A high schooler on his walk home. A flash of light. And then—clouds. Endless white clouds, floating islands of marble, and a colossal arena filled with gods.
Kanata Crow has been pulled into Valhalla, the stage of Ragnarok—the final thirteen-round battle between gods and humanity, where a single loss could mean extinction. He doesn't know why he's here. He doesn't know how he arrived. But as he watches Thor, the God of Thunder, clash with the legendary Lü Bu Fengxian, he witnesses something no
Record of Ragnarok: Shadow of the Einherjar - The Wingless Angel and the Lost Human
The heat of the arena still clung to his skin.
Afterimages of lightning flickered behind his eyelids. Deep in his ears, the roar of a hundred thousand gods was stuck fast, refusing to fade.
Kanata Crow wandered the outer corridors of the Valhalla Coliseum with no particular destination.
(That was incredible... even though Lü Bu lost.)
His messy black hair stirred in the heavenly breeze. His bright brown eyes darted restlessly, tracking the gods who passed him by.
The match was over, and the divine audience was flooding toward the exits all at once. Gods with the bulk of giants, gods with the heads of beasts, gods wreathed in light. Caught in that current, Kanata had somehow ended up somewhere far from the path he'd come by.
"Huh... where am I?"
He looked around. Alabaster walls stretched on endlessly, carved with patterns he'd never seen before. The ceiling soared high overhead, and his voice echoed strangely.
There were fewer people than before. No—almost no one at all.
Kanata braced a hand against the wall and let out a long breath.
(Crap. I'm completely lost.)
His legs felt heavy. His head was full of the battle he'd just witnessed.
Thor, the god of thunder. Every time that red-haired god swung his hammer, the air itself shuddered. Lightning streaked across the arena, and the whole coliseum screamed.
And then, Lü Bu Fengxian.
A human had wounded a god. In that instant, something deep in Kanata's chest had burned hot. But the end result was defeat.
(Can humans really not beat the gods?)
Mulling it over as he walked, his own footsteps echoed back at him, unnaturally loud.
Kanata stopped.
(Right, they said this place is Heaven. The world of the gods.)
He recalled the words of the lion-headed god.
"The Divine Council has decided. Seven million years of human history is a failed creation."
A failed creation.
The words sank into his chest, slow and painful.
(So that means I'm a failure too, huh.)
Kanata looked at his own hand. On the back of his left hand was a small scar from falling off his bike as a kid. Under the light of Heaven, that scar somehow looked fainter than usual.
He had no special power. Nothing at all.
Just an ordinary second-year high school student. He barely scraped by on history tests. Sports weren't exactly his strong suit either.
So why was someone like him here?
He didn't even know how to get back to his own world.
"...Hah."
His sigh was swallowed by the white walls.
That was when it happened.
"Oh? There's a human in a place like this."
A voice came from behind him.
Kanata turned around.
Standing there was a girl draped in a white feathered robe.
Fluffy chestnut hair swayed in the wind. The ends flipped up a little—she looked somehow like a small animal. Her big amber eyes stared straight at Kanata.
And on her back, a single pair of small, adorable white wings.
Those wings fluttered busily.
"Uh, ah, um..."
The words wouldn't come out.
The girl tilted her head.
"Are you lost, maybe? This is the gods' walkway. If a human's here all alone, who knows what they'll do to you."
Kanata finally found his voice.
"Um, are you... an angel?"
The girl blinked, blank for a moment.
Then she puffed out her cheeks.
"I'm not an angel! I'm a battle maiden! A Valkyrie! Don't you know that?"
"A—a battle maiden..."
Kanata had heard the term before. The lion god had said it earlier.
"The eldest of the Valkyries raised an objection."
"Are you, like, the one running Ragnarok...?"
"Yes! You know your stuff!"
The girl's expression lit up instantly. The wings on her back fluttered happily.
"I'm Göll, the youngest of the thirteen Valkyrie sisters! Nice to meet you!"
"Oh, I'm Kanata. Kanata Crow."
