Gun Gun could say that he was very pleased with his Enchantress Mother's standing in the Nine Realms. His carriage had barely landed in front of the Palace and he'd already seen the servants doing their salutations.

With his status, he too was able to seek a private audience with the Allfather, something that most would only dream of happening. Celeste removed his fur cloak once they stepped out of the carriage.

Walking through the massive halls of the palace, he eventually came across Queen Frigga who was out for a stroll in the garden.

"Gun Gun!" she greeted. Gun Gun smiled and allowed her to step into his personal space. The Queen Mother was one of the few people whom his Enchantress Mother trusts, and though she had a mind that would not lose to the cunning one his mother had, Queen Frigga was genuine in her interactions with him.

"Blessings and graces be upon you, Queen Frigga," Celeste respectfully greeted and Gun Gun did a curt bow.

Frigga nodded to Celeste's direction. "It's a rare occasion for you to visit Asgard, Gun Gun. What is it that you came here for?" she took Gun Gun's hands in her own, worry in her eyes.

"Queen Mother," Gun Gun murmured inaudibly, but Frigga still heard it anyway, since she stopped. "You need not hide it from me. I know my Enchantress Mother and Prince Fenrir and Jormungand are missing," Gun Gun felt the Queen Mother's hand tremble. "That is why I'm here."

Slowly, Frigga bent down until their heights were the same, gently grasping Gun Gun's shoulders. "Gun Gun, I am sorry to keep this matter from you, but please do understand that we are doing all in our power to locate them."

"I know," Gun Gun answered without missing a beat. Though his Enchantress Mother was one who did not meddle with the political affairs of the palace - there weren't many Enchantresses or Encantors who actually even dipped their toes in one. Most were more interested with keeping the peace of the realms or battle - his mother's skills were very much highly sought, and they probably feared that she would go astray in an incident of amnesia. Just the topic itself chilled Gun Gun. "But I am my mother's son. How could I not be worried?"

Frigga smiled sadly, patting Gun Gun's head affectionately. "Your mother had often told me that you are always calm and sensible for your age, even when faced with a difficulty," she stood back up. "Now I can see why. Come, I will take you to the Allfather."

"Much appreciated, Queen Mother."

Frigga led him through the hallways, with Celeste behind him. The gods and goddesses that they have passed by gawked at the sight of him, something he understood.

Since he'd been born, which was 200 years ago, the amount of times he came to the palace could be counted with only his two hands, with the first one when he was christened and this was probably his seventh - ? - or eighth time.

He didn't listen much to the gossip of the gods, neither did his Enchantress Mother, but with a subordinate like Celeste who liked to gossip, he knew that seeing him was also equivalent to seeing his Enchantress Mother so it was expected that they would see him like some saint incarnate.

The Allfather was seated upon his throne, and Encantor Trygve was also in the throne room, but what caught Gun Gun's attention was the glowing blue cube in front of Encantor Trygve.

The stone inside the cube seemed like it was singing, calling out for whoever it could seduce with its power. Gun Gun was so focused into the cube that he was barely able to remember that he was in the throne room and had yet to do his greetings.

"It seems that Prince Gun Gun is familiar with the Tesseract?" Encantor Trygve voiced out when he saw that the young silver-haired prince had his eyes on the blue stone. It was hard to tell if he was just asking for the sake of knowing or asking for the sake of condescending.

The Encantors and Enhantresses usually have their own business, so despite having the same title, he hardly ever saw his mother having a close friend. But what he did know of the others usually came from books or gossips, courtesy of Celeste herself.

Gun Gun nodded. "Familiar might be the word, although I have not seen it."

He sees the corner of the Allfather's lips quirk up. "When Prince Loki freed Enchantress Freya from the ice, the Space Stone - the Tesseract - was in her person, without the cube to encase it," if he had less control on his expressions, he would have gaped, because it would need just more than raw power to hold one in its purest form.

"Dear," Frigga interrupted. "He's here to inquire about Freya."

Gun Gun walked to the Tesseract and touched it with the tip of his fingers. "This was related to my Enchantress Mother's disappearance, was it not?" he inhaled the unmistakable scent wafting from the cube. He could smell her blood.

There were many things that Asgard did not know of Enchantress Freya. One was that she was a red nine-tailed fox, and her son, a silver nine-tailed fox.

