffs of unknown technology. Elin and some of her soldiers have just arrived. The duchess had only wanted to retrieve her mobile phone, but found this criminal attitude coming from her "trusted" spies who were infiltrating Orion Okeanós' division. She doesn't abandon her kind features and walks over to Sigmund, a tall elf with long, tied up and golden hair like the colour of his eyes, who wear black clothes as the other spies; it's difficult to decipher his expressions because a black mask covers the lower part of his face.

— We'll talk later — her gaze falls on Sigmund, then she turns to Thor — Where's Loki?

— I'm here — he climbs down from a tree and takes Elin's mobile phone out of his pocket to hand it to her.

— Thank you.

Elin sends a message to Diarmuid, telling him that everything is fine and they'll talk later because she's busy, and apologises for interrupting the call. The life of a duchess is full of responsibilities, she needs to leave unfinished business with the Eyrwisdoms because she wants to question Sigmund.

A white room, almost empty, with only two chairs at each end of a table and not so much space is the place she chooses. Elin insists on entering alone and her soldiers just stand guard at the window next to the entrance door. There's no need to order anything because Sigmund sits in the chair facing the soldiers, according to Elin's wishes, while she stands with her back to the window so that no one can read their lips.

— If it were necessary to commit a crime for the sake of the mission, you should be discreet.

— After Orion Okeanós captured us, I passed on the false information as ordered, but I don't know if my companions did the same because they separated us for a moment. The government tried to win my loyalty by promising that they would only stop torturing me if I swore to be their subordinate — for the Absconditus, swearing an oath is extremely serious and anyone who breaks it can be executed — I didn't miss the opportunity and accepted, sorry for not telling you before, I couldn't get in touch with anyone, so I had to act alone to avoid being caught.

— And to prove this "loyalty", you accepted the mission to attack Thor Aesir?

— Yes, the order was to kill him because he is considered a dangerous warrior who could oppose the king and resist. My plan was to deliberately fail in order to warn Thor Aesir of the danger he was in. I imagine that he, only he and Loki, realised this because I tried to make it clear that my hostility was false when I "provoked" Thor Aesir with irrelevant matters. They know that I know that he has no problem with his parents' death and quoting it wouldn't work, in fact, I have no idea how to provoke him... maybe by saying that his dog is in danger? However, destabilising Loki would be easy, just talk about the accident that caused Baldur's death.

— Have you received any other missions from Orion Okeanós?

— No.

— Interesting... anything else to say?

— I discovered details of the procedure the Okeanós military uses to win new allies. It's all about fear and riches. In addition to what I've already said about my experience, to keep the servant they use severe punishments for failure, violent execution of traitors, pressure for constant vigilance and other types of actions that are pure tyranny. While, on the other hand, the faithful only benefit. They receive high social positions, good salaries, security, titles, land, everything as if they were a nobleman, if they don't become one. Only someone with a strong ideal wouldn't surrender to the temptation of a comfortable life, which if contradicted, you find hell.

— For now I'll keep you locked up. I'll help you escape and don't run away without my authorisation, the only exception is in case of emergencies.

— Right.

The duchess leaves the room, tells the lieutenant colonel which prison and cell to hold the spies in and indicates which soldiers should escort them. Although she trusts Sigmund and believes it's easier for the twin stars to fall than for him to betray her, Elin doesn't shy away from caution and keeps all the information she's been told in her memory to check each one of them until the slightest question is extinguished and they are confirmed as incontestable truths.

The tiny stars come down to adorn the cosmic mantle that covers the sky of countless ducats, gracefully waltzing with the moonlight that retains an illustrious radiance, but in the distant land of dragons, the clouds reign as they did and will for all eternity. An immense castle of blue and white crystals adorns the peak of a mountain as pointed as the towers of this grandiose construction, which are more like spears driven into the ground. The clouds are like blue brushstrokes in the tenebrous darkness of the sky, where only the reddish glow of the moon defeats the darkness.

A dragon at least seventy metres long, adorned with dark blue scales and bearing a red gaze as terrifying as hearing a whisper of death, flies close to the mountain and lands on the ground at the sight of the Duchess of Teniov at the entrance to the trail of glittering jades. He transforms into a charming human with long straight reddish-brown hair styled and adorned like that of an ancient Chinese nobleman wearing a long blue robe.

— Good evening, Duke of Long — smiles the delicate damsel amiably.

— Good evening, Duchess of Teniov. I ask you to accompany me to my castle — she consents with a gesture and walks beside him along the long pathway that retains a soft greenish light, which ends at an immense crystal door.

The interior of the castle seems to have been born out of the delirium of a fever dream, built with riches that the minds of humans and absconditus would never be able to contemplate. The crystals on the ceiling are like panes of glass forming countless paintings that tell stories of distant times and the walls glow with a bluish illumination. No matter where a creature comes from, whether they live in a small human hut or an Olympian palace, they still wouldn't believe that a building as dazzling as this is real.

The two nobles go up to a balcony with a view that gives them the chance to gaze at the deep, melancholy blue sky above the sea of mountains and pointed peaks. They sit down and a servant brings tea in white porcelain cups. After the butler leaves, the veranda becomes a safe place to talk about confidential matters.

— Have you maintained communication with the House of Nanook? — asks the Duchess of Teniov.

— Yes, I do.

— Are you acquainted with Anubis currently?

— He hasn't contacted us again.

— Any news?

— Unfortunately nothing relevant.

— I've come to tell you that I'm thinking of revealing our secret to Viy, or rather admitting what he must already know.

— I agree, I'm sure he's known all along, the Marquis de Viy would never join a real revolution if it weren't for extreme occasions.