-Break-
Pig myself up out of the snow, I try to hold the tents of my stomach whilst saying, “Christopher we are going to o have a talk.”
Anouk says, “You don’t get to judge anyone on this adventure!”
“I apologized!”
“FUCK YOU!”
Standing up with vigour, dra says, “Well now that we are all fi’s tinue on!”
-Break-
We tihrough Fimbulwinter, and on our 3rd day of adventuring Christopher says, “I think it is time we called it quits on this.”
Anouk says, “Don’t you think it is too early?”
Pointing at her clothes, he says, “Our clothes are almost at the point of crumbling and the food we have has started to freeze, our time here is up.”
Christopher says, “We are reag our physical limit so it would be better to use this time to escape rather than tinue on.”
“But then you won’t reach yoal.”
“My goal was to firm the validity of people living on Fimbulwinter, and since I have been uo find anything, I clude there is nothing here. Now with this people won’t be appearing around Fimbulwinter anymore.”
Sighing, dra says, “So that was yoal all along.”
“Seems you have seen through me, boss.”
Anouk says, “What’s going on.?
Thrim says, “tless people have been ing here and throwing away their lives due to those rumours, so it seems Christopher came here to prove all those rumours false so that others wouldn’t throw away their lives.”
“Spot on Thrim.”
Looking at him, I say, “So you essentially used us as your bodyguards knowing damhat we were actually doing nothing but wasting time.”
Grabbing his colr, Anouk says, “So I almost died over nothing?”
Being shaken, Christopher says, “It wasn’t over nothing, your sacrifice will now help the lives of others and isn’t the fulfilment god gives you through that enough?”
Staring at him directly in the eye, Anouk says, “No it isn’t. I expect a higher payment for my work.”
“It seems the bug of greed has possessed you yet again Anouk, only a tender kiss set you free.”
As Christopher brings his lips close Anouk hits him in the face, sending him flying far away.
dra screams, “AGAIN ANOUK!”
“He started it.”
“The ime you hit him don’t send him flying far away. LET’S GO EVERYONE!”
As we all run towards Christo over to his body and pick him up asking, “Are you ok?”
“It seems the power of god’s love was rejected by the demon within her.”
“No, I think this is just what happens when you try and kiss a goril.”
Grabbing me Anouk says, “What was that?”
Hitting her on the head, dra says, “Stop.”
“OW, why am I getting shit, should I have just allowed him to kiss me!?”
“ime just hit him in the balls, it is more painful and requires less effort from us.”
Calming down, Anouk says, “That is actually a good idea.”
Under my breath, I mutter, “Idiot.”
I am quickly hit with a heel to the face, and as I writhed in pain on the ground, she says, “What was that mister useless?”
As I prepare to say, something dra grabs Anouk and brings her head to the ground. “I need everyoo crouch down and be quiet.”
All of us instantly follow dra’s lead, and then with hand signals, she tells us to follow her. Followio behind some trees, we are sigo look past them, and past them we she a rge ground of people walking in the snow.
Some of them are wearing rather Tribal clothes, so I say, “Is this them?”
Anouk says, “Some of them are wearing modern clothes, I swear those kids' clothes over there look like they are from Skydust.”
Thrim says, “Guys look!”
In the distance, we see 2 giant wonderbeasts. dra says, “Those are tiritrexes!”
Looking at dra, Anouk says, “Boss what should we do?”
But dra freezes for a moment as well all hear a loud voice say, “Orb’s it’s too cold!”
“ you be quiet; all you ever do is pin.”
In that moment we all look over at Anouk. “Hey why are you idiots looking at me, you’re the crazies that are always infuriating me!”
Sighing, dra says, “For now let’s follow them.”
“Is that safe boss?”
“I don’t sense any form of hostile i, so for noill follow them and see what is going on.”
Φ “I see why you're cold all the time Orb, sihis is the enviro, you grew up in.”
With a smile, I say, “Don’t worry I am just cold to you.”
“So, I am special to you!”
“Die.”
Activating her legacy, she says, “You're such a bully.” As her legacy produces heat, she says, “This is the stuff.”
