"Any news on Lilith?" Njörd questioned from high upon his azure throne." It's been five years since we last saw her. Those within the Courts are growing restless, as am I."

"Oh, father, must we do this again?"

"We must, "He insisted, rising from his throne, his bare body consumed in various runes glimmering with azure light. " You are playing with fire; you know full well how sinister the Court of Nox can be, yet you continue to test their patients."

"Your cowardness is showing, father," I jeered, slightly amused. "If you are so worried, why send me to Arsene's side? Why let me take point? Why the games, father? You may stand upon that throne, but it is I who rules. You are nothing more than a puppet. One I manipulate, never forget that."

"You foolish bitch!"

"An there it is!" I barked in disgust, "Your mask is already breaking. Yet you think of ruling over me! Know your place, Njörd. The only reason I have not fully taken over is due to the civil war we are in, but do not tempt me!"

Appalled, a trident materialized within his palm. His eyes burning with icy flames, "when did my daughter become so belligerent?"

"when you fucking sold me as a hostage to Odin." Feezing in place, I sneered, "Forced to the ground like a whore and raped for cycles. Force to bear his spawn with a smile. What? Did you think everything was fine and dandy? I gave everything for this family, so when I tell you Njörd, I am its ruler, I mean it. So enjoy whatever you have for now, but whoever wins at the end, that throne will belong to me."

"Freya I.."

"I do not need your pity, Njörd. No, I do not need anyone's pity. The day that monster died, I obtained my freedom, and I will not backtrack once more. " I viciously spat, turning my back to the man who I once considered to be family.

"That doesn't change anything, Freya! What do we tell the Courts!" Njörd shouted, stepping down from his throne.

"Grow a pair and tell them you have nothing. This realm belongs to the Great Three; we owe Nox nothing. We comply to show reverence but do not forget we are the Vanir's. One of the three that governs within our pantheon, or did you forget? "

"So you would sacrifice us all? We are dead if..."

"Truly, I see why I was sold, like a common whore! You are a true coward." I said, turning to glare at Njörd standing a few feet away.

"I did what I needed to, Freya!" He bellowed, pointing his divine trident crafted by the dwarves using the Fairies of the Azure Sea. Creatures made from the heavens themselves. "You may have suffered, but you stopped an entire war!"

"War? What war, Njörd. None of us had died. We squabbled like dogs, but there was never any bloodshed that would constitute what you did. You feared the power of Odin and retreated. You used my innocence at the time and broke me. I truly hate Odin but you! YOU!"

Coming to a stop, I quickly took a deep breath to calm the raging hatred rising from the depths of my soul. glaring at the Trident pointed towards my neck. "Remove that thing, Njörd, before I am forced to kill you and shower this land with your remains. I work with a devil now; I will definitely make sure your soul enters the Nines should you continue this pointless endeavor!"

"Family Squabbles?" Someone asked, stepping past the threshold entering the throne room.

"It depends, Argo," I declared, checking my emotions. turning towards the elderly man covering in wrinkles, "I maybe force to kill this useless amass of shit."

"Freya!"

"Enough!" Argo barked, "This is not the time! You two are acting like children."

"Argo, I am not Njörd. Speak to me as such, and I will kill you. Nox or not, I am not your slave nor your bitch. You best understand your place. You need us; it's not the other way around. Like Yggdrasil, I tolerate you, but this is my realm."

"Lord Argo," Njörd shamelessly smiled, "Forgive my daughter. She is not feeling well.' he said, cuffing his palms.

"Leave us Njörd," Argo stated without expression, 'I wish to speak to a leader, not a boy."

Turning a deep shade of crimson, I did not even bother to gloat for Njörd was not even worth a second thought. Teleporting from my throne room, Argo studied me, with his experience gaze, "What is Arsene doing?"

"You know the rules, Argo. What can you give for that information?" I said, flying up towards my thone. Taking my rightful place, I waved my hand for him to speak.

"Fifty God-Tier Celestrial Orbs," Argo said, tossing me a small pouch glimmering with rainbow-colored light.

"Quite lucrative this time, huh, but I accept. Arsene will be going to The Temple of Astrid within a few days, but from his words, it seems to be a trap from a third party. He sent a faceless in to inspect.

"Good, now before I go. Those Valkyrie he battled, where are they?" He asked, surprising me.

"Are they not dead?"

"Dead? How could a mortal who obtained a small amount of divinity kill a Valkyrie? That technique he used was interesting, but it was a trick using the Dao of Darkness and Illusions. All those valkyries are alive, but they are not here. I do not need to tell you about what type of power he can gain from that."

"Teleportation? No, the Bifrost! Anya and Mare, those two were there!" I said, quite shocked. It would seem that the entire performance was a setup. Oh, Arsene, you undoubtedly are a master at deception. "I will attempt to find out, but it will cost you, Argo. Any way have you found out who that God with Arsene is?"

"The Ashen One? No, I thought you might know," Argo replied, stroking his shaggy beard, "None of our seers have gathered anything, but it seems she has caught the attention of the higher-ups. A Goddess of Madness. Such a taboo Mortal Dao cannot continue to exist."

"Taboo or not, she needs to go!" I said, waving my arms, "you have a lot of planning to do. I will continue to play Arsene, and of course, when I find any information on Ezra and Lilith, I will tell you... for a price, of course."

Sneering Argo vanished. Narrowing my eyes, I sneered, "That snake, he is very dangerous—he reaks of more blood than that psycho with Arsene. Why would they send one of his kind to us?"