Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Muspelheim
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While Peter was left with a lot to think about after their discussion, Edward worked on his Yin and Yang Chi.
Edward already knew every property of Yang Chi, or at least everyone of them he could discover through scientific means, so he was not examining it for those, but rather to find a way to effectively increase the Chi in an area.
With his current strength, he was in a shortage of energy on pretty much the entire planet, except for a few places where he could barely meet his demand, so by the time he has another breakthrough, nowhere on the planet would be good enough. Even Ea would probably be lacking.
As for Yin Chi, or Spiritual Energy, it was something that puzzled Edward quite a bit. At first he thought it was only something inside the spirit that recovered by itself, and did not rely on external energy.
But recently, he found something that showed him the contrary, that Yin Chi was also everywhere in the world.
So the question was, why was Yang Chi lacking, and not Yin Chi?
That's another question Edward was trying to answer.
However, it wouldn't be answered in a day, and he had other things to do.
Muramasa's technique was really interesting, he had joined it with the other techniques he learned, and Edward could see his very own technique coming into place. As long as he got the forging techniques of the Dwarves of Nidavellir, he should be able to finish his technique, and experiment it in Etna, in Hephaestus' forges.
So a day later, Edward and Diana appeared in Heimdall's room, where the Bifrost was, through a portal.
The Asgardian's yellow eyes analysed Diana for a moment before turning to Edward. He then greeted, "Edward, Daughter of Zeus."
Diana bowed slightly in respect to Heimdall, knowing of his importance in Asgard, but Edward only smiled as he waved, "Hey Heimdall. How are the Nine Realms doing?"
Heimdall was not offended, and merely replied, "Most realms are calm, except for Midgard, and Muspelheim. You came here for?"
Edward patted his chest as he said, "To greet my friend first," he then gestured at the giant palace that could be seen in the distance, and added, "And to ask for an audience with All-Father Odin."
Heimdall's face did not change, but Edward could feel some surprise from him. After a couple seconds of silence, he waved his hand and said, "The All-Father will be seeing you."
Edward was surprised he got his audience so easily, but still nodded as Heimdall made a small gesture with his hand. Edward opened a portal at the gesture, and he entered with Diana.
The throne room of Asgard had not changed since Edward's last time here, which was more than a thousand years ago.
This time, no guards were there, only Odin, on his throne, and Frigga, next to him.
As they arrived, both Edward and Diana bowed, to which Frigga commented, "You were telling the truth last time you came."
Edward and Diana both looked at the queen with a questioning gaze, to which she explained, "Edward, the first time you came here, you bowed and said it was a respectful gesture for a foreign king in your time. We've thought for centuries you were simply being cocky, but you were telling the truth."
The memories brought a smile to Edward's face, and Odin asked, "What is your purpose here, Dr Bell?"
Diana smiled at the appellation, while Edward replied, "I am in need of a favour, All-Father. I need to go to Nidavellir, home of the dwarves, and learn about their techniques."
Although they didn't show it, both Frigga and Odin were surprised, and the later said, "King Eitri may be working for us Asgardians, even I cannot ask this."
Edward assured, "Convincing King Eitri would be my problem, all I ask for would be to be allowed there. I heard Nidavellir is a restricted area."
"A favour you say…" Odin looked thoughtful as his remaining eye looked straight at him. After a moment of silence, Edward proposed, "I heard there were problems in Muspelheim, which must be quite important for Thor to be sent there. Diana and I can go there, to help."
Odin remained silent, and Frigga said, "Surtur and Ymir are among the oldest, and thus mightiest beings the Nine Realms has ever seen. Both of them, at their full power, would be hard opponents for my husband.
"The problems in Muspelheim, are related to one of them, Surtur. The Fire Demons supposedly found a way to revive their ancestor, and they are being helped by one of our old enemies, the Dark Gods. Do you still think you can help?"
Edward didn't falter as the obvious doubt at his power, and said, "Diana's strength does not need to be proven, she is a very strong fighter. As for me, I have grown much stronger since we last saw each other. To fight an individual, although I can't match Diana or Thor, I can still handle myself. As for dealing with armies, I am confident enough to say I am better than even Thor."
Frigga replied, "The fires of Muspelheim are hotter than you can imagine, even our armies are weakened by the sheer heat of the place."
"I happen to be fire resistant. Even the Phlegethon could not redden my skin."
