"You created this world, causing it to be 'born', so it is destined for its 'death', and the 'death' of the world… is Ragnarok."
Though facing the enemy who killed his father, seemingly there should be an irreconcilable hatred between the two, they both acted as if nothing had happened, still calmly conversing, and the wise giant was even patiently explaining Odin's confusion to him.
It had been too long, countless millennia ago, all the grievances had long been settled once and for all. With the death of Ymir, the progenitor of the frost giants, with the birth of the world tree and the formation of the nine worlds, long before the separation of heaven and earth, when all was in primordial chaos, the grievances between the ancient gods and the ancient frost giants that had lasted for innumerable years had long been written off.
"In this world, there are two inevitable and inescapable fates, or rather, it is precisely because of these two inevitable fates that this world could be born."
"Among the two destined fates, one is the birth of the world… My father, Ymir, the progenitor of the frost giants, was fated to die at the hands of the three brothers Odin, Vili, and Ve, his body becoming the world tree. This was his destined fate, for if he did not die, the world could not be born."
"My father Ymir knew of this fate and had tried to escape this destiny. His power far exceeded the imagination of all gods and giants, and for a time, it seemed he could break free from this destiny, glimpsing that faint hope. But your brother - Loki - was far more cunning and devious than anyone else had thought. He utterly shattered the giant's hope, and in the end, Ymir still futilely fell at the hands of you three brothers, his corpse becoming this world tree, supporting the entire nine worlds…"
At the end, Mimir's voice had a subtle shift for the first time, seemingly pensive, and also somewhat melancholic.
Listening to Mimir's words, Odin remained silent. Having personally experienced that battle, he knew all too well how magnificently epic it was. Back when he was still young, he even now vividly remembered that profound sense of despair and the feeling of being powerless to resist. When he cast aside all distracting thoughts, choosing to risk his life and fight with all his might, when he came to his senses, his divine spear Gungnir had already pierced through the other's chest, and the seemingly invincible progenitor of the frost giants had to fall before him with a thunderous crash.
"And now, Odin, the other fate is about to descend… or rather, from the moment this world was born, this fate had already been determined. No one can defy it. All the living and the dead in the entire universe are destined to perish in Ragnarok - that twilight of the gods."
Mimir looked at him, his tone perfectly calm.
Odin's face was clouded. He asked again.
"Is there truly no way to obstruct the coming of Ragnarok?"
Mimir shook his head.
"Odin, can you bestow eternal life upon a mortal, making them never die?"
Odin opened his mouth, about to speak, but then seemed to realize something, and halted.
The aged wise giant looked at him and nodded.
"It seems you also understand… a mortal with eternal life, who never dies, are they really still a mortal?"
"A universe that can escape the fate of death, is it really still the universe you wish to see and strive to protect?"
But Odin still said reluctantly.
"But I can push this fate back."
His gaze was filled with reluctance. His face, no longer young, was now etched with stubbornness and obstinacy, just like that year… that young god who was not yet the king of the gods, full of spirit.
Mimir nodded.
"Yes, you can indeed try to push this destiny back, even endlessly delaying this fate, just as you imprisoned the serpent and the wolf. They are a hidden danger to the entire universe. If you had not decisively imprisoned them, perhaps the twilight of the gods that would destroy the entire universe would have already descended with their greed and savagery. But in other words, as long as they cannot break free from the shackles imprisoning them, they can never bring about the twilight of the gods."
Unexpectedly, Mimir surprisingly agreed with Odin's view, but then…
"However… do you really believe that this can avoid the coming of Ragnarok - the inevitable fate of all gods and living beings?"
Mimir's aged eyes stared at Odin, the king of the gods before him, enunciating each word.
His expression became indifferent and cold.
"The last one who tried to escape fate in this way… my father, the frost giant Ymir, has already fallen beneath your divine spear."
Odin was at a loss for words.
Mimir paid no heed to Odin's expression, but turned his head to gaze at the Well of Wisdom beside him. He was silent for a long time, then suddenly inexplicably murmured a sentence.
"The past mind cannot be attained, the present mind cannot be attained, the future mind cannot be attained…"
His voice was low. When he uttered this sentence, it seemed to carry infinite heaviness and inexplicable melancholy.
Odin pondered for a moment, then shook his head.
"I have never heard this sentence before."
"Of course you have never heard it, because the one who spoke these words never existed in this universe, never even appeared in any time or any space. He never existed."
Mimir closed his eyes and murmured softly.
"Odin, you connected yourself with the Well of Wisdom, able to know the things that have happened in the past, are happening now, and will happen in the future in the universe… but I, having drunk deeply from the Well of Wisdom, can know the things that have never happened and will never happen in the universe."
"Just like Loki's whimsical idea of a 'world monetary system', you have never seen that future, so you cannot understand, cannot know, that this whimsical notion will give birth to a monster called 'capital', and there will be a mortal who will write about it in 'Das Kapital'."
"You can see the day when Ragnarok, that twilight of the gods, descends, fearing this future, trying to escape it, to resist it, but I know with absolute certainty… you will eventually bow your head before this future, lower your pride as the king of the gods, and admit your failure."
"Odin, I proclaim this future with my mouth, conveying it to your ears, because I have understood the inevitability of this fate. Among those countless possible futures and infinite possible pasts, you do not have even the slightest chance of success."
"Just as in some pasts, in that prolonged great war between the Aesir and the Vanir, I was given to the Vanir as a hostage by you to cease the war, but in the end, I was beheaded, my head sent back to the Aesir by the deeply deceived Vanir…"
"And like that giant serpent Jormungandr, it does not necessarily have to devour the sun, but could slowly grow in the depths of the sea until it encircles itself, biting its own tail, unable to move…"
"And like your brother - Ve, in your memories, he did not necessarily die in the war with Ymir, but originally should have still been alive in this world…"
"And that guardian of the gods, Heimdall, in some pasts, he was not created by the combined power of the gods, but should have been born from the nine daughters of the old sea god Aegir, the maidens of the waves…"
"…"
Mimir rambled on and on, his mouth speaking all sorts of wild and bizarre words, straddling illusion and reality, while Odin listened with a furrowed brow.
"Mimir, what exactly are you trying to say?"
The wise giant looked at him, then sighed wistfully.
"King of the gods, Odin, what I am trying to say is that even among these countless possible pasts and countless possible futures, I have never seen the possibility of escaping these two inevitable fates."
"No matter how many possibilities, they cannot break free from these two destined fates. The coming of Ragnarok is unavoidable and irresistible."
"The moment this world was born, everything had already been determined. All the struggles… are merely in vain…"
As he spoke, the weariness on his face grew heavier and heavier, his voice slower and slower.
Then, this aged old giant fell asleep like this, leaning by the Well of Wisdom.
Odin stared at Mimir before him, his expression shifting, and finally, he let out a deep breath, then said softly to the already sleeping old giant.
"Mimir, the king of the gods will not, and cannot, submit to any power, even if it is fate."
With that, he resolutely turned and headed towards the path he came from.
Behind him, the sleeping old giant leaned by the Well of Wisdom, sleeping quietly, as if frozen in time.
A long time later, a wistful sigh seemed to echo in the air.