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Chapter: 215

Rychlen grew day by day, learning many things under various teachers, piling up knowledge and wisdom, mastering the use of clubs and bows, and figuring out how to interact with others and lead them.

“Though, I bet Zeus is quite irritated. He hands out his super blessing to that kid, prepping everything, but now he’s stuck in the Divine Hall and can’t do a thing but twiddle his thumbs.”

“Well, the only thing that kid can do now is hand out prophecies or blessings through believers.”

They initially planned to leverage the kid, who was prophesied to become the king of the gods someday, to their advantage, but that was clearly off the table now.

Sure, if the prophecies or blessings are used well, they could be effective tools, but I seriously doubt Zeus has that much sense.

“Wasn’t it Indra who asked for the gods of the Divine Hall to be blocked? Did he expect this outcome?”

“Who knows? Not sure what he was thinking, but it seems like a good situation for us, right?”

Honestly, I never liked Zeus, but at least this was giving me a good laugh.

“But at this rate, won’t all ten years we promised pass before that kid becomes an adult? Is that okay?”

“Hmm, has that much time already gone by?”

“Yeah. Ten years just flies by.”

I didn’t even realize how time was slipping away while watching that kid grow up.

“It was about 19 years ago when Indra offered his heart, and the kid was born three years later… Which means next year marks ten years since that war.”

As roughly nine years passed, the chaotic world of the gods started to settle down a bit.

The Ennead, aside from a few surviving gods, had declined to the point they couldn’t maintain their divine status, and the suddenly involved Lokapala had been utterly decimated.

And Olympus, the victor of the war, was also a rather wrecked place… Well, let’s just overlook that for now. Not the topic at hand.

“Now, the remaining pieces of Baal are held by Odin and Zeus, right? What’s gonna happen with that?”

“Who knows?”

Seems like it was about time those guys started moving. Hmm…

You’ve gotta time your wait right; if you wait around until the end, you’ll only be asking for destruction.

But hey, there’s still a year left. Let’s just wait and see.

If they really do nothing… Well, then I guess I’ll just have to take action myself.

You’ve gotta do the waiting meta justice, because going all in just means you’ll end up fried in the magnetic field.

“Let’s just keep an eye on things until next year.”

Whether Zeus moves, or Odin moves, there’ll be signs of something moving for sure.

And then, the next year.

The Aesir took action.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

The wise god. Odin found it hard to simply accept the prophecy of impending doom.

Quick as a flash, he discovered the seer’s position and talked with him. Thanks to that, he realized the downfall of the gods was approaching.

Naturally, reacting violently to such reality was expected.

“No way, that can’t be true. It just can’t! There’s surely a way to evade destruction!”

First: Denial.

The one-eyed god, packed with wisdom, refuted the seer’s words.

He reacted intensely against the confirmed future; rejecting the destruction of the gods.

Of course, that’s a normal response. No one likes a death they can’t avoid.

“It’s unexpected to hear such words from wise Odin. Doesn’t the wisdom in your eye see the truth?”

“Ugh, my eye says that statement is true. But isn’t this all so ridiculous?! Why on earth should most gods face destruction?!”

I softly remarked on Odin’s response.

“When the king of the gods disappears, hope fades for the gods. Surely, you know that, wise one?”

“That…”

Odin hesitated. His wise eye had concealed the truth, and he grasped that my words were entirely true.

Thus, what he could do was…

“You! Why are you trying to deceive me with such absurd words?! Your prophecies are merely a means to catch a little attention! To think you’d attempt to fool me like this! I can’t let you live!!!”

Second: Wrath.

Odin, unable to restrain himself from denying the seer’s words, began to unleash his fury. Like a volcano about to erupt, he spewed flames of wrath through his mouth.

In his hand, he gripped a sharp spear—now that famous Gungnir.

Crafted by the hands of superb dwarves and blessed by the gods, the weapon was pointed at the seer.

But the seer, even with the spear’s blade thrust right in front of him, didn’t flinch at all.

Because his physical form was that of a golem he’d created. No reason to be afraid.

