Dungeon of Niflheim

"Your suggestion has merit but in the end you'll have to pass muster with my officials. I may be the creator of this realm and its sovereign, but my subordinates and progeny handle most of the day to day ruling. When the time comes you'll have to convince them that such a partnership is worthwhile for our realm." Shivali could put in a good word and if necessary push the agreement through via his own authority, but he wouldn't do that, he preferred to delegate ruling so as to avoid turning into a dictator or worse a tyrant.

"Of course uncle I wouldn't have it any other way." Frost thumped his chest with pride, when the time came he'd present the government officials of Niflheim with a deal that they could not refuse.

Shivali nodded his head, satisfied with Frost's determination to undertake the eventual screening of his subordinates.

"Now that we've come to an agreement for your first request what's your second?" Frost's first request wasn't all that complicated nor that hard to agree to when under certain conditions, so Shivali was quite keen to hear the second, his curious piqued.

Upon being asked for his second request Frost first took a few seconds to collect himself before taking the risky plunge.

"I want one of your chefs, the more experienced the better." He said in firm yet respectful tone.

"….."

"….." A brief silence lingered in the air; Shivali blinked his eyes rapidly as though questioning what he just heard before suddenly shifting his entire demeanour. His chefs were his reverse scale, Frost learned of this earlier when he made a passing remark.

The first time could be forgiven, he didn't know any better but the second.

"WHAT!!!" A heavy pressure far beyond the concept of aura billowed out from the Primordial Ice King quickly locking Frost firmly in place, unable to even squirm. A chill then radiated out from his body freezing the incredibly ice resistant furnishings.

Shivali was angry no livid, if Frost wasn't who he was and the fact that he couldn't sense even slightest modicum of malice from him he would have turned him into a flash frozen corpse and then crushed him under the weight of his divine presence.

Instead he resorted to a method not so dissimilar to the [Freezing] he applied to Khione earlier, only unlike his treasured daughter Frost was in a great deal of pain and immense strain.

The young Dungeon core desperately wanted to cry out, roar to push through the pain but even that was deprived, all he could do was sit there and endure.

Shivali who had fiercely risen to his feet and now loomed over Frost stared into the depths of his soul. He waited precisely three seconds before removing some of his energy, enough for Frost to speak and wiggle but not much more.

"Speak and be sure to choose your next words carefully. I'd hate to tell my long-time friend that I had to erase his child due to foolish impertinence." He sternly warned, his eyes firmly locked onto the depths of Frost's essence. He wasn't joking if Frost continued to go down this route of foolishness he'd really eradicate him right down the last vestiges of his soul.

Few things manage to rile up the Primordial Ice King, unfortunately his chefs were one of them. He fiercely guarded them like an ancient dragon does their hoard.

"Cough cough" Frost couldn't help but cough the moment he was partially released from his prison, but he knew what he was in for the moment he spoke. With great focus he pushed away the pain and discomfort, he donned an honest yet unwavering expression and looked straight into Shivali's eyes.

"I humbly request for one of the Primordial Ice King's chefs for the purpose of education." He doubled down on his request but spoke with more subservient language and expanded on the why slightly.

In the brief moment Frost spoke Shivali instinctively raised his hand primed and ready to erase him but stopped himself in the last millisecond when he heard the words 'Purpose of education'. Frost was asking out of a desire for knowledge not greed nor to take advantage of his usual easy-going nature.

If the purpose was educational then he could reign in his wrath slightly. Shivali lowered his hand and released Frost from his imprisonment as he sat back down. The ice that had formed across the sofas and the coffee table quickly receded, but the ambient temperature was still way below freezing and there was an almost palpable tension in the air. Clearly the mighty Primordial was akin to a powder keg, capable of exploding at any moment. Frost would be walking on very thin ice in the coming moments.

'Phew still alive.' Frost placed his hand on his neck, his blood had started to run cold, and goosebumps had formed across his arms, but he didn't regret his choice only perhaps his choice in words.

Logically there was nothing wrong with what he said and normally any sane person would react calmly to it but Shivali when it came to his chefs was not normal and the furthest thing from sane. Logic did not work and thus he almost lost his life due to his slip of the tongue.

'Whatever it doesn't matter I needed to ask anyway and regardless he was probably bound to flip out at some point.' Frost concluded that he wouldn't have been able to hold a normal conversation with Shivali anyway, so he stopped dwelling on the negatives and simply focused on getting his request approved.

"Elaborate but be careful." Shivali took a deep breath and did his best to control his roiling anger. In retrospect he hated this part of his personality, but it had become something beyond his control.

"Yes uncle and…. sorry." Frost started off with an apology but only got a fiery hmph in response.

"Under my care there are two ice phoenix kin, a boy called Loki, and a girl called Nanna, children that I rescued several months ago from illegal enslavement." His reason for requesting a chef, one with a great deal of experience was so Nanna would finally have a qualified teacher. Right now she was merely learning how to cook from Maya, and the chefs working in the city-state, none of whom were spirit chefs.

"Huh?" Shivali was taken aback by Frost's mentioning of children, enslavement as well as ice phoenix kin.

During their first engagement he had heard much of Frost's life, but he glossed over certain details, Nanna and Loki were among those details.

"Why are you talking about children that you saved?" He was confused but a great deal of his anger had softened as a result of Frost's unexpected misdirection.

"Because they're the reason I'm requesting a spirit chef from you uncle."

"…You risked your life not for yourself but for a child who you've taken under your wing despite being a child yourself." In Shivali's eyes Frost was still nothing more than a babe, he may look and act like an adult, but he only had roughly 18 months of life experience.

Frost looked at himself and silently questioned how Shivali came to such a conclusion. What part of him looked anything like a child, if he really was a child then why was he trying to shove his darling daughter (a full grown woman) down his throat.

"Nanna and Loki are a part of my family, children who I have not only sworn to protect but to care for, to nurture and to bring joy back into their lives." Frost spoke with the air of a parent, words filled with unwavering resolve and pride.

"When I first rescued the two of them they never smiled, never acted on their desires and they trembled in fear every night without exception." His voice was tinged with pain, so clear and evident that Shivali found himself getting angry for an entirely different reason from before.

He was not fond of hearing any misfortunes that befell children, some crimes and behaviours he could accept as part of the natural order, but children were innocent and should remain as such until they are ready to stand on their own against the darkness dwelling in the world.

Monsters actually tended be better morally in this regard when compared to the depravity exercised by some Sapient races, humans in particular.

"It took time, but they eventually opened up to us and the first time I saw Nanna show a genuine smile towards something was when she helped cooked breakfast and I praised her for it….that girl loves to cook, it's her greatest joy so I'm going to make damn sure she can follow her passion to the limit and to do that she needs a teacher, a spirit chef with a lot of experience." Maya could cook normally, relying on her strength to prepare high ranking ingredients but she couldn't do much about the life energy held within nor could she extract the maximum flavour, only a spirit chef could do that.

"…..Tell me more about these children." Moved by Frost's heartfelt words Shivali wanted to know more about the two unfortunate children under his nephew's care.

"I'd be happy to." Frost smiled from ear to ear, he loved to talk about the kids, he felt such joy and pride from their everyday activities, a natural doting father conversed with another.