"...You?"

"Long time no see…

​​

...beggar."

Van slowly stepped out from behind Vanya as he blinked his eyes a couple of times, trying to check if the young man that was slowly walking towards them was truly who he thought it was. But with just a minute glance, he quickly confirmed his guess.

"Gerald… you were alive as well?"

It made sense that he was alive since the friends that Charles mentioned that were with Victoria were probably Harvey and the others. But still, he couldn't help but ask as he truly did not expect to see Gerald here of all places, or at all.

He didn't even have a hard time recognizing him, unlike Charles, whose face had already turned to that of an old man, the changes on Gerald's face were minimal, almost non-existent. Was Van wrong? Did Gerald actually get here at a later time like him?

"Of course I am, did you really think some time-travel fiasco was enough to kill someone like me?"

"Time… travel?"

"Stupid as always, I see," Gerald let out a small smirk as stopped walking just a few meters away from Van and Vanya, "But I digress, shaming you in front of your own daughter would leave a bad aftertaste in my mouth."

Gerald's almost shining golden hair completely contrasted Muspelheim's damp and fiery lands, the embers that were flowing from its ground, reflecting on his hair, which now reached towards his waist.

"You know this man, father?" Vanya furrowed her eyebrows even further as she looked at Gerald from head to toe. The only people that should have known about her and her relationship with Van were the forest giants-- even her own father didn't know about her existence until it was mentioned to him.

So who exactly is this golden-haired human…

...and why does he think he could talk to her father like that!?

"He… was my classmate," Van then said as he took a step forward, his eyes not leaving Gerald's for even a second, "Did… you know I would be here?"

"I found out a few hours ago… from them," Gerald then stretched both his hands, gesturing to the several bodies that were scattered throughout the entrance of Muspelheim, "That old woman seemed to know more, but her bones were just too… brittle."

"..." Van looked at the old woman that Gerald threw in front of them; and Gerald was right, the old woman's bones did seem too brittle as her limbs and neck were all twisted up, almost as if a pillow that had been slept on for years and never replaced.

It was a weird comparison, but that was exactly what Van thought of at the moment.

"Who are they?"

"My brother's men," Gerald lightly shrugged as he answered Van's question without any hesitation, "He had amassed a lot the past hundred years since we were sent here."

"Harvey? Did they send these people to welcome me?"

"No," Gerald could not help but cackle as he covered his face, "That old woman is one of the best assassins of Midgard, born from the finest enhanced humans the world had to offer... well, so are the rest of the humans you see lying dead before you. Tools, completely indoctrinated under my brother's silly regime."

"...It seems the past hundred years that you've been here made you quite talkative."

"Maybe," Gerald once again smirked, "The older you are, the wiser you think you are, as they say."

"But you said assassins… why were they here?"

"Now you're just holding out on me," Gerald let out another sigh as he shook his head, "But I suppose you would be in denial, with suddenly having your only friend turning his back on you. Such a poor, poor bo--"

"Vanya!?"

Van could not help but widen his eyes as Vanya suddenly disappeared from her spot, quickly rushing towards Gerald and slamming towards him. He could only watch in disbelief as Gerald rolled on the fiery ground hundreds of meters away, not even stopping as his body hit a boulder the size of a small mountain.

"Why did you do that!? I was talking to him!"

"No one is allowed to disrespect you, father," Vanya muttered, her tone still monotonous but held a certain sort of weight to it, "And that human had been insulting you the very moment he opened his mou--"

Before Vanya could finish her words, she heard a slight crackling coming from her arms. Her eyes slowly settled towards the noise, only to see her arm, which was twisted in a way that it shouldn't, slowly healing itself.

"This is--"

"Disrespectful."

Once again, her words were interrupted. Gerald, who was supposed to be hundreds of meters away, was now casually sitting on one of the nearby bodies sprawled on the ground. Although his robes were tattered and slightly burnt, there didn't seem to be even a scratch on him.

