“Ragnar Aesir, welcome back.”

As Ragnar opened his eyes he saw a scene he’d dreamt of before. He found himself in the world of white from the previous night. He looked down and saw his own naked body floating in the endless pale ocean.

“You know, this place is really odd,” said Ragnar to the disembodied voice.

“You think?” replied the voice. “This so happens to be a part of your mind. We are in your subconscious.”

“Why is my subconscious so white?”

“Because Tabula Rasa, young man. Tabula Rasa.”

Ragnar didn’t understand. “What the heck is Tabula Rasha?”

“Don’t break your pretty little head over it, we’re here to discuss your course of action,” answered the voice and the fairy’s body started to materialize in front of Ragnar. He was still shaped like a chubby gnome with a cute round bearded face. It was hard to believe that this little guy was, in fact, a fairy.

Ragnar looked at the fairy’s face and wondered about something.

“Before we continue, could you tell me what you actually are? You never introduced yourself and I don’t believe in fairies.”

The fairy looked at the boy and smiled. He’d left out that part on purpose because it was hard to take such claims seriously. Yet, because he is what he is, he cannot lie to this young man.

“Very well, I am not a fairy, as you might have guessed. They do exist, by the way, I’m just not one of them. I am a being called a Djinn by the Ancients, but we are known by a different name in your books.”

Ragnar’s face showed a faint trace of recognition, but he couldn’t remember the exact details. One thing he did know, however, is that they only appeared in very old books. Ymil had read him an excerpt from such a book, but all he could remember was that the Hero didn’t get the girl in the end, so he lost interest really quickly.

“Oh, so you’ve heard of us? You’re more educated than most children nowadays,” said the Djinn as he saw Ragnar’s reaction.

“Djinns were mentioned in a few books back in our village,” replied Ragnar. “But those stories were always too grim and dark. Only Ymil found them fascinating.”

“Oh, but that’s how the Ancients wrote. They were a gloomy bunch,” said the Djinn and a wry smile appeared on his face. “But we appear in more recent works too. Tell me, have you heard of the Nimrod Remnants?”

Off course Ragnar had heard of the Nimrod Fragments. Who, in this day and age, had not heard of the all-powerful weapons that can only be wielded by heroes?

“Off course! Thaddeus the Great, Heracles and every other hero in literature got their powers through the Nimrod Fragments. Are you telling me….?”

“Yup!” said the Djinn triumphantly. “That was our handiwork. We are the Oracle fullfillers, as you will.”

Ragnar couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Nimrod Fragments, the ideal weapons and tools for justice, were something any child would dream about. When he was younger, Ragnar had hoped to one day become the owner of such a remnant. To save the world and save princesses, that was his childhood ambition.

“Although Thaddeus never existed, he’s made up,” added the Djinn, carefully observing Ragnar’s face.

But Ragnar had long since grown past the point where he could believe in such fictitious nonsense. Every boy would someday realize that heroes only existed in stories, that princesses nowadays could fight better than most men and that such mythical powers as Nimrod Remnants didn’t exist.

“Very funny,” said Ragnar, disbelieve written all over his face. “If you are a Remnant, then I am the son of god.”

The little man’s eyes stared at Ragnar for a second and then he started laughing. Laughing really hard, so hard that he was flailing about in the midair. ‘What’s so funny about that?’ thought Ragnar.

It took the Djinn a few seconds to come back to himself, tears could be seen in the corners of his eyes.

“The irony of that statement, Ragnar Aesir, is not lost on me. But no, you are not the son of a god. I have to prove I am what I claim I am, do I?”

Ragnar nodded. How was this little being going to prove that he was the mightiest tool in all of history?

The little gnome started to glow a bright green light. Its shape started to elongate and the little fairy that flew in front of him was replaced by a muscular middle aged man. He still wore a green outfit and his hair was oaken brown. The beard made the man look even more rugged and his face had some rough edges. He wasn’t handsome, but he had this kind of thuggish charm about him.

“Maybe you’ll believe me when you see my abilities,” said the man. The high pitched voice from the little gnome had been replaced by a big burly thunderous voice.

Ragnar checked the man’s entire body but he wasn’t entirely impressed. He’d seen the fairy change the entire landscape before, how could this be compared to that? But then he remembered that this was supposed to be his subconscious, so how was this Djinn able to change things at will?

“Not very impressive. But if this is my subconscious, how are you able to change things at your whim?”

“That’s one of my powers, I am able to project memories to your mind and you are able to interpret them. I cannot send falsehoods or lies, your subconscious would be able to detect them.”

“So basically, this is your true form? This ugly looking old man?”

