A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

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Erik looked up at Ymir with a wry scoff. "And I suppose you needed more Runebound for that, regardless of the danger…"

Blinking, Ymir was pulled from his ruminations as if only now remembering Erik was even there. Yet, rather than be offended by Erik's insinuations, he smirked at the younger man. "You think we just created you to be cannon fodder? You think too little of me, little friend."

He leaned a little closer, causing the leaves to rustle, and smiled mysteriously. "We figured out a way to prevent Yggdrasil from draining you as easily as it can with the weaker members of my kind. I want you and yours to lead the struggle for freedom against its oppression, not die as soon as Yggdrasil sets its eye on you."

Seeing that Erik was still not entirely convinced, Ymir leaned back and shrugged as well as his restrained body allowed. "If you're still not happy with your lot, then answer me this: would you rather be hunted but free, or safe but shackled? Because the latter is the fate that binds every Arcanist."

Erik parted his lips… but then closed them again, and looked at Ymir sombrely. "I guess safe and free isn't an option, huh?" he grumbled, a little annoyed, despite somewhat coming around to Ymir's point of view… In the end, he truly would rather be free and hunted.

Ymir simply chuckled, not feeling the need to answer Erik's unfortunately rhetorical question. It was a harsh universe, after all.

Yet, there was one thing still very important to him. "So… what about my Arcanist wives?" he asked, his tone sombre and with a hint of fear. The thought this Yggradrasil could wipe them out at any time scared him intensely.

Ymir understood his feelings, yet… had little in terms of consolation to offer. Sadly, the shackled giant shook his head. "I can't even protect my people who are already Runebound, let alone Arcanists. But, in terms of good news, Yggdrasil can't reach anyone on this world yet, and even if you were on such a world, it wouldn't be able to reach inside your dimension."

Unsurprisingly, that wasn't an answer that satisfied Erik, yet he had to live with it… for now. Fortunately, Ymir had one more thing to say on it. "Although, I think that Elorium stuff of yours might offer some solutions. Which, by the way, I must compliment you on."

Rather than feel relieved, Erik narrowed his eyes at Ymir. "You really just know everything, huh?"

A smirk spread across Ymir's face. "Not everything, little friend… but I do know a lot. Such is the benefit of being the world spirit."

Erik raised an eyebrow at that term, but before he could ask more about it, the scene below finally continued. As with Erik's vision in the past, Ymir appeared among his fallen tribesmen and fell to his knees in despair, before roaring into the air.

The Ymir beside Erik stayed silent during this moment, simply looking at his past self with stoic determination. Erik still had questions, but he decided to leave them for now, as he didn't feel this was the right moment to ask them.

When the vision Ymir was done mourning, he stood up and walked away, a vision of loneliness. But this was when the minotaur Audumla showed up. Ymir smiled gently at this development. "Little Audy… She was a wandering mercenary when we met. Her story is… well, maybe you'll hear it one time, but it's not my place to tell. She had her reasons for joining me."

Erik nodded silently, not entirely sure how much he cared about her story, anyway.

Meanwhile, the vision continued, now showing Ymir and Audumla as they travelled various worlds, doing what Ymir described as 'investigative research'. They were looking for a way to make Runebound, who were protected from Yggdrasil's life draining.

When he had this vision in the past, this was where the scene would shift towards the giant tree, but it wasn't exactly the same this time. Rather, the vision versions of Ymir and Audumla now met up with a fairy.

This fairy was both beautiful and terrifying. Midnight-coloured hair cascaded down her diminutive body, framing an alluring face set with blood-red eyes, shining with callous cunning and mischievous curiosity. Her clothes consisted of an intimidating, black, gothic-style dress and bare feet.

Her expression and attire were the epitome of what Erik knew fairy culture to be all about. Or, at least, among the Obsidian Enclave. He actually had little knowledge of fairies from the radiant glade.

When Ymir and Audumla met her in the vision, she sat on the right shoulder of a man no smaller than Ymir. His forehead had dangerous black horns. His eyes were hard, and his arms were crossed in front of his large chest. He looked at Ymir and Audumla with prideful indifference.

Ymir nodded at the two his vision version met, his expression doing its best to remain neutral. "These are—"

"I know," Erik interrupted him, a curious look on his face. "Nyxandra, the queen of the Obsidian Enclave, and her dragon protector, Thraximar."

Ymir snorted with a hint of annoyance. "Suppose I shouldn't be surprised they're both still alive… But I'm surprised you know what they look like."

A small, fond grin spread on Erik's lips as he shrugged. "Elora is a fan. In the first few years that I knew her, she talked about Nyxandra several times, as well as showed me pictures. Supposedly, she's a grand-niece of Nyxandra, too."

This immediately caught Ymir's attention and he raised an eyebrow. "They're family?"

"Distant family, but yeah," Erik nodded, as he couldn't wait to tell Elora about this. His beloved wife wasn't one for freaking out, but he desperately wanted to see how close this news would bring her.

Suddenly, Erik had a thought and turned to Ymir with narrowed eyes. "You're not getting any ideas, are you? I don't know what happened between you and Nyxandra, or fairies as a hole, but it's got nothing to do with Elora…"

Ymir turned to him with a mysterious light shining in his eyes… but after staring at each other for a moment, with neither of them budging, Ymir finally nodded slowly. "Why don't you tell me what you meant with 'Obsidian Enclave'?"