Chapter 497: 497. I Missed You
The next week, a major press conference was held. All 54 heads of African states appeared in a single frame. The President of the African Union, Zendaya Azibo, was standing on the bottom step, in the middle. But behind her stood Magnus, appearing out of place. But for those who knew, this was a show of strength. Standing behind the President of the African Union, he was the master of all threads.
[Breaking News: African nations have come together in a historic step to become one big nation so the funds and resources can be better utilised. This is unprecedented, now the biggest nation on the planet is not Russia, it's the United Provinces of Africa. Making Africa the 5th richest nation in the world with a GDP of 3 Trillion Dollars.]
Such news broke out, appearing on all news channels. But Magnus had returned home, to spend time with his dear family. Athena, being 21 now, was busy making a career in politics and managing the world under Magnus. She was being taught everything by him.
However, he was called by Ragnar into his lab, it was also Ragnar's birthday today. Soon, he stood in front of a telescope-like machine 5-meter tall that seemed magical and muggle at the same time. "What am I looking at?"
"Hehe, this is deconstructor, a machine I created because I could not find a way to determine what the unknown mineral on Mars was. This machine is based on muggle chemistry but runs and works on magical runes and alchemy. What it basically does is... let me show you." Ragnar excitedly put a ring on the place.
He placed it under a pipe that seemed like an elephant's trunk. "Just watch,"
The machine threw a white light on the ring until nothing was visible. 5 seconds later, the machine stopped. Now, there were three different objects on the plate, one gold, one silver and one platinum.
"Hehe, my machine can deconstruct anything into its base substances. For example, if you put a water drop here, you won't get anything as it will be deconstructed into hydrogen and oxygen. But if you put a mineral, it will help you. I was able to determine the material from Mars. I named it Ragnium, it's a crystal-like opaque metal, present around Mars under 10-meter depth.
"The best part about it is that the more you heat it the stronger it gets, the colder you make it the softer it gets. But, it will never break. Of course, there is a limit to how hard and soft it can get. I don't know where you can use it, but it's a pretty great discovery." Ragnar demonstrated this with a block of Ragnium. He put it on the table and ignited it on fire with a spell.
"WOAH! You can use magic!" Magnus was more shocked by this.
Ragnar scoffed, "Mate, look at me, all those tattoos were for this. But I can't create strong charms that can kill people, fire is my favourite though, even a spark can hurt. It's just helpful in my day to day life, some experiments. I can apparate a short distance though, that's amazing. Oh, I can also crush a giant's skill like a lemon at this point. Besides that, potions, alchemy and runes are still my mastery."
Magnus sighed. Ragnar was truly born with a handicap and yet he came this far. He was a total badass, no matter what anyone would say. The dude could end the world with a single potion if he wanted to.
"Well, that's nice to hear. Man, you're 45 now, go and find some girl and get settled." Magnus genuinely advised. He wanted Ragnar to have the same happiness as he had. Ragnar was also the last of his bloodline, it'd be a shame if he didn't pass it on.
Sighing, Ragnar took a seat, waved his wand and pulled out a bottle of whiskey on a cabinet 5 metres away from him, his max range was 10 metres only, that's as far as his magic could accio a thing. It was pretty weak. He gestured to Magnus to do the same. "Drink, brother. I am actually not worried about marriage, I may be 45, but we drink rejuvenation potion. I am not going to look old until I am 100. We also drank the elixir that Flamel perfected."
"Still, why wait? Go out, try to look around, maybe you will connect with one girl." Magnus suggested, taking a sip.
*Sigh* "I will, Mag. I have decided to do a world tour from next year, I will travel to each country, meet muggles and wizard girls. Maybe I will connect with one." Ragnar said. He had planned this a long time ago. "I wanted to do it, but this new invention had me locked in the lab. This machine will basically help humanity for years to come as we all will come across many unknown this in space."
Magnus took a sigh of relief. There were billions of people, and there was no way Ragnar wouldn't find one perfect girl, "It will help, I'm sure. Before you go, Rag. Don't forget to meet the family. And do give me the means to find you if I ever need you."
