I gazed at my reflection in the frozen lake. A handsome face with fair skin. My hair and eyes were obsidian in color, just like my raven form. A sturdy and imposing body, standing at a height of one hundred and eighty centimeters.

  As far as I knew, the average height of male Jotun I often encountered in the forest was around 180 cm. As for the females, their average height was about 165 cm. Fenrir herself seemed to be around 170 cm, slightly taller than other Jotun women.

  Compared to a human body, my raven form was considered large, but now I could no longer take pride in it, as my size was merely average among the Jotun.

  "Yata."

  A voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

  "Are you really not going hunting? I'm hungry."

  That whining voice came from Fenrir, who was lazily rolling around in the snow. She didn’t seem bothered by the Gleipnir binding her, perhaps she had already grown accustomed to it.

  "I actually want to, but I'm not used to this body yet."

  Although I was once human, suddenly returning to a human form after so long as a raven felt strange. I needed time to get used to it. I had even lost my balance when I first tried walking on my own two feet.

  "Then what now? I'm already hungry." Fenrir whined again, begging for food.

  I furrowed my brows. This was the first time I had ever seen Fenrir complaining about hunger. Perhaps forming a contract yesterday had drained a lot of her energy.

  "If only I could return to my raven form, maybe I could hunt something for us."

  "But isn't that something you can do? You were able to turn into a human, so why can't you do the opposite?"

  I narrowed my eyes. "That's true, but how?"

  Fenrir closed her eyes, trying to recall. "Let me think about what that bastard does when he wants to change forms."

  Fenrir’s way of referring to "that bastard" was undoubtedly about her father, Loki. Thinking back, Fenrir had indirectly mentioned that the Rune she gave me was an inheritance from her father. Runes could indeed be passed down through blood, but that didn’t mean the descendant would necessarily be compatible with them.

  Loki was Fenrir’s biological father, as well as the god who represented trickery, chaos, and transformation. His reckless antics often caused problems, chaos, and change in Norse myths, though he was also the one who frequently solved them.

  If this Rune was a blood inheritance from him, it made sense that it had shape-shifting abilities, just as Fenrir said.

  "Ah, I remember now. That bastard once said that we just need to try imagining the inside and outside of the form we want to copy. But still, none of the three of us ever managed to change forms. As far as I recall, that’s all there is to it."

  "Just imagining it, huh?" I paused, trying to process her words. "That’s all?" I asked for confirmation.

  Fenrir nodded confidently.

  "Alright, let me try."

  I closed my eyes, trying to picture my raven form in full detail, both inside and out, including my internal organs.

  Minutes passed, but I still felt no change in myself. Something was missing from Fenrir’s explanation.

  I opened my eyes and glanced at her inquiringly. "Are you sure that’s the only way your father activated his Rune?"

  "Let me think again." Fenrir shut her eyes tightly, as if digging through memories buried deep beneath the ground. "If I remember correctly, that bastard would sometimes mutter things like ‘transform’ or something similar."

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  "Ah, I think I get it now. Let me try again."

  I refocused and closed my eyes, imagining every detail of myself. Once I was sure, I tried uttering a word to trigger my own suggestion.

  "Henshin."

  The next moment, I felt a slight jolt of pain, as if electricity had surged through my body. It seemed the transformation process had worked.

  Perhaps suggestion was the key to activating the Rune.

  It was like how protagonists still had to call out the name of their technique, even though they were perfectly capable of activating it silently. Sometimes, it wasn’t about necessity, it was just to trigger their own belief.

  After a while, I gathered my courage and opened my eyes.

  That was when I realized I had returned to my raven form.

  There was a slight ache and fatigue that came with the transformation, likely a consequence of using my Rune. But that didn’t matter. I was sure I would get used to it soon.

  This was better.

  I felt incredibly relieved to be a raven again. Perhaps because I had no memories of my human life, I found myself far more comfortable in this form.

  "It seems like you’re getting the hang of that Rune. You're amazing, Yata."

  Fenrir crouched beside me, smiling proudly.

  I tilted my head, unsure how to react.

