Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

"He's still alive!" she exclaimed happily, managing to feel the heartbeat of his heart and leaning on him, smiling and crying tears of joy, which flowed on her face, ending up on the black skin of Dag's armor.

Reidar knelt near them, sighing in shock, while Karl reached Agnes, who had stood still with the horses in their hiding place.

Gridd opened her eyes again when a warm hand touched her cheek, gently stroking her.

"The most important thing?" asked Dag with a thread of voice, after regaining his senses.

She placed her hand on her brother's, blushing with embarrassment and trying to feel contact with his skin moment after moment as if she wanted to stop time.

Then she quickly sat next to him and began punching him in the chest.

"Never do it again! You will make me die in fear! Did you get mad?! Who was that old witch and what did she want from you?! 813... or something... what the fuck does that mean?!" she yelled, continuing to punch him, jocking.

"Ouch! Hahaha! Believe me, Gridd, I didn't expect two Xis to attack us! I've never had anything like this happen to me!" said Dag, looking up at the sky, happy that the nightmare was over.

"So... those people… were they Xis, Captain?" asked Reidar with a smile, as he noticed that Dag's breathing was normal again.

"Yes, they were. I saw something, my friends" he continued, sitting on the ground next to Gridd, who listened intently to what he had to say.

"Have you 'seen' something? What do you mean? I assure you, we've seen some crazy shit too! Hahaha!" chuckled Reidar.

"As soon as that woman's life force entered my body, I had a kind of vision. I was in the open space and witnessed the death of our Sun".

"What? Are you talking about the Dark Day? How... how did you be there, did you go back in time?" the archer asked again.

"I think so, or rather... my mind came back. The Sun did not die of natural causes, as we believed from that day... they did it! A huge black hand wrapped it up, extinguishing its flames and shattering it as if it was a glass ball!" 

"A black hand? Dag, you must have banged your head! How can a black hand be so big as to envelop a star the size of the Sun?!" exclaimed Karl, who along with Agnes and the horses returned to his companions.

"It wasn't a hand in the flesh... it was like a shadow. And the substance it was made of... It looked like the black liquid I can create when I fight" Dag continued, standing up, holding on to Gridd because of his dizziness.

After that statement, they all remained silent.

"Come on! Don't worry, I'm not one of them, ready to kill you and destroy other Suns and other galaxies! It's always me!" he replied, noting that his teammates were watching him closely.

"We know, Captain. We trust your words and thank you for saving us from enemies beyond our reach once again. But... your right eye... why hasn't it been back to normal yet?" exclaimed Reidar.

"I think it is due to the powers he has absorbed from that woman. If she was really a Xis, it's not to be excluded that her essence has been linked to yours and that her powers have added to those you already possessed" Karl replied, preceding Dag, surprised by the news about his eye.

"Like transfusion, but even more effective... if our blood is similar, so is our DNA... by absorbing her body in this way, I was able to permanently store her powers. Or at least, I hope so" Dag thought out loud.

"DNA? What's that?" asked Karl, intrigued.

"I don't remember exactly, I read something about that when I was little and I was on Earth. Let's say it's a kind of code, which differentiates us from each other, making us unique. It's impossible for two living things to have the same DNA... however, for example, yours is a kind of fusion between that of your mother and your father. I'd really like to read one of those science books again, which explained biology and genetics in a simple way..." continued Dag, recalling the arguments that remained most imprinted on him.

"A code? It's fascinating! So do you think your code and that old witch's code are similar?" replied Karl.

"Yes, I am convinced. Not just mine and hers... I think my DNA is related to that of the Xis, although I don't know how yet, being both of my parents human beings".

"Dag, wait a minute, let me know something... does this mean that your powers have increased even more? That woman was incredibly strong, but you managed to defeat her... that means your skills were already superior to hers, imagine now!" exclaimed Gridd, who tried to return down-to-earth, stopping to fantasize.

Dag paused to reflect on what he had just said: on a large scale, perhaps his strength in combat was not so incredible, compared to that of the strongest Xis.

But considering the present, on Skjold, his potential was enormous. With those powers, hardly anyone else could counter him, perhaps not even King Einar himself.

"I think the two Xis we faced just now, were of low rank. The 'guest' bodies they had chosen were old and weak and this definitely increased my chances of winning. In any case, these are simply useless considerations... just stop talking about me, we have a mission to achieve!" he exclaimed, raising the spirits of his companions and his sister.

"Are you feeling well, Captain? If you want, we can camp here and leave tomorrow morning..." Reidar asked, watching Dag from head to toe, certain he was hurt.

"Yes, I'm fine, my wounds have healed and the armor... it was amazing! It's also thanks to Turid that I was able to get the better of the enemy!" said Dag, winking at Reidar, who reciprocated with a smile.