Begin Again In Marvel

POV Rio 

It had been a few weeks since my search for the cosmos after I sold Knowhere. I had made a special warded area where I would raise the dead of several individuals. I had to ward the area so Death didn't decide to interfere. Once I was done setting up I started by resurrecting Abraham Erskine.

Rio: "Greater Resurrection."

Before he even had time to wake up I used Drain Knowledge and then vaporized his body. Next on the list of resurrections was Howard and Maria Stark.

Rio: "Greater Resurrection."

This time was different. I was going to sign a contract with them.

Howard: "Ugh, where am I?"

Rio: "Welcome back to the land of the living Howard and Maria Stark. I am Rio Magus and I have resurrected you to make a deal."

Howard: "What the hell are you?!"

Rio: "That is extremely rude. I am being very nice and courteous and you decide to yell at me."

Maria: "Howard! Stop being rude!"

Maria hits Howard over the head and apologizes to me.

Rio: "It's fine. I know my Equine form can be a bit surprising. That being said I would like to get down to business."

Howard: "Yes sorry. You mentioned a deal. What kind of deal?"

Rio: "A simple one. Both of you will give me all your knowledge and in exchange I will let you leave a message for your son and I will send your souls off to be reincarnated instead of being playthings for Death."

Howard: "Wait are you threatening us?"

Rio: "Nope. I am just letting you know I can't keep you alive. If I do Death will notice and when she does she will make everyone around you suffer brutal and horrific deaths before finally killing you. Death is a cosmic entity and she is a cruel demon that loves hoarding the souls of mortals. Thus I am offering you a way to escape the eternal prison she was keeping you in."

Maria: "I have vague memories of what it was like to be dead and it wasn't pleasant."

Howard: "I don't remember much about my time being dead. Still, how can anything you say be true? Maybe this is a ploy by our killers to gain what I know."

Rio: "Who Hydra? Yeah no. They can't resurrect the dead and if they did Death would punish them for doing so. I swear on my eternal soul I am not lying to you."

My oath releases a wave of magic and it seems to convince Howard.

Howard: "Fine I will trust you. You mentioned we can send a message to Tony."

Rio: "Yes, though you will have to sign the contract first not to reveal anything about me. My existence is a secret to most of the mortal races. I wish to keep it that way for now. Beyond that, I will not know what you put in the recording. I will give it to Tony when the time is right."

Howard: "Okay then what about the Reincarnation you spoke of? What does it entail?"

Rio: "Both of your souls will be cast into the greater cosmos. You will retain some of your memories. Since both of you are soulmates it guarantees you will both be reborn into the same era on the same planet. I will send both of you off with a small boon. This Boon will mostly make it so you will survive the first stage of your life."

Howard: "Do you know where we will go?"

Rio: "Nope it is completely random as is the reincarnation process. I will basically be marking your souls to enter the reincarnation cycle just with some magical protections. You will enter the second line of reincarnation. It's hard to explain but just know you will be together again with some of your memories. Most importantly you will be out of the reach of Death. She won't be able to take your souls back."

Howard: "We agree to the contract."

I summon the contract and have them sign it. Howard and Maria record their messages and then I take the knowledge. Then I use a ritual to mark them for pickup. It doesn't take long for them to die and reincarnate. I put their bones back in their graves then I process the memories.

[Ding]

[Killed Important Character + 1000 XP]

[Drained Knowledge = + 18 Intelligence]

[Level Up]

[Level: 87]

[400/8700xp]

'Neat. Now for the meeting.'

I had found a piece of knowledge that I thought could be what I was looking for. I had gathered everyone with either Draconic or Magical knowledge.

Rio: "Okay look at this. This book talks about the afterlife known as Valhalla. A place where brave Vikings went after they died. Does it sound familiar?"

Paarthunax: "Hmm, it does sound similar to the legends of Sovangarde. But how do we know it exists?"

Rio: "That's where it is thankfully easy. I asked Bartleby."

Sendak: "But isn't Valhalla just a myth even to Asgard?"

Rio: "Sigh. Yes. That's why it took me so long to try and look into it. I was under the impression Alduin might have been hiding behind a barrier or maybe he slipped into a known dimension. I don't know everything but I eventually came back to Valhalla."

Simon: "What did Bartleby tell you."

Rio: "He was able to confirm Valhalla exists as a real place but not whether or not Alduin is there."

Sendak: "So where does this leave us?"

Rio: "I asked Bartleby how to get to Valhalla without dying and he said I was required to either make a unique ritual that is very risky or to convince a god with the Death Divinity to give me a token of passage. Both are dangerous but as much as I would like to try the ritual I have to admit I know where a Goddess of Death is. They are sealed and weakened. I am not sure if I can make a deal with them."

Simon: "Are you talking about Hela?"

Rio: "Yes. Getting to her undetected by Odin is difficult enough. negotiating with her is dangerous and delicate."

Sunset: "I don't get it if she is sealed away how would we even talk to her?"

Rio: "Ah, you are thinking about seals from your universe. This universe has many types of seals. This one is more like many magical chains restricting her movement and magic. She is completely free to talk or sleep just never move."

Everyone grimaces at that.

Sunset: "That is horrible. What is wrong with her father?"

Rio: "Lots of things. Then again I don't know the full story just a decent amount from Brunhilde."

Durnehviir: "I think negotiating with this Hela is the best course of action. We cannot wait for too long. Every second Alduin could be devouring the souls of the dead and growing in strength."

Rio: "All in favor of negotiations."

Everyone agrees.

Rio: "Very well then let's start making the spell matrix we will use to sneak into Hel."

POV Buri First King Of Asgard

Bor: "We must do something that foul dragon has been feasting on the souls of the lesser."

Buri: "We can do nothing. Don't follow those other foolish gods and fight the dragon.

Bor: "I have already reached out to the nearby afterlives and they are sending warriors. Together we will slay the devourer. I have also gathered all the remaining warriors. If we perish make it so we can at least injure the beast."

Buri: "You are a fool. You will do nothing to empower the beast. You can surely tell it grows in power the more it feeds. We are safe in these halls."

Bor: "For now we are. How long will that last? As you say it grows in strength and few beings join Valhalla anymore. If we don't strike now it will grow strong enough to devour us anyways. At least this way we can go down fighting. With all the gods working as one we can slay the invader."

Buri: "It is pointless even our strongest weapons bounce off it as if they were mere toys thrown by a babe."

Bor: "We must at least try or else we will have dishonored the ancestors and our descendants. Stay here and hide if you wish Father but I will ride out to fight the foul dragon."

I sigh in exhaustion and sadness.

'Foolish son of mine you do not see the futility of resisting. If only you could be patient. Perhaps I should join him. No, someone must remain behind to carry their story. I should ask Bastet for assistance. I heard she has lost her place of power recently.'

I look out the window at the great fields of purple mist that shroud the once beautiful landscape. I see a shadow moving through it and I let myself feel sorrow for the unfortunate souls who have been caught in the black dragon's mist.

'I still do not understand what language it speaks. I just know it is ancient and powerful. Where has this creature come from and what injured it so badly? I can only hope that whatever injured the dragon is friendly and comes to our aid. Hopefully soon.'

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Authors Note:

Rio can resurrect people but usually can only do so if they died recently or if their souls are tied to their bodies still. If they aren't Death might get upset and Rio isn't strong enough to face her yet. Now you all know where Alduin is. Also, nothing the dead can do will kill Alduin. At most, they will maybe injure him. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and until next time Ciao.