Dungeon of Niflheim

"Diablos are you awake?" After quickly inspecting each of his children Dark called out to the leader of the guardians.

"Yes Dark God-sama." Diablos meekly responded a moment later, his wounds having been rapidly healed by the black cocoon Dark summoned.

"Good. I'm sorry about this Diablos it seems my condition is far worse than I first imagined." There was a clear quiver in his tone, revealing to Diablos the true extent of his shock.

"Your eminence?" Never before had Diablos heard such worry and unease in his master's voice.

"I'll be fine it's not at the level where it can affect my base existence, but it does need to be managed if I'm to continue interacting with my children and the mortal world….Diablos send word to your grandfather, I'll be needing to rely on him for a while." After a brief silence Dark made a decision, before his state gets any worse he'd refrain from interacting with entities below the God level.

"As you command Dark God-sama." A whirlpool of thoughts and emotions swirled in Diablos' mind as he listened to his words. He wanted to help his liege but knew he was powerless; he had no business in the domain of the Gods. His grandfather however was a different story.

Erebus, known as the God of shadows was very close to Dark, and before his ascension to Godhood he essentially worked as his prime servant, a go between the godly and mortal realm. Even now despite his lofty position Erebus served Dark wholeheartedly, attending to his needs whenever it was required.

There were very few entities that Dark could trust with his most intimate secrets, Erebus was one of these few.

After giving a respectful bow and glancing in Yami's direction Diablos slipped into a pillar of shadow and exited this dimension, heading straight for his grandfather's domain.

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"Haaaaaaa I hope they won't look at me with fear filled eyes." Dark let out a deep sigh as he dreaded the prospect of his children looking at him like he was the manifestation of terror.

While his children rested Dark saw to the healing of the guardians, he apologised for the situation and asked that they do their best to look after their charges, to help them overcome any trauma that develops and if possible put in a good word for him. He desired nothing more than to salvage the relationship he had with his children.

The guardians all bowed their heads in reverence to his words, claiming that no apology was needed, they were his eternal servants. A response that made Dark cherish his children even more.

"They'll likely be out for a while so in the meantime line up so I can rewrite your soul contracts." Feeling that his mind was once again fully under his control and that another attack so soon was unlikely Dark decided to rewrite the guardian's contracts which would bind them to their charges, limiting their strength and tying their fates together.

He was just thankful that he didn't do this earlier thus saving his children from a very gruesome fate.

Several hours later Frost started to come to. His body felt no pain but there was residual fear present that made him tense up and scream the moment he was conscious.

"Frost relax, you're safe, you're safe." Maya quickly swooped in and wrapped her arms around his trembling and flailing body. He struggled and appeared to be in a heightened state of panic but slowly thanks to her tight grip, the softness and weight of her body against his, her enchanting scent and the beating of her heart he gradually calmed down, his mind becoming clear.

"W…What happened?"

"…..An accident, something that Dark God-sama says will never happen again." Maya was silent for a moment before replying. Frost visibly trembled as she said his father's title, he remembered the appearance of that black apparition with chilling eyes, the fear that overwhelmed his mind and body, how very close he and all his siblings were to death.

"Indra! Aqua! My siblings?"

"They're safe, everyone is safe." Maya said soothingly before gesturing to their side where most of the Dungeon cores were still unconscious, but a few were awake and in their Guardian's arms. Seeing Gaia, Damascus and the rest asleep but breathing steadily calmed him down. As long as no one was seriously hurt or killed life could go on.

Frost allowed himself to seek comfort in Maya's embrace for a few minutes, granting his heart enough time to steady its beat before searching for a certain figure. He caught sight of Aqua, Yami, Terra and Pyro awake and alert with similar expressions to his own, but he didn't see their father the one responsible for their current situation.

He felt that this was rather unnatural, knowing his father he was the type of person who'd quickly try to fix his mistake, to take an all in caring approach, at least that's how he viewed him. He was silly at times, strict and even sometimes harsh but most of all he was extremely doting, especially to his daughters.

Yet Aqua and Sylph were both awake and still in shock, yet his presence was nowhere to be seen.

Though there was still a strong remnant of fear coursing through his veins, bringing the image of Dark's true form to the surface of his mind every other second there was also pain, worry and love. His body feared his father but also loved him. As the seconds passed he grew more and more concerned, where was their father? Was he ok? Was his soul damaged? Was he in pain after causing this?

With a sudden surge of resolve Frost clenched his fists and pulled away from Maya's embrace. "My father, where is he?"

"….." Maya silently frowned, unsure how to answer. Dark had chosen to recluse himself from their current dimension so as to avoid frightening his children. He didn't want to exacerbate any trauma or fear they had towards him.

"….He's…." It was clear that Maya was reluctant to answer as she squirmed under his gaze, piddling with her choice of words.

"Enough, I'll find out myself." Frost quickly rose to his feet with an air of determination around him. He glanced over at the bodies of his siblings, most where still unconscious but those who were awake had quickly started to regain their faculties. He wasn't even the first stand up, Yami just like himself was looking around, taking measure of his siblings and searching for their father.

He too was worried about the old man.

"Father." Frost loudly called out but received nothing but silence in return.

"…..Old man." Again even with the change in title there was no response.

"….Old bast.."

"Ok that's enough of that." Suddenly before Frost could finish saying the new monicker Dark's voice reverberated within his skull.

'Hmph so now you answer.'

"Where are you?"

"Not here."

"Obviously."

"..."

"You're hiding."

"No I'm not, it's just not safe to be around me right now." Dark seemed to take offence, quickly giving an excuse for his absence.

"Bullshit! You're in complete control at the moment, you're just feeling guilty."

"Urgh!" The exchange between Frost and Dark was happening entirely telepathically on Dark's part thus all everyone else saw was Frost loudly arguing with an empty space, growing angrier with every word.

"Suck it up and show yourself old man or so help me I'll have every last one of your daughters ignore you for an entire month!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me!" Frost viciously threatened.

For a few moments there was silence before space warped and the form of a handsome middle aged man appeared before Frost and everyone else. The man was frowning and in his eyes there was a mixture of fear, anger, desperation and reluctance. Though his gaze was primarily focused on Frost it occasionally drifted over his other children, measuring their reactions to his appearance.

And although one or two visibly trembled, for most fear was not their initial reaction.

"…..Are you ok Father?" Frost's initial bluster vanished in an instant, his apparent anger and threats seeing only to bring his Father back before them. His voice was tinged with concern as he walked forward wanting to embrace his father.

"Frost?"

"We're fine father, everyone is fine." Frost wrapped his arms tightly around Dark and spoke in a soothing manner. He acted the same way Maya did for him, hoping to placate his father's fears.

Eventually Dark hugged Frost back, his heart practically unravelling as his eyes grew red. "I'm sorry, so sorry." He apologized repeatedly to Frost and his siblings wanting nothing more than to take back what he almost did to them.

Seeing their father in such a fragile and emotional state practically erased the terrifying image he had created earlier. Smiles returned to their faces and those who were awake took to their feet and moved to embrace both their father and brother, putting the pain of what happened before completely behind them.

"Explain father, we can only help and be prepared to lend you our aid if we know what's happening."

"Yes, please tell us Father, we want to help you."

"Don't keep us in suspense old man."

"You owe us that much at least." The children in a large circle surrounded their father and demanded that he tell them everything. And though reluctant Dark acquiesced, he told them about his fractured soul, the symptoms he had to endure and what he needed.