Well, even if it was my own main body, I wondered if that spear would even leave a tiny scratch on my skin if it jabbed me with all its might?

“Withdraw your ridiculous words while there’s still time. Declare your statements are false. Otherwise, my spear will puncture you.”

Third: Negotiation.

Contrary to the ominous words, there was a faint tremor and fear in his voice.

Could it be that the seer’s absurd words had such a heavy burden?

The chief god of the Aesir—once considered the wisest among the gods—was now trying to negotiate, or rather beg, a being merely prophesying the future.

“I could deny it, but that wouldn’t erase what’s destined to happen. Surely, a wise man such as yourself knows that well.”

The seer’s soft words left Odin tongue-tied.

He merely dropped Gungnir from his grasp.

“How, how can this be? Why must the gods face destruction? Were we born to perish?”

Fourth: Despair.

Tears began to flow from Odin’s singular eye.

Seeing that old one-eyed man cry was quite the sight to behold, but… what can you do? It’s only natural that even a god would want to shed tears in the face of an inescapable, harsh fate.

If he hated that fate so desperately that he wanted to weep, he should’ve had his act together when Baal was around. Tch.

All regrets come after the events have passed.

“Fine. If that’s what this world craves… then I shall accept it. If it’s an unavoidable fate, there’s no choice but to yield.”

Fifth: Acceptance.

Even while tears continued to flow, Odin began to speak as if he had given up everything.

He knew well the consequences of resisting an inescapable fate.

At this rate… Odin would relinquish everything.

No, he might even consider killing the other gods in an attempt to spare them from painful destruction.

It wouldn’t be an issue if the gods who deserve to die meet their end, but if the ones who shouldn’t die do… well, that’d be a slight problem.

Because of that, I tossed in a comment.

“If this world desires destruction, what about another world?”

“Another world…?”

“Yes. If it were entirely a different world, wouldn’t there be a chance to avoid that destruction?”

It was a blatant lie. Even if I mentioned another world, wouldn’t it still be a space connected to this one?

Even if a different world was created as a refuge, as long as the connection to this world remains, they wouldn’t be able to escape the impending destruction.

Well, sure, if they created an entirely isolated world and cut off all links, it’d be a different story.

“Another world… So you mean I have to create a different realm like the Divine Hall? But how?”

“That’s beyond what I can assist you with. However, I believe it’s not impossible.”

Just as I made an endlessly deep pouch, other gods could probably manage to create a small realm if they really exerted themselves.

It wouldn’t be easy, but… if Odin could somehow pull it off, I might just spare his life.

I’d still pluck out his eyes, though.

Upon my words, Odin slightly nodded.

“Right. There must surely be a way. If I can’t find the method, destruction awaits, but if I do… I can become the savior of all gods.”

With a tiny voice, Odin whispered a hope. Yet, his singular eye was twisted in despair, consumed by madness.

There was merely a foolish old man left there.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Transformed like that, Odin ended up producing results quite different from my expectations after spending decades in his domain.

“Goddess of Life!!! There’s trouble!!!”

It all started with Keres. After being engulfed by the energy of death, she became one of the judges of the underworld, a god descended from dragons.

“Hm? What a rare occurrence. Have you traveled all the way from the underworld?”

“Me? Unlike the other two, I tend to roam around on my day off! I visit the Divine Hall often too! But seriously, there’s a big problem!!!”

A problem? What kind of issue could a god of death and a judge of the underworld be making such a fuss over?

“Paradise! Paradise is being invaded by other guys! We’re in big trouble!!!”

“What?”

Did I hear that right? Is paradise really being invaded? The afterlife I crafted is under attack—what madness is this?

“Who could possibly invade paradise? I mean, wouldn’t the road to paradise only go through the underworld?”

“Let’s just go together! It’d be quicker for you to see for yourself!”

What on earth happened in paradise that has her so riled up? I’m totally lost on this.

Heck, the Aesir have been so quiet lately; it’s getting on my nerves. Ugh.

So, I headed off to paradise alongside Keres.

 

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