I don't know how much time has passed, and what kind of disasters have been experienced, in short, Asgard is now full of ruins and wreckage.

But in front of Ryan, the towering shrine still stands.

On the whole, the main body of the Golden Palace looks like a steeper pyramid, and various structures of different styles extend from the tower.

With its overhanging corridors, protruding 'spiked' lookouts, and numerous skylights and pontoons, this famous palace in the nine kingdoms of Scandinavian mythology is far from being as primitive as the gods of Kaos, but is exquisitely constructed.

Even Ryan could see the rune marks carved into the walls of the Golden Palace, between the cracks, and even through the masonry. It is conceivable that this is not just a simple building, in the past, this palace of the god king may have had extraordinary power, it is a creation of divine power and magic, which can block the approach of all intruders.

Now, however, it has lost most of its divine power, and is nothing more than a building of extraordinary materials.

"Squeak-"

With a thought, the towering gate of the Golden Palace slowly opened, revealing the dimly lit corridor inside, and Ryan looked inside.

On either side of the rune-stone paved corridor, there are shelves of trays suspended in mid-air. Judging from the remaining traces, the immortal fire that should have been burning there was long gone.

Because this world is 'dead', these transcendent creations of low nature have naturally lost their power.

After taking a closer look and making sure that there was no danger here, Ryan stepped into the gate of the Golden Palace.

He could see that on the left and right sides of the corridor, there were murals. Like the Temple of Severaz, where the Oracle of Delphi and Ryan placed the tablets of civilization, they depict the past of the Golden Palace, the most well-known deeds of the gods, and the origins of Asgard.

Of course, there is no shortage of beautification parts, such as the tall walls that envelop the whole of Asgard, and this is how it was built.

In the mythology of later generations, it was a miracle built by the mountain giant and his horse Swadir Farly. After a war, the gods set out to rebuild the walls of the gods, and an alien mountain giant was willing to take on the task. In return, however, the giant asked the Aesir gods for Freya, the goddess of beauty, to be his wife, and for ownership of the sun and moon.

The gods agreed to his terms, but the price was to complete the construction of the wall within one season, or the giants would not receive any payment.

The gods didn't want to pay in the first place, because they didn't think anyone could build a rune wall around the whole of Asgard in a single season, but what they didn't expect was that the mountain giant was not only good at building himself, but his horse Swadir Farli was better than his ability.

In desperation, the gods who vowed not to harm the giant during the construction of the wall had to send Loki, who was good at using trickery, to make him unable to complete the construction period. Loki didn't disappoint them, as he transformed into a mare to attract Svadirfarly's attention and successfully prevent the wall from being completed.

Even the cost is interesting. When the famously deceitful god returns, he is followed by another foal. It became famous in later generations because it was Odin's mount, the eight-legged horse Srepnir.

But all this is another way of saying it on the murals. The evil giant tried to deceive the gods, and his horses coerced the god of trickery. Eventually, the giant's plot was revealed, and he was still trying to demand a reward that did not belong to him, so the gods gave him another reward, Mjolnir of Thor, who was killed by Thor who arrived and ended his life of sin.

"Sure enough, history is like a little girl who can be dressed up, and there are only winners who can write it."

Along the way, some of the contents recorded in the murals are known to Ryan and some are not, but the common point is that they all describe the greatness of the Aesir Protoss, and there is no trace of anything bad about it.

But this is also normal, the real history, you can know it yourself. What is shown to outsiders is naturally a good side.

"Yes, outsiders, as you say, true history is known only to those who have witnessed it, like me."

"Huh?"

Ever since stepping into the palace, the space has been transformed into a barrier that surrounds Ryan. His expression remained unchanged, listening to the sudden voice, trying to find the source of the sound.

However, now Asgard's broken subject does not welcome him as an exotic god, even if the root is 'dead', he still has a lot of power, and the Golden Palace still has a little residual divine power. Therefore, under the double suppression, Ryan did not gain much.

"Strange god, don't be nervous, I'm already a dead being. The reason why I can still talk to you is just a bit of luck. ”

As if sensing Ryan's search for it, the voice came again. The voice is old and hoarse, but the language is understood as soon as it is heard, and this speaker probably has the power associated with language, wisdom, and knowledge.

This time, Ryan made some discoveries. The source of the sound seemed to be the Golden Palace itself, and the speaking being presumably controlled a little of the original authority of the temple.

But 'dead beings', Lane had a guess at the voice.

"You're right in here, in the center of this temple?"

Asked calmly in the other party's language, Ryan, who also held the relevant authority, instantly learned the pronunciation of this language. However, the first 'local' he was about to meet was probably an 'ornament', which still made Ryan feel a little funny.

It is not a wonder that the Aesirs seem to be extinct, but the outcasts they once threw still exist.

