Castle heard what Sif had said. Excited, he grabbed her arm. "What's going on with Kofi?
Is there a scientific explanation? I've got goosebumps all over..."
Sif glanced at the big man, Kofi, and replied uncertainly, "A group of Einherjar from Vanaheim once preached on Earth.
They called themselves 'Agents of Pain.' They walked among sin and suffering.
They used their own bodies to bear pain for those who were devout...
But that was a long time ago!
They overestimated what they could endure. Much suffering didn't come from the body itself, and even the Einherjar couldn't bear the anguish of the mind..."
As she spoke, Sif shook her head. "It's impossible. They became legends two thousand years ago, and the 'Agents of Pain' couldn't have survived all this time..."
Castle had a writer's instincts. What was or wasn't possible didn't matter; when he found a hole, he wanted to jump in and take a look...
Facing the somewhat surprised Sif, Castle grabbed the big man Kofi's thick arm. "You mean Kofi could be an 'Agent of Pain'—in other words, he could be an 'Angel'!"
Faced with Castle's questioning, Sif helplessly shook her head. "Even if he is, so what?
"The 'Agents of Pain' were just a group of pitiable people who had given their bodies and souls completely!
"When people realized that 'relieving suffering' wouldn't get them what they wanted, they were abandoned...
"In their place came the search for enemies to blame, and that was how Demons came about!
"The 'Einherjar,' or 'Angels,' aren't as noble as you imagine...
"The Satan in your legends was an Einherjar. Lucifer and the devils of legend were all born from fallen Einherjar..."
Castle stared at Sif in shock. "What you just told me is more shocking than the novels my writer