Dungeon of Niflheim

524 Chapter 524: Trauma

Space warped within the private space before a tall, handsome robed individual appeared. He looked around the smallish space with a nostalgic look in his eyes, feeling peace at the familiarity.

“Master!!!!!” A moment later the man was assaulted by two small children. Blue feathers could be seen intermingled throughout their hair and azure scaled decorated parts of their faces highlighting their adorableness. The two children cared not for any decorum as they leaped from Maya’s side with their arms outstretched. They crashed into the robed man with a loud thud and a great deal of momentum, but the young man barely flinched as if expecting to be bombarded. Enduring such actions from Kiba was still beyond his abilities but remaining upright from Nanna and Loki’s assault certainly was.

“Oooffff you’ve both gotten a little bigger.” Frost said with an affectionate tone while picking the two of them and cradling them in his arms. The young girl Nanna blushed and felt embarrassed about Frost weighing her whereas her younger brother Loki thrust out his chest out with pride. One of the first things Frost and Maya sought out to correct was their malnourishment, putting on weight was proof of their success, so he was very happy broadcasting it.

The two children wrapped themselves around Frost refusing to let him go until ordered. They had missed him a great deal and after seeing Maya vanishing without any warning they worried for his safety. Frost was more than just their master he was family, akin to a father or an older brother. Knowing that he was in serious danger weighed on their hearts. Nanna especially worried about what would happen to them if such an eventuality ever came to pass. Would she be able to protect her little brother.

Feeling their strong emotions Frost didn’t order them to let go instead he moved around with them still attached. He then looked at Maya who was staring at him with affection, finding his current image with the kids absolutely adorable, she was even a little jealous, both of Frost and the kids.

“How about I tell you about my recent adventures while we have a meal?” Frost made his way to the sofa with a little bit of difficulty, making sure not to dislodge Nanna and Loki in any way. The children’s eyes lit up at his words, their interest stoked. They nodded their heads rapidly, eager to hear what he had to say while their stomachs rumbled revealing their hunger as well.

“Haaaaaaa guess I better get to work then. Any limits on the DP?” Maya sighed and shook her head in a playful manner before moving to the kitchen.

“No go all out if you want, we’ve got more than enough to spare.” With the 50,000DP from his time in Furano, his leftover savings and what the dungeon made during his absence they currently had roughly 120,000 DP, more than enough to withstand a lavish meal.

“Perfect, I’ll try and do something new then. Nanna do you want to help or are you satisfied where your are?” Maya asked with a teasing smile causing the young phoenix kin to blush before tightening her grip around Frost, her answer clear.

.....

“Hahahahaha where should I start then.”

“Garoww!!” As Frost was pondering on where to begin Kiba lightly roared.

“Oh good idea Kiba. Ok shortly after Kiba and I left the dungeon and arrived at Furano the...Rindars…. Solar dawn…. Mighty ice demon...reinforcements arrived and then….” Frost started his story from the very start, embellishing the fanfare to a glorious level which caused the two children to bubble in excitement. He left out some of the more gruesome details but accurately portrayed the feelings of the defenders and how abysmal their chances were before the reinforcements from the capital arrived. Maya kept her ears alert throughout the entire story, occasionally smiling whenever Frost started gesturing or imitating the voice of someone else.

Frost continued to describe his journey over the past week and answer any questions the two children had while they ate their meals. Maya truly went a bit overboard with the food, purchasing more than a few B-rank ingredients to produce a remarkable stew that featured a calming effect, perfect for dealing with stress and anxiety. The flavour was nothing to sneeze at either, shame that most of the mana was lost form the dish but that couldn’t be helped after all Maya wasn’t a spirit chef like Vaccos.

Nanna and Loki hung onto his every word, growing more and more excited as the story progressed. They imagined the battlefield in all its wonders, with their master braving against an impossible storm, standing at the fore when no one else could, a veritable hero. Their fanaticism actually grew to the point that Frost felt a little embarrassed. Maya’s judging look and a few discrete coughs helped him tone down his story telling. Eventually however the dreaded question came up.

“Why did Maya get summoned then?” Loki asked innocently. Frost had described fiery battles and times where he felt the urge to call upon Maya but stopped himself. He also mentioned that he was about to call for her at the end but the reinforcements from the capital arrived before he got the chance -he didn’t tell them that the ice demon prevented him from summoning her with his summoned hellscape.

Frost’s jubilant and light-hearted expression soured at the young boy’s question. He was brought back to the time he walked unguarded through the alleys of the money pit. Devoid of others and completely eclipsed from the outside world. It was only thanks to his terrifying instincts that he was alerted of the danger, allowing him to move a few inches to the left thus avoiding a deadly strike to his heart. Even with the calming effect of the delicious stew and the comfort of surrounding family his body still trembled, a cold sweat dripping down his neck as the memory of his near-death experience replayed in his mind. His eyes became clouded, and his heart started to race. The spectre of death once again announced itself, whispering in his ears with its callous voice, welcoming him to the other side.

His sudden change in demeanour frightened the children and Maya made moves to stand by his side and offer her support. The event had likely traumatised him to some extent. Thankfully however Frost regained his faculties a few moments later without needing her help. The danger was already over, to be bound by a mere memory was pointless.

“Sorry, I was remembering the situation and unfortunately it wasn’t pleasant.” Loki looked guilty and apologised for bringing it up, but Frost shook his head.

“You did nothing wrong Loki, you just asked a question how can there be anything wrong with that.” He patted the young boy’s head while showing a bright smile though it looked rather forced given his pale expression.

“Regardless I’ll still explain and this time I won’t embellish anything. Maya was summoned because of an assassination attempt. An A-rank assassin was hired by someone to take me out and almost succeeded.” His words caused the children to suck in a sharp breath as they eyes trembled in shock.

“Luckily I notice his ambush in time thus allowing me to move a few inches to the left otherwise my heart would have likely been shattered.” Frost showed the children the remnants of his armour to emphasize the danger as the wound had already been healed but it was enough to make the children visibly tremble, their hearts lurching at the image of Frost being struck by such a powerful person.

“I was sent barrelling into a nearby wall with heavy injuries but thankfully he didn’t chase me down right away thus allowing me to tear apart the teleportation talisman and summon Maya to my side.” Frost looked towards Maya at that point with gratitude, truly thankful for her hasty arrival.

“....” Loki and Nanna remained silent with their heads down, obscuring their current expressions from Frost. Their hands however were balled up into tight fists as waves of anger radiated in their hearts.

‘Who dares to mess with our master.’ They wanted to rend the offender apart and offer them up as sustenance to the dungeon. Frost had saved them from pain and eternal darkness, he was their family, their everything and they hated the fact that someone nearly took him from them.

Frost scratched his cheek and looked at Maya who simply shook her head also puzzled by their silence. Eventually however Frost was once again assaulted by their little bodies. They wrapped their arms around him as tight as they possibly could and whispered.

“You’re safe now.” Three simple words but their impact was impressive. Tears welled up in Frost’s eyes as the remnants of trauma was blown away by their words. He was incredibly moved and in response hugged them tightly against his chest as warm tears dripped down his cheeks, wetting Nanna and Loki’s heads.

Maya look on with reddened eyes before joining the three-way hug to make it four-way. The family was back together, safe and sound.

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