"As Mimir said, in this twisted loop of time, all beings are already fated to die, whether it's me, or Odin, or Jormungandr, or even Hel, Fenrir, Thor… all lives are destined for death. But in other words, when all lives have perished, before the universe once again traces back to its very origin, this destined fate will briefly show a tiny crack, and fate will fall into chaos."
"This crack should have been mended by that invincible giant Ymir, all the survivors would be wiped out by him, thus completely declaring the destruction of the entire world, and then, the entire universe would once again flow upstream in time, back to the very beginning, and then start another cycle anew…"
Looking at that giant, Loki's eyes held a hint of complexity as he continued.
"In other words, you want me to go battle that giant Ymir?"
A deep voice rang out.
"Yes, Jormungandr the World Serpent has already died, just like that fate, dying in the decisive battle with the thunder god, and what is here is a monster named Meng… I didn't defy fate, but rather followed fate, exploited fate."
As he spoke, the corners of Loki's mouth revealed a hint of wistfulness.
"What makes you think I'll agree to your words?"
"Because I don't believe that after losing to the thunder god Thor, you can still accept it so calmly without trying to find someone to vent your frustration on."
Hearing Loki's words, the hollow eye sockets gazed down at the tiny figure below, and finally silently opened its mouth and laughed.
"Interesting… Loki, you really are a very intriguing fellow."
With that, amidst wild laughter, the monster composed entirely of white bones immediately reared up its upper body, crawling out from the abyss of death, charging towards that invincible giant, never once considering from start to finish whether it might lose.
And that awakened giant also opened its eyes, looking at the immense being charging towards it, its pupils indifferent and cold.
A few breaths later, the entire universe was filled with the sounds and roars emitted by the two immensely colossal monsters fiercely battling.
…
And quietly watching the two monsters outside the Well of Wisdom, Loki turned to look at the Well of Wisdom behind him.
In his eyes, the clear spring that in ordinary people's eyes was filled with limpid spring water, was instead a cavity filled with a rotten and foul-smelling stench, full of viscous secretions, and the surrounding environment also seemed to be some kind of fleshy tissue, covered in cyan blood vessels and dark red flesh and blood, and as for what this cavity's deepest part ultimately connected to? Even Loki, who had personally delved into the deepest part, did not know, he could only vaguely sense that this Well of Wisdom had some connection to that existence at the end of time.
Bowing down, looking at the viscous secretions filling the cavity before him, Loki reached out to scoop it up, then tilted his head back and drank it down.
Odin had sacrificed one of his eyes to the Well of Wisdom, thus gaining the wisdom to see the past, future, and present; while Mimir drank a cup from the Well of Wisdom every day, thus gaining boundless wisdom, almost an all-knowing being who could comprehend all things.
However, whether it was Odin or Mimir, the knowledge and wisdom they gained all belonged to the wisdom that common sense could grasp, while what Loki gained in the deepest part of the Well of Wisdom was the wisdom that common sense could not fathom.
It was like an insect that lives in summer and dies in autumn, you cannot describe to it what ice is, because that is something far beyond its understanding, and whether it was Odin or Mimir, the wisdom they gained, whether it was seeing through all futures or mastering all kinds of magic, all belonged to what could be comprehended, while things like "those hidden numbers" that Loki saw were all things far beyond what common sense could imagine, unfathomable, and impossible to perceive.
Those things, ordinary people simply could not understand.
However, whether it was Odin, Mimir, or Loki, the wisdom each of them gained was merely a minuscule fraction of all the wisdom contained in the entire Well of Wisdom, a mere drop in the ocean, and all the wisdom contained in the entire Well of Wisdom was in turn merely an infinitesimal fraction of what that great existence let slip in its drowsy murmurs, but it was also precisely because of this that there might possibly exist within it something that Loki longed to find…
A certain truth.
And when Loki drank these bizarre liquids, the various wisdoms that subsequently surged into his mind almost made him dizzy, making him collapse on the ground gasping for breath.
"Ugh… cough cough…"
Clutching his violently pounding chest, the deep pain originating from the depths of his brain made Loki almost unable to make any sound.
In this spring water of the Well of Wisdom, each mouthful was a tremendous burden, those wisdoms forcefully surging into the brain were enough to instantly fry the brain of any ordinary human, even gods could not drink much, that old giant Mimir only drinking one cup a day was precisely because of this reason, let alone the currently physically frail Loki.
His entire body was shaking from the pain, cold sweat pouring out rapidly.
But even so, Loki still gritted his teeth and endured, continuing to scoop up the viscous liquid from the Well of Wisdom, downing it in one gulp, not caring in the slightest whether his body could withstand it. After all, he was doomed to die anyway, if he did not die then this fate could not end, and there would be no escape from this infinite loop.
But more importantly…
He wanted to understand, why was this world like this? What was hidden beneath this absurd and bizarre exterior?
Could it be that he was truly just a prisoner of fate, unable to break free?
One cup… two cups… three cups…
He had already lost count of how many he had drunk, in his mind, countless crazed and bizarre wisdoms filled Loki's mind in a chaotic mess, and finally, when his consciousness was nearly lost and his mind in a daze, this cleverest of gods unconsciously raised his head…
He saw it.
Overhead, there seemed to be a nameless, indescribable, vast phantom, as if the night sky enveloping the world… no, even vaster than the night sky, even vaster than the entire world, the entire universe, all of space-time!
A formless phantom, as if enveloping everything, only the occasional soft insane sleep-talk entering his ears.
His body was trembling uncontrollably, his bloodshot eyes already on the verge of collapse filled with all kinds of crazed aura.
"Heh… heh heh… heh heh ha ha ha ha ha…"
Collapsing to his knees, yet unable to stop his eyes from looking at that being overhead, the evil god let out a half-sobbing, half-laughing manic cackle, he finally understood everything, but his path had also finally reached its end, the world had finally reached its proper final conclusion.
"Au… ðum… bla…"
Loki looked towards the sky above the Well of Wisdom, vaguely able to see that infinitely vast tree that supported all Nine Worlds gradually transforming into a giant…