Chapter 188: Mimir's Skull

It is unknown how long time has passed, and what kind of disasters have been experienced. In short, Asgard is now full of ruins and debris.

But in front of Ryan, this towering palace still stands.

From the overall point of view, the main body of the Golden Palace is somewhat like a steeper pyramid, and various structures of different styles extend from the tower.

The suspended corridors, the protruding "spike"-like observation decks, and the numerous skylights and floating bridges, this famous palace in the nine kingdoms in Scandinavian mythology is far from being as primitive as the gods of Chaos, but it embodies exquisite structures everywhere.

Ryan can even see the rune traces engraved on the walls of the Golden Palace, in the gaps, and even in the bricks and stones. It can be imagined that this is not just a simple building. In the past, this palace of the God King may have extraordinary power. It is a joint creation of divine power and magic, which can block the approach of all intruders.

But now, it has lost most of its divine power and is just a building made of extraordinary materials.

"Squeak--"

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

On both sides of the corridor paved with rune slabs, there were trays suspended in the air. From the remaining traces, there should have been a constant burning fairy fire there, but now it has long disappeared.

Because this world has "died", these extraordinary creations of low essence have naturally lost their power.

After a careful observation, Ryan was sure that there was no danger here, so he stepped into the gate of the Golden Palace.

He could see that there were murals on the left and right of the corridor. Just like the Delphi Oracle and the Severaz Temple where Ryan placed the civilization slabs, they depicted the past of the Golden Palace, the most well-known deeds of the gods, and the origin of Asgard.

Of course, there are also some beautification parts, such as the tall wall surrounding the entire Asgard, which was built in this way.

In the myths of later generations, it was a miracle built by the mountain giant and his horse Svadirfari. After a war, the gods decided to rebuild the wall to defend the divine domain, and an alien mountain giant was willing to take on this complicated task. However, as a reward, the giant asked the Aesir gods for Freya, the goddess of beauty, to be his wife, as well as the ownership of the sun and the moon.

The gods agreed to his conditions, but the price was to complete the construction of the high wall within one season, otherwise the giant would not get any reward.

The gods did not want to pay, because they did not think that anyone could build a rune wall surrounding the entire Asgard in one season, but what they did not expect was that the mountain giant was not only good at construction, but his horse Svadirfari was even better than him.

In desperation, the gods who vowed not to hurt the giant during the construction of the wall had to send Loki, who was good at using tricks, to prevent him from completing the construction period. And Loki did not disappoint them. He turned into a mare, attracted the attention of Svadirfari, and successfully prevented the completion of the high wall.

Even the price was interesting. When the famous god of deceit came back, he was followed by another foal. It became famous in later generations because it was Odin's mount, the eight-legged horse Sleipnir.

However, all this is another story in the murals. The evil giant tried to deceive the gods, and its horse also coerced the god of trickery. In the end, the giant's conspiracy was exposed, and he still wanted to ask for a reward that did not belong to him, so the gods gave him another reward, Thor's hammer Mjolnir - he was killed by Thor who came and ended his sinful life.

"Sure enough, history is like a little girl who can be dressed up by anyone, and only the winner can write it."

Looking all the way, some of the contents recorded in the murals were known to Ryan, and some were unknown, but the similarity was that they all described the greatness of the Aesir, without a single bad thing.

But this is normal. The real history is known to oneself. What is shown to outsiders is naturally the good side.

"Yes, outsider, as you said, the real history can only be known by those who have experienced it, such as me."

"Huh?"

Since entering this palace, the barrier formed by space has been surrounding Ryan. His expression did not change, listening to the sudden sound, trying to find the source of the sound.

However, the broken main body of Asgard now does not welcome him, a foreign god. Even if the root is "dead", it still has a strong power, and the Golden Palace still has a little residual power. Therefore, under the double suppression, Ryan did not gain anything.

"Strange god, don't be nervous, I am already a dead existence. The reason why I can still talk to you is just that I am lucky."

As if it noticed that Ryan was looking for it, the voice came again. The voice was old and hoarse, but the language was understood at once. This speaker probably mastered the power related to language, wisdom, and knowledge.

This time, Ryan did make some discoveries. The source of the voice seemed to be the Golden Palace itself, and the being that spoke probably controlled some of the original authority of the temple.

