Through A Scope (Sinon X Reader)

Chapter 23 - Welcome Home

"Why did this Odin fellow task you to kill creatures?" Leafa is clearly confused.
"He mentioned something about changing the future," Akira mumbled. "The Norns died or something, so we can alter the fate of Ragnarök. Killing the biggest threats before the Gjallarhorn is sounded." Akira sighs and drags his feet along the ground, reaching the wall. Sinon takes over the conversation and explains the situation in more detail.

"You good?" You pull him aside.
"I'm fine..." Akira's lip quivered. However, it looked a little fake. "In all seriousness, I really am fine. This whole thing was a skit. Why? What's got you so worked up?" You hesitate.
"I was talking to Shino last night and I realized how grateful I am to have you as a friend. I met Sinon because of you. So... Thanks." You eventually get out. 
"Did you just... compliment me?" Akira is stunned.
"You better savour that. That'll be the last time I ever compliment you. From here on out, I'm going to throw out non-stop insults."
"Damn, I wish I could've recorded that."

"So who's the next beast we need to kill?" Asuna asked.
"If I remember correctly, our next target is a big snake," Kureha said.
"Jörmungandr, The Midgard Serpent." Sinon elaborated. "In the prophecy, it's said that Jörmungandr and Thor both kill each other at Ragnarök."
"So, if we can take care of the monster that kills one of the powerful gods then Ragnarök will be a much easier battle." You continue
"Real-worlder's stories are very bizarre..." Eugeo mutters. "A large serpent?"

"Hold on a sec," Liz cuts us off. "If Chris Hemsworth can't kill the snake, then what makes you think we can?"
"The power of friendship!" Akira proclaims from the corner.
"He's right, you know." You said. "We're all pretty good at this game. If we work together we can do it. And hey, even if we die, we have something that Jörmungandr doesn't."
"Which is?" Silica asks.
"Respawns."
"Ah," Everyone registered at the same time.

~

We stepped through Asgard's pedestal and made our way to Odin.

"Ah, the elves!" Odin's booming voice rang throughout the hall of Valhalla. "You've returned! Are you prepared for your next battle? I warn you, this will be an extremely tough battle."
"We're ready." You reply.
"You've got a fight in you. That's what I like to see! You may use the Bifröst to reach Midgard."

You lead the rest of the gang out one of the doors and to an open plain of grass.
"What's a Bifröst?" Leafa asks. Just then, a rainbow bridge slowly began to appear in front of you.
"That's a Bifröst," Sinon answers her. "If we traverse it, it will lead us to Midgard."
"Woah," Leafa stands in astonishment. She reluctantly places her foot on the bridge only to find it solid. "This is cool!"
"Shall we go?" Sinon leads the way.

As the group reaches the end of the bridge, you find yourself in a small plain of grass with high mountains on three sides; an ocean acted as a barrier for the fourth side.
"Is this the boss arena?" Akira asked. "It looks like a boss arena."
"It doesn't look like we can go anywhere else," Agil said. "We're walled off."
"What's that?" Yuuki points out something across the water's horizon.

A large, pale white snake lay still in the ocean. Its eyes were closed and its body slowly moved up and down. It had scallops around the bottom half of its body — most likely from being in the sea for such a long time. Its large fangs sunk into the end of its body.

"That's our target." You inform the others.
"Really?" Silica questioned. "But it's pretty far out. And doesn't it look like it's biting its tail?"
"That's because it is," Sinon tells the others. "When Jörmungandr releases its tail, it's a sign that Ragnarök is fast approaching,"

"I have a feeling that..." A thought crosses your mind. "Sinon, can you hit it with an arrow from this distance?"
"Who do you think you're talking to?" She takes out her bow and a singular arrow. She raises her bow at a forty-degree angle and pulls the arrow behind her ear. She releases the bowstring and you watch as the arrow soars through the air, colliding with the top of Jörmungandr's head. The beast opens its eyes. Its pupils land upon your group. You hear a long growl before the serpent thrashes around, creating high waves that soak everyone. It squirms more and more, eventually dislodging its gaping maw from its body. It turns to face you, angry at the group that woke it up.

