Chapter 198

197. The Burning Yggdrasil (1)

“I first met him in Jotunheim.”

“Does that mean he wasn’t of the same race?”

“Yes. Freya and Loki were… hostages and peace envoys. When we invaded other worlds, we had to resolve conflicts… peacefully with the races that resisted fiercely.”

The trickster god, the god of theater, Botan’s top advisor and his most trusted jester, Loki. The son of Utgard, the king of Jotunheim. He was a prince handed over as a hostage for the peace treaty with Jotunheim.

As is often the case with hostages, his treatment in the Aesir palace wasn’t exactly great. However, his easygoing nature and cheerful pranks soon won over the Aesir court, and they accepted him into Botan’s retinue.

“He was smart. He knew how to see the big picture. He understood me the fastest and achieved what I wanted most easily. If I didn’t have sons… I might have made him my son-in-law and passed the kingdom to him.”

Botan closed his eyes and reminisced about the past. Among all the people he knew, that young man was the most clever and witty. He always gave the right advice, and even in this situation, he could come up with an unexpected solution.

At that time, he thought so. Upon returning to the country, he secretly called for Loki.

* * *

“Your Majesty, you called… You’re hurt. Friend, do you need a doctor?”

As soon as Loki entered Botan’s chamber, he frowned. The pungent smell of burning herbs filled the room. The numbness in his nose suggested it was a narcotic herb.

Botan had occasionally indulged in drugs to explore the secrets of magic, but this was different. This herb dulled the senses entirely. The only time such an herb was needed was when one had suffered a serious injury.

Loki, conscious of the dagger at his waist, cautiously approached the inside of the chamber. Behind the curtain of the bed, he saw the silhouette of Botan holding a pipe.

“With the military level of Helheim, they couldn’t have inflicted serious injuries on the king of the Aesir… What did you do, friend?”

“I saw… the future.”

“I see it too sometimes. The sun will rise in the east tomorrow.”

Loki chuckled as he opened the curtain. A middle-aged man lay stretched out on the bed, holding a pipe. Botan, the mighty conqueror. But his once vibrant eyes were now dull, and one eye was covered with a black patch.

Blood was seeping from beneath it. Loki swallowed hard. Botan had never been weaker than now. Perhaps this was the only opportunity…

Then, Botan stammered.

“I need your help.”

“Tell me. What is it?”

“Think of a way to stop the apocalypse.”

At Botan’s words, Loki frowned and sat on the edge of the bed. He plucked a grape from a nearby table, rolled it in his mouth, and stroked his chin.

“Suddenly, what are you talking about? Did you take some drug in Helheim? Don’t keep it to yourself; share it with me.”

“I still see it… Loki. The apocalypse, the last breath of the world. My eye… I left one eye in the future.”

“From what I see, that looks like a wound from a sword.”

“Look at this.”

With a shaky hand, Botan pulled out a dagger and handed it to Loki. Loki was slightly impressed by the strong divine aura emanating from the dagger.

“An impressive relic. Did you stab this into your eye?”

“Do you want to try it too? Heh, you’ll see the future.”

“I don’t like experimenting with unknown relics on my own body… Seeing you, I understand why those who see the future all end up killing themselves.”

So, what did you see? Loki looked at Botan with an intrigued expression. Botan slowly raised his body and sat up. A thick cloud of cigarette smoke flowed from his mouth.

* * *

Botan looked at Fernandez and slowly opened his mouth.

“And I told Loki about the process of the world’s destruction.”

“To Sadarkelisa about the process of destruction?”

“No, that was just… a role. The apocalypse is a more concrete and comprehensive concept. The end of the world required several conditions.”

First, a long winter. Fimbulwinter. A long famine where all plants freeze and all grains dry up.

“To prevent this, we needed Banadis. The maiden of spring. She could bloom flowers and cultivate crops, keeping us alive even in winter.”

Second, Jormungand. The giant serpent that coils around Yggdrasil, the great ash tree that forms Asgard. At the moment of the apocalypse, it would spew venom, corrupting the world and devouring the Aesir.

“Several beings were considered for that role. There happened to be a world where dragons roamed.”

“The main material plane…?”

“Yes, you catch on quickly. The world you came from. We named it Midgard.”

The land with the highest racial diversity, home to indigenous races not found in other dimensions… the land where dragons lived. A land watched by the heavens, where the threat of demons was the weakest.

A certain pattern…


Unlike other worlds that fade away while being half-fixed, this is a land of turmoil where countless civilizations bloom, burn, and rise again. Thus, it was named Midgard.

* * *

Loki stroked his chin as he looked at the names written on the parchment. He soon shook his head and drew a line.

“Not Karadpellin. That stubborn guy got too close to the heavens. He has a different role.”

