Three days of traveling. Three days in the cold, getting colder every minute. Three days, with less food and firewood each day and night that passed. By the end of the first day, they couldn't even see any trees any direction they looked. Frozen wastes in the north, and not called so for no reason. There was nothing but ice, frozen earth and stone, and an unforgiving gray sky.

Elsa shivered and huddled closer to Evan, pulling her coat tighter around her. "Do we know how much farther we have to go?"

Lawrence shook his head, prodding their campfire with one of the last logs they had. "Father Joseph didn't say anything about how far it was. We haven't even seen any of the people that live up here, though. It might still be several days away."

Evan held his hands out to the fire, trying his best to keep warm. "He wouldn't have sent us off without enough supplies to make it, would he?"

Holo sat in the cart, her cloak pulled tightly around her. She was resisting the temptation to turn into a Wolf so she would be warmer, so the conversation barely registered on her mind. Slowly but surely, it wormed its way in to her sensitive ears. She raised her head to look at the others as they talked.

Lawrence sighed loudly before answering Evan's question. "I don't think he would, but I doubt he knew how far we had to travel. Remember, it was just a legend told to the monks by the people who live up here. For all we know, there's no truth to it at all. He wouldn't know either way, so it's hardly his fault."

Elsa looked up at him, worry filling her eyes. "So... so you think we're just chasing a legend?"

Lawrence laughed a little. "I doubt it. I mean, we have Holo right here. Proof that there are things in this world other than us. Seeing as it's her ancestor we're trying to find, I don't see that it would be too far of a stretch." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees in a show of confidence. "I'm sure we will find him."

Holo nodded, though Lawrence had his back to her. It was more for Elsa anyways. "Father Joseph would not have told us to come here if he did not believe we would find what we are looking for. We will find my ancestor."

Lawrence looked over his shoulder and smiled at Holo. "That's the first thing you've said since we started out. I thought you didn't like Father Joseph."

Holo jumped down from the cart, landing beside him. "I am allowed to change my opinion, am I not? I admit I misjudged him in the beginning, but that has been rectified. I trust his judgment now, and that's all that matters."

Just as she finished, Holo felt a presence approaching. A familiarly unsettling presence. She turned back to the cart to see the small furry creature sitting on the edge of the cart, staring at her with its stupid grin.

Holo grimaced, grumbling. "What now?"

The others looked in the same direction. Lawrence stood up. "Holo, do you hear someone approaching?" He looked off into the distance, trying to see whatever she might have heard.

Holo looked between Lawrence and the creature. Either he couldn't see it, or he somehow didn't mind it being there. It didn't look like he could see it. Surely Elsa and Evan would be curious about it, but when she looked back at them they were looking to Lawrence. They were waiting to find out whatever he could see, and what Holo had heard. But she hadn't heard anything. There was no one approaching.

She turned back to the creature, trying to think of how to talk to it without sounding crazy to her companions. In the end, she threw caution to the wind. "What happened to 'out of sight'?"

The creature smiled back at her, invisible to Lawrence. "If I show you to the person you are looking for, the process of events will be sped up. You will meet sooner, and therefore you will meet the person I am looking for sooner as well."

Lawrence looked down at Holo from beside her. "Out of sight? Why do we need to..."

Holo didn't let him finish. "So?"

It didn't blink. "So I will lead you to him now." It leaped at her and landed on her shoulder, wrapping its tail around her neck. It was warm, so she let it pass. It nodded its head towards the North. "That way."

Holo looked over at the setting sun. Once it was gone, it would stay down for a long time. "North... that's a surprise." She started walking. "How far?"

It answered right away. "Stop. It's right here."

Holo stopped, gave the creature on her shoulder a glare, then looked down at the ground in front of her. "I don't sense anything... is this an illusion? Is there something here?"

In answer, the creature jumped off her shoulder and disappeared into the ground in front of her. She grinned. It was an illusion. Holo jumped after the creature, disappearing right in front of Lawrence and the others.

Through the illusion, Holo dropped several feet before landing on a sloped surface of ice. Opening her eyes wide, trying to see where she was going, she saw that she was sliding down a long tunnel made entirely of ice. Shining, glassy walls surrounded her, and there were thankfully no sharp icicles jutting out along the way like she would have expected. It was clean cut and smooth. And the steep grade was increasing, causing her speed to increase as well.

She barely heard Lawrence's voice calling her name echoing down the tunnel from behind her. She stretched her legs out in front of herself so she wouldn't be turned around. Looking ahead, trying to be ready for whatever was coming, she couldn't spot the creature at any point. It was too far ahead. Gritting her teeth and baring her fangs, she reached out her arms and braced herself against the sides of the tunnel, slowing her descent.

Evan and Elsa's voices called out from far behind her, obviously surprised by the uncontrolled motion. Lawrence was somewhere between them and her. She wasn't sure if she wanted to slide down faster and get out of the way quicker or if she should slow down and stick together, but land in a pile at the end. The decision was made for her in a few seconds when the walls of the tunnel widened past her reach. She let out an un-wolf-like wail as she fell faster again.

Lawrence called out from much closer than before. He sounded right behind her.

