Chapter 316 - 316: Heart
"This… witchcraft."
"It's a Skill."
A burning chill. That's what Vanya felt as she placed her hand on the mass of ice that presented itself to them. It was hard not to notice, after all. From the embers that emerged from their every step, it was expected that the undergrounds of Muspelheim would be even harsher.
She wondered why it was so cold, but it turns out that there was a massive block of ice right in the center of the dungeon, most probably summoned by the woman that was lying quietly within its freezing confines.
She looked serene, peaceful even. The only imperfection that one could see was the hint of red that froze like a mist on her torso, as well as the dagger that was lodged straight through her heart.
"...What happened to her?" Vanya then gently removed her hand from the ice, turning her focus towards Gerald whose eyes only reflected the warmth of Xinyan's face.
"She's… hurt," Gerald closed his eyes as he rested his forehead on the biting cold, "I'm home, my love."
"I assume this iceberg is her own doing?" Vanya muttered softly. Initially, she only thought of this young human as a rude, arrogant, and blasphemous individual; but it would seem that even creatures like him are capable of showing such a tranquil expression.
"Oh, and how did you come up with that conclusion?"
"Because I can still feel the massive power coming from inside her. It is faint, but it is surely there. Weakening by the second, but ever persevering. By all means, her life should have been extinguished. But like this block of ice that endures and overwhelms the heat of the ever-ending fire, her life too carries on unrelenting…
...You are lucky, human; as the sole reason she perseveres is because of you."
"...You know this how?" Gerald could not help but blink a couple of times as he looked Vanya straight in the eyes.
"Because I am one with nature, human," Vanya let out a short but deep breath, "I could feel every vapor, every droplet, and every crevice of this cold box, all welcoming your return."
"..." Van let out a light hum as he heard her daughter's words. He had initially thought that Vanya only had an affinity with the trees, like Artemis. But it would seem he was still completely unaware of what she could truly do.
"...Wow," Gerald let out an amused scoff as he turned to look at Van, "Look at that, it would seem that something good can come out of you after all."
"Cease your insults, human!" The soft tone that collected itself in Vanya's voice completely disappeared as she looked Gerald straight in the eyes, her fist ready to hit him in the face at any time.
"Enough, enough," Van could not help but sigh as he saw Vanya once again about to rush towards Gerald, "So, why exactly did you take us here? Surely, it wasn't only to let us see Miss Xinyan?"
"It is," Gerald shrugged his shoulders, "I want you to see what happened during the time that you weren't in this place, Van."
"..."
"Ah shit," Gerald then clicked his tongue in frustration as he looked at Van's slightly confused face, "You're so young and clueless. I don't even know if you can understand what I am about to tell you…
...just when did you arrive in this place?"
Vanya wanted to charge towards Gerald due to the mocking tone in his voice, but Van quickly blocked her path, "A few months ago."
"We've been here for about 120 years," Gerald said, "The friends you once knew are no more, Van. Beatrice and Victoria's brother… they met a gruesome death here, in this place."
Van's breaths almost equaled the piercing cold air as soon as he heard Gerald's words. He closed his eyes for a few moments, letting out the deepest of breaths as he opened them again.
"How did they die?"
"Beatrice's head was smashed into pieces," Gerald said without any hesitation, "While Edward followed her by blindly rushing to avenge her… along with their son."
"Who… was it?"
"Magni, one of the sons of the mightiest Aesir of Asgard."
Surprisingly, it wasn't Gerald who answered Van's question, but Vanya, "I was awake then and have heard from my mother the events of what transpired then… it was also the last time I ever saw her."
"And that was also the time that my brother truly changed," Gerald muttered, "Even after I killed Magni, his wrath continued to grow."
"...You killed Magni?" Vanya's monotonous tone slightly stuttered as she heard Gerald's words.
As soon as Gerald heard Vanya's words, he pointed towards a part of the wall of his cave. And there, several skeletons were lined up, still wearing armors and still seemingly holding on to their weapons.
"...And several others," Gerald said as he let out a smirk, "Good thing you were considered as peaceful in my brother's books, or you would have probably been on that wall as well, forest giant."
Vanya furrowed her eyebrows from Gerald's words, but still, she quickly disregarded her taunts as she focused on the skeletons on the wall. The one that was holding a hammer was most probably Magni, the others, she was having a hard time recognizing.
But to think this man was capable of killing Aesirs… it would seem she needed to tread lightly with this one.
"And what about Magni's father? He did not take revenge on you?" Vanya muttered, "He is known for his temper, he would have definitely sought to destroy you."
Gerald just shrugged his shoulders from Vanya's questions.
"And what happened after?" Van then interrupted the two, "Why aren't you with Harvey and the others anymore? Is it because of her?" Van then pointed towards Xinyan.
"Wow, perceptive," Gerald let out a chuckle as he looked down at Van, "Yes, because of her."
"Was she also killed by one of the Aesir?"
"She is not dead yet, you beggar!"
One of the trailing lava burst as Gerald stomped his foot to the ground, but after a few seconds, he took in a deep breath as he placed his hand on the ice that confined the love of his life, "And no, the Aesir did not do this to her…
...the humans did."
"Humans? From Midgard?"
"A child. A child that looked even younger than your father," Gerald muttered as he turned to look at Xinyan, "It was just a normal day and we were taking a rest in one of the villages. She wanted to take a rest from all the secret war that my brother had been waging against your kind, so we went to a village that wasn't in my brother's territory…
...where we were completely unknown. It was a hot day as winter had just passed. So the children there were sweating as they played innocently, and when Xinyan saw this, she… she made the air colder, showing and building snowmen to play with the children.
It was beautiful, she was beautiful. And the night after that, someone knocked on our door. It was one of the children she was playing with earlier…
...That's the witch-- she said. And out of nowhere, I don't really know to this day who it was, it was probably the girl's father, but out of nowhere, Xinyan looked into my eyes and told me not to do anything. I was wondering why she was telling me that, but that's when I saw the dagger that was latched into her heart. She made this wall of ice to protect them…
…from me."
"..."
"Of course, I killed everyone in that village," Gerald then placed his hand on the ice, shaving a chunk of it as he made a fist, "She wouldn't have wanted it, but I needed it."
The part of the ice block that Gerald shaved quickly healed as soon as he took his hand away from it, "I made a mistake… and now her regret seems to grow forever. Each second, the ice that surrounds her grows no matter how much I remove them. That's why I took her here, to a land that never ceases to burn. It prevented the ice from growing…
...I could probably crack this thing open, but there is a chance that she will--"
"I do not feel regret growing inside of her, human."
Before Gerald could finish his words, Vanya once again placed her hand on the block of ice, "I only feel the love she has for you. It is pure and as unrelenting as she is."
"Huh," Gerald could not help but blink a couple of times as he heard Vanya's words. He then nodded several times as he patted Van on the shoulders,
"Good work, good work. At least you really are useful for something," Gerald said as he moved to the corner of the room, his breaths louder than the fiery magma that rang through the air. And after a few seconds, he clicked his tongue and returned back to Van.
"Anyway, this block of ice is the only thing keeping her alive," Gerald then said as he looked Van straight in the eyes, "But she's been stuck here for decades, Van. There is a limit to what her body can take."
"Why… are you telling me all of these?" Van then finally asked.
"Because I need to take a hold of someone, someone who will only listen to you, Van."
"Someone… who only listens to me?"
"The current leader of the gods of Vanaheim…
...Latanya Boss."