Life Of A Nobody - as a Villain

"Where is my sister, mortal?" Skuld asked in a serious tone, shedding her previous calm and playful childishness. Replaced was the commanding tone of a goddess who led armies in Ragnarok.

Yet the stupid question requires a stupid answer. Hence Rio simply shook his head and replied naturally.

"You don't know? Verdandi's captive in Zeus's prison."

"Location?" Skuld asked again with narrowed eyes.

Rio tilted his head, letting a mocking smile stretch across his face. "Why don't you just check my future and find out? Maybe I will visit there someday."

"Stop messing around, and just give me the location, mortal?" Skuld spoke, stepping closer to him. Her suppressed anger causing the change in her form, revealing the Valkyrie stature.

Yet Rio looked at the petite girl, with threads forming an armor like modern nanotech. And only sneered in response.

"I'm messing around?" He questioned back. "That's freaking Zeus. And you want me to spill his secrets?"

"And fuck that, even if I do tell you, where he's keeping Verdandi. What are you gonna do? Huh.."

"...."

"Cry to your big sister, and ask her to go and plead in front of mommy Gauri? Hoping the goddess of chaos has enough mercy left to save her?"

"Gauri doesn't even care about her own avatar, which is my sister? So what makes you think she'll save yours?"

"That's none of your business." Skuld replied in the same tone. Ignoring his anger and the baits he threw to fume her doubts.

"You promised me …"

"That I will save your sister. And I will." Rio said, cutting her off.

"What's with you goddesses?" He said annoyingly looking at Skuld, "You've waited patiently for hundreds of years, hands on hands, doing nothing. But just warming the thrones with your perky little divine butts."

"But I, who gave you hope and a promise, can't even get a little bit of trust and time, without you murmuring in my mind like mosquitoes. Asking the same old stupid questions over and over again."

"....."

"I promised I'll get Verdandi freed from Zeus, and I will do that… When I have That strength."

He stepped forward and placed his hand firmly on Skuld's shoulder, pushing her downward. "So till then... Just shut up and _ sit down."

To his surprise, the goddess didn't resist. She simply… dropped.

Rio blinked speechlessly.

"..Would you believe me if I said I didn't mean to do that?" he asked, extending a sheepish hand to help her up.

A moment later, something coiled around his ankle—and yanked.

"Fu—!"

His legs flew into the air as his head hurtled toward the ground. He barely had time to shield his face before his back smacked into the earth.

"Damn it, I really didn't push you on purpose, it was just done in flow." he muttered, glaring up.

"Idiot." Skuld's voice rang out flatly as she conjured a glowing chair with a wave of her hand, sitting just at eye-level with his upside-down face.

"Now we're even," she said with a smug grin.

Rio hung limply in midair for a beat, then sighed in surrender. Struggle was useless, since it's her domain anyway. "Fine. Let's talk Zeus."

"What's the plan?"

"It's simple. We start with Alfred." Rio replied calmly.

"Why? Because he's after your sister?"

"Yes." Rio replied honestly, before also adding something further. "But he's also Zeus's pawn."

"Zeus doesn't know what Indra's planning with Maximus. But he knows that whatever it is, it won't be good for him."

"That's why he asked his fellows to pick Alfred as an avatar, just so he can use this prince to disrupt the king's rhythm, if necessary."

"I already know all that. And so does everyone else too." Skuld said, interrupting his chatter.

"Then what's the problem?" Rio replied.

"The problem is, I don't see you making any moves to implement our plans. In all these years you've done nothing to hurt Zeus."

"You've been busy either playing house, or protecting your house. That wasn't the deal."

"...So you want me to ignore my family and protect yours?" Rio asked with a sneer. Looking at the goddess, like staring at a fool.

"No, but I want you to at least make an effort. To show me that you do care about your promise." Skuld explained while shaking her head to his sarcasm.

"I'm growing stronger everyday, aren't I?"

"So are your enemies. Alfred included." Skuld replied. "And from whatever pieces of futures of you two I've seen, it's always him with a smile, and you, covered in either blood, or tears, and sometimes both."

"What did you see?" Rio asked with a frown. His thoughts drifting back to the vision Aelthar showed him.

"Nothing good." Skuld replied seriously. Her expression turning grim at the mention of her visions.

"I don't know what, but something happened a few days ago, and it had changed the fates of everyone. You, me, our sisters. The people you asked me to watch and monitor. Hell, even the entire world itself."

"The threads, they're all entangling with each other. Ending in the same old wave of darkness which I feared a thousand years ago."

Rio heard her warning and couldn't help but remember what changed a few days ago.

The Devil…

Skuld looked at his expression, devoid of shock or surprise, but rich with a sigh of realization and acceptance, _ and raised her eyebrows in doubt.

"What? What did you do now?" She asked tiredly, way too used to his ways of messing up with what's written.

"It wasn't me." Rio responded honestly, and much to goddess's dismay, didn't explain anything further even when she got tired of questioning and threatening him.

Skuld humphed and pouted seeing his acting stubborn, and just flung him in the air along the branches a couple of times.

"Oh, come on…" Rio's angry shout came to her ears from a distance, making the norn smile.

"Whatever plans you've made, mortal, if you don't hasten them now, you won't be able to in the future."

Rio heard Skuld's words, and though the goddess said them in a teasing tone, he knew she was being serious.

"Your luck's simply run out."

(I've noticed.)

Skuld said and Rio just nodded his head.

"I need a favor…" He said after a little thought, but Skuld cut him off.

"Ofcourse you do."

"In return, I can help you talk to Verdandi."

"That's impossible." Skuld refuted his claim. "My sister's locked where even we, norns, who share the same blood and bond can't sense each other, let alone do talk or a telepathy…"

"You leave that to me." Rio said while cutting her off. "Just do as I say, and I'll get you Verdandi."

Skuld looked at his face, trying to see through his thoughts. As after dealing with this mortal for nearly a decade, she knew, if he gave an inch, he'll take a mile.

"It's risky, isn't it?" She said after some time, "Otherwise you wouldn't call it a favor, and just name it a part of the plan while asking me to 'trust the process'..."

Rio choked hearing his excuses being shot back at himself, but he just kept a straight stoic face.

"So will you do it, or not?" He asked again.

"First tell me what it is." Skuld replied, matching the same stoic expression as him. As though it had been ages since she heard her sister's voice, she couldn't make strange promises and risk losing more.

"Tsk." Rio clicked his tongue seeing her so cautious, but there was nothing he could do. He did trick other gods like this once before.

"I want you to kill someone." Rio said calmly, like he didn't just ask a goddess to break the world will's set rule.

But how could his sweet voice hide the huge hole he digged.

And so Skuld exploded in curse words.

"Fuck You…."

(Yeah, you wish. Bitch.) Rio's thought.

[....]

(Is this really something you tell about gods?) System's speechless thought.

{Yupp.} (shameless reader nodding head.)