Suddenly, the slope turned up. Her eyes went wide as she saw the reason, or rather the purpose. It opened into a large cavern, all coated with ice, and there was a dark ravine just after the ramp. She was going to end up flying through the air in a few seconds. She screamed as she went over the edge, soaring over the abyss.

She hit the icy ground hard, landing on her back. The impact left her sprawled out, stunned, and staring up at the ceiling. Lawrence cried out in surprised, his voice echoing through the cavern. He didn't fly as far, landing before where she had and sliding several meters before crashing into her. Her ears twitched at the touch.

Lawrence quickly scrambled to his hands and knees, looking down at her. "Holo, are you alright?"

She blinked, her eyes moving over to the tunnel slide. "They're coming."

Lawrence turned to follow her gaze just as Evan flew into view. He had come down feet first, just like the both of them. Before he ever hit the ground, Elsa came into view. She was sliding down head first. Evan hit the ice, his head snapping back and hitting the hard surface with a loud crack. He yelled in pain, but stopped immediately when Elsa landed on top of him. Holo and Lawrence were relieved about Elsa's soft landing, but it only caused more concern for Evan.

Holo jumped up and started wobbling and slipping on the cold floor, stumbling into Lawrence. He caught her when she fell, her face burying in his coat. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading. "Help me get over to them."

Lawrence nodded and started to help her stand. It was hard work, but the two of them eventually managed to make their way over to the dazed pair. They slid back down onto their knees, helping Elsa off of Evan. She looked no worse for wear, just very frightened, so Lawrence moved to check on Evan.

The young man clutched his head and groaned in pain. "Is... is Elsa alright?"

Sliding to his side, Elsa held his hand. "I'm fine, Evan. I'm more worried about you."

Turning away from them, Holo looked around the cavern they were now in. It was vast beyond comparison. A castle could have easily fit, far below the surface. Even a whole village around a castle. The walls and ceiling were the same smooth ice as the floor, shining a cold blue in the light.

Holo's ears perked up. "There's light. Where is the light coming from?" The others started looking around at their surroundings as well, the sheer size of the place making them all feel small and insignificant.

Lawrence turned to Holo. "How did you know this was here?"

Holo shook her head. "I was being guided." As far as she could see, the creature was gone from view. She grimaced at the thought of having been led straight into a trap. There was certainly nothing else in this underground chamber.

Almost as if in response to her thoughts, the air in front of them shimmered. Appearing from out of thin air, an ice sculpture was suddenly right in front of them. It was over a dozen meters in height and depicted a massive armored figure. Cold eyes stared down at them from behind a horned helmet. A crystal clear cape flowed out behind it, frozen in place. A giant sword was in the figure's hands, its tip resting on the ground at the statue's feet. The four of them gaped up at it silently.

Lawrence turned to look behind them. "There's another one."

Holo turned to look, confirming his claim. Something else caught her eye along the way, causing her to stop and stared in awe. "That's an understatement, Lawrence."

Turning, they all saw what she meant. There were more sculptures, standing in pairs, looking down at a pathway that led up to a massive structure. It wasn't any castle in the sense that Holo knew. The entire back wall of the cavern looked to be covered in columns that stretched up to the ceiling, windows peeking out between them and overlooking the vast expanse of the glacial courtyard.

Elsa's voice was quiet and scared. "What is this place?"

A few moments passed with no answer before Holo felt a smile growing on her face. "It's exactly what we came for." She started walking, heading down the path between all the giant warriors. "Come on! Let's hurry!"

Getting up, they followed her. Everything about the place was imposing, but they would trust her judgment. The path, it seemed, was not slippery. They had no trouble walking, except that it was an incredibly long distance. Holo never slowed down, too eager and excited to tire. Lawrence kept up in spite of how exhausting it was, refusing to let Holo face this alone. Elsa helped Evan along, despite his insistence that he was fine, but the two lagged as a result.

Holo arrived at the end of the path, now seeing clearly what it led to. At the very center of the back wall, the focal point of the entire cavern, there stood a monumental throne. All the carvings in the ice that made up the throne, as well as the design of it in general, was unimportant to Holo as she stood before it. The only thing she saw was the man seated on the throne. He stared back at her, studying her.

He had long black hair falling down behind his shoulders, and eyes that were a near match to her own in color and intensity. He wore a full suit of dark green and black leather armor with golden accents, and a dark green cape was fastened to his shoulders. His helmet practically doubled as a crown as it was made of gold, two large horns jutting up from the forehead.

Holo stood before him, knowing him as the man who had led her into the forest the night Hans had destroyed that town. She would recognize him anywhere, even more so now. She was silent. She was struck dumb by his appearance, an air of power enveloping him. She felt unable to speak... unless spoken to. The man on the throne waited for the others to arrive, standing behind Holo to support her. When he spoke, it was a simple question directed at Holo.

"What is your name, child?"

Holo could not argue or do anything but answer, but she answered willingly. "I am Holo of Yoitsu."

He sat in his throne, staring down at her. "I sense the blood of my lineage in you. You are the daughter of Sköll, the son of Fenrir, my son." He stood up, gripping a regal spear in his hand. "You are my only remaining heir, Holo of Yoitsu. I am Loki."