Frigga stopped talking a smile on her lips. She turned to look at her husband, Odin, who had remained silent until now. After a moment, he said, "Fine then, help us and you will be allowed in Nidavellir."
Both Edward and Diana smiled, and Odin added, "My other sons, Loki and Balder, will be joining the battlefield too. Together, you will use the Bifrost to get to Muspelheim and help Thor and Tyr in their fight."
They nodded, and walked away.
Barely out of the throne room, a sneer came from a side, "Brother, would you look at this? We will be joined by a mortal and a Greek!"
They turned to look at the origin of the voice, and saw two people leaning against a wall. One of them was in green, while the other was in gold. The one in green, Loki, was the one to sneer.
As for the other one, he didn't bother answering Loki and slightly bowed at Diana, and introduced himself while kissing the back of her hand, "Lady Diana, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Balder Odinson."
Diana didn't seem surprised at the gesture and nodded, and Balder turned to Edward, crossing his fists this time to greet him, "I have heard of your might from my brother, I await fighting by your side, Midgardian."
Edward nodded, crossing his fists too, "Call me Edward then."
Balder nodded, but Loki suddenly appeared between the two with an explosion of green smoke.
"If that isn't my favourite mortal!"
Edward sighed at the God of Mischief, and wore a fake smile as he replied, "And if that isn't my favourite God of Mischief! Yay!"
Loki snorted, "Aren't I the only God of Mischief you know?"
Edward replied, "Aren't I the only mortal you know?
Loki chuckled at that, "I'll have you know I had a few adventures in Midgard. Unfortunately, the people there get quickly boring. Backstabbing, untrusting, vicious…"
Balder interrupted, "Are you sure you aren't describing yourself?"
Loki clicked his tongue, "Maybe."
The four formed a rather odd group, Balder greeted every person he met on the street, and only seemed hostile to Loki. The God of Mischief did not talk as much as Edward thought he would, he made a few nasty comments on the way but nothing much.
Diana was discovering Asgard for the first time, and was quite curious about her surroundings. Only Edward simply walked, he knew the place, not many people, and although Asgard was beautiful, it wasn't as beautiful as Rivendell, so he didn't show any particularity as they walked.
Before long they crossed the rainbow bridge and arrived near the Bifrost. Heimdall greeted the two princes, before opening the Bifrost. And like that, the group of four jumped in.
The Bifrost worked by using the energy field known as Yggdrasil, as well as some space energy, making any travel much quicker than it should be.
Although the Nine Realms were connected by Yggdrasil, some were very close to each other like Asgard and Nidavellir, but others were very far apart, like Midgard and Muspelheim, they were several light years away from each other at least.
Thanks to the Bifrost, the group arrived in only a few seconds in the realm of fire.
As soon as he arrived, Edward understood why Frigga had warned him. Muspelheim was not just hot, the ground was made of rocks, ones so hot they took a shade of red. If a normal person were to walk here, their shoes would melt and their feet would be burned black.
But the worst wasn't from the ground, but from the air, as it was way too hot. A normal person would burn their lungs with every breath, and would have no chance of surviving. Muspelheim was not a realm to be crossed by a normal person.
Of course, the Asgardians like Loki and Balder did not need to fear this heat, they were strong enough to ignore it, and Diana had an even better resistance, barely sweating.
However, Edward was not just fine, he was feeling great. The heat itself could not harm him in the slightest, it barely made him feel warm. But everything around him was filled with Yang Chi.
This Yang Chi was not only in much bigger quantities than on Earth or even Arda, it was also purer. The shortage of Yang Chi had made him feel very uncomfortable for the past few days, so finally feeling full once again was great.
On the other end, Edward could barely feel any Yin Chi, but fortunately, although Yin Chi also relied on external energy to recover, it still was able to recover by itself, more easily than Yang Chi at least.
So overall, Edward was feeling great.
Moreover, he could feel his Dragon's Flame absorbing the surrounding heat by itself, getting a little stronger every second. It wasn't much, but it was faster than normal cultivation.
The absorption of the heat was felt by the others though, who looked at Edward in wonder. The later smiled and said, "As I said, no need to worry about me. Let's go meet Thor, shall we?"
Balder nodded and Diana took Edward's hand as they walked forward.
Surrounding them were several dark mountains, Muspelheim did not possess any plant life, it was a plane of dark red and black rocks all around, with some fire demons hiding in most crevasses.
The group were quick on their feet, and didn't take long to reach their destination, the Asgardian Outpost, the only sign of civilization in the surrounding area.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone