NOVEL NEXT Chapter 514: Ragnarök 6
What emerged from the metamorphosis was monstrous beyond comprehension, yet terrifyingly real. Loki's flesh had twisted and expanded into something that belonged in the deepest nightmares of creation itself. His body stretched upward, towering twenty feet above Adam, a writhing mass of sinew and shadow that pulsed with malevolent life. Where his arms had been, thick serpentine appendages now writhed, each as thick as a tree trunk and covered in scales that gleamed like black mirrors. His torso had elongated grotesquely, ribs jutting out like the bars of a prison made of bone, while his spine curved and twisted in ways that defied anatomy.
Most horrifying of all was his face—or rather, the constant shifting between faces. One moment it was his familiar features, sharp and cruel, the next it was Fenrir's wolf-like visage, then the face of every god he had ever deceived, every mortal he had destroyed. His eyes burned with the fires of dying stars, and when he opened his mouth, rows upon rows of needle-sharp teeth gleamed in the crystal light.
This was Loki Unbound—not the clever trickster who had walked among gods, but the primordial force of chaos given flesh and fury. His voice, when it came, was like the sound of worlds being torn apart.
"You killed my son," the creature that had been Loki spoke, each word causing the air itself to shiver and crack. "You have stolen the future that was promised. Now witness what lies beyond prophecy—behold chaos incarnate!"
The transformed god lunged forward with speed that belied his massive size. One of his serpentine arms whipped toward Adam's head like a striking viper, while another swept low to catch his legs. Adam rolled backwards, his plasma blades igniting as he brought them up to parry the third appendage that came crashing down from above. The impact sent shockwaves through the crystal floor, spider-webbing the ancient surface with hairline fractures.
From his perch atop Sleipnir, Odin's manipulations grew more pronounced. His weathered fingers danced across Gungnir's shaft with increasing urgency, weaving fate like a master craftsman working his final masterpiece. Each rune he traced made Adam's footing just slightly less sure, made his aim fractionally less precise, made his reflexes infinitesimally slower. The All-Father's single eye gleamed with cold satisfaction as he watched his carefully laid plans unfold.
Adam spun away from Loki's next assault, his plasma blades carving burning lines across the monster's hide. But where normal flesh would have parted cleanly, Loki's chaotic form seemed to flow around the wounds, sealing itself almost instantly. Black ichor sprayed from the cuts, but instead of weakening the beast, it only seemed to fuel his rage further.
"You cannot kill chaos!" Loki roared, his multiple faces cycling through expressions of fury, grief, and savage joy. "I am the lie that underlies every truth, the discord that dwells in every harmony!"
The first wound came when Adam tried to parry one of Loki's massive appendages. His blade met the attack perfectly, but at the crucial moment, his footing betrayed him. The crystal beneath his feet, weakened by Odin's subtle influence, cracked just enough to throw off his balance. The parry went wide, and Loki's serpentine arm crashed into Adam's shoulder with bone-crushing force. His flesh tore, and blood sprayed across the floor as Adam stumbled backwards, his left arm hanging limp.
Loki pressed his advantage, his transformed body moving with horrifying fluidity. Two more appendages struck like hammers, forcing Adam to dodge desperately. But again, Odin's manipulations made themselves known. The air resistance around Adam's movements increased just enough to slow his evasion, and one of Loki's strikes caught him across the ribs. The impact lifted Adam off his feet and sent him crashing into one of the crystal pillars that supported the great hall.
The pillar exploded in a shower of glittering fragments, and Adam slumped to the ground, blood streaming from multiple lacerations across his torso. His breathing came in ragged gasps as he struggled to his feet, plasma blades flickering as his strength began to wane.
"Do you feel it now?" Loki hissed, his voice coming from all his shifting faces at once. "The weight of inevitability? The crushing pressure of a fate you cannot escape?" He advanced slowly, savoring Adam's obvious pain. "I may die today, but I will drag you screaming into oblivion with me!"
The monster lunged again, all four of his serpentine arms striking simultaneously. Adam rolled desperately to the side, but the floor beneath him had become treacherous from the scattered crystal shards and his own spilled blood. His foot slipped at the critical moment, and instead of a clean evasion, he stumbled directly into the path of Loki's assault.
The second major wound opened across Adam's chest as one of the massive appendages raked across his torso with claws like obsidian daggers. Divine flesh parted like paper, revealing the golden light that burned within Adam's form. He cried out in pain and fury, his own blood spattering the already-stained floor.
Yet still he fought. Even bleeding, even manipulated by forces beyond his immediate perception, Adam pressed forward with the relentless determination of one who had already rewritten the rules of divinity. He began to adapt to his opponent's rhythm, predicting the flow of Loki's attacks not through logic but through pure instinct.
The third wound came when Adam attempted to close distance with his opponent. He had noticed that Loki's massive form, while powerful, was slower at close range. But as he charged forward, the crystal floor beneath his feet became suddenly slick with his own spilt blood. Odin's influence again, perfectly timed to throw off his approach. Adam's charge became a stumble, and Loki's waiting claws opened three parallel gashes across his thigh.
Adam fell to one knee, his strength ebbing with each drop of blood that fell to the crystal floor. His plasma blades dimmed noticeably, their power waning as his life force leaked away. Around him, the great hall bore the scars of their battle—shattered pillars, cracked floors, and the acrid smell of burned divine flesh hanging heavy in the air.
Loki loomed over him, all four serpentine appendages raised for the killing blow. His shifting faces all wore expressions of savage triumph, and his burning eyes reflected the knowledge of imminent victory.
"Any last words, godslayer?" the monster hissed. "Any final prayers to deities you have already murdered?"
Adam's response was not words, but action. With the last reserves of his strength, he drove both plasma blades not into Loki's body, but into the crystal floor beneath them both. The weapons, charged with the essence of every god they had consumed, released their accumulated power in a massive explosion of raw energy.
The blast tore through the ancient crystal like lightning through glass. Hairline cracks became gaping chasms as the floor of Asgard's greatest hall began to collapse. Loki, caught off-guard by the unexpected tactic, found his massive form suddenly unsupported as the ground gave way beneath him.
But Adam had planned for this. As Loki fell, his four appendages flailing desperately for purchase, Adam launched himself upward with the last of his strength. His plasma blades, recharged by the energy consuming Asgard, blazed brighter than they had since the battle began. He brought them together in a perfect cross-pattern, driving them deep into the center of Loki's grotesquely expanded chest.