Chapter Thirty-Five: The Legend of the Ten Realms

"I haven't seen you for over half a month. Where have you been?" Gwen looked at Michael's pale face.

"That's a secret," Michael replied, turning his head to see a huge poster of Playboy Tony, clad in his Iron Man suit.

"Did I miss anything?"

Gwen closed her book and said, "Playboy Tony publicly declared himself to be Iron Man. Does that count as news? Also, Stark Industries is expanding into the field of new energy."

"Cool. I bet the stock price of Stark Industries is skyrocketing."

"Unfortunately, I didn't buy any." Gwen sounded a bit downcast—what a golden opportunity to get rich, and she hadn't seized it. If she could do it over, she would definitely say...

"I bought some. In fact, I acquired eighty percent of what was available on the market back then." If Connors hadn't gotten into trouble and Michael hadn't moved out his experimental equipment, the experiments wouldn't have been possible.

"Oh, then you've struck it rich." Gwen was genuinely happy for Michael.

"Do me the honor of joining me for a meal?" Michael suggested, feeling much lighter now that his research was nearly complete.

Gwen suddenly realized Michael had never actually asked her out to dinner before, so she teased, "Sure! I believe when a man of your stature invites someone to dinner, it's bound to be quite the feast."

"Let's go."

Before long, the two of them found themselves in an upscale restaurant, from which they could see the Stark Tower.

Suddenly, a metallic figure shot up into the sky and quickly vanished beyond the horizon.

"Wow, Mr. Tony really has a convenient way of getting around," Michael couldn't help but marvel.

Gwen looked out and said, "Isn't it odd how humans always yearn to fly?"

Michael was taken aback. It was true—since ancient times, people had longed for flight, for the sky, even for the stars.

That's why Eastern legends gave their immortals the ability to ride clouds and mist, while Western myths granted their gods a pair of wings to soar.

"Because we are all children gazing up at the stars," he replied.

"Michael, do you believe in angels?"

Gwen looked at him intently. Michael wasn't sure how to answer. Should he say there was one inside him? Obviously not.

"Are you religious?"

Gwen shook her head. "I'm not. If divinity were truly so merciful, there wouldn't be so many criminals in this world. And I don't believe in heaven either."

"Then why ask about angels?" Michael asked with genuine curiosity.

"That Warren—the one whose genes you asked me to extract—when he spreads his wings, he looks just like an angel. I mean, it's uncanny, as if he stepped right out of a storybook. Such a coincidence makes me wonder."

Michael pondered for a moment. "There really are angels in this world, but Warren only possesses a part of their genetic code."

"There really are angels?" Gwen was surprised, not expecting Michael to say something so outrageous.

"Yes, and there are also gods in this world—like Odin. But the gods here are different from the legends."

Michael hesitated, unsure how to explain.

Gwen watched him, sensing he wasn't joking.

"This world can be divided into ten realms. Originally, they were all connected by the World Tree. Their names are Midgard, Asgard, Nidavellir, Jotunheim, Muspelheim, Svartalfheim, Niflheim, Vanaheim, and Alfheim."

Gwen listened intently and couldn't help but ask, "But you said ten realms—what about the tenth?"

"Because Heaven was exiled by Odin."

"Exiled by Odin?"

Gwen was completely absorbed, her mind captivated by the tale.

"When Odin went to war to conquer the nine realms, the Queen of Heaven, unwilling to accept defeat, stole Odin's daughter. Believing his daughter to be dead, Odin severed Heaven's connection to the World Tree, exiling the heavenly realm beyond its reach."

"What happened as a result?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but being cut off from the World Tree meant losing contact with the other realms and the life force it provided. Without that nourishment, Heaven's energy would gradually wane, and eventually it would become uninhabitable."

"That's cruel. He lost his daughter, but was it necessary to doom an entire world? What happened after that—did Odin ever find his daughter?"

Gwen pressed on, her curiosity piqued. These stories were so novel, so completely different from the myths she'd heard.

"The Queen of Heaven didn't kill the child. In time, Odin's daughter returned to him, fought by his side across the nine realms, and even became his vanguard."

"After the realms were pacified, Odin longed for peace. Hela, though, became the greatest threat to that peace. Her power became her original sin. So Odin sealed her away, condemning her to the darkness of the realm of the dead, where she lived alone."

Michael couldn't help but sneer as he continued, "In the end, everyone praised Odin's wisdom and mercy, but all the disasters and deaths brought by war were blamed on Hela."

"I have another question. You mentioned some places by names like Midgard, Asgard, Nidavellir, but the rest all end in '-heim.' Why is that?"

"Midgard is Earth—too weak to be conquered by Odin's armies. Asgard is Odin's own realm. Nidavellir is the land of dwarves, who forge weapons for Odin and are his loyal hounds. As for the others, perhaps Odin renamed them after conquering them."

Michael thought of Heimdall and suddenly understood the significance of these names.

"It's likely a warning. 'Heim' is the name of a god—Heimdall, the eternal guardian and ever-watchful sentinel. He allows nothing to interfere with his duties."

"Heimdall has a special ability: his eyes can see everything in the nine realms. He constantly watches, and at the first sign of rebellion, he reports directly to Odin, who then sends his army to suppress it."

Gwen said with distaste, "That's a disgusting warning. Constantly watching your own people—it's nothing but tyranny. Where's the mercy in that?"

"There's nothing to be done. Odin has the biggest fist. When he declares himself merciful, everyone else has to agree."

Michael didn't much care—after all, that old Odin had little time left.

After Ragnarok, when Asgard's rule falls, will the nine realms descend into chaos? Michael thought it was very likely. The Dark Elves, the Frost Giant King, and Surtur at full power were not to be trifled with.

Keisha: "It seems this universe is in dire need of justice and order."

Michael: "..."

You're really quite thorough, aren't you?

"It's a pity about Hela," Gwen muttered, still indignant.

Michael replied, "Once the world was conquered, Odin needed someone to bear the blame for war, and Hela was too powerful for him to control."

"Like an ancient general whose achievements and strength surpass the king's, making the king wary."

Hela's strength was almost unnatural. Odin was certainly the mightiest king of Asgard, but his wife was merely a sorceress, not an Asgardian, and lacked the divine genes.

Just look at Thor—he can't fully control lightning, and without the hammer, he can't unleash his full strength.

Yet Hela shattered the hammer with her bare hands. Her power was nearly equal to Odin's, and she was still so young.

Perhaps the Angel Queen had performed some sort of modification on Hela. Even Hela's return to Odin's side might have been part of some scheme.

In the end, Asgard was destroyed—not by anyone else, but by the fire giant Surtur. Still, if not for Hela's threat, would Thor have resorted to such desperate measures?

The more Michael thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.