CHAPTER 122: HEART OF ICE AND FLAME

The underworld halls glowed red, walls of molten rock pulsing with heat. Magni’s sprawling family bustled around, offering blankets stitched from fireproof fabric and steaming cups of thick, bubbling lava chocolate.

An aunt with the cinder-wings set steaming mugs in their hands, speaking in what limited English she knows.

"Drink. Lava chocolate. Hot. Very hot."

Magni blew on his and grinned. "Hot is fine. We live in hot."

A cousin with horns leaned over Ymir. "Good for blood. You are pale. Drink."

Ymir took a cautious sip. His eyes widened. "...It’s strong."

Magni laughed. "You get used to it. I used to drink whole kettles when I was a boy."

"You still do," the cousin said dryly, earning a ripple of laughter from the others.

Another cousin with ember hair crouched beside Hermes, eyeing his unconscious form. "Strange one, this. He looks small. Too small to roar like he did."

Magni’s glare was immediate. "He is not small. He is Brother Modi. If you call him small again, I’ll break your teeth and feed them to the lava."

The family chuckled, some amused, some nervous.

The aunt raised her chin, speaking in Voidian: "Say what you will, nephew, but the power that shook the snowlands came from him. We’ve only seen gods do such things."

Magni leaned back, arms crossed. "Then treat him as such. He is mine to guard, as well as the prince of ice."

Ymir blinked. "What did you two say?"

Magni chuckled, deciding to lighten the mood by being his usual silly self. "I just asked them for their blessing on our mating ritual—"

Ymir covered his mouth. "Nevermind. I don’t want to hear it!"

The room fell into murmurs after that, eyes flicking back to Hermes.

Ymir’s blue eyes also couldn’t stop being fixed on his sleeping savior.

"...I’m worried about him." Ymir admitted quietly.

Magni cradled his cup, voice gentler now. "Of course you worry, your highness. You look at him the way people look at the first spark in a long winter. Afraid it’ll go out before it catches."

Ymir frowned at the phrasing but didn’t argue. His gaze stayed on Hermes. "He saved me. I should be grateful, but this... Void god thing... it feels dangerous."

"Dangerous, yes. But you owe your breath to it." Magni’s eyes narrowed. "Brother Modi is a storm that hasn’t chosen which way to blow. Could be ruin, could be salvation."

One of the younger cousins piped up. "If he is ruin, what then? You’ll stand against him?"

Magni smirked. "If he is ruin, then I’ll stand with him anyway. Better to burn with my brother and my prince than kneel alone in the cold."

The cousin whistled low, muttering, "Madness runs strong in your line."

Ymir turned his cup in his hands, not understanding their foreign tongue. "Earlier... you said something about the Unravelling. What is that?"

Magni’s lips curved into a grim smile. "The Unravelling... it’s the old story. They say the world’s held together by a single thread. Void on one side, us on the other. Rifts are holes in that thread, and the holes keep getting bigger. One day, the thread snaps. That’s the Unravelling."

"...And someone causes it?"

"They say someone will be the hand that pulls that last thread loose. A Primordial, maybe. Or someone not yet born. No one knows. Just that one day, someone ends it all."

Ymir stared at Hermes again. "Do you think it’s him?"

Magni shrugged, though his eyes gleamed. "Could it be Brother Modi? Maybe. He’s got too much power stuffed into a body that can’t handle it. If he ever grows strong enough to hold it all, I don’t think even Skadi could stand in his way."

The horned uncle let out a low grunt. "If he is the one who ends the thread, then we’ll follow him down. Better to meet fire at his side than ice alone."

The aunt nodded. "Aye. Even if it means bowing to a mortal hatchling."

Magni barked a laugh. "Not a hatchling. An egg. But when he hatches, the gods will tremble."

The three of them sat in silence for a while, the crackle of molten rivers echoing through the chamber.

Hours later, Hermes stirred. His eyes fluttered open, his body still weak. Ymir was at his side immediately.

"You idiot," Ymir muttered, adjusting the blanket over him. "Do you ever think before you throw yourself into things like that?"

Hermes blinked groggily. "...Nice to see you too."

Magni roared with laughter and crushed him in a hug. "Brother Modi! You mad bastard, you actually did it. You saved my prince. I’ll never let you hear the end of it."

Hermes groaned. "You’re heavy."

"You’re alive. That’s what matters." Magni finally released him, still grinning.

Ymir’s scowl softened as he leaned closer. "...Thank you. Really."

Hermes smiled faintly. "Don’t thank me. Thank him." He nodded toward Magni. "He gave everything to keep you alive. Nearly burned himself out."

Ymir’s eyes widened. He turned slowly to Magni. "...You did?"

Magni waved it off, though pride shone in his grin. "Ha! Don’t listen to him, my prince. I’d burn myself out a thousand times if it meant keeping you alive. No thanks needed. That’s just how it is."

Ymir’s expression wavered. Then, quietly: "...Thank you."

Magni beamed, satisfied.

Hermes propped himself up on one elbow. He asked the system about his stats and then asked Ymir:

"I don’t have Sirentone now, but it’s pretty useless against gods and powerful beasts like the wolf-dog anyway. I couldn’t stop Skadi even when I tried to use it. The arrow... do you still feel its curse?"

Ymir pressed a hand to his chest. "...No. Not exactly. Actually... I feel the opposite. My body feels warmer. Usually I’m colder than normal people, but now..."

Magni raised a brow. "Maybe that was literal, my prince. Maybe all this time, your heart really was encased in ice. Explains why you’re so frigid."

Ymir rolled his eyes. "You’re insufferable."

Hermes leaned forward. "Can I see?"

"...See what?"

"Your chest."

Ymir hesitated, then reluctantly tugged open his shirt. A faint bloom of red and orange spread across his skin, like a tattoo burned just beneath the surface.

Hermes reached out, hand trembling as he touched it. His eyes widened. "...I can feel it. The tears I shed earlier... they sank into you. Your heart... it really did have ice inside. And now..."

Ymir looked away, silent.

Magni let out a low whistle. "Well then. Our prince has a heart of both ice and flame now."