"I knew it. Everyone, get ready for a fight!" You equip your spear and get into a fighting stance. "Let's go, you overgrown reptile!" It seems it heard you: it opens its large mouth exposing its colossal teeth. "Alright, everyone! Same as always, magic users fall back for support. Sinon, stay back and hit it from afar. Yui, tell us its moves. Everyone else hit it with everything you've got!" You charge at the creature, the rest not too far behind.

You jump to the side as the monster smashes its head against where you once stood. You use this opportunity to thrust your spear into the creature. However, the spear doesn't scratch it. You try again, this time aiming between its scales. It works. The Midgard Serpent pulls its head back to avoid another attack.
"It's got sturdy scales!" You shout. "You'll have to lodge your weapons between them to do damage!" They nod and follow your orders.

As Jörmungandr's health got lower and lower, it got more and more aggressive. Its attacks happened more frequently and dealt more damage. It began snapping at everyone close enough (which took away a devastating amount of health). However, you began to notice its movements begin to slow. It was growing tired. The snake eventually collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Yuuki and Eugeo seized this moment and sink their swords into its large glassy eyes. It cried out, wanting to retreat.

"Don't let it escape!" Sinon begins casting a spell as she pulls another arrow into her bow. It rocketed towards the monster and a blue rope left a trail back to Sinon. She yanked on it, attempting to stop it from moving. Jörmungandr easily overpowered her, dragging her along the sand. "Help me out here!" She ordered. We all crowded along the rope and pulled with her.

"It's no use!" Asuna shouts. "We can't stop it!"
"But we have slowed it down!" Klein let go of the rope and rushed to the snake's head. He jumped inside its mouth.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Zeliska calls him back.
"Klein you're a genius!" You see what he's doing. "He won't have to worry about hitting the scales. Everyone, slow it down as much as you can! Let Klein take it down!" You watch as Klein unleashes as many sword skills as he can before he runs out of mana. He drinks a potion and keeps going, repeating his tactic as many times as it takes.

"Almost there!" Silica shouts in support. "You've got this!"
"C'mon, Klein!" Liz does the same. Everyone joins in and encourages Klein.

The beast lets out one last shriek before falling into the ocean. The same familiar shards can be seen emerging from the surface. Klein swims back to shore, drained of energy. Everyone begins to crowd around Klein, praising him for his quick thinking.

"Nice job, Klein." Zeliska smiles at him. "You were pretty brave out there."
"Yahoo!" He wails in delight. "Finally!"

~

After returning to Asgard to report to Odin, you notice a person in a black cloak — the same person from a week before. "Well done!" He claps. "I saw your victory. You did splendidly well."
"You again?" You approach the mysterious character.
"Ah, Asuna. Long time no see. Glad to see you out of the hospital."
"I know that voice..." Asuna takes out her rapier and points it at him. "What are you doing here, Johnny Black?"
"Wait... the guy from Laughing Coffin?" You said.
"So quick to draw your sword." He sighs. "You can relax. I'm not here to fight."
"You think I care?"
"Fair point," Johnny Black continues, "I only want to introduce you to someone. Someone this boy knows very well." He points to Eugeo. "Come on out." He steps aside.
"Hello again... Eugeo was it?" A woman with long silver hair and similarly-colored eyes. Eugeo's eyes began to widen. His breathing quickened.

"Oh? Where's your friend? The annoying boy with the pebbles. And my dear Integrity Knight, Alice Synthesis Thirty. Is she not here either?" Eugeo doesn't reply. Instead, he draws his sword and charges at the woman. "Now, now. That's no way to treat an old friend." She moves to the side, dodging his attack, and throws him back towards us. "I'm afraid I have to go. I only had time to drop by and see how you were doing." Eugeo stands back up quickly and charges at her again. And again, he is thrown back down. "Really? You're a lot weaker than I remember." She laughs as she leaves Valhalla's large hall.

"Who was that..?" You ask.

I have only recently found out about my love for big snakes. I don't know why, but I find them awesome. The first time I saw Jörmungandr was probably when God Of War 4 was released (which was before I got interested in Norse Myth). I saw the Serpent for the first time and was blown away by how cool it looked. Then, I've recently started playing Sekiro. You can probably see where this is going. My first introduction to the Great Serpent terrified me, yet. blew me away just like Jörmungandr. That was when I realized, 'Haha, big snake cool.' So I decided to dedicate a chapter to the big snake.
There's a little anecdote for those who wanted to know.