However, the ‘dead being’. After listening to the voice, Ryan had a guess.

“You are in here, in the center of this temple?”

He asked calmly in the other party's language. Ryan, who also had the relevant authority, instantly learned the pronunciation of this language. However, the first 'local' he was about to meet with whom he could communicate with was probably a 'fashion', which somewhat made Ryan feel a little funny.

The Aesir seem to be extinct, but the abandoned children they once threw away still exist. This is not an irony.

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

Not knowing that most of the details were leaked even before they met, the old voice continued.

"Come on, I will tell you everything about the past here."

······

Golden Palace Core.

The spacious hall and the tall throne were where the gods of the Asa clan used to gather every day. This was also the core of the palace.

But now in the Golden Palace, the gods are no longer there, and the throne is unattended. Only on the floating platform on its left hand side is an existence that I don't know if it can be considered 'alive'.

It was a head, a huge, wrinkled head. He is Mimir, the keeper of the Fountain of Wisdom, hence his name.

But now, all he has left is a solitary head. Although he can still think and speak, he can no longer do unnecessary things.

"Outsiders."

The low voice echoed in the hall, and this old head was filled with twisted joy at this moment, which looked somewhat funny.

He originally thought that he would be destroyed along with this broken world, but he didn't expect to encounter an outsider, although he didn't know exactly how 'foreign' this outsider was.

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

Mimir felt a little excited as he felt the strange god on the outside of the Golden Palace who was quickly entering the place. He had never seen that aura before, and it was even a little incompatible with Asgard, but that didn't matter. No matter where he is as a god, he always has his own purpose in coming here.

"I'm probably here for Odin's treasure house. It just so happens that I have a way to open it."

Mimir has no loyalty to Odin, his own monarch, the king of the Aesir clan who holds the 'sure-hit' divine spear Gungnir.

He was once the guardian of the Fountain of Wisdom and a member of the ancient giant race. In the past, he witnessed Odin's self-sacrifice process, and also witnessed the scene where he gained enlightenment after drinking from the fountain of wisdom.

But later, a war broke out between Asgard, the second of the nine kingdoms on the World Tree, and the Asgard, which was controlled by the Asgard, and Vanaheim, which was controlled by the Warner. It was after this battle that Asgard decided to rebuild its surroundings. The walls of the kingdom to protect the security of the kingdom.

Eventually, when both sides grew tired of the protracted dispute, the two protoss 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 goddess of beauty. These are one of the best gods of the Warner Protoss. But the wily Odin used a small trick. He sent the stupid but tall and handsome Heinir and the knowledgeable but old and ugly Mimir as hostages.

When the gods of the Vanir clan communicated with them, Mimir pretended to be Heinir's follower and answered fluently with his experience and knowledge. This success made them think that the hostages sent by Odin were very important in Asgard and were equal to the status of the two gods they sent, so the war between the two major gods was stopped.

However, as time passed, Odin's little trick was finally exposed. The Warner Protoss discovered the stupidity of Heinir, and they were angry that they had been deceived. But Odin's goal was achieved. After enjoying a long period of peace, the Warner gods were unwilling to start a war again.

So Mimir became the scapegoat. His head was severed as proof of Vanahem's rage, and returned to Asgard's Golden Palace.

In this regard, apart from a few words of accusation, Odin naturally had no intention of fighting back. He just used herbs and rituals to process the skull of Mimir, 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 an adviser to the God-King beside the throne in the Golden Palace, talking to him about difficult decisions.

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

"Just like now, you are dead, and I am still alive and well."

Going to the Warner Protoss to serve as a hostage was still a hostage destined to be exposed. Mimir was naturally not voluntary, but he had no choice in the first place, but it was different now.

Mimir let out a scary laugh again, and looked at the passage leading to the meeting hall not far away.

In his perception, the strange god was already approaching here. 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.

"."

".tread"

"Tata-"

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

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

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

It floated in the air, burning forever with the void as fuel. Ryan could feel that this flame was extraordinary.

"This is an immortal flame born in the Fire Country Muspelheim. As one of the two earliest of the nine kingdoms, the flames in that area often have some extraordinary power."

"Even if the roots of the entire Asgard are "dead", it is still not affected too much and can continue to burn. In contrast, those outside have long been extinguished."