“Next?”

“Lakrisir… let’s hold off. He’s too weak and small. Next.”

“Abelesas?”

“She’s the most suitable candidate, but… no, no. There’s a rumor that she suddenly became quiet and holed up in a cave.”

“Next?”

“Sadarkelisa.”

Loki drew a circle on the corner of the parchment and said,

“Strong enough, ambitious enough, and gullible enough. A poor dragon who lost its dominance over land and sky… Let’s embrace her.”

Loki chuckled.

* * *

“So, she headed to Midgard, boasting about roasting Jormungand. And then…”

“Wait, hold on.”

Fernandez interrupted Botan, frowning. Of course, it makes sense. It’s a plausible scenario, but… isn’t it ridiculous? Sacrificing your own race to prevent the apocalypse?

“I didn’t think your race was that altruistic. Sacrificing yourselves to prevent the total annihilation of other worlds? A tragic tale, but… it sounds like a lie.”

“The conditions of Ragnarok weren’t just about Jormungand. If we wanted to go extinct, why would we need Banadis?”

Botan smirked.

“When the legions of Jotunheim break the pact and march on Asgard, and Helheim follows with their offensive, finally, Asgard’s foundation crumbles, and the demons of Muspelheim crawl onto the surface. When the gaps between dimensions collapse and the world falls apart. Only then does Ragnarok occur.”

Botan spoke like an ancient prophet. He soon closed his eyes and calmly continued.

“Freya. In exchange for taking the queen of the Vanir as a hostage. In exchange for guaranteeing her safety, Vanaheim promised us a place. And… to preserve the purity of Vanaheim, we severed all Bifrost leading to that land.”

“Freya is in Midgard now, right?”

“Correct. In exchange for guaranteeing Freya’s safety, I sealed her in Midgard. She believes she escaped on her own, but…”

Pure. Botan chuckled. Soon, he continued his prophecy. His one-eyed gaze, with a gloomy blue light flowing beneath, began to imprint an image into Fernandez’s mind.

“Loki will mend the broken bridge of Bifrost. Helheim, Jotunheim, Muspelheim… All of Asgard’s enemies will gather here, in Asgard.”

The vision of burning Asgard filled the surroundings, with gates opening in every region, and legions from other worlds, grinding their teeth to settle old war grudges, pouring in.

However, their vanguard soon panics. The paradise called Asgard is no more. Only burning lands, polluted skies, and swarming demons…

In this Asgard, there are no Aesir. In their eyes… the only land that resembles paradise is visible.

-Yggdrasil…

“On the burning lands, they will march. Revenge… conquest… or longing for Aesir civilization… Whatever it may be. Before the end, all is futile… When they gather beneath this hall of struggle. They will face only one being. ‘Jormungand’! The destroyer of worlds shall descend!”

Regardless of the reason for rising, the cause of war. When Bifrost is fully opened, and the flow between dimensions becomes free, war from that moment is nothing but a struggle for survival. A struggle to protect their world from the demons of hell!

The Einherjar are not enough. Botan had been focusing the world’s gates here to repel Sadarkelisa.

“The future is nothing but the sum of possibilities. Then, we just need to steer the prophecy toward the most probable outcome! Mortal, head to Yggdrasil. Vanaheim, Jotunheim, Helheim, Asgard, and Midgard. If the elite forces of the five worlds gather, even Jormungand can be confronted!”

The blue light in Botan’s eyes faded. He now looked at Fernandez with a calm gaze.

“I won’t claim we are without sin. The sin of using Midgard’s believers for our purposes, the sin of invading the horizontal worlds, the sin of uniting the demons of hell and abandoning them… As you said, my sins are beyond repentance. But, listen to me. Go to Yggdrasil. The sins of our people are mine alone, and I will close my eyes in repentance on the battlefield.”

Botan closed his eyes as he spoke. There was nothing he could do now, being without a physical body. Fernandez grabbed Botan’s hair.

In his boring life, he sought something stimulating. This old king had evacuated his people to safe lands and was searching for a way to prevent the apocalypse with the remaining few royals.

Weighing the merits of consideration was meaningless. What mattered to Fernandez was not the cause, but the purpose.

-This could be useful.

‘And I like it.’

If it hadn’t been long since he became a lich, he might not know, but if certain conditions were met, he could regain a physical body. Even if not a living body, he could wield considerable power.

Then, it’s not about the cause, justice, or justification. Fernandez hung Botan’s head on his waist.

“Endure the shaking. We’re about to run.”

Fernandez loosened up and signaled to Kirhas. The two began sprinting forward almost simultaneously.

Under the shadow of Yggdrasil, the remaining distance wasn’t far.

Chapter 199