  "By the way, can you try transforming into something bigger so you can catch larger prey?"

  I nodded, agreeing to her request. Besides, I was still curious about my Rune.

  "Caw. (Henshin)."

  I began changing into a much larger bird, one of the sky’s apex predators, a hawk.

  "Wow, you did it!" Fenrir cheered, clapping her hands excitedly.

  Even though I was still a bird, I could immediately feel a stark difference in my body. I was slightly heavier, my vision blurred momentarily as I struggled to adjust to the hawk's sharp eyesight, and my lungs felt larger, allowing me to take in more oxygen.

  "Can you fly, Yata?" Fenrir asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

  I shrugged, uncertain. But I was willing to try.

  At first, stretching my wings felt awkward. The difference in body proportions made it difficult to balance. However, after a while, I started to adapt.

  A rush of adrenaline surged through me as I flapped my wings. At first, it was clumsy, and I even stumbled a few times like a fledgling learning to fly. But gradually, I got the hang of it.

  I dared to soar higher into the sky, reaching an altitude far beyond what my raven form could manage.

  "Woaaah... You're flying so high, Yata!" Fenrir exclaimed, delighted.

  For me, this was also my first time flying this high. Unlike ordinary birds, hawks had a specialized respiratory system that allowed them to fly much higher than other species.

  "Khiiiik… (This is incredible!)"

  I couldn't hold back my urge to screech as loudly as possible. Even though I knew it might scare off potential prey below.

  As I circled in the air, I could see the vast, snow-covered forest beneath me. The world seemed so much bigger from up here, and for a moment, I felt like I was at the top of the world, dominating the skies like a true king.

  So, this is what it feels like to be the ruler of the skies.

  Then, something caught my attention. My sharp vision instinctively zoomed in on a small deer nibbling on some shrubs.

  Without a second thought, my instincts kicked in, and I dove straight toward it. The deer, completely unaware of the danger above, continued eating without a care.

  Thud.

  In mere seconds, I struck, grasping it tightly with my talons and sharp beak. The kill was swift and merciless. Without any trouble, I lifted it into the sky and carried it back to Fenrir.

  A joyful cheer from the wolf girl echoed below as she saw me returning with my catch.

  "You're amazing, Yata!" she praised proudly. "You're the best pet I’ve ever had!"

  I immediately dropped the deer in front of her before shifting back into my true form, a raven.

  Fenrir’s face lit up as she stared at the fresh deer meat before her. Wasting no time, she eagerly dug in. A wide smile stretched across her soft, pale pink lips.

  I watched as her smile framed her face. A beautiful, mesmerizing expression, just like that of a normal girl.

  It made me wonder.

  Is she really the wolf of destruction? Is that prophecy truly inevitable?

  Doubt crept into my heart about the fate she had been given. Maybe Odin’s prophecy about her was nothing but nonsense. I couldn’t see anything evil about her at all.

  On the contrary, all I saw was a lonely girl, unfairly treated and burdened with an unjust destiny. Even as a child, she had already faced so much pain and hardship.

  For a moment, I fell deep into thought, questioning what was right and what was wrong.

  My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Fenrir’s casual voice.

  "Yata, aren’t you going to eat?"

  I was about to refuse, but my stomach had other plans. It growled loudly without my permission, forcing me to join in on the meal.

  The instincts of a beast were strong. It was as if I wasn’t even allowed to suppress my hunger over something like this.

  I had to eat quickly before she finished it all. Her eating speed was as fast as light.

  "Caw." I cawed, signaling to Fenrir that I wanted some meat.

  She seemed to understand. Without hesitation, she tore off the deer’s right hind leg and handed it to me.

  I took it without hesitation, tearing into the meat with my sharp beak before devouring it to fill my stomach.

  "This is good, isn’t it?" Fenrir asked, stuffing her mouth so full of meat that her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel’s.

  I simply nodded. That alone was enough to make her flash another bright smile, the same smile that pulled me back into my previous thoughts.

  Fate would keep turning, and that included Fenrir’s.

  No matter what, my heart ached knowing what would eventually happen to her in the distant future.