"Kanata! Yeah, that's a good name!"
Göll spun a quick circle around Kanata, beaming.
"Hey, Kanata. You're not hurt, are you? You look pale. Does anything hurt?"
"Uh, no, I'm fine, but..."
"Really? It's super rare for a human to come to Heaven, you know. Are you feeling okay? Any headache? Any nausea?"
Göll peered anxiously into Kanata's face.
Too close.
Her amber eyes were right in front of him. A sweet, floral scent drifted up.
Kanata instinctively took a step back.
"I—I'm fine! Really!"
"Yeah? Okay, good then."
Göll smiled in relief.
Then she held out the small waterskin she was carrying.
"Here, this. Water. You're thirsty, right?"
"Oh, is that okay?"
"Of course! Don't be shy! The water in Heaven is delicious!"
Kanata took the waterskin. A small one, made of ceramic. Cool and pleasant against his hand.
He took a sip.
Cold water ran down his throat. It was far clearer than anything in the lower world, and just a little sweet.
"...That's good."
"Right? Heaven's water is drawn from the sea of clouds!"
Göll puffed out her chest proudly.
Seeing that, Kanata's tension eased just a little.
(She's a good kid.)
They'd only just met, and she was this kind to him. So there were gentle people even in the world of the gods.
"Thanks, Göll."
"You don't need the 'miss' stuff! Just Göll! I'm still the baby sister, anyway!"
"Then, Göll. Thanks."
"Yeah!"
Göll smiled happily.
At that smile, Kanata's heart skipped, just a little, for some reason.
(What is this...)
Kanata hurriedly looked away.
"Anyway, Kanata. It's dangerous to be here alone. The gods don't think too kindly of humans."
Göll's voice suddenly turned serious.
"Huh, so that's how it is after all..."
"Yeah. The priests of the Divine Council especially—they make nasty faces whenever they see a human. So let's move through the back streets where there are fewer eyes, okay?"
"Back streets..."
"I know the roads of Heaven really well! Leave it to me!"
With that, Göll took Kanata's hand and pulled him along.
It was a small, warm hand.
"Whoa, hey—"
"This way, this way!"
Still holding his hand, Göll led him into a narrow alley.
A cramped path squeezed between alabaster walls. Heavenly light filtered thin from above the walls.
Only their two sets of footsteps echoed, tap-tap.
"Hey, Göll."
"What?"
"Valkyries run Ragnarok, right? That's amazing."
At Kanata's words, Göll's feet stopped dead.
"...No. It's not amazing at all."
Göll's voice grew a little smaller.
"I'm the youngest of the thirteen Valkyrie sisters, but I'm still only half-trained. I can't even do divine weapon forging yet."
"Divine weapon forging?"
"It's the secret art where a Valkyrie offers up her own body to become a weapon. It's how we grant divine weapons to the human fighters in Ragnarok."
Göll hung her head.
"My big sisters can all do it. I'm the only one whose power still hasn't awakened..."
Her voice was mixed with sorrow and frustration.
Kanata looked at Göll's profile.
The girl who'd been smiling so brightly a moment ago was now shrunk into herself.
(She's struggling too.)
Something in Kanata's chest tightened.
"Me too."
Kanata spoke quietly.
"Huh?"
"I don't have any special power either. I'm just a high schooler. Same as you—I can't do anything."
Göll looked up at him, startled.
"You too, Kanata...?"
"Yeah. So I kind of get how you feel. It's frustrating, right? When everyone around you is amazing, it feels like you're the only one being left behind."
At his words, Göll's big eyes wavered slowly.
"...Yeah. That's it. My big sisters are all beautiful, and strong, and incredible. And I'm the only one who stays useless no matter how much time passes."
Göll's voice trembled.
"Sometimes I cry, too. At night, when I'm alone, I think, why is it only me..."
Kanata listened without saying a word.
"But after I cry, I think, I'll try again. Because I want to catch up to my big sisters."
Göll lifted her face.
There were tears in her eyes.
But behind them, there was a strong light, too.
