Epic of Caterpillar
chapter-1434

"Contacting my mother? T-That's crazy talk, Blaze! I cannot… do that…" Sighed Lazuli. "I am virtually dead to her, how could I even tell her everything now?"

"But what do you plan to do your entire life?" Asked Blaze, confronting her icy friend, as her fiery hair grew larger and fiery. "You've gotta be brave and tell your mother what your awful sister did to you! That Tundra… I would smack her and burn her a bit until she melts into water!"

"Blaze, lower your tone of voice!" Said Lazuli. "Sssshh!"

"Don't "Ssssh" me now, Lazuli!" Said Blaze while crossing her arms. "We've talked about this a lot now. You even helped me get through my trauma with my family and now I've finally managed to get better with them… I want the same for you."

"…Sigh." Lazuli sighed, feeling nervous. Despite having attained a lot of strength, it was most of the time all thanks to Kireina's powers. She felt confident in many things but in many others she was still very afraid, and Kireina's death… didn't helped in that regard.

"Come on… We are here with you too." Said Blaze. "You got a whole new family here, and I bet Skadi is weaker than you at this point! I am pretty sure you can speak to her, right? Maybe you could ask for her help too, she got a big ass Realm to help her out, didn't she had an entire Pantheon of Ice Titans as well?"

"Y-Yes… and Ice Elves, Ice Fairies…" Sighed Lazuli. "Well… I can at the very least try… right? I can… I must!" Lazuli felt pumped up.

"That's the spirit!" Said Blaze, feeling that her soul connection with Lazuli made her channel her fiery attitude at long last, her cold aura suddenly changed, gaining a warmth similar to Blaze's warmth.

Lazuli still had the connection data from her mother's Divine Connection, creating a new one was not hard at all, and it was even easier to send a telepathic message to her…

…

Within the cold lands of Niflheim, Skadi sat down over her icy throne. She looked at her daughter Tundra who was soon to be coronated as the new Queen of Niflheim, after the sudden disappearance of her daughter, Lazuli, she had felt very down through the year. Because her Realm was so far away from the other Realms, at a corner of the Astral Road where the coldest temperatures were, as it was the farther area from the Sun, she had not been disturbed by the problems of the world.

Although the Eras made themselves very obvious by now, and she knew that the Supreme Gods, especially the various new ones were fighting one another to save or destroy the world… She was a bystander for the most part. She was strong, but she didn't believed she had the power to change how things were.

Perhaps because of this, she had decided to concentrate into her own Realm. Her husband, the melancholic fisherman great god, Njord, another Vanir God and the father of Freyr and Freyja had remained mostly in silence, living by himself in the corner of her Realm. Their relationship was often like this, distanced from the other.

She had felt more down as she recalls Lazuli every so often, and with an ever-changing world, she couldn't help but feel constantly threatened by the changes that these new Eras could bring to everything. Feeling rather nervous of everything outside won't help, so she was about to prepare a coronation ceremony for Tundra.

Tundra was the second most talented daughter of hers, although Lazuli was her most dearest, Tundra was also her dear daughter, and she loved her fairly. She trained her and was about to give her the crown as the next queen after soon reaching Great God Realm.

She still was doubtful about what really happened to Lazuli… but she loved Tundra too much to think ill of her, she couldn't really think nor imagine her adorable Tundra, which she raised since she was a cute and innocent baby to do anything bad to Lazuli… it must have been something else, which she's still trying to research.

"Mother! How do I look, fufu~!" Tundra modeled before her mother, after she change dresses with the help of the fairy maids, her blue and light blue dress was shining with many icy crystals around, she looked majestic.

Skadi smiled, as she looked at her beautiful daughter dance.

"You look beautiful, my dear." She said. "Are you happy of becoming the queen? There will be many responsibilities… Although you'll get many subjects, you must take care of everything… Are you sure you don't want to prepare some more years?" Sighed Skadi.

"I am sure of it! I can start right away if you say so!" Said Tundra.

"Well, it shall be tomorrow morning, so wait for a bit more." Said Skadi.

"Okay, mother dearest!" Said Tundra.

Unaware of what her daughter had planned, Skadi slept in her room, while her daughter spoke with a mysterious entity within her divine realm, a god, a man wearing a large black coat covering his head with a hood, many chains wrapped around his arms and torso, he emanated a mysterious and dark presence… And at his side, Tundra smiled.

"Tomorrow I shall become queen…" She laughed. "I wouldn't had been able to get my annoying sister Lazuli out of the picture without your help, Great God of Seals." Tundra said with a smile.

The hooded figure remained in silence as he heard her speak, and then, he spoke with a serious and coarse voice.

"The world is changing quickly, Tundra… If you desire to survive and acquire enough power, you must quickly take the things in your mother's treasury after you become the queen…" Said the "God of Seals" as he seemed to be pressuring Tundra.

"I know, I know! I won't forget your part of the prize…" Said Tundra. "Nor I've forgotten the Crown of Eternal Winter either, fufu…"