Moments ter Anto and Mime jump on her shoulders, and Mime says, “Share that heat with the great Mime this instant.”
“No way, and speak to me again like that and I will tell Elia.”
Freaking out, Mime says, “No don’t do that, the great Mime wishes to live a long life!”
Under my breath, I mutter, “I will never be o a mean redhead woman who doesn’t treat kids nicely.”
“That’s bckmail!”
“No, it isn’t, it is just the truth.”
“Ok then, Anto, Mime get close.”
Holding her close, Anto says, “Thank you Atanta.”
“Some sense has fallen into you red o seems you uand the greathat is Mime.”
“I’m about to fling you off!”
Stopping I turn and around, and scream, “STOP EVERYONE!”
Walking up to me, Willow asks, “Orb are you finally going to tell us what we are doing here?”
“Oh it is pretty simple, we are all going to climb up to the top of Fimbulwinter.”
“Huh?”
“I know you heard me.”
With a calm smile, Willow says, “Orb did I hit you too hard in the head st night.”
“Nope, I am doing fine.”
“THEN HOW THE HELL ARE WE NOT ALL GOING TO FREEZE TO DEATH. It took us 3 days to get all of the people and equipment from the caves all the way to the outskirts of Fimbulwinter and now you want us to trek all the there.”
Avram walking up says, “Orb we didn’t take wave sweeper up there because we k couldn’t hahe snowstorm, do you expect the kids to ha themselves?”
“Of course not, I am just messing with you.” Turning around, I say, “Advent.” Then after transf, I cause all of the snow in front of all of us to disperse.
In amazement, Willow says, “The snow is following your and.”
“I have always wondered if I could do something like this, and after I attained advent, I was definitely sure I could, I am amazing aren’t I?”
g their hands, Avram and Willow, sarcastically say, “You’re so amazing Orb. I never could have done such a thing.”
Turning off advent, I say, “I don’t like your tone, but whatever. Cyrus, please e and carry me.” After saying this I fall to my face.
-Break-
As I see it in the distance, I hear Maple say, “Orb is that it?”
“Yep, without a shadow of a doubt that is the house I grew up in.”
Willow says, “That house is giant, you really lived a good life before you met us.”
“EHHHH, You jealous!!”
“No, I’m not because any house with my beautiful wife is the best ever.”
“Shut up!” Maple says while being embarrassed.
“It’s no fun making fun of you two anymore.”
“Don’t be jealous of our love.”
Ign them, I say, “Cyrus, run me over to the top of my house.”
“R-Right!”
Following my instrus, Cyrus pces me oop of my house where I sit down and look at everyohen say, “Everyone I need you to listen up.”
Taking a deep breath in and out, I say, “This house here is where I grew up, despite how cold it seems to be up here, my childhood was fun, warm and filled with happiness.
Some of you here have lost your homes, have no homes, have left their homes to be with me, and have beeed from their homes, so I had hoped to share this home of mih you, but that isn’t right.
If you walk into someone else’s home, you will always feel like a stranger and even me myself, have felt like that with others. So I am going to suggest somethio all of us today, let’s take this nd that has been pletely frozen and turn it into our home. But I guess the better term for such a thing would be a try?”
Everyone looks shocked in front of me but Willow sticks up his hand and says, “I would like to be a part of that. Since I have e to love a lot of people outside of Aplos”
“Me too,” Maple says.
Oer ahey all start to agree and put their hands up. Willole, Cyrus, Atanta, Suzuka, Iancu, Avram, Ghehe, Wadim, Ivana, Buloke, Aea, Alis, Pine, Oren, Peppa, Melisa, Aaron, Rada, Cedar, Ewen, Throne, Jute, Juniper, Holly, Acadia, Hazel, Coco, Banya, Mango, Ash, Quant, Bel, Willow the 2nd, Maple the 2nd, Anto and Mime.
Then as I smile on the rooftop, I hear someone say, “WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO CALL THIS TRY!?”
Looking down, I see a young man in what looks to be some sort of Priestly attire. “Umm, who are you?”
