It was cold, colder than Yodenheim had been. Any part of Ceres' exposed flesh felt a cold burn after only minutes of walking. After what felt like hours, there was still open wasteland in every direction with no sign of stopping.

"LOKI!" She called out every now and then. She had to keep going. She couldn't give into the urge to just fall over and give up.

The wind had picked up an now there was snow blowing in every direction, whipping it in her face and obscuring her vision. There was a hint of something ahead just then however. More someone actually, someone who had actually survived and cold and was walking towards her.

By this point, Ceres had resorted to singing various songs to keep herself moving forward.

She was singing this little light of mine when she saw the figure. When she saw the figure, she rushed forth to them. "Loki? Hello?"

The silhouette was encouraging, that horned helmet was unmistakable. His cloak billowed behind him int he cold and he was carrying some sort of staff. However the creature that stepped through the snow was something more unexpected.
It was Loki, of a sort. His skin was Frost Giant blue with their markings etched across his face. His eyes were an unholy red that looked down at Ceres like she was the scum of the realms. The staff he carried looked like a version of Odin's staff but the gold had a black cracked design that crawled over it and the head of the staff bore a blue crystal that shone with the power of the Bifrost.

"I am Loki, of Yodenheim." he spoke in a commanding voice that shattered the sound of the wind itself, "and it is time for my rule."

"Loki..." Perhaps this was Loki Wrath or Pride. "Come now, this isn't you." She said stepping forward slowly.

He slammed the staff into the ground and the storm seemed to calm but only around the two of them. Beyond that it raged on stronger than ever, like being in the center of a storm.
"This is the only me" Loki replied firmly, "I am the only one who will survive. The only one here who can" he stepped towards Ceres, those demonic eyes staring right into her soul, "including you." the ice began to creep up Ceres' legs.

Ceres gasped in horror, punching at the ice that was forming. "No! Loki. Don't do this. I'm here to help. You don't have to be alone anymore. Please don't shut me out!" She stumbled forward with her stiff legs and grabbed hold of his collar, "Please don't slam the door..." She said softly.

He chuckled, "It's too late for that. I have always been alone, just too stupid to realize it but no more. I'll do what I must to survive." for he was not hate, anger, greed or even pride. It was clear now, the red eyes that were more than just the frost giant's red, they were the red eyes of the demon drug. His Yodenheim ancestry was clearly displayed on his skin. The corrupted staff of Odin, an item of power that he had once strived for. These were all things he used as some time or another towards his own survival.
This was what he had made of himself through every misguided deed, just to keep himself going. But now there was no clear direction to his life, there was no other version of himself to stand up and take charge so now... now he was stuck in survival mode.

"What's stupid is how blind you are to all the people around you would care! Thor, Juno, Moon, All the kids from school, Me. We all care about you. There's no need to shield yourself, you're safe... It's ok now." She wrapped her arms around him. "You were never alone, Rose Prince... There's no need to be out here alone..."

For a moment he was silent but then he shrugged her off and back handed Ceres across the face with great power, "To be alone is to be free. Free of these quibbling worms that dare call themselves friend. A friend is only an enemy yet to strike. I strike first." he turned and began to walk away, the eye of the storm followed him which plunged Ceres back into the harsh weather as he was leaving.

Ceres lay on the ground, cupping her slapped cheek, "..." She looked on as he walked away. No magic... No ability to reason with him.... She was lost. And the raging winds didn't help.

"You fool..." She whispered softly before falling over sideways. She... She didn't know how to help him...

The snow had covered most of Ceres' body in minutes and the howling of the wind had kept her from hearing the beast until it was right upon her. A bear and a large one at that sniffed at her icy hand and then licked it, sending a tingle of warmth up Ceres' arm.
someone poked at Ceres to see if she was still alive.

Warm... Something warm. She wiggled her fingers and tried to open her eyes.

Ceres was currently face to face with a bear, an oddly familiar bear actually. It was from one of Loki's favourite tricks, the one who would jump through hoops and always get the dance steps wrong. Shoving him aside was a little girl that Ceres only knew from one of Loki's memories. She smiled upon seeing Ceres open her eyes and waved enthusiastically before offered her a hand to get up. It was Hinda.

"Hinda? And Mr. Bear?" She questioned, using Hinda's hand to get up.

Hinda gave a big smile and hugged Ceres in greeting, the bear gave a bow. Hinda gave Ceres an enthusiastic look over to see that she was okay.

Ceres seemed alright, minus the fact she was freezing. She shivered, "I'm trying to s-save Loki.. All of him. Can you help me?" She asked.

Hinda gave a serious look and nodded firmly, and then Ceres remembered. She couldn't talk, Loki hadn't figured out how to give his illusions sound yet, so she was essentially a mime. A very kind mime that rubbed Ceres' arms to try and keep her warm.

Ceres smiled, feeling better, "It's nice to meet you Hinda and Thank you." The two of them climbed up onto the bear's back, "Come on, we have some Lokis to save"

Hinda nodded and patted the bear on the side. Soon they were charging through the snow and in no time at all they had found their way back towards the garden. They could see it now anyway but the survivor was already ahead of them, bringing the full force of his winter along with him.

"Hurry! We can't let him destroy the garden!"

The bear growled and picked up speed, launching itself at the survivor and tackling him to the ground. The survivor was quick to react however and managed to throw them all off, but now they were in between him and the garden.
His eyes burned red and he aimed his staff at the bear, shooting a blast of energy that sent the creature flying.

Hinda glanced at Ceres as she got to her feet, somehow able to convey what she wanted of the goddess with nothing more than a nod that meant, 'distract him'.

"What's wrong? Didn't think you were the only one who could survive huh?" She said, getting Hinda's hint.

He set Ceres with a deep glare, "you shall not survive again" he sent blast after blast of energy after her.