Ten thousand years ago, twenty thousand years ago…
One distant era after another was traversed as they were traced upstream, crossed by the two non-human beings traveling through time. The era when the gods joined forces to cast the black dragon Nidhogg into the underworld, the golden age when the gods were full of vitality and energy, the era when the world had just been created and all things were in their infancy…
These golden, shining eras flashed by swiftly in this chase between the god and the wolf, the two battling and fighting each other, the shockwaves caused by their battles reverberating in space-time, the ripples they stirred up gradually warping and altering the past of this universe. That established past was rewritten, those once-dead ancient gods reappearing, stepping onto the stage of the world again, their deaths already changed, their fates also shifted accordingly. Gods who should have survived instead perished, their futures also erased as a result.
All sorts of futures that had never occurred had now happened, all sorts of pasts that had never existed had now come to pass.
The Norns of different space-times and timelines all sensed this fierce battle and the turbulence and unease from space-time, opening their eyes in surprise. Those witches and goddesses who understood destiny were agitated and uneasy, some unable to comprehend the reason for this upheaval, some already seeing through everything, yet only able to sigh.
And in each space-time, only that wise giant still slumbered heavily by his Well of Wisdom, not even lifting an eyelid, because he had long known all of this destiny and its outcome.
And as they continued to trace back upstream in time, the two finally approached an extremely unique distorted node, even among these myriad times and spaces…
The world before heaven and earth had been formed.
…
Hundreds of thousands of years ago.
In a chaotic world, three young and vigorous gods were flying in the air, circling around an incomparably colossal giant, the weapons in their hands brandished, countless beams of light flying out from them, each strike capable of easily piercing a mountain peak. Yet these innumerable beams of light falling upon this colossal giant's body seemed to have no effect at all, after all… it was simply too immense.
Mountain peaks were but the hairs on its body, the sun and moon were but its eyes. When it opened its mouth, it was summer; when it exhaled, it was winter. With a wave of its hand, even space-time would warp and shatter under that immense and pure power. All giants were insignificant as ants before it, possessing an invincible might destined to be unequaled. Even Buri, that first god, could not compare to it, only able to die miserably at its hand, his body disintegrating into numerous offspring and descendants.
These offspring and descendants were the earliest origin of all gods. The ancient gods inherited their father's will and continued to battle that invincible giant. In the long years and battles, Borr, one of Buri's sons, took the giantess Bestla as his wife, giving birth to Odin, who was of mixed god and giant bloodline.
Because he had the mixed blood of giants, Odin could never be eternal like the pure gods. But he also gained greater power as a result. And at this moment, he was trying to challenge that invincible giant Ymir together with his two sworn brothers: Loki and Hoenir.
This was their youngest and most prime moment. Young and vigorous gods always had inexhaustible energy. Mortals say the inexperienced know no fear, and at this moment, these three young gods were directly confronting the mightiest being in this chaotic world.
The great battle instantly threw the entire chaotic world into turmoil. In the endless light and countless battle sounds, everything was difficult to discern. And at this moment when the fierce battle was in full swing, a large hole appeared in the void, and Odin, holding that meteor spear, leaped out from it, closely followed by that ferocious wolf Fenrir.
However, what appeared before them this time was a boundlessly vast palm…
That invincible giant, the ruler of the chaotic world, had already noticed these two invaders who had traversed from a future world. It roared, casually wanting to swat these two insects to death. The divine king immediately hurled his divine spear, and the wolf Fenrir also, in unison, suddenly increased in size, becoming incomparably colossal, howling, about to bite down on the giant's palm.
Faced with this great peril, these two enemies had no choice but to join hands to confront it.
"Boom!!!"
The divine spear pierced through the giant's palm, and the wolf Fenrir bit off one of the giant's fingers. In agony, the giant let out a howl that resounded through the entire chaotic world. And the Odin who was battling the giant among the three brothers seized the opportunity, shouting, exerting the last of his strength without hesitation, hurling the spear in his hand at that invincible giant, piercing through the giant's skull…
The invincible giant let out a cry of defiance, questioning this cruel and unjust fate, but in the end could only helplessly come crashing down.
