Story was taken down and reposted due to changes in the story. The major change was the final chapter in chapter 10, completely rewriting the story to a different direction. Sorry for any issues this may cause.

Issei held his arms as he once more dragged his feet as he sluggishly moved across the icy-stone. He let out a loud moan of pain as his stomach rumbled. 'So hungry… I… I wonder if these plants are edible… not that I have much of a choice. It's not like I'll get any boar around here...' He thought with a depressed tone. He shambled up to a rock that was currently being overrun by the Hel's bramble. He gripped a large chunk and started to tug at it, but it barely budged. The cold was sapping away at Issei's strength.

Issei had ice forming under his nostrils where his snot had fallen and frozen, making him look almost like a walrus. His finger tips were a light blue, meaning frost bite was starting to settle in, despite the fact they were covered in gloves. He was covered head to toe in warm clothing, but nothing could defeat this cold. It truly was a place no fire nor god could survive in.

Issei shivered violently once more and decided to try a more direct approach to get some food and opened his mouth. He wrapped it around the plant and bit down. A loud crunch filled the air as the plant broke a piece off that was in his mouth and he started to chew. Issei immediately gagged on the taste, but placing his right hand over his mouth seemed to keep him from vomiting. He chewed on the plant and swallowed down the acrid food. He fell to his knees as he choked on the taste, his eyes watering and freezing solid. There, however, was something that wasn't known to Issei since he couldn't see it, but he started to receive color back to his fingers.

He slowly got back up to standing and took another bite, and then another. He closed his eyes tightly as he chewed away, groaning from the taste. 'This… this is awful. The worst taste I've ever had in my mouth.' He thought as he chewed, swallowed, bit some more, chewed, swallowed and kept repeating for a couple minutes until he felt his hunger satisfied. After finishing his meal, he felt really thirsty and looked around for something to drink. Seeing nothing but ice around him, Issei decided to continue his trek forward which this time, he wasn't sluggish or anything. He was walking at a steady pace, which took his mind a couple minutes to register this fact that he wasn't feeling as cold as before. 'Wait… it's the thing I needed! Hel's Bramble grows here because it can keep warm! I'm going to survive!' He cheered, grinning brightly as he picked up his pace deeper into Helheim.

But Issei once again fails to remember one of Freya's teachings from earlier. He was still just a human… and humans do not belong in the realms other than Midgard, let alone the living within the realm of the dead and Hel's Bramble was not meant to be consumed by God nor Human for no one living was supposed to be in Helheim.

Back in Asgard, Freya rushed through Valhalla, going past the feasting, fighting and fornicating warriors that were awaiting Odin's call to Ragnarök. She quickly opened one of the many doors within the hall and closed it behind her. Behind it was another beautiful woman, though not nearly as beautiful as Freya. She was around five foot four, had long platinum blonde hair, and was wearing an armor that covered a lot more than Freya's armor, yet wasn't as thick either. It looked as if it was made of leather. Her armor was rather plain being a brown leather color.

"Freya, what could I do for you?" She asked in a calm and calculating voice, lacing her fingers together as she put down the book she was reading. Her room was a library at this point, with bookshelves all around her room filled with books from the nine realms.

"Ölrùn, I need your help. Is it at all possible for you and Heimdallr to find out where someone was taken within the Nine realms if they were forcefully dragged away?" She asked, a little desperation in her voice. This interested the Valkyrie of knowledge, staring at Freya with curious eyes.

"And what has you so interested in this topic Freya? Was someone dear to you taken from you?" She asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"What! No! I was told to do this by the Allfather and Frigg!"

"That doesn't explain the urgency and the need of your voice when you asked me for my help. So, if what you are saying is true about the Allfather… Oh I see." She said, staring at Freya. "That human boy has piqued your interest in more ways than academically." She said with a sigh.

"Of course he hasn't!" Freya said, a blush on her cheeks.

"He's a human Freya. Take it from me, it is not wise to get involved with the humans." Ölrùn scolded the Queen. "They are a destructive species who make Thor look like a teddy bear in comparison. They destroy everything around them be it forests, animals or plants. They have no regard for their own kind let alone the realm they live in." She said, staring into Freya, reading the Goddesses face and eyes. Freya looked extremely flustered, worried and depressed all mixed in one, which wasn't something Ölrùn was accustomed to. She's seen her like this before with her husband, who died a long time ago. Sure she was worried about the Queen's mental health and her happiness, but a human? She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "You are happier than you've been in centuries, so I cannot get too upset or scold you too much… but please be careful with this human." She said, standing up from her seat to grab a few books from one of the bookshelves behind her. The books were all regarding Yggdrasil and the Bifrost. "I will see what I can do about finding your lost human."

"Thank you Ölrùn." Freya said, blushing a bit before she quickly walked away. When the door closed behind her, Ölrùn smiled over her shoulder.

"Perhaps this human will be different being raised by us." She thought out loud.

Odin was sitting in his throne, his right fist under his chin as he was deep in thought. Frigg, on the other hand, was pacing back and forth along the large rug that was underneath their thrones as well as all around the platform they were on. She was nibbling on her right hand, overwhelmed with worry and sadness for her boy.

"Dear, your pacing isn't helping any, y-"

"Well neither is you just sitting there! Our boy is lost out there somewhere in the Nine Realms!" She yelled at her husband, turning to face with him anger.

"I was merely saying that you should take a seat and try to calm down. Clearer heads will find our boy, not clouded ones." Odin replied, reaching over for his wife's hand. When he found it, he pulled her to him and gently held her, trying to soothe his distraught wife.

"He's a good one… He's worthy of being our children." Frigg said softly in which Odin smiled.

"That he is. Even if Asgard may not trust him nor like him, we alone know that he's worthy. He will grow up to be worthy to all of Asgard." Odin said proudly.

"Why didn't we just give him our magic so he could become one of us? Then maybe we could have avoided all of this" Frigg asked her husband.

"As we had discussed this when he was still an infant. If we just give him power, he'll never grow to be worthy of it. He is becoming worthy all on his own and then maybe one day, we'll give him the power to become a Demigod, but he needs to earn it. We are going to avoid making another Thor dear." Odin said, rubbing his wife's hands.

"Yes I know… but seeing him coming home covered in bruises that aren't from Freya's training is heart breaking. The children here are so cruel."

"I know… there have been times I've wanted to march down there and put them all in their place… but that will only make them hate him more. Right now, he needs to find his own way… and if we can gently nudge him to the right place than we shall." Odin said, soothing his wife.

"I hate this..."

"I do too." Odin replied.

Issei finally found a source of water. It didn't look all that appetizing, but he couldn't get to the river below him, so the fact that there was a large bird pond shaped rock that was filled with water was a blessing. Of course, someone with experience would take a step back and look at this from a different perspective. A rock that looked like this was conveniently holding water was right in the middle of a large platform? It certainly would look like something dangerous. Issei, however, was desperate for one and he was still learning that the universe is cruel, and so he would learn the hard way. Issei didn't want to remove his gloves, nor did he want to get his gloves wet, so he leaned over the rock and stuck his lips into the water and slowly lapped at the water, drinking slowly. Issei's eyes went wide as the water slid down his throat. 'This is delicious! It tastes like… Asgardian Chocolate!' He thought and started gulping down the water quickly. 'So good so good!' Issei cheered in his mind. What he didn't realize was that the water was an inky black and started to coat his veins in it. His veins started to glow a dark black and make his veins pop out of his body. Of course, how could he know with his clothes?

After two minutes of drinking, Issei felt like he had enough and pulled away, only to gasp. The water was filled back up again?! It was like it was a spring and the water came out through the center! 'I… I'm going to survive. I have food and water! And I don't feel cold anymore!' He cheered, grinning. "I'm going to make it back alive!" He screamed out to the sky. Once more, Freya's teaching about being human never quite stuck in his head… for the food and water in his body started to mix… forming a vile black substance that started to enter his arteries and veins.

Time was never easy to understand. Time was relative. It never flows the same everywhere. A year in Asgard was three years in Midgard, but Helheim was different. Time In Helheim was faster than Midgard yet slower than Asgard, which isn't possible is it? Helheim is a wasteland like none other, being unsustainable to life outside of the one plant. Not even Gods could survive the place. Time was against them. The nights never ended there as there was no day and night cycle. It just existed there, meaning that a year could pass in Helheim, but it only felt like a day to some, or a day could pass and it felt like a year. The realm messed with the mind of the living and destroyed their bodies from within. This was a lesson Issei was going to be learning.

A year passed in Asgard since Issei had disappeared. Due to the length of time that Issei had been away, both Odin and Frigg were breaking down. They become crueler and more callous than before. Their rule became strained and the nine realms started to suffer. Civil wars broke out in Alfheim and Svartalheim, and no one was sent by the rulers of Asgard. They locked themselves away most days in their rooms, destroying objects out of rage or burying themselves in booze. The loss of their son was too great upon the Gods.

