Past the Mountains, Among the Clouds

I don't remember. I don't remember how long we were together after that. The sky was dark. Dark like the day I first had an encounter with Bierra. I made it sound like it has been ages since that incident, but in reality, it was just yesterday. I couldn't guess the time. All I could conclude was that it had been a long time, or maybe not. And with how things were, the night was from over.

"Coffee?" I asked Freya, offering her a cup.

Her nose was red from all the crying beforehand. Tears still held residence in the sockets of her round eyes. She looked helpless. Weak. Fragile. Perfectly matching the image I had conjured up in my mind when I first saw her. A soft-spoken recluse.

"Where'd you get that?" She asked, still sniffing her nose.

"I got it on our way. From that cafeteria, the one with the bird logo." I replied as I poured out the coffee from my tumbler. It was still hot after all this time.

Drongo. I think that was the cafeteria's name. As far as how I got the coffee, that was an "experience" to say the least. Having a girl crying- no, absolutely bawling while she clings to your arm as you buy some coffee, needless to say attracts a lot of gazes and with that come judgements.

She slowly sipped small amounts of the beverage from her cup.

I just sat in the distance, looking at her in silence. Externally, yes, I was quiet as I could be for a human being. However, internally I had a myriad of questions bouncing around my mind after she dropped the bomb.

I am dying.

What could that possibly mean? Sure, on face value, it is as basic as it gets. But the supernatural doesn't work on face values.

I waited for her to finish her coffee. Then, I asked my first question.

"Freya. Your ways have changed."

Yes. A statement once again.

"Oh yeah. I suppose you could call it a change of heart." Her voice sounded hoarse, partly due to bawling her eyes out, I guess.

"That's too quick of a change!"

"Yeah, I can see why'd you think that. I think I should be completely honest with you then."

I stayed quiet.

"Please don't misunderstand. It doesn't mean I have been lying to you. Not even once. I'm sure you'd have figured it out, but it has something to do with my nature as the Goddess of Autumn."

Not even once. She had not once lied.

I missed you soooooo mucchhh! 

That hug.

Something made my heart beat faster.

"Y-yeah. I figured that out when we were at the park." I replied. Am I flustered?

She paid no heed to my stammering self and continued.

"Oh. I must say you're quite sharp. I'd like to apologise for the incident back at the trail today. I called you stupid and well did some stuff, which was not definitely not right."

"I mean, no worries. Nobody was harmed so, I don't think that's much of an issue."

"Really? That's... interesting."

"Interesting?"

"I mean you must've quite low regard for your ownself. You just forgave someone who had you by the arm over a cliff. Not only that, but was threatening you."

A fair point. It was not normal. I could understand that sentiment, and yet I didn't harbour any harsh feelings towards her.

"That's kinda creepy, you know?" She called out; correctly so.

"I guess that's who I am. My nature, I think."

She gave me a look. As if I had said something naïve. It was a brief one but I could still catch the hint of "I have said something wrong."

"Still, I'm grateful that you forgave me. Truth be told, I was scared. Death is, in fact, a scary thing after all. Even to gods." 

Her eyes looked at the floor of the lecture hall. A touch of despair in her body language.

"Even gods are not spared from the cycle of mortality. It must be hard."

"Well, we are immortal. Like we can't die like normal people. But.."

She hesitated.

"She'll be removed from existence." A voice, cold as the interstellar space and indifferent beyond measure, called out.

It was the same distant and cold tone I had grown accustomed to. She was Bierra Ullr Archion. The Embodiment of Cold, the Queen of Frost, the Ruler of Winter Spirit, the Princess of Heavenly Peaks, the Mother of Mountains, the Nemesis of Warmth, the Goddess of Winter.

"Gosh! I can't believe your stupidity." She remarked. Cold as ever.

"To think you'll bring her here, of all places. You never fail to surprise me, you know that? It's like I discover a new epitome of stupidity of mankind when I'm in you presence."

She sure seemed pissed.

"You must've been the last one to be blessed by the Gods of Common Sense if they ever were to exist."

"So stupid." She sighed.

"So stupid." She scoffed.

"So stupid." A nonchalant tone.

"So stupid!" She said in a joyous mood. What?!

"So stupid." Tears in her eyes.

"SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO STUPIDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!" She raged. 

It was loud. So loud. I felt like my ears had burst. Maybe they did, but they have regenerated back. I couldn't tell. However, one thing was obvious as they come. No ordinary human could have withstood her shout at that moment. Desk shattered into ice. The back at the back of the room crumbled. Mist arose inside the hall. The chairs froze where they stood. Temperatures dropped to subzero values and the entire lecture hall became the domain of Bierra. 

I looked for Freya. She seemed unaffected. As for me, I could feel another frostbite coming up my leg, though this one felt a lot less severe. 

"The domain of primordial ice and cold. This is Niflheim. My abode." She said.

