Mythology: Spiritual Ruler

In Scandinavian mythology, the Rune is the mysterious text obtained by the God King Odin hanging himself upside down on a tree and offering sacrifices to himself.

Self-sacrifice sounds illogical, but now as a god, Ryan has a deeper understanding of it.

The person who offers the sacrifice is ‘Odin’, and the person who accepts the sacrifice is the ‘God King’. The present self offers sacrifices to the future self, and Odin, as a god, offers sacrifices to the world on behalf of the world, and what he finally gets is the Rune text containing the mystery of the origin of the world.

Although the Rune may not be effective in Chaos as a text describing the laws of another world, what Ryan really values ​​is the principle of its existence.

If he can get and analyze it, then Ryan can reconstruct the original spiritual text, create his own ‘Rune’, and use this rune to describe the rules of the spiritual world more clearly and thoroughly. And all the achievements built on this rune are adding bricks and tiles to the spiritual world itself.

In addition to the rune, there is no need to say more about the world tree Yggdrasil. As one of the nine kingdoms that supports a mythical world with its own strength, the withering of the sacred tree means the arrival of Ragnarok. All this proves that this is a plant that is much more terrifying than the golden apple tree.

Although it is not its main trunk here, only one of its three main roots, and Ryan is not sure whether the world tree still has vitality, but this does not diminish its importance.

Whether it is used to cast artifacts or try to use it as a template to cultivate new sacred trees, its value is unquestionable.

As for the Spring of Urd, there are very few records of it in later generations. The only thing that can be confirmed is that this is a spring containing the power of purification and vitality.

It has healed Odin's injuries and has been used to water the world tree all year round. The three goddesses symbolizing fate in Asgard are often around, but Ryan has a dispensable mentality for it.

After all, he already has the [Well of Samsara]. Even if he gets this spring, it is just one more thing to nourish plants and brew drinks. It is hard to say that it has any great use.

As for the last "Odin's legacy", Ryan is not sure whether it exists.

After all, the Ragnarok recorded in later myths is not like this. It is the living things including the gods that welcome the end, not the world itself. Even after the so-called dusk, the god of light Balder and the blind god who killed him returned from the land of the dead and rebuilt Asgard with the remaining gods.

But now, no matter how you look at it, this world is dead and can't be dead anymore.

"Still have to be careful who knows how this world is destroyed."

"Besides, in the mythological world, 'phenomena' often have power and can even breed unique life. What will the 'death' of a world bring?"

Here, Ryan's connection with the spiritual world has become negligible, and even this broken interface is instinctively suppressing outsiders, but he still found his target at a glance.

In the center of the interface, the huge withered root system is still looming even if it is not known how far away.

"I hope to gain something."

With a move of his body, Ryan flew towards the huge black shadow that connected the sky and the earth.

In a world completely different from Chaos, gods can be killed and even age, just like Hercules in later mythology.

What is the principle behind this? It is still worth exploring.

······

In the world of Chaos, on Mount Olympus.

Although Ryan left the world because of an unexpected premonition, the world itself did not stagnate.

When humans fell into chaos because of the sudden loss of the gift of God, the giant beasts near the settlement also found that the breath that had always made them afraid disappeared, and began to tentatively move towards the direction of the human tribe. Panic and fear spread among humans, and turmoil was about to happen.

At the same time, in the Palace of the Sun, holding a fennel branch in his hand, Prometheus stretched it towards the gorgeous golden chariot.

He knew that his seemingly "hidden" behavior was actually expected by more than one god, such as Helios, the god of the sun, who had made an agreement with him, and the master of Mount Olympus, the god king who ruled the gods.

They did not really "see" his behavior, but they all knew what the foresighted were doing. However, although Prometheus knew this, they were all waiting for him to commit a crime and then step on his "corpse" to achieve their goals, but he still ignited the fire without hesitation.

When the fennel branch was ignited, a kind of "right" was transferred in the dark.

From this moment on, this branch gained immortality because it carried the qualification to use fire given by the Lord of the Spirit World.

The branch is just a carrier. As long as the concept of [fire] in the spirit world still exists, it will be eternal, and as long as Prometheus does not want it, it cannot be deprived by any god.

Ryan gave this "right" to the sun chariot, and the owner of the sun chariot took the initiative to give it up, so now, its ownership has been transferred to the new god. Of course, this will also become the source of the new god's suffering.

Zeus would certainly ask him to exchange this right back, and Prometheus would naturally disagree.

"This is the 'fire' of mankind."

"From today on, the 'fire' of mankind is no longer a gift from God, including me."

After a moment of silence, Prometheus turned around and flew towards the human world. From now on, he is the 'fire thief' who violated the decree of the God King.

On Mount Olympus, sensing the transfer of this special "right" on his artifact, Helios smiled with satisfaction.