Freya wasn't affected as much as Odin and Frigg due to Issei not being her son, but the time that Issei had been gone had done a number on the Queen. She wasn't visiting her realm of Fòlkvangr often nor was she accepting any more warriors. She would lock herself in her home most of the day, training for most of the day as she tried to get her mind off of the loss of her student, but sometimes when the pain of losing Issei was too great, she would find herself drinking her woes away. The Valkyries were also suffering in their jobs due to Freya's lack of direction, meaning Valhalla wasn't receiving as much warriors as they should have been… meaning the dead must be being sent elsewhere.

Ölrùn and Heimdallr were hard at work at the Bifrost platform, studying the crystals and the Yggdrasil. They had not yet given up on their task, for different reasons. Heimdallr respected Frigg too much and considered her a good friend to himself. Ölrùn on the other hand was doing this for Freya, who was shutting herself down due to losing this human. Ölrùn greatly respected her Queen and wanted to bring back Freya's smile. Every time they thought they made a breakthrough, the Yggdrasil would shift and annihilate all their work. They could never track Issei's signature longer than a couple seconds, meaning they could never find out what realm he was taken to. They had luckily been able to narrow down the selections of where he was taken to, but it was grim.

"This can't be right..." Ölrùn muttered, looking at the runes on the stone tablet she was holding. "There's no way Issei could have survived if he was brought to these three realms..."

Heimdallr looked at his tablet and then hers. "We both came to the same conclusion… Issei is either in Muspelheim, Niflheim, Helheim, or Midgard." He replied, looking at the large tree in front of them. "But it can't be Midgard. It's just too much of a coincidence that the three worst realms for anyone to survive in is on here yet Midgard is as well." He stated.

Ölrùn looked at the tree herself and frowned. "So it's not Midgard… but then why these three realms… what are the chances that these three realms were all on the list? We tracked his signature to be around these three realms, yet none of them are close on the tree. They are all on different levels and some are even far away from each other."

"We need to speak to the Allfather and Frigg now." Heimdallr said. "I need to stand watch over the Bifrost and Yggdrasil, but you need to talk to the Allfather. An outside force was the one to take the human to another realm."

"But who would do that?"

"I know not, but this is an urgent matter for them to learn."

"We need to first find out where he was taken."

"I already know where he was taken. If the outside force wanted to punish the Allfather and Frigg..." He trailed off. The Valkyrie of wisdom's eyes widened in shock, surprise and fear.

"Helheim."

"Go!" Heimdallr ordered.

A year passed in Asgard, which meant three years in Midgard, yet time felt faster for Issei in Helheim. It felt like only a week had passed since he entered Helheim. Waking up, Issei stood up from his makeshift home in the rubble near the water rock. He let out a loud yawn and smiled, as he stepped out from under his home and took a few gulps from the water, ate a few bites of the Hel's Bramble and then drank some more. Issei had fallen into a routine now, trying to survive in the wasteland. The more and more he ate the food and drank the water, the less cold he felt. He was feeling warm and would use his magic to give him so lighter clothes. When he would finish his breakfast, he would start to do his stances and train himself as if Freya was still there.

Unknown to Issei, was that the food and water he drank was not meant to be consumed by the living, let alone a human. The living were not meant to survive in Helheim. The food in his body would warp his mind, making him feel warmer. Sure, the color returned to his fingers and toes but this was only a side affect. The warmth he felt was not actual warmth, just something his mind was thinking, so when Issei shed the heavier clothes, the cold of Helheim gripped his bones even tighter, forcing his blood to grow even thicker. With the movements that Issei was doing, as if his blood wasn't thick, was straining his muscles. The water was toxic as well. Due to the food destroying the tissues and muscles of Issei's mouth, the water entered the blood stream as well as the stomach. When the water entered the blood stream, it destroyed the white blood cells that it came in contact with, which opened Issei up to infection, which there were none in Helheim, but should he be rescued…

Thanks to the constant eating of the Hel's Bramble, Issei's body had become smaller. Issei could never have noticed because he never removed his clothing away nor had he seen his reflection due to their being no light available. The muscles Issei had gained from training with Freya were gone and the lad looked like he hadn't eaten anything for weeks. He was just skin and bones underneath the heavy clothes, yet he felt great for the singular fact that the food was warping his mind into thinking everything was okay, despite the nerves sending warning signals to the brain.

The black sludge that was formed when the water met the plant life was rushing through his body, coating every vein, every artery, his heart, lungs, liver, kidneys. Every organ, including his brain was being coated in the sludge, yet the functions were unaffected. Perhaps with the right catalyst…

Back in Asgard, Ölrùn quickly entered the palace but was stopped by someone who had been away from Asgard for a very long time.