"You're strong, Göll."
"Huh? Me?"
"Yeah. You cry, but you don't give up. That's an amazing thing."
At Kanata's words, Göll's cheeks turned just a little red.
"Th—that's not true... What about you, Kanata? Aren't you scared, coming to Heaven all alone?"
"I'm scared. Incredibly scared. But I want to know why I'm here. Why I was called to Heaven."
Göll stared at Kanata, fixed and steady.
"You're strong, Kanata."
"Huh?"
"You're scared, but you don't run. That's a really strong thing to do."
Göll said it and smiled brightly.
A smile mustered with all her might, on a face still streaked with tears.
Something deep in Kanata's chest warmed, slow and gentle.
(Having her say that... it kind of saves me.)
That was when it happened.
"—I sense something."
Göll's expression snapped tight in an instant.
"Huh, what?"
"A priest. He's coming toward this path. Kanata, hide!"
Göll pulled hard on Kanata's hand and shoved him into the shadows.
Behind an old stone pillar. Kanata held his breath.
Göll stood alone in the middle of the path.
Before long, footsteps approached.
A tall man in white robes appeared. His face was pale, his eyes narrow, harboring a cold light. A priest of the Divine Council.
"Well, well. The youngest Valkyrie. What are you doing in a place like this?"
The priest's voice was cold as ice.
"Oh, um, I'm looking for a lost dog. Have you seen one around here?"
Göll's voice was trembling slightly.
"A lost dog? There are no dogs in Heaven. Don't bring talk of lowly creatures here."
The priest spat the words out.
"I—I'm sorry..."
"Honestly. A Valkyrie, and still half-trained after all this time. Do try to apply yourself, so as not to shame your sisters."
At the priest's words, Göll's shoulders gave a small jerk.
"...Yes."
Göll hung her head low.
The priest snorted and walked away.
Kanata watched the whole exchange from the shadows.
(That priest, saying such awful things to Göll.)
His fist trembled with anger.
But more than that, Kanata's eyes were fixed on what the priest held in his hand.
A scroll.
In that priest's hand was a scroll that looked like a match record.
During the first round, a hooded figure in a corner of the stands had been hiding a scroll.
Just like that one.
(Why would a priest have a match record scroll...?)
That nagging feeling from before welled up in Kanata's chest again.
"Kanata, it's okay now."
Göll poked her face out from the shadows.
"O—oh. Thanks, Göll. You saved me."
"Don't mention it. Those people are always like that. Don't let it bother you."
Göll smiled.
But that smile was different from the ones before.
A forced smile.
"Göll, that priest was saying terrible things. Don't let it get to you. There's no need to take the words of a guy like that to heart."
At Kanata's words, Göll looked a little surprised.
"...Yeah. Thank you, Kanata."
Göll's smile returned, just a little, to a real one.
"But those people are priests of the Divine Council. You can't go against them. My big sister tells me to be careful around them, too."
"Big sister?"
"Yeah. Big sister Brunhilde. The eldest of the thirteen Valkyrie sisters, and the one who proposed Ragnarok."
Kanata's breath caught at the name.
(Brunhilde. The eldest Valkyrie the lion god mentioned.)
"Kanata, have you not met my big sister, by any chance?"
"No, I just found myself in the arena when I came to. I haven't met anyone."
"I see. Then we should get you to meet her. If people find out there's a human in Heaven, it could turn into a huge mess."
Göll thought it over for a moment.
"Maybe I should take you to the Valkyrie Hall. It's our residence. My big sister is there too..."
Göll trailed off and closed her mouth.
"...But maybe it's still too soon for you to meet her."
"Huh?"
"My big sister is a very busy person. And a human showing up out of nowhere might startle her."
Göll said it with a troubled smile.
Looking at that smile, Kanata sensed something.
(Göll said she wants her big sisters to acknowledge her. But somewhere in there, she's afraid.)
Göll's own loneliness—of not being acknowledged by her sisters.
That was definitely there, behind her smile.
"Hey, Göll.
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