He was ready to publicize his "good deeds" among future humans, and then become a powerful sun god like his father. But another bystander, the god king Zeus, was a little annoyed.

When he noticed that the hot and warm breath was going away from the sun god palace, although all this was what he wanted to see, Prometheus really ignored his existence and violated the order of the god king so directly, which still made Zeus somewhat angry.

But this is the last time, the god king has secretly made up his mind that he will teach this Titan god a lesson that he will never forget, and use his existence to warn the gods, especially this sun god.

Zeus did not know about the conversation between the sun god and Prometheus, and his divine power did not have such ability. But you can guess without thinking that although Helios may have been "careless" and let Prometheus steal the sacred fire, this is too coincidental.

The God King, however, does not believe in coincidences.

At the same time, when the God King and the Sun God reacted differently to the behavior of the Forerunner, unknown to them, in a hidden dreamland in the third spiritual world, a young god in a gray robe was also watching this scene.

But what he was looking at was not Prometheus, but the burning "fire" in his hand.

Hypnos did not take a paranoid and weak god seriously. What he really cared about was the "right" to use fire.

When the sun chariot was built, the god of sleep had already been born, so he knew very well where the fire came from.

The guy who was theoretically his father god was also the real master of the seven spiritual worlds.

"Sure enough, he is not here now, at least not for the time being."

After observing every detail of Prometheus stealing fire, Hypnos finally confirmed his guess.

This "right" to use fire temporarily lost control at this time, or in other words, its owner had no time to pay attention to these things for some reason, so he let his second authority send it out, and then let himself be brought to the human world.

This is very consistent with what Hypnos saw in the dream of marine life. His powerful father god has now left the spiritual world for some reason and went to the east of the East China Sea, the edge of the world.

Now is undoubtedly a great opportunity.

"In this case, it's time for me to meet him. I don't know what he wants to say to me."

His expression moved slightly. Such an opportunity is rare, so Hypnos gently shook the wings behind him, and then disappeared in the scattered gray shadows.

······

An unnamed valley on the bank of the East China Sea.

The void fluctuated, and Hypnos's figure emerged.

"Hu——"

Take a long breath. It is still very difficult for the young god to secretly leave the spiritual world.

This is really thanks to the perfection of the dream world, so that the goddess of the moon no longer pays attention to him, otherwise the god of sleep feels that even if Ryan is not there, it will be difficult for him to leave the spirit world quietly.

In this valley, in addition to Hypnos, there is a black-robed figure waiting here.

"Good night, His Highness Hypnos, it seems that you have made up your mind after all."

With a smile on his lips, Mephisto, who had just "ascended to heaven" a few days ago, was standing here intact.

In the past few days, everything that happened among humans was within the expectations of the devil lord. Even the informer, his envy and hatred of the gods, should be thanked for the secret influence of the goddess of hatred Megera.

Don't pray to God for eternal life. This is the parting warning that Mephisto once gave to another human high priest. Now that he has seen the fate of his colleagues, I think he will make the "right" choice.

And now, the last link in his plan is about to be completed.

A powerful but ignorant spirit god dared to betray his creator. This was incomprehensible to Mephisto at first. But later he gradually understood that this "honorable prince" probably had some misunderstanding.

Yes, after all, as a devil, if Mephisto had not completed his reincarnation when the interface was just opened, it would be difficult for him to say what he thought of the Lord of the Nine Hells.

"Don't be mysterious. Tell me, what do you mean by 'opportunity'?"

Frowning slightly, Hypnos looked at the devil in front of him and didn't like him.

Perhaps it was the repulsion of the same sex. He didn't have a good impression of this half-god existence who was as hypocritical as himself, but the news that the other party "inadvertently" leaked through the dream of mortals made it difficult for the god of sleep to give up. So in the end, he still came.

"Please forgive me for not revealing the specific things."

With the same smile, Mephisto easily dodged the gray feathers falling in the void.

On the land where he couldn't use divine power, he was not very afraid of the grown-up god of sleep.

"But what I can guarantee is that I will do something big in the mortal world, enough to anger many beings in the spirit world and make them come to hunt me down."

"At that time, perhaps the spirit world will be particularly empty. No matter what you want to do, Your Highness, this is the perfect opportunity."

He felt ridiculous about the delusion of the god in front of him. As a god in the spirit world, he dared to rebel against the Lord of the Spirit World. This was as unbelievable as a devil rebelling against the Lord of the Nine Hells.

However, for Mephisto, it doesn't matter whether the other party can succeed or not. As long as the other party really takes action, there is a high probability that those spirit gods will be attracted back again.

As for what will happen to this "honorable prince", it has nothing to do with the devil lord.

"It sounds good, but what can you guarantee that what you say is true?"