The bearded man looked at Ragnar and laughed again. This boy had quite the attitude. He didn’t mind, this would make the journey a lot more enjoyable than if his partner was a stick in the mud.

The man stood still and closed his eyes. His shape lit up again but it didn’t elongate. Instead, the muscular figure started to form a bodacious body with pale skin. The green clothing had disappeared into nothingness and the Djinn had turned into a naked woman with sparkling skin. Its skin was so fair that the surroundings illuminated the entire body, radiating like a flawless pearl in the moonlight. The Djinn’s hair had turned golden and was combed into braids and decorated with flowers. The only thing that didn’t change were the eyes, they were still the same vibrant green as before.

“Would this form please you better then, Ragnar Aesir?” The voice this time was much smoother, much more feminine and somewhat arousing.

“That’s just creepy, I know you’re a dude,” said Ragnar but he still averted his eyes. This was a time where being stark naked would lead to embarrassing situations. He awkwardly turned away with a small blush on his face.

“Very well,” said the voice, chuckling loudly. The Djinn changed back to the man’s form and was mischievously looking at the boy.

“To prove that I am a Djinn, I would like you to fuse your Soul with mine,” said the man.

Ragnar looked up and saw that the Djinn was still grinning. ‘Haha, very funny.’

“And how do you propose we do that, Mr. Oh-So-Funny?”

“Well, as you could see, I can change my shape at will. One of these shapes is also known as my ‘True Form’.”

The man came to stand next to Ragnar and Ragnar was surprised that they were at the same height.

“First, I must assume my True Form, and then you will have to merge with it as such,” said the Djinn and he put out his right hand. Ragnar copied the motion.

“I will appear as a green ball of light and I’ll be floating in midair,” and with those words a green sphere appeared in the palm of his hand. “You will then pour your spiritual energy into your hand and grab me. After you did that, you go like this.”

The Djinn grabbed the green sphere and pulled it to his stomach. He pushed the ball into his belly and he entire body started to glow slightly for a few seconds. After that, it looked as though nothing had happened.

“Understood?” asked the Djinn and he looked at the boy next to him.

“Off course, don’t think I’m stupid,” answered Ragnar.

“Alright, we’ll try it once. Here we go!”

And the man suddenly transformed into a brilliant green orb of light. It floated in midair, right in front of Ragnar. Ragnar took the orb and quickly pushed it into his stomach. His entire body started to itch and he could sense the presence of another being in his body. He felt as if an incredible power was coursing through his veins.

Alright, said the man’s voice. Now that we’ve fused I can communicate directly to your conscious. We will be able to stay fused for about 5 minutes. After that I’ve exhausted all of my energy. Try stuff out!

How? We’re still in this white world of yours, answered Ragnar telepathically. Figuring how to talk internally wasn’t that hard.

This is your subconscious, it will take any shape you give it!

Ragnar closed his eyes and tried to imagine a Mud Fae in his mind. It was one of the latest creature he’d beaten so it was still fresh in his memories.

Out of nowhere a little Mud Fae appeared. Its dark brown gooey body contrasted heavily with the white surroundings. It was the little boy Fae that they had beaten a while ago, just as he remembered it. The brown boy stood about twelve meters away and was watching the surroundings in astonishment.

Now go on and slice it with your Soul!

Ragnar summoned his Soul. The blue claymore appeared in his hands in the blink of an eye and Ragnar rushed towards the creature in front of him. The Mud Fae’s eyes widened as he saw Ragnar come in, but he tried to avoid the blow nonetheless. He took a step back and shifted his entire body.

Alas, it was for naught as Ragnar’s sprint had already taken him within range. He had just covered 10 meters in a matter of microseconds. Ragnar lifted his blade and sliced through the entire Fae’s body before it could let out a sound. The body was split in half and the boy’s torso was flying off.

This, off course, was not enough to kill a Mud Fae, but what happened next was even more astonishing. The upper half of the body started to freeze as it flew through the air. The Fae’s face looked at the spreading ice and horror appeared onto his face, only to be frozen there as the ice spread throughout the entire body. As it fell on the ground, the body shattered into a million pieces.

Ragnar stood still for a moment to take in what had just happened. Since when was he this powerful?

See that? That’s the power of a Djinn. We are useless on our own but we are able to greatly amplify spiritual power.

Still looking at the shattered pieces in awe, Ragnar came to the most logical conclusion.

I still don’t believe you, this is a dream after all. He said to the Djinn.

As you will, you may try this out in your next fight. Maybe then you’ll believe me.

And with those words the white world disappeared. The feeling of power flowing through his body vanished and his consciousness fell back into the dark abyss of sleep. He’d have to test this power once he woke up, it was time for rest now.