"Ah, I remembered something I made a long time ago," Ragnar quickly walked over to his locker and took out a piece of paper. It was cut in the shape of an arrow. "Here, you take one piece, I take one. They will always point you to one another. With this, you can find me at any time. And if somedays it starts burning, that means my life is in danger. So you better come quick."
Magnus carefully put it in the chest pocket of the shirt. "This sure puts me at ease. By the way, Rag. I have a gift for you. Remember that ring from Gaunt's shack? It was a Horcrux. Voldemort probably didn't know, but it contained a stone.
"Guess what the stone is," Magnus passed him the ring.
Ragnar looked at it, the marking on it was clear, "Bloody hell, this is the mark of three Deathly Hallows."
Magnus nodded, "Yup. I searched for the three. I found them all. The Invisibility Cloak, the original one, is with the Potter Family. The Elder wand is currently in Dumbledore's possession and this is the final one, the resurrection stone,"
"C-can it revive the dead?" Ragnar was amused, he knew the stories.
Magnus smiled, got up to leave. "Nope, but it sure can do wonders. Ragnar, happy birthday. Just wear the ring and call your mother's name. Beware though, it can hurt them if you keep them for longer than 30 minutes. See you in the dinner hall,"
Ragnar kept staring at the ring, wondering what Magnus meant, he had some idea but his sane mind dismissed it as something impossible. It went beyond the laws of life and death. Alone, he decided to give it a go. So he put the ring on his finger and called his mother's name, "My mother, Sophia Oroborus."
*WOOSH*
All of a sudden, a bright translucent blueish light came out of the ring and created a human form. Following, some sort of music started, a violin and the tune was the same as he remembered from his childhood. In an instant, Ragnar's mind went blank, his heartbeat rose and his blue eyes teared up.
The last time he saw her face was when she laid there in the room, lifeless, with blood flowing through her throat that she stabbed herself. He, 5 years old, tried to wake her up, but she did not. Tiring himself out, he rolled himself into a ball beside her and fell asleep in her blood. The next day, he woke up hungry, he tried to wake her up again. It went on until Aurors found him.
That was the last time he saw her. It was the most haunting memory, but his rotten fate made it the last memory of his mother, and he didn't want to forget anything about his mother.
Silent tears slid down his eyes. He was glad Magnus had left, he tried to act so manlily and here he was, crying.
But then, the ghostly figure of the beautiful woman flew towards him. She raised her hand to caress him, but she could not touch him. Still, Ragnar felt as if something brushed his face. Looking at her face from so close, his emotions broke through the dam he had created over his heart.
Her warm voice, full of love for him soon resounded in the dark underground lab, "You've been through so much, sweety. I am so proud of you."
Ragnar tried his best, moving each muscle of his face he could, but he could not fight the emotions, the tears. They broke through, shattering every flimsy remaining wall in his heart.
He broke down, crying like a child, wailing loudly. All the while the ghost of his mother caressed his face, his head. "I-I missed you so much, mum."
"I was so scared"
"I was so alone."
"Why didn't you take me along?"
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[A/N: Honestly, this last part about Ragnar made me sad. As someone who wrote his character from the start, I see him as a real person in my mind. Everything is like a movie in my head, all real.]
[A/N: I have decided to pair Ragnar with Rhaenys Targaryen (daughter of Rhaegar) from GOT in GOT fic. Why? Since both have the same backstory, if any, it should be her with whom Ragnar can connect. After all, right in front of her, Gregor Clegane r*ped and killed Elia after bashing in her son's head, while his hands were still tainted with the infant's blood. Ragnar also saw his mother commit suicide in front of him, not wanting to be r*ped in front of her son by Rodolphus, Riddle and Avery.
Lovers brought together by tragedy.]
[See Ragnar's mum on Discord - https://discord.gg/DgHkrAn OR see them on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mister_immortal_novel]
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Special thanks to *DougErNuts* *Oluwatimileyin Olayemi* *BirdRant* *Franklin Walley* *Brennan Tubbs*