"Can't you see your elders are talking, girl?" Gerald then let out a sigh as he slowly stood up, "Although technically, you are like ten thousand years old, aren't you? Shit, why am I talking like Harvey?"

"Vanya, come here."

"...Yes, father."

Vanya took one final glare towards Gerald, before obediently returning to her father's side.

"Were you and Harvey sent here at the same time?" Van then asked as soon as he was confident that Vanya wouldn't do anything more to interrupt their conversation. If Gerald were to be believed, then right now, Harvey was trying to kill him.

They have been here for more than a hundred years, and he knew that the Harvey he once knew was no longer. But still, to think that he would send assassins to kill him when they haven't even met once since he came here.

Surely, he must have a good reason.

"This isn't the right place to talk," Gerald then nonchalantly turned his back from Van, before proceeding to walk away, not even waiting or checking if Van was following him.

"Father, I do not think it is wise to go with that man," Vanya quickly stated her opinion, "I feel something ominous in him."

"He's always been like that," Van let out a short but deep breath as he took a step to follow Gerald.

"Wait, are you considering following him, father? He looks like he can not be trusted."

"He can't. But I want to know what he knows."

"Be careful, father. I feel great strength flowing through him… comparable to the Aesirs."

"I know, Vanya," Van nodded as he took a slight glance towards his daughter, "Besides, I have you with me in case things go wrong, right?"

"Of course." Vanya quickly nodded her head several times; and although her tone was still monotonous, a slight blush could be heard from it as she followed closely behind her father.

Hearing them following him, Gerald slightly turned his head to the side, letting out a smirk before suddenly disappearing from his spot. A thunderous noise then trembled through the air as a skirt of wind was left behind from the spot he was previously standing.

Van and Vanya looked at each other for a second, before also disappearing from their spot. Gerald, who noticed that the two could easily follow behind him, could not help but click his tongue in frustration. But after a few more steps, the ground behind him completely turned into dust, as another thunderous explosion erupted through the air.

Van let out a slight breath of awe as he saw Gerald gaining distance from them. Granted, Van wasn't even close to using his full speed, but the speed that Gerald was showing now could not be treated lightly.

He also took Vanya's surprise attack head-on earlier, but not only did he get out unscathed, but Vanya was also the one who suffered some damage. He doesn't know yet the extent of his daughter's strength, but if what the Elders said was true and that Vanya was stronger than Artemis,

Was it possible…

...that Gerald is as strong as Charlotte now? Or maybe… he was even stronger.

Van had only seen Muspelheim from afar, but it would seem that it was a lot larger than Jotunheim. They had been running at this speed for quite a while now, and they hadn't once shifted to a different direction; and still, there weren't any signs of it ending as Van could see an almost ceaseless flaming desert.

This place was supposed to be the land of the fire giants, but Van had not seen any signs of life even once-- not even wildlife.

And finally, after a few more minutes, Gerald finally stopped running, or perhaps it was better to say that his path was blocked, as a red and fiery mountain stood in his way.

"We're here," Gerald said as he stretched his left hand towards the mountain, and without even a single change in his expression, slowly lifted it up through the air.

A hole, with a set of stairs leading to the ground, revealed itself to them. Vanya was clearly hesitant to go inside, but since her father didn't even seem to hesitate going down the hole, the only thing she could do was follow him.

Gerald scanned the horizon for a few seconds, before proceeding to follow the two down and carefully covering their path with the colossal boulder he was holding.

Van thought that it would be dark inside, but it would seem the colors and fires of Muspelheim were even brighter underground. But weirdly enough, Van could feel the vapor coming out from his mouth as the temperature quickly lowered as soon as they stepped inside Gerald's… habitation.

Van was curious at first as to why it was cold, but he didn't have to look long as the source of the chilling air quickly revealed itself to them. In the very center of Gerald's cave, was a woman that Van had briefly seen inside the Pit-- Xinyan…

...whose whole body was completely covered in ice.