The young god in gray clothes knew nothing about the devil's thoughts, but what Mephisto said did attract him.

Just like in the original myth, he once made Zeus at his peak dream, Chaos's [Sleep] and [Death] are simply the opposite, the former is extremely powerful, and the latter is weak.

Therefore, Hypnos is extremely confident in his authority of [Sleep]. As long as he is given a chance to sneak attack, he believes that any existence will be hit, but the premise is that his opponent is only one person.

And those pious spirit angels are the biggest stumbling block in front of him.

"How about the Styx oath?"

Just like the oath he made to Keto and Megela, Mephistopheles planned to fool them again, but this time, his trick was discovered by the other party.

"As far as I know, only true gods are qualified to swear to the Styx and get a response."

With a smile without any warmth, the young god slowly said:

"So Styx is also called the River of Hatred. It is two completely different rivers for true gods and beings other than true gods. Although you have power similar to that of a god, I am afraid you are not a true god with immortal essence and authority."

It was somewhat unexpected, because at this time the gods rarely dealt with non-gods, and beings like Keto did not know the secret of the River of Oath. Unexpectedly, the god in front of him knew it very well.

Although as far as Mephistopheles knew, the great Lord of the Nine Hells was already trying to create an oath medium that could be used by any being, but it did not exist yet.

But this is not a problem. Just like it was not him who tried to deceive the other party just now, Mephisto said:

"But we don't need a guarantee between us, and no one can make a guarantee, right? You dare not let me swear to the spirit world, and it is impossible to swear to the Nine Hells behind me. In this case, let's not make a guarantee."

"When that day comes, you will see the gods of the spirit world going to the world, and you will naturally know that what I said is true."

After a little contemplation, the god of sleep finally nodded. Just as the other party said, as the party who took action later, he could adapt to the situation. If the situation is not suitable, then he will wait for the next opportunity.

If it were not for the appearance of faith, which made him afraid that his father god would gain stronger power, Hypnos could continue to wait.

"Then it's a deal, your highness, I won't stay any longer."

The purpose has been achieved, and Mephisto said goodbye.

As his body exploded into a ball of black mist and then disappeared, Hypnos was soon left alone in this valley.

Standing here, the God of Sleep felt the vast and boundless spiritual world on the other side of the world, and could not help but reaffirm his thoughts.

"The spiritual world is so great——"

With a long sigh, as the builder of the third layer of the spiritual world, the young god knew the power of the spiritual world very well.

He actually did not dare to go against the great ancient spiritual world itself, but after witnessing the power of Nyx and Gaia, the God of Sleep felt that the relationship between his father and the spiritual world might not be as inseparable as the original gods and their bodies.

Because Ryan gave him more of a very high status under the blessing of the spiritual world, but lacked the same powerful divine power, which made the God of Sleep guess that perhaps Ryan was more similar to the God King in the spiritual world than the God King in the world.

It's just that the spiritual world is more generous, and He allows his deputies to control more power, rather than being restricted everywhere like the God King in the world, and gaining little.

"I heard that you once participated in the replacement of the first generation of God Kings. I remember that in the legend, the Father of Heaven seemed to be a God King who was 'granted by God'."

With a gentle and indifferent smile, Hypnos remembered the secret he got from the dream.

"'The kingship is not eternal. You will lose it the way you get it'. It's really well said, but have you ever thought that there will be such a day for you?"

The evil gods who are naturally indifferent to emotions will not be grateful. They will only fear power. And as long as they can see an opportunity, they will never be soft-handed.

In one step, the young god returned to his realm in the dream world. Hypnos believed that everything today, except for the two people involved, could only be perceived by the laws of the world and the spirit world itself.

"It won't be long before I will become the new master of the spirit world like the second generation God King Kronos."

With some expectation, the God of Sleep immersed himself in his power again, watching the world and creating some terrible dreams for fun.

In the past, this was one of the few entertainment activities that he found interesting.

······

Outside the world, the ruins of Asgard.

Sleeping God guessed one thing right. Now, Ryan's energy is indeed not in the spiritual world.

He is busy exploring this destroyed world, and other things will have to wait until he returns.

After a period of flight, the roots of the world tree have become clearer and clearer. The building debris on the ground has become denser, but Ryan did not find any signs of life along the way.

He did not even see a corpse.

As the core of Asgard, this place is also called the Idawall Plain. During the flight, Ryan collected some unique minerals and relatively intact buildings here, but most of them were not important gains.

There are only two core places here, the palace where the gods gather, the Golden Palace and Vangerf, and Ryan’s previous goals, the Fountain of Urd and the roots of the World Tree.

Therefore, after a while, looking at the tall palace in front of him that seemed to be well preserved, Ryan knew that he had found the place.

Although he originally intended to go to the roots of Yggdrasil first, since he found another goal first, it would not hurt to change the order.