A low and old voice sounded, explaining to Ryan the origin of the flame in front of him. As he expected, the black-clothed god did turn his gaze and looked in his direction.

"A head, but the vitality is locked. I have to say that the way you exist is very interesting."

With a calm expression, Ryan noticed some traces similar to witchcraft from the Skull of Mimir.

Compared to the primitive Chaos, the nine kingdoms that have experienced prosperity and destruction clearly have a brilliant civilization, and magic is one of the most dazzling pearls among them.

The war between Asgard and Vanaheim even originated from this - a goddess of the Vanir clan, Gulveig, came to visit Odin.

She did not respect the God King in her words. In later legends, some said that she came to show off her magic power, and some said that she came to debate which of the two major clans was more qualified to be worshipped by humans. In short, when Odin felt offended, he was the first to throw a spear at her, and the gods also attacked her, but the result was in vain.

They killed the goddess three times, but she resurrected three times with the power of magic. In the end, Gulveig returned to Vanaheim in a swagger, and thus set off a war between the two kingdoms.

"Haha, it's just some old things. If possible, I don't want to maintain this state."

Tried to show a friendly smile, but what appeared on Mimir's face was only hideous and terrifying.

"Strange god, where are you from and why did you come to the Golden Palace of Asgard? Perhaps I can provide you with some help."

The giant did not comment on his words, but the other party was indeed more familiar with this place, so Ryan asked:

"I am here to find the remains of the owner of this place and the source of the runes engraved on the palace."

"Also. What happened here, where did the original owner go?"

With a slight movement in his heart, Mimir soon heard the key information from Ryan. He seemed to have never heard of the existence of the God King Odin, let alone the name of the Rune.

All the gods of the nine kingdoms could not be so ignorant, perhaps.

"Of course, what you are looking for is in the treasure house left by the God King. I know where it is and can also point you to the way there."

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

"But the treasure house is sealed. If there is no correct way to open it, the things inside will be scattered into the void and 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."

"As for why this place has become like this, I'm sorry, I don't know it very well."

"Not sure?"

Rain raised his eyebrows and said:

"As a member of this place, you don't know what happened in your place?"

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

"Then let's talk on the way. You show me the way. Before finding the treasure house, you can tell me about your past."

With a long sleeve, Ryan put the eternal flame into his sleeve, and then let the tray holding Mimir's head come to his side.

As a giant, Mimir's head is still several times the size of an ordinary person even after the ritual and herbal treatment, and it looks strange and abnormal.

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

After agreeing, Mimir pointed in a direction and told Ryan about his experience.

Walking on the road leading to the treasure house, listening to the head's story, Ryan gradually understood the past of this place.

Most of Asgard's history is similar to the myths of later generations. At most, Mimir deliberately blurred or distorted some of the places and discredited the existence of some gods. However, Ryan easily distinguished the truth from the false by comparing the records in Scandinavian mythology.

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

The first life in the world, the giant Yuniel was born at the intersection of ice and fire, the birth of the world tree, the emergence of the nine kingdoms, and even the elves, dwarves, and giants. Everything is no different from the myth until the arrival of the Ragnarok.

Unlike the records of later generations, this time, facing the destined disaster, the gods did not accept it calmly, but tried all kinds of ways to resist. In the end, before the dusk was about to come, the god king Odin seemed to have really come up with a solution, or he might have discovered something unexpected.

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

After the meeting, Odin returned to the palace briefly, and then left the Golden Palace alone, and the other gods also left one after another.

Later, the roots collapsed, the world tree fell, the nine kingdoms fell apart, and everything fell into silence.

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

"70,000 to 80,000 years ago?!"

Having firmly memorized this number, Ryan had a ridiculous guess, but then he put it behind his mind. Not only because Mimir's story had ended, but also because he had arrived at the place.

"Is this the treasure house of the Golden Palace, the treasure place of the God King?"

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

"Of course, there are actually many treasure houses in the Golden Palace, but this is the most critical one, and the only one that still exists. For the rest, even if the treasure house itself is fine, the treasures inside are probably like the fairy fire that is usually extinguished in the Golden Palace, and have lost all their power."

"However, if you want to open it, you still need the right method, otherwise once the treasure house collapses by itself, you will get nothing."

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