Freya shocks Bjorn by proposing that he call her to arms and name Snorri his enemy. Because her allegiance oath compels her to answer such a summons, Freya believes Bjorn can use the oath before Snorri does, letting her turn Hel’s power on Snorri and take his soul to Helheim. Though Freya still believes Hel’s gift is dangerous and unnatural, she argues that using it now is the necessary path.

Bjorn recoils from the idea. He hates the thought of using the oath Snorri forced on Freya and refuses to command her, even at Freya’s request. Freya accuses Bjorn of supporting her only on his own terms, then leaves in anger.

After Freya goes, Bjorn’s mother warns that his moral resistance may put Freya in greater danger. She argues that if Bjorn claims Freya’s oath first, Snorri may lose much of his power over her, but if Freya goes on her own, Snorri could still command her to turn against Nordeland and make the nightmare they fear come true. Bjorn counters that forcing Freya toward Snorri may itself trigger that fate and insists it would be safer for Freya to flee far away.

Bjorn’s mother challenges his motives, suggesting that his preferred plan may be tied to hope of winning Freya back. She condemns how he once put his own desires ahead of Freya’s well-being, and Bjorn lashes out in return, blaming her long pursuit of vengeance against Snorri for helping create this dark future. When Bjorn’s mother says the Allfather’s vision centered on Freya, not Bjorn, she leaves him alone with his doubts.

In the aftermath, Bjorn questions prophecy, fate, and even the guidance he has trusted all his life. He cannot understand why Freya must embrace darkness for any hope of a better future, or why he would have to order it. Yet despite his crisis of faith, Bjorn ends the chapter resolved to keep the vow he made to stand at Freya’s back until the gates of Valhalla.