"Thor, it… it's a surprise to see you." Ölrùn said, bowing her head in respect to the Norse god.

"I suppose it is. When I heard that father and mother had a new son and I had a brother, I came to find out… but I was cast aside and told to go away, that what I had done was inexcusable. Of course, I never found out what that was until recently, however, I've been on my travels across Midgard to pass the time. When I returned, I found that the realms were in chaos and I still couldn't figure out why. It finally got to my ears that my brother is human… and was missing." Thor replied. Thor was a large man that looked like the typical viking. Wild spiky hair, a thick bushy beard and a ripped body. Muscles filled out his armor well. There was a hammer on his hip on his belt, that crackled with lightning every so often. "It was under my knowledge that you and Heimdallr were busy trying to track down my missing brother, so tell me. Have you found it out?"

"I… I need to speak to Allfather and Frigg about it." She said, trembling. Thor was a very scary God who has been known to fight with the people of Asgard whenever he felt slighted. Thor frowned when the Valkyrie shrinked in fear as well as refused to tell him.

"This is my brother. You will tell me what I asked for." Thor said, his right fist clenching.

"Don't start a fight in my home boy." Odin said, coming down the stairs from his bedroom. He looked like he hadn't slept in ages. "You think that you have the right to know about the human that you've caused to become an orphan with your ignorant brutality?" He asked with a sneer and venom.

"Father, I..." Thor said, with a grunt. "I said I was sorry."

"Sorry doesn't excuse yourself." He said with a glare before looking at Ölrùn. "Have you found my son?"

"We haven't found him yet-"

"Then why are you here?" Odin asked, his right eye glowing a bright blue as his aura started to flare.

"It was an outside force! Someone else dragged Issei away!" Ölrùn said quickly, backing away from the power that Odin was pulsing out. That didn't douse his aura, but only increased it.

"Who?! Who took my son away?!" Odin demanded, walking closer to the Valkyrie.

"I do not know! Issei's signature was dragged across the nine realms. Heimdallr and I believe he's in Helheim though!"

"Helheim?!" Thor asked incredulously.

"Are you sure it's Helheim?!" Odin demanded. His aura was slowly dying down.

"He's either in Muspelheim, Niflheim, Helheim or Midgard. We narrowed it down to Helheim when we learned that it was an outside force! It's the only place that makes sense because it's the worse of the four!"

"What are you all yelling about this early in the morning?" Frigg asked as she came down the stairs.

"This Valkyrie and Heimdallr think that our son is in Helheim!"

"Helheim?! You… You lie!" Frigg said, fear coursing through her veins. "M-My boy..." She said, bile starting to fill her stomach and her throat. Odin quickly embraced his wife, trying to soothe the now sobbing woman, who learned that her human son was in Helheim.

Freya threw the large porcelain mug against the wall, shattering it. She yelled out in frustration as the memories of Issei flooded her mind. This was the anniversary that Issei had been taken away which was a day that she felt so guilty on. She had been so hard on him, being cruel to him. She tormented him after his hangover. She insulted him and put him down and that was the last thing she ever did before he was taken away. 'I'm sorry Issei…' She thought.

Deciding a change of scenery that wasn't her home or Asgard for that matter, Freya decided to put on a dress with some magic. This dress was a beautiful crystal blue satin dress that went down to her ankles. It also revealed quite a bit of cleavage. She looked stunning. She left her home and flew to where the Bifrost and the portal to Yggdrasil was, but she stopped when Heimdallr wasn't there. She thought it was suspicious for sure.

"Heimdallr?" She called out, looking around. It was then Heimdallr stepped through the portal of Yggdrasil. The look on his face was grim and Freya knew something was up. "What did you find out Heimdallr?" He asked quietly, her voice a whisper.

"There is a grim possibility that the human was taken to Helheim."

"Helheim…? No..." She whispered, her eyes widening as fear coursed through her veins.

"Afraid that is what Ölrùn and I have discovered." He said, bowing his head. "I'm sorry Freya." He said, as if Issei was already dead.

"No… It can't be over so easily… I'm going to look for him." She said, staring at Heimdallr.

"I would advise against that, for not even Odin or Thor could survive for long in that place. Let alone you or a human."

"I am going Heimdallr. I must go." Freya said, her magic changing her dress into a thick coat and pants, as well as gloves. Heimdallr stared at Freya intensely for a few seconds but he moved out of her way of the portal.

"I wish you luck. I will open a portal to Helheim here and keep it open and keep watch. You have two days to find him or I will close the portal." He spoke as his sword glowed a bright gold and a gateway to Helheim opened up nearby.

"Thank you." Freya said, stepping into the portal.

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