Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

[Ancient Hatred・Flesh-Mother Tree], undoubtedly, was a very fitting name.

In this interface that had been assimilated by the other party over tens of thousands of years, he no longer had any hope of finding anything valuable.

It would be enough to continue testing the abilities of the Mother Tree and then wait for the Chaos World to transform and seal it, since such a life form was absolutely intolerable in the present world.

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Just as Laine stepped into the Land of Mist, at the edge of Niflheim, within a colossal glacier towering over ten thousand meters, a massive shadow stirred its body once more.

The roots of the World Tree within the Land of Mist originally took hold above the Hvergelmir Spring, whose waters not only teemed with toxins but were also piercingly icy.

These waters flowed in the equally frigid Land of Mist and then formed glaciers of varying sizes. Among them, the largest one concealed a massive shadow within.

Ever since the first Outsider from beyond the realms appeared, he had awakened from his deep slumber, and with the arrival of the second, his thoughts solidified even more.

From the day of the world’s demise, having witnessed the birth of the giant tree and the death of the deities, this shadow had sealed itself within the glacier, waiting for a turn of fate. Tens of thousands of years had passed, and he had almost given up hope, yet, unexpectedly, the turning point finally came.

It was just that his own life had also reached its end. Despite being a godlike being in the Nine Realms, gods in this realm were not eternal.

He was Nidhogg, the Black Dragon symbolizing despair, yet now, the only one truly feeling despair was he himself.

“Gods from beyond The Sky, they have come too late…”

Not because of old age, although gods in this realm do age, yet tens of thousands of years are not enough to lead Nidhogg to the end of his life.

It was because a massive wound on his body was incessantly draining the little life he had left. Moreover, as a creature of brutal nature, the Black Dragon had never intended to place his life in the hands of other beings.

“However, I will not end here.”

His ferocious mouth opened, almost as if he smiled, yet it only appeared terrifying. Nidhogg looked ahead, where there lay thousands of eggs of varying sizes.

Although his current plight was largely due to the giant tree, Nidhogg had now come to appreciate it somewhat. At least, from the unconscious psychic waves it emitted, besides the allure that made him want to embrace it, there was also an abundance of knowledge related to Life. Over these tens of thousands of years, Nidhogg had learned another method to extend his own existence.

For the Flesh-Mother Tree, any existence it assimilated was part of its own life, without the proper authority, Nidhogg wouldn’t be able to do this, but he could simplify the process and complete it in his own way.

Thus, he used his own blood and bones to create the dragon eggs before him; these newborn dragon eggs had no attributes or inclinations and would transform with the new environments they encountered. This ensured that no matter what the unknown new world was like, these created beings would become the apex of the food chain.

As their creator, when this new lineage thrived in another world, they could become anchors for Nidhogg, awakening his lost consciousness. As for how long this would take, that was an unknown.

“You will be born strong and live long, but the cost is the difficulty of procreation. Yet, this is a necessary sacrifice, after all, survival is the top priority. Compared to weaker species, the strong can more easily continue their legacy.”

At the heart of the glacier, Nidhogg spread his wings. The great Black Dragon began to shatter; his flesh and bones fell to the ground, merging into each dragon egg.

Those closest to him received the most power and their presence was also the strongest.

“You come from me, and you will surely fulfill me.”

Ultimately, only the illusory shadow of Nidhogg remained in midair. Witnessing all this, he summoned his last bit of strength, and released a wisp of breath beyond the glacier, catching the attention of those two outsiders.

“One day, when I return to the land, I will no longer carry the burden of the inherent mission of destruction, but will become the master of the new world with my own will,” he said.

The next moment, when the phantom dissipated and the glacier shattered, the breath released here instantly attracted the only three lives in this world. Three wills, one after another, swept over this place littered with dragon eggs, noticing its uniqueness, and then, as if by agreement, reached out their ‘hands’ toward it.

However, just then, a crack opened up in the sky, and the hum of the Chains of Law echoed between the realms.

Clang——

“Is this… Chaos’s erosion of the Nine Realms complete?” he mused.

First, a branch of the Mother Tree, extended here in an agreement with Erebus, blocked the way; Laine had just collected several enormous dragon eggs, but the sudden turn of events made him stop his actions.

The barrier between Niflheim and the void broke, and the Chains of Law of Chaos replaced everything that was old. But this also meant that the brief struggle had ended.

At that moment, endless Chains of Law poured in from the outside world, binding everything in between, and replaced the original rules. The ‘[Hidden]’ on Laine’s black clothes came into effect, and his entire existence vanished from this world; and simultaneously, on another side, the darkness that once occupied one-third of the world had vanished without a trace, leaving only pits in the ground that looked like they had been dug three feet deep.

Only the Flesh-Mother Tree, whose thoughts were in chaos, still made its presence felt, and then was targeted by innumerable Chains of Law, bound layer upon layer.

It still struggled and fought, but the outcome was already foreseeable.

After a brief gaze, Laine vanished on the spot and immediately appeared in the void outside the realm.

He could see that the fragments of the Nine Realms had already ceased their resistance and were being dragged by the Chains of Order toward a distant world.

The dark mist converged beside him, turning into a familiar figure, but for some reason, Erebus’s left hand was still enveloped in a mist.

“Did you find something, a head?” he asked.

The barriers of the Nine Realms had been opened, and now the interior was completely exposed. The Lord of Darkness easily noticed that the realms Laine had previously visited appeared to be very intact.

Given the large disembodied head floating nearby, it wasn’t difficult to guess that Laine had probably been fortunate enough to encounter communicative natives, and then learned much more concrete information from them.

“Yes, a head of no particular use, but at least it knew something,” he replied casually.

Watching the realm moving in the void, Laine responded to the Lord of Darkness offhandedly.

A brief adventure seemed to yield much, but the unknowns were greater still, though the remaining issues would have to be resolved within the Chaos World.

With so many bizarre new elements added, who knows what the future heroic epics from the myths will look like.

Fighting the resurfacing ancient evils under the guidance of the gods, thwarting the plots of the Outer Deities to destroy cities, or eradicating the Secret Cults hidden beneath the kingdoms—these were the unknowables.

But those were the concerns of mortals. What really troubled Laine was that massive Flesh-Mother Tree.

“There’s nothing much to see here anymore, I just hope that the world, which has never done much good, could be of some use this time,” he said.

That being said, looking at the still struggling and resisting Flesh-Mother Tree, Laine didn’t hold much hope for this.