"Wait. Wait. You transformed the entire lecture hall into your domain. What will you do if somebody finds it out?" I asked.

Sigh. She sighed.

"This lecture hall. The place where we met last night. It is disconnected from the outside world. Like a pocket dimension in space and time. It can't be found. You couldn't have even found this place in the first place had I not brought you here before. Inside, no matter how long you stay, time barely passes in the real world. Surely, you would've noticed that." She explained.

"Uh. Yeah, it must've been the case."

She saw right through me.

"Anyway, why bring out your domain at this time?" I asked. Freya had been awfully quiet.

"Oh. Well, the levels of your foolishness angered me to such an extent the hold of my powers slipped."

"WHAT?! You mean this could happen anywhere? And the reason could be so trivial as making you angry?"

Truly beyond human comprehension. Gods operated on a level inconceivable to mortal mind.

"Yeah. You brought her here without my permission. What else could you expect? I mean, she was supposed to be the topic of our discussion. She threatened you and now here you are, being all chummy with her. She even called me a stupid ice witch!"

Oh. So she was listening back then. 

"Okay Bierra. We can discuss that later. It's good you came up. I need your help. Freya say she's-"

Before I could put forward my request. She said-

"It's useless." 

Cold. Indifferent. Distant.

"Hey, Bierra. I know you're angry, but at least listen to us."

What exactly is there to listen to? Tell me. That a naive goddess can't hold accountability for her actions? That she can't bear the consequences of what she has done? That she's scared to die?"

"Hey, Bierra. You're being too cold right now. I know you're the Goddess of Winter but-"

"But what exactly? And aren't you being too chummy with me? It's not like we are friends. I'm allowing you to address me by my name, but don't get your head too high, kid."

Why was she so angry? Is it because I brought Freya with me today?

"I'm sorry alright. But I need you to listen." I pleaded.

"I told you already it's useless. You can't do anything for her. Heck, it's even better to keep your distant from zombies like her. Just let her disappear into oblivion." 

"How can you be so mean? Do you have no heart?!" Her attitude getting on my nerves too.

"I'm saving you right now. You don't know what you're getting yourself into." she replied.

"How can you say that without listening to me!"

"Don't raise your voice at me."

Her condescending attitude. Anger. It's frustrating to listen to. I can't take it. 

"What you gonna do? Kill me? Go right ahead. I don't want a life indebted to some narcissistic goddess who doesn't even listen to others. It really suits you, you know? That icy, condescending way of living. I'm sure when it's your turn to disappear, no one would even shed a-" 

"It's ENOUGH. Eirik. Let her be. She's saying the right thing." Freya embraced me from behind. Is she crying once again?

"Freya?"

"Deep down I know it myself. It's a useless wish." She said. Her voice was cracking.

She was holding back her tears. Bierra, look what you've done!

Before I could convert my emotions back into words to throw at Bierra, I stopped. She was looking at me.

Shock.

Betrayal.

Dissapointment.

Her eyes. They weren't cold. They seemed to question me, "How could you say that?" Her mouth was open.

"I'll go now. Please don't sour your relation with Miss Bierra anymore." Freya said as she left my body and made her way to the frozen gate. She wasn't even hiding it anymore. Tears had made their way to her cheeks. Her steps felt weak.

"You aren't going anywhere." Bierra called out.

Freya was almost taken aback by this sudden address by Bierra.

"Oh, I'm sorry to disturb you two. I won't bug any of you anymore. I'll make my leave now." Freya responded.

"No. Not after what all has already been done. You are not leaving." Bierra commanded.

"I'm sorry, Miss Bierra. I promise we'll never meet again. So I request you to please let me go."

"Look at you. Playing the victim till the very end." Bierra mocked her. Cold as ever.

Freya kept mum. 

"The kid believes everything he's told. I can tell that much. And with our current situation, it's a given he's going to make me a villain of this story."

Freya kept quiet.

"Freya, was it? I take it you've still not told Eirik what you're hiding, right?"

Silence. 

"So why don't you tell him what I know about you? You seemed to be of the type never lie, so why keep mum, huh?" 

Right. Bierra was right. Ever since I came here with Freya, she had been crying for most of the time. She didn't say what she was hiding. I know she was dying, but the underlying reason behind it had yet not been conveyed to me.

I looked at Freya. She had her gaze down. She wasn't making contact.

"Tell me. Freya! You said you'll tell me the truth." I said. My voice; it sounded confused.

"Yes, Freya. Don't you want to tell him the truth? Or do you think it'll ruin your image in his eyes?" Bierra scoffed at her.

"Freya. Is it the truth? Is Bierra really telling the truth here?"

I was impatient. She had never once lied. She did not lie. She would never lie. Because to lie, you need to voice the deception into words. However, what I got in return for all my questions was—

Silence.