"That's right," the Allfather sighed. "The enemy used unknown runes, which probably activated the Tesseract. Not only are the three of them taken with the spell," three meaning his mother, Fenrir and Jormungand. "But so are Grand General Lapuli and Grand General Dorman. A number of soldiers also vanished with them-"

Unable to focus on their words, Gun Gun's dagger appeared in his hand. 'Mother's blood is here. Would it do the same if it were my blood?'

Unhesitatingly, Gun Gun enclosed his hands around the blade, and swiftly took the blade out. He enclosed his bleeding hand around the Tesseract, and smeared the Cube with as much as he can give. He could feel the Cube radiating heat and pulsating power so much that he was barely able to hear the Queen Mother or Encantor Trygve's warnings in the background.

He welcomed the darkness.

::

"Her what?" Zhe Yan could hardly believe the absurdity of this anymore. As far as he remembered, there were no spells, even ancient ones which could do this sort of thing. But then again, he was the last primordial god that was born, was he not?

Dong Hua's hand tightened around the cup he was holding, so much that Zhe Yan feared it might break. "Her emotions," he reiterated tersely. His mind was already making plans to visit the young queen who was once his wife. He would not budge from this decision because as far as he can tell, the magic spell worked fantastically.

He, of all people, knew there was a price for everything.

His mood had just been lifted by Zhe Yan's news that the child she cared for was not hers, and then this new information had managed to destroy his appetite for anything.

Was that the reason why she could be so apathetic towards him?

He peered at the luminous pearl at the table, and it made his hands itch.

It was so close. So, so close.

He could just wrap his hands around the pearl and shatter it, and the apathy would be gone. Would she look at him just like how she used to look at him before? If he shattered this pearl, would she look at him with love in her eyes? Or would it be sorrow? Anger?

Only few know just how selfish and possessive he can be. That, Dong Hua knew. But no one knows that the only thing he couldn't stomach was the thought that Xiaobai did not hold any feelings for him at all.

He was fine with anger. Even disgust. He would prefer she loathe him than treat him like there was never anything between them because sometimes, it made him wonder if she forgot about everything they had in the past.

"Please don't tell me you're thinking of shattering it," he was pulled out of his reverie by Zhe Yan's exasperated voice. He was warily looking at the luminous pearl then to Dong Hua's hands which were millimeters away, and then to the pearl, and so on and so forth, with his teacup paused a centimeter away from his mouth, ready to act in case he decided to destroy the pearl.

Dong Hua had the pearl in his hands before Zhe Yan could get it back. "Maybe," he hid the pearl under his sleeves as Zhe Yan gaped at him.

"Dong Hua," Zhe Yan started, warning lacing his voice. "I will tell you now in case you do something stupid later. There is a reason why Xiaojiu sealed her emotions. If you make a rash decision, it might be irreversible."

But Dong Hua chose not to listen to his words, and instead got up.

Zhe Yan pursed his lips and set his teacup down. "Dong Hua-" but fell silent when Dong Hua waved his hand, obliterating a beam on top of them. Zhe Yan quickly managed to put up a shield just as Dong Hua bound the black-robed intruder with his magic.

"Did you hear what you needed to hear?" the black-robed figure had enchanted his face with a very strong confusion charm that he could notice, but he could still see the figure hissing at Dong Hua. "Coming here with the pearl in mind, you must be Cheng Jiao, Feng Jiu's right-hand man."

"Since you already know, then there's no point being polite with you!" his disfigured voice came through. A sword materialized from thin air and cut loose the bonds, which did nothing for him as it was Dong Hua's magic spell.

In other words, it was very, very strong.

But the next turn of events had flabbergasted them. The sword, unable to cut through the bonds, cut through Cheng Jiao's arms, since the bonds were only holding him there. The floor was stained with blood, as was Dong Hua's sleeve, and probably the pearl inside.

A small luminous pearl materialized in front of Cheng Jiao, which he took to his mouth and crushed it completely.

Lian Song was just in time to see Cheng Jiao and his severed hands disappear.

"What-"

Zhe Yan turned to Dong Hua whose expression was nearing panic.

Stiffly, he looked at his bloodied sleeves and gravely said, "The pearl is gone."

::::::::::::::::::::

Don't worry guys, Cheng Jiao's hands will be back to normal, since his race allows him to regrow missing limbs. 

Next chapter preview!

Gun Gun arrives in the Nine Heavens, but he doesn't see his Enchantress Mother! Instead, he finds a cute Riceball and a very beautiful woman!

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