Breathing heavily, the man was bend over the bridges pond while Baldur pressed down on him with all this strength.

"Is it?", he asked, baring his teeth.

Confused, Baldur frowned, unable to understand what was going on.

That small moment of distraction gave the man the chance to fight him off.

"So be it!", he growled and activated the bridge.

Baldur jumped to his back, trying to get him off the terminal.

All of a sudden, the boy appeared. He had his knife raised.

The sight made Baldur chuckle.

"Baldur!", the boy screamed.

"No!", his father shouted. "Listen to me!"

"Let me help!"

Baldur rolled his eyes. He leaned forward to whisper into the man's ear.

"Let go of it now or I will kill him.", he threatened. "You know I will."

With all his strength, he grabbed him by the wrist and wanted to force him to pull back.

But the stranger was stronger than expected. Almost godly strong. With a low growl, he pulled back and locked in the white key.

Magic started to grow. An unnatural force started to suck everything in.

Overwhelmed by the power, Baldur frowned. He had never seen something like this before.

"What did you do?", he asked, holding onto the man's back to not get swallowed by the void.

Bright blue light grew to the ceiling. It seemed like it wanted to swallow everything.

The power threw the boy into the air. Helplessly, he struggled, but managed to grasp the edge of the pond before being swallowed by the raging magic.

"Boy!", the man wanted to grab him.

But Baldur kicked his hand away and snatched the child. Together, they were sucked into another world.

Light blinded him. For a moment, he had to squeeze his eyes shut before releasing he was floating through the air.

Snow and ice stroked his cheek and got caught in the brown hair of his beard.

"Helheim...", he gasped. "Why?"

All of a sudden, someone grabbed him by the foot.

Surprised, he looked back, only to be greeted by a fist to the face. The force pushed him away so harshly, he lost his grip and was taken by the wind.

"You godforsaken-!", he screamed and smashed into the pillar of a stone building. "No! No, no! I was so close! So fucking close!"

Screaming in rage, he jumped up, snow falling from his hair and stopped the ground like a child. Magic lit up on his skin. But the flames faded again as the rage was swallowed by regret.

With a groan, he sunk back to his knees.

"Why?!", he grabbed his head. "You were so close you fucking coward! You were almost there..."

The urge to sob and cry rose in him. But nothing happened. His body refused to show any emotions.

Numbness filled his chest.

For a moment, he remained sitting there, while his eyes were turned to the green sky.

In the distance, a giant crow was sitting on a mountain. It's pitch black eyes wandered over the land.

"It's useless...", with a sigh, he let his head hang low.

The sound of wind and rain mixed in his ears.

"Baldur..?", a silent voice suddenly asked.

Goosebumps grew all over his back.

"Who?", his head snapped up. "Who called me?"

A soft chuckle filled the silence. It sounded like it came from far away, echoed as if it was bouncing off the walls of a cave.

Enchanted by the sound, he got back on his feet. For a moment, he wandered through the world of naked stones and snow. His eyes were glued to the footprints before him.

With every step that he followed them, the last one faded and a new one appeared ahead.

Again, a soft chuckle filled the silence.

As it reached his ears his heart skipped a beat. It sounded so soothing, so soft and loving. But there was also some kind of sadness buried deep inside.

Like a blind fool he followed the footsteps and the chuckle until his feet stopped at the edge of a cliff.

A soft, green shimmer filled the air.

His gaze rose.

As his eyes met yours, a soft gasp escaped him.

"Baldur.", you greeted him with a smile. "I wanted to see you..."

Your voice was soft, but the look on your glowing face was a harsh one. You looked tired, broken and beaten.

His hand reached out. As the tip of his fingers brushed over your cheek, he could feel a strange tingling on his own skin.

It felt unnatural, deadly almost. Like the touch of death itself.

"(Y/N)...", he muttered. "Why..? I wanted to be good to you."

With a soft smile, you shook your head. The expression on your face darkened.

It almost broke his heart to see you this way.

"I'm stuck...", you whispered. "I can't... go back. But the gate is so far away... I won't be able to reach it."

Confused, he frowned and raised his eyes to take a look at the crow that was sitting up at the mountain.

"You... can't go?", he asked and locked eyes with you again.

You nodded.

"It's cold.", you raised your right arm. "But it's also warm. And wet. Like a hug."

You raised your left arm.

"The ponds... you're... not dead yet."

"I want to go, Baldur."

"No!", he grabbed you by the shoulder as if it could keep you by his side. "No. No, you can't leave me. What will I do without your fragile wings?"

"Soon, you won't need me anymore, Baldur. Your curse will fade soon."

He frowned.

"No. I want you to be by my side."

"You won't need me. I won't be entertaining to you anymore."

A soft breath escaped him. His eyes jumped over your face. He looked frightened.

For the first time in ages, he thought he could feel something.

Fear.

Loneliness.

"I need you.", he finally whispered with the fragile voice of a boy that feared to loose everything. "And I want you to need me too."

A sad smile appeared on your face.

"I'll hold on a little longer.", you stroked his cheek. "But I don't know how long the water will keep me alive."

"Long enough for me to kiss you.", he hoped.

You chuckled.