Two figures that suddenly appeared and suddenly vanished were not noticed by Odin, who was too focused on the fierce battle to be distracted. He was now hurrying to save his gravely injured brother Hoenir. Only Loki, the son of giants, glanced at the spot where those two figures had disappeared, a hint of doubt in his eyes, as if wondering if he had seen wrong, contemplating something.
…
The river of time had been traced back to this point, already far beyond Odin's expectations. Even he had never tried to come to such a distant past.
On his gradually disintegrating body, golden divine blood seeped out, vanishing in the river of time in an instant. And behind him, the wolf Fenrir was still in relentless pursuit. The cornered divine king had no choice but to continue tracing back to a past even more ancient than the birth of the world…
In the empty void, there was no light, no darkness, no sky, no earth, much less a world where all things were in chaos. Because chaos itself also implied that something existed. Only here, there was nothing, nothing existed, neither time nor space.
There was no beginning, nor end, an eternally unchanging absolute void…
Everything should have been so. In a void where even time and space did not exist, what change could there be?
However, under the urging of those nearly omnipotent runes, under the inescapable workings of fate, or perhaps under the disturbance of some even more unfathomable force in the mysterious unknown, a disheveled divine king fell into this eternally unchanging void.
When the first matter appeared in this absolute void, the void that should have had no beginning or end seemed to have had some catalyst added to it, forming a peculiar reaction, beginning to change rapidly.
All sorts of indescribably bizarre substances were produced out of nowhere from the void, all things within and beyond the boundaries of time and space surged within it, all tangible and intangible things, including all sorts of abstract and metaphysical logic and rules, were thus generated.
This was the source of everything.
The divine king also struggled to survive in this environment. The fallen Odin tried painfully to breathe, but could not inhale anything. His consciousness began to cloud. And at the same time, that wolf finally caught up. But at this moment, in Odin's eyes, the wolf seemed to have turned into all sorts of abstract, distorted symbols…
Just like…
"Runes."
Odin's consciousness was already hazy, not knowing why. He suddenly recalled that moment when, in order to seek a way to save the fate of the gods, he hanged himself from the World Tree for nine days and nights, sacrificing himself to himself, and finally got to see those runes…
That feeling at that time was just like this moment, unable to sense anything, unable to feel anything, and in a daze, as if…
As if…
…
Odin's barely lucid consciousness began to tremble, a sense of dread, an unspeakable sense of dread filling his heart. He finally remembered. That time, he was hanged from the World Tree, not just seeing those runes. Actually, that time he also saw some even more bizarre things, but he had fearfully chosen to forget them. That was…
Some kind of voice.
The ferocious wolf before him was still trying to pounce on Odin, but Odin inexplicably began to laugh silently, his consciousness extremely blurred, yet as if seeing through this absurd and distorted world for the first time.
In the distant future, that right eye he sacrificed to the Well of Wisdom vanished.
He finally understood everything…
The divine king Odin, dead.
…
The two figures had long since vanished, returning to the space-time they should have gone to. All sorts of indescribably bizarre substances fell from the void, the turbulent void distorting incomparably, until who knows how long later, it gradually stabilized.
In a chaotic realm, there was only a most ancient chasm, and the realms of fire Muspelheim and mist Niflheim separated by this ancient chasm. The heat from the realm of fire and the cold from the realm of mist mingled together, forming scorching steam. In this steam, water was formed, and the water gradually condensed into glaciers.
A very, very long time later, knocking sounds suddenly came from the chaotic world…
"Clang…"
Inside the realm of fire, that most ancient fire giant brandished the flaming sword in his hand, silently striking that never-melting glacier. And in that mass of steam between the realms of fire and mist, an invincible power was gestating…
All things were thus born.