Fire, endless flames burning.
The magnificent giant tree, having lost its support, was slowly tilting. Its form was simply too immense, to the point that even this simple collapse would take millennia upon millennia, but no matter how slow, this day would inevitably come, and no one had the power to stop it.
The few remaining stars fell one by one from the shattered dome of the sky towards the burning earth. The oceans full of toxins were covered with corpses floating for thousands of miles. The dome of the sky, riddled with holes big and small, could no longer protect this universe. Endless chaos from beyond the firmament poured in through the broken gaps, accelerating the demise of this world.
The once infinitely prosperous world had long since turned into ruins. The gods were dead, the giants were dead, the monsters were dead, all life was extinct.
Everywhere was filled with blood, corpses, and flames. The beautiful, the ugly, the kind, the evil, the horrifying, the dear… all of them, every single one, had perished in that final great battle.
Yet on this field of ruins and burning earth, there still seemed to be a blurry figure, as if wearily and painstakingly moving forward. Its appearance and form were indistinct, but one could sense the sorrow filling its heart.
It just kept walking like this, as if trying to find something.
Did it find it?
Or did it not?
It's uncertain.
Only when it faced this world heading towards death, it finally seemed to be unable to support itself anymore, powerlessly collapsing to its knees before this world of death. It blankly swept its gaze over the gradually disintegrating world before it, covering its face, and finally let out a desperate, anguished wail.
"…"
Even without hearing its voice, just seeing that thin back prostrated on the ground, helpless and wailing like a child before the burning world, one could seemingly feel that boundless despair and agony in its heart.
…
In the endless deep sea, a pair of huge, cold serpentine eyes suddenly opened. The vertical pupils held no trace of humanity.
"Was it a dream?"
Meng, or rather, Jormungandr, pondered with some doubt.
Ever since coming to this world, it rarely had dreams anymore. Not that it never dreamed, but as a mythological creature, its dreams were few and far between, and each time, they were no ordinary dreams.
For it, a casual breath was a tornado, a roar would cause lightning and thunder in the sky. If it moved its body, it would form towering tsunamis on the ocean. If it wanted to stretch its form, even this universe would seem too confining before its frame.
A drop of blood could instantly transform a feeble mortal into a super tough guy capable of pulling nine oxen and single-handedly supporting a pillar. A piece of its scale could be forged into the finest armor and shield in this world. A simple gaze was enough to gradually turn humans into half-human, half-serpent monstrosities under its watch. Undoubtedly, even if viewed as a monster, it was absolutely a monster on par with any god.
And for such a monster, what would its dreams be like?
Although Jormungandr felt that its intelligence seemed to have improved after accepting those sacrifices, trying to recall the dreams it had when it was so ravenous that its eyes were crimson red, no different from a pure beast… seemed a bit too demanding of it.
It could only vaguely remember that it seemed to have seen in a dream, in a chaotic world, three youths with blurry appearances battling a giant so colossal it was despairing. In the end, the leading youth successfully slew the giant. The giant fell and transformed into a giant tree.
In another dream, it seemed to see an aged old man guarding a well, with a young man standing beside him. The old man droned on, saying something to the young man. The young man thought for a moment, then actually gouged out one of his own eyes and threw it into the well, only then being allowed to drink a cup of the well water in exchange.
And then there were scenes like a man hanging upside down from a tree, a man silently hacking at an icy river with the sword in his hand, a giant wreathed in flames… all sorts of diverse scenes.
Some dreams, Jormungandr could still guess what they were. After all, even without understanding Norse mythology, just by listening to the prayers of those worshippers, one could hear many things related to the gods. But some dreams, Jormungandr couldn't comprehend at all.
Jormungandr had a vague feeling that the dreams it saw, some belonged to the past, some to the present, and some… belonged to the future.
However, this time, Jormungandr could easily discern what the dream was.
"Ragnarok…"
Lying on the dark ocean floor of the endless deep sea, Jormungandr's pupils were icy cold as it contemplated.
It didn't know much about Ragnarok, but it knew that the ending of Norse mythology was said to be one where all humans, gods, and monsters were annihilated.
But…
It doesn't concern him.
Jormungandr closed its eyes again. As far as it was concerned, as long as it wasn't disturbed, it didn't care about Ragnarok or total annihilation. Let others fight to the death, it just wanted to slumber.
However, this serpent, which had gained some intelligence but couldn't be said to have nimble thinking, even being dull-witted, seemed to have forgotten one thing… It was likely also on the list for total annihilation.
…
On the other hand, the duo of Loki and Thor had encountered some trouble.
"Uh… Thor, are you sure we haven't searched in the wrong place?"
Looking at the huge undersea canyon before him with some astonishment, Loki asked doubtfully.
To be fair, this undersea canyon was indeed very deep. Gazing down, there was only a stretch of darkness, likely no less than a hundred meters deep. But to say it could hide a serpent that encircled the world, that was a bit ridiculous.
"D*mn it, how would I know? I've never been to the bottom of the sea."
Thor said somewhat irritably. As he spoke, he waved his hand to drive away the deep-sea creatures around him, such as… giant octopuses nearly a hundred meters long.
Going to the endless deep sea where the great serpent was hiding was quite simple. The somewhat diffident god of the near seas, Njord, had given them a ride along the way. Then in the ocean beyond the near seas, the two also met the old sea god Aegir.
Although greatly angered by the great serpent causing his ocean to be severely bombarded by countless meteors, and having a displeased attitude towards Loki as well, the old sea god still directed them to a place at the bottom of the sea, saying they could find the great serpent there.
After bidding farewell to the old sea god, the two proceeded in the direction the old sea god had pointed, but after a dozen days of advancing on the seafloor, they still hadn't found the great serpent the old sea god spoke of. Apart from some blind deep-sea monsters, there was nothing.
Everywhere they went, aside from some occasional deep-sea canyons, they couldn't even see any undersea mountains, let alone a huge monster dwelling at the bottom of the sea.
Only at this point did the two gods, who had never been to the bottom of the sea, have to admit…
They seemed to be lost.