Chapter 235: Chapter 55 The Twisted Pupil
The nine great realms hang upon the World Tree, yet they are not without connection to one another. Just as the famed Bifrost connects Asgard with the Mortal Realm, Midgard, the Ifing River marks the boundary between the Aesir Divine Realm and the land of the Titans, Jotunheim.
Besides that, Jotunheim and Midgard also share a connection, which is a terrifying iron forest that separates the realm of the Titans from the Mortal Realm, with only a few Mountain Titans frequently traveling between the two.
However, just as Laine failed to see the Rainbow Bridge in Asgard, perhaps it has collapsed due to the Destruction of the world. The Eternal Ifing River, too, is now just a dried-up riverbed.
On one side, it still connects to Jotunheim, while on the other lies the Endless Void. It was by this once-existing link that Laine directly stepped into this place.
Standing at the edge of this broken world, he could even observe the collision between the remnants of the world and the power of Chaos, and clearly, the resistance of this realm had become very weak.
“What is this?”
While hurrying toward the conspicuously massive roots of the World Tree in the gap in Jotunheim, Laine stumbled upon something interesting.
Unlike Asgard’s man-made artifacts, the Titans of Jotunheim still maintained a primitive way of life. Therefore, Laine couldn’t find anything useful from their scattered remains of civilization, except for what he held in his hands.
A stone-like crystalline object, somewhat resembling an oversized heart, containing a highly concentrated aura of the Earth Element, as well as a hint of Divine Power.
However, the remains of the Fire Giants were particularly scarce, perhaps because in the myths, they primarily resided in the fiery land of Muspelheim, venerating Surtr as their leader.
“Yes, it seems you are quite interested in them. Perhaps I can take you later to see the place where the Titans bury their own. What you’ve found here are mostly heart cores scattered outside for various reasons. They are not only few but also lack the remnants of powerful Titans after death.”
Without the slightest shame of bringing an outsider to the graveyard of his kin, Mimir suggested on the side.
“That would be wonderful. After dealing with the issue of the World Tree root, let’s go take a look at the place you mentioned.”
Gathering the heart cores, Laine had an additional goal on his journey. Without purposely taking detours, he collected all such special crystals he could sense.
Regrettably, in the domain of elements, while Frost Giants can symbolize water, and Mountain Giants and Fire Giants can represent Earth and Fire respectively, the Scandinavian mythos lacks Giants that symbolize The Sky, which is not a significant but nonetheless a regrettable omission.
Skimming swiftly through the sky, after an indiscernible amount of time, under Mimir’s guidance, Laine located the object of his quest directly below the main root of Yggdrasil.
Just as with Urd’s Well in Asgard, under the flourishing roots of the World Tree, the renowned Spring of Wisdom had not been spared, even having ‘died’ a bit more thoroughly.
The barren and parched ground was covered with dead vegetation, and a light breeze kicked up dust, darkening the sky even further. A few frail dead trees trembled in the wind, barely enduring. The once sacred well had turned into a dark pit, muddied and silted, devoid of any sparkling waters.
A segment of Yggdrasil’s root dangled above the well, with spotty bloodstains still visible. Perhaps in the distant past, Odin had made his Sacrifice here.