With bright shiny eyes, he says, “WHO CARES ABOUT THAT! Right now, a try is being born on the lost ti in front of my eyes, a historic event is taking pce. So now young man tell me what is the name of this try you want to create!?”
“Umm, well, I don’t really know. But if I had to think of a name, I would call it Niflheim, yeah I think that is a good name.” Jumping off the roof I have a rather shaky nding then, I say, “Now it’s time for me to interrogate you.”
A few people start to make a run out of the crowd, so I scream, “CATCH THEM!”
-Break-
Looking at the tied-up adventurers inside my house, I say, “So your names are dra, Thrim, Anouk, Guāng, and Christopher and you came here on a mission to see if there was other life on Fimbulwinter.”
“That’s right piece of shit,” Anouk says.
Guāng says, “This really is not the time.”
“We could take him.”
“But we ’t take him and all the other people around us we. I don’t know if you have ever fought a legacy, but they are bad news.”
As the two start tue, I say, “SHUT UP!” Which quiets them down. Rubbing my head, I say, “What are we going to do? If I let them go they will run around and tattle everywhere, so I either have to essentially kidnap them or kill them.”
The boy called Guāng says, “I would prefer to be kidnapped.” Thrim and Anouk shake their heads in agreement.
The woman named dra says, “There will be no need for that, because we won’t say anything.”
“I am sorry, but I ’t be assured of that, I have quite a few lives currently under my watch.”
“Yes, you because I owe you quite a bit.”
“Huh?”
“You see earlier this year my husband was returo me after being kidnapped for years, aold me it was a boy named Orb that rescued him from a bunch of bandits.”
Digging through my memory I remember all of the sves that we first let go, when we first arrived at Gaia’s sky. “That was your husband!?”
“Yes, and I thank you very much for reunitih him. So, I promise you that her me or my panions will ever speak a word about this, isn’t that right guys.”
Three out of four of her panions shake their heads up and down furiously but one doesn’t, Christopher.
“So, what about that one?”
dra says, “I am not so sure about him.”
Christopher says, “Ahh if given the ce I would record the historient in all the books of .”
“I guess I have to kidnap this one.”
dra says, “Don’t waste the effort just take him out.”
“dra, it seems you might think poorly of me. Despite how much I want to tell the world of this historic event I refuse to, because granny Ai will frown oherwise.”
Shocked, I say, “You’re a part of C-.”
“Please stht there before you reveal my identity.”
Anouk says, “Are you supposed to be someone special?”
“I only reveal that secret to my wife, you find out if you apply for the position.”
“No thanks.”
“Ahh another reje, if you keep telling lies like that I might eventually believe them Anouk.”
“You really are like Ai. So why are you here at Fimbulwinter if you already knew of our existence?”
“Oh simply because was tasked with throwing people off you guys' st but I got a bit distracted.”
Grabbing Christopher, Anouk says, “So you lied again, you knew something was here and basically made us run around Fimbulwinter knowing damhat we were just wasting time.”
“Yes!”
Throwing him to the ground Anouk, Guāng, and dra start to stomp on him.
After they finish dra walks up to me and holds out her hand saying, “Thank you again.”
“No problem, and before you leave you personally beat the shit out of all the Gaia’s sky bandits around.”
“I will have to take you up on that offer,” she says with a ugh.
Bursting through the door, Mime and Anto say, “Orb e it is so pretty.”
“Huh, what is.”
“That snow!”
“Hurry up!”
Grabbing me and leadiside Anto throws his dagger telep us to a different area higher up the mountain, and then he repeats this process until we are high up.
There I see the moonlight hitting the snow with everyone pying around it. Laughing, I say, “I was in this exact same position 2 years ago.”
Anto with excitement says, “Let’s go.”
Mime says, “I will give you the honour of pying with the great Mime herself.”
Looking at the beautiful sight before me, I say, “It is a whole lot han when I first saw it. Let’s go you two.”
3rd cycle, year 2026; Oh day of the 12th month Capri, the try of Niflheim was founded, and iure, many would say that this day is the beginning of the 4th cycle of history.
Arc 9 End
Part 2 End