"Of course, strange god, I am in the depths of the Golden Palace, this is also the name of this palace, you can see me as soon as you come in."

I didn't know that most of it was leaked before I met the details, and the old voice continued.

"Come on, I have a lot to say about the past here."

······

Golden Palace Core.

The spacious hall, the tall throne, where the gods of the Aesir once met every day, is also the heart of this shrine.

However, in the current Golden Palace, the gods are no longer there, the throne is unattended, only on the platform suspended on its left hand, there is still an existence that I don't know if it can be considered 'alive'.

It was a head, a huge, wrinkled head. He was Mimir, the caretaker of the fountain of wisdom, and hence his name was the same as the fountain.

But now, he was left with a lonely head, and although he could still think and speak, he could no longer do anything superfluous.

"Outsiders."

A deep voice echoed in the hall, and the old head was now covered with distorted joy, which looked somewhat comical.

He thought that he would be destroyed along with this ruined world, but he did not expect to meet an outsider, although he did not know exactly how 'outside' this outsider was.

"How many years, probably tens of thousands of years, I can't remember exactly. Since Odin left in a hurry, no one has been here. ”

Feeling the strange deity on the outskirts of the Golden Palace that was rapidly penetrating here, Mimir was a little excited. He had never seen that breath before, and it was even a little out of place with Asgard, but it didn't matter. No matter where he is, he always comes here for a purpose.

"Probably here for Odin's treasury. It just so happens that I have the means to open up there. ”

Mimir had no loyalty to Odin, his own monarch and the king of the Aesirs who wielded the 'Must-hit' spear Gangenir.

He was once the guardian of the Fountain of Wisdom, a member of the ancient giants. In the past, he witnessed Odin's self-sacrifice and his revelation after drinking the water of the Fountain of Wisdom.

However, later, there was a war between Asgard, the Asgard and the Warnerheim, two of the nine kingdoms on the World Tree, and it was after this war that Asgard decided to rebuild the walls around the kingdom to protect the country's security.

Eventually, when the two sides were fed up with the protracted strife, the two gods decided to reconcile and exchange hostages as a symbol of peace.

The messengers sent by the Warner Protoss are Frey, the god of sunlight and fertility, and his sister, Freya, the god of beauty, who are among the best gods of the Warner Protoss. However, the scheming Odin played a small trick by sending the stupid but tall and handsome Hainir and the well-informed but old and ugly Mimir as hostages.

When the gods of the Warner Protoss communicated with him, Mimir disguised himself as a retinue of Henir, and used his experience and knowledge to answer questions. This succeeded in convincing them that the hostages sent by Odin were important enough in Asgard to be equal to the two gods they had sent, and the war between the two gods ended.

However, as time passed, Odin's tricks were finally revealed, and the Warners discovered Haineer's stupid insides, and they were furious that they had been deceived. But Odin's goal was achieved, and after enjoying a long peace, the Warner gods were not willing to go to war again.

So Mimir became a scapegoat. His head was cut off as proof of vanheim's anger, and he was sent all the way back to the Golden Palace in Asgard.

In this regard, Odin did not mean to fight back except for a few accusations, he just disposed of Mimir's skull with medicinal herbs and rituals, so that the ancient giant who once guarded the fountain of wisdom could think and speak.

From then on, the Skull of Mimir served as a staff member to the God-King at the throne of the Golden Palace, talking to him about matters that were difficult to decide.

"Hehehehehe, so how can the good and bad in everything be so absolute?"

"Like now, you're dead, and I'm alive and well."

Going to the Warner Protoss as a hostage, or a hostage destined to be exposed, Mimir naturally did not volunteer, but he had no chance to choose, but now it is different.

There was another sinister laugh, and Mimir's eyes looked at the passage that led not far away to the Great Hall.

In his perception, the strange god was already approaching. He had to think carefully about how to convince the other party to take him away.

After leaving, he may not have a chance to regain his life.

“.”

".Step"

"Stomble—"

Soon, the sound of footsteps from small to loud came from the passage, and Ryan's figure soon appeared here.

Upon entering the main hall, Mimir immediately looked at the strange god, but Ryan did not look at him.

What directly caught Ryan's eye was not the huge head, but a flame that provided light to the entire hall.

It floats in mid-air, fueled by the void, burning constantly. Ryan could feel the extraordinaryness of this flame.

"This is an unquenchable flame born in the land of flames, Muspelheim, and as one of the first two of the nine kingdoms, the flames of that region often possess some extraordinary powers."

"Even if the entire Asgardian root is 'dead,' it will still not be affected too much and will continue to burn. In contrast, the ones on the outside are long gone. ”

A deep, old voice rang out, explaining to Ryan the origin of the flames in front of him. As he expected, the black-clothed god did shift his gaze and looked in the direction he was.

"A head, but life is locked. I have to say, the way you exist is interesting. ”

With a calm expression, from Mimir's skull, Ryan noticed some traces that resembled witchcraft.

Compared to the still primitive Kaos, the nine kingdoms that have completely experienced prosperity and destruction clearly have a glorious civilization, and magic is one of the brightest pearls among them.

The war between Asgard and Warnerheim even began here, when a Gulveig, the goddess of Warner, came to visit Odin.

She did not have any respect for the god king in her words, and in later legends, some said that she came to show off her magic powers, and others said that she came to debate which of the two god races was more qualified to be worshiped by humans. In short, when Odin felt offended and was the first to throw a spear at her, the gods also shot at her, but in vain.

They killed the goddess three times, but three times she borrowed the power of magic to come back from the dead. Eventually, Gulveig swaggered back to Warnerheim, thus starting a war between the two powers.

"Hehe, it's just some old things. I don't want to stay that way if I could. ”

He tried to smile kindly, but on Mimir's face, he only looked hideous.

"Strange gods, I don't know where you came from and why you came to the Golden Palace in Asgard? Maybe I can help you with something. ”

He was noncommittal to the giant's words, but the other party was indeed more familiar with this place, so Ryan asked:

"I've come to find the remnants of the owner of this place, and the source of the runes carved into the palace."

"And. What's going on here, and where have all the original owners gone? ”

With a slight movement in his heart, Mimir soon heard the crucial information from Ryan's mouth. He never seemed to have heard of the existence of the god-king Odin, let alone the name of the rune rune.

But it is impossible for the gods of the Nine Kingdoms to be so ignorant, maybe.

"Of course, what you're looking for is in the treasure trove left by the God King, I know where it is, and I can show you the way there."

The smile on Mimir's skull grew brighter, and he felt that he finally had hope of leaving.

"However, the treasure trove has been cordoned off, and if it is not opened in the right way, its contents will be scattered into the void and it will be difficult to find. I can try to help you think of a way to open it, I know the owner here, but it will take some time. ”

"I'm sorry why this is the way this is, but I don't know."

"I don't know?"

Raising his eyebrows, Ryan said:

"As part of this place, you don't know what's going on in your place?"

"Yes, I can explain the specific situation to you one by one."

"Then speak on the road, you show me the way, and you can tell me about your past until you find that treasure house."

With his long sleeves outstretched, Ryan tucked the unquenchable flame into his sleeve and brought the tray holding Mimir's skull to his side.

As a giant, Mimir's head is still several times the size of an ordinary person, even after being treated with rituals and herbs, and it looks strange and abnormal.

"As you wish, I will tell you about the past."

agreed, and then Mimir, after pointing in the direction, told Ryan about his experience.

Walking along the road to the treasure trove, listening to the stories of the heads in his ears, Ryan gradually learned about the past of this place.

Most of the history of Asgard is similar to the myths of later generations, and at most some of Mimir deliberately obscured or distorted them, and smeared the existence of some gods, but Ryan easily discerned the truth from the false in Scandinavian mythology.

However, he remained silent and did not point out the problems, but continued to play the role of an extraterritorial deity who knew nothing about this place.

The first life of the world, the giant Unir was born from the intersection of ice and fire, the birth of the World Tree, the emergence of the Nine Kingdoms, and even elves, dwarves, and giants. Everything is no different from mythology until the arrival of Ragnarok.

Unlike later accounts, this time, in the face of the doomed disaster, the gods did not accept it calmly, but tried all kinds of ways to resist. Eventually, before dusk approached, the god-king Odin seemed to have really figured out something to solve it, or perhaps he had discovered something unexpected.

Anyway, he secretly summoned the gods, but this time, the assembly did not take place inside the Golden Palace, so Mimir did not know what they said.

After the assembly, Odin briefly returned to the palace and left the Golden Palace alone, followed by the other gods.

Later, there was the collapse of the roots, the collapse of the World Tree, the disintegration of the Nine Kingdoms, and the collapse of everything.

According to Mimir, all this happened about 70,000 or 80,000 years ago.

"Seventy or eighty thousand years. Former?! ”

With this number firmly in mind, Ryan vaguely had a ridiculous guess, but then put it back to him. Not only because Mimir's narration is over, but also because he has already arrived at the place.

"This is the treasure house of the Golden Palace, the treasure of the God King?"

Looking at everything in front of him, Ryan was a little skeptical.

"Of course, there are many treasures in the Golden Palace, but this is the most crucial one, and the only one that still exists today. For the rest, even if there is no problem with the treasure house itself, the treasures inside will probably lose all their power like the immortal fire that is usually extinguished in the Golden Palace. ”

"However, if you want to open it, you need the right way, otherwise once the treasure house disintegrates itself, you won't get anything."

Seeing that many people don't seem to know much about Norse mythology, I'll write about it in detail.

(End of chapter)