Ragnarok was prevented.
As Odin sat on his throne in the golden hall of Valhalla, he didn't know what to feel. His body was wracked by Surtur's fire, half of his body burning forever, his skinless flesh festering with wounds. Princess Gwenhyfar's words hurt his pride and awakened the old warrior who had long been troubled by the fear of death. The Lord of Ethil has gone into battle expecting to die, in a futile but honorable attempt to escape his doomed death. He thought he would fall that day, either by Sartre's sword or by Hel's revenge.
However, in the end, he survived. Suter was banished back to Muspelheim, and Nihogg defeated Hel and Gwenshivar...
The princess, the human who inspired him to take up arms to resist fate, has paid the highest price. Nyhog is another victim of broken oaths. Betrayal, murder and lies are the ways of the snake.
Yet even with his evil origins, today was a victory. Ragnarok was averted, at least for a while. Hel will no longer guide destiny towards the destruction of the Nine Kingdoms. The future should be bright and hopeful.
Yet why does it all feel so ominous?
"Lord Odin," beautiful Freya, Vanir goddess of war and magic, bowed to him in horror. "The dead are rising. With Hel's death, the gates of Helheim open."
Because this is not Odin's victory.
The All-Father can feel it. In the Nine Kingdoms, corpses reanimate themselves under Nihog's evil magic. The boundary between life and death, represented by Haier, disappears. Loki would soon break free of his shackles and torture Asgard again. When Ragnarok is prevented, or at least delayed, the new era ahead will be one of blood and darkness.
He invested heavily in Avalon, but his royal line was broken; its knights, consumed by Nyhog's rituals, fought alongside the forces of Catastrophe. Gwenhyfar and Arthur, the only humans Odin loved, were gone, trapped forever in the ruins of Leonis.
No, Odin thought. Now is not the time to lament, but the time to act. Suter may have been repulsed and Hel sealed, but the Catastrophe is still alive, and Nihog is among them. As long as they exist, Asgard's place in the universe will not be secure. The war will continue.
The Father of the Gods contacted the priests hiding in the north and prepared to fight back against Midgard.
You are trying to contact your pastor…
But Nihogg replied.
The prayer was denied by [Nidhogg]'s [Godslayer].
With fear gnawing at his heart like an evil serpent at Yggdrasil's roots, Odin attempted to contact his followers across Midgard. He always got the same answer. He glanced at his fellow gods and knew he wasn't the only one with such thoughts.
Nihogg nearly drove Esir and Vanir out of Midgard, seizing the mortal world for his own use.
Worse still, the secret of their divinity was revealed along with the secret of immortality. Sooner or later, foolish mortals will acquire powers beyond their control and view Asgard with greed and envy.
His son Thor struck the ground with his thunderous hammer, and his crimson hair was turned white by lightning. "What should we do, Dad?"
Odin's position on the throne was further reduced.
Records predicting his death proved false...but instead of giving way to a clear and bright path, the future was shrouded in darkness. Destiny is no longer determined, so everything depends on chance.
"I have no idea."
For once, he thought he would say these words with joy and relief.
but now……
They frightened him.
He won.
After so much suffering and so much effort, he finally won. His plan was carefully planned, ruled out many contingencies, and finally succeeded; even Odin's unexpected intervention worked in his favor. The great work has been done, done in the truest way.
Walter Tye killed Death.
After the ceremony, and making sure that the savage goddess was gone, Tai decided to return to the real world. As the master of the undead, his soul simply needs to find a body, any body, to rest on. The forgotten bones buried near Annie worked, and his spirit of disaster nested within.
Walter emerges from the mud and snow, flesh covering the bones, his sorcery reshaping the corpse into his human image. He summons a cloak of darkness and soul to cover his naked body, like an ancient lich awakening from his sleep.
That kind of power is completely different from before. unlimited. The crystallized city amplified his privilege and power around the world.
All of Midgard became his new Nastrom.
"Annie," he said, crawling out of the coffin like a vampire. "How are you?"
His apprentice stood up, the box and [Necromancer's Stone] still at her feet. Her skin was pale with shock and her hands were shaking from the cold. Snow fell on them both, and Suter's fire went out.
Then she fell into his arms, crying, without saying a word. The stress of all the fighting, of surviving the apocalypse came crashing down, destroying her composure.
Not sure how to react, Ty slowly put his arms around her shoulders and hugged her. She felt so warm and vulnerable, as if he could break her in a moment. A precious creature that he must protect.
ygg
asilmission:Víg
íð
, the battlefield of Ragnarok, successful! Complete all bonus objectives!
You gained 209,920,000 experience + 9,999,999 bonus experience.
You get 22 levels to assign tasks
Tai didn't read the rest. Instead, he glanced at the crystallized city, his monument to the dead. A less brilliant person would have chuckled or let out a victorious chuckle at this scene. But Walter considered himself above these things.
Instead, he just watched with a satisfied smirk.
All his enemies disappeared. Hel, Gwen Heyfal, Medelot, and even the gods...the world finally calmed down. The sun was slowly rising, pushing away the darkness of the Medlott lunar eclipse. But that's not the only light in the sky. Countless shining souls and ghosts descended from the sky, hungry for life.
Anne stopped crying and rested her head on his chest, but he felt her hands tighten behind his back.
"You knew this was going to happen," she said. "You planned it."
Ty squinted his head and she looked up, meeting her angry eyes. "Of course."
This was his true wish from the beginning.
"You know if you told me the truth, I would warn them," Anne said. "You betrayed her. She fought alongside you and you still betrayed her."
"I didn't betray my dream," Tai responded, without any remorse. "She will come after me, Anne. It's not a betrayal, just a pre-emptive strike. I did it for the same reason when we couldn't come to an agreement: no matter what happens, no matter who turns against me... I will never die again."
The wizard felt a little bad about deceiving the princess because he respected her determination, but as he told her, victory requires complete dedication. He would rather break a promise for practical gain than risk it for an abstract principle. In the end, Walter Tye believed first in pragmatism.
All who stand in his way will only despair.
"I saved the Nine Kingdoms from destruction, Annie." Ty defended his plan as he still sensed her suspicion. "I killed death. If it hadn't been for my plan, Ragnarok would have happened. Now, no one can get close to the roots, not even disaster. Isn't it worth the sacrifice?"
"You don't have to make these sacrifices," Anne said, heartbroken, with tears streaming down her cheeks. "You're doing it for yourself."
"for us".
"It's for you," she said. "I do not like this."
"Yes, you did," Ty replied. "You stayed with me because you knew I was the better choice. Hel, Medro, and their ilk are gone from this world. As long as my gem remains intact, plus the elixir in your veins , we can turn Midgard into paradise."
"But it's not for everyone," Anne said, breaking away from the hug and taking a few steps back.
"Immortality is a right," the Necromancer whispered, surprised by her reaction. "Of course when someone tries to take away your property rights and invade your home, they should be stopped, right?"
"So everyone who disagrees with you has to leave?" She glared at the city behind them. "You didn't even bother to save those who followed you back."
"A sacrifice is required, otherwise the spell will fail," Tai answered. If he could avoid the massacre, he would, but how many souls would it take to capture the heli itself... "You went against me many times, but I still saved you. Because I care about you."
"aspect". Anne wiped away her tears, but her eyes were still red with sadness. "Answer me truthfully. Are you planning to keep me alive because you care about me, or because of the elixir in my veins?"
Tai observed her, not sure how to respond. He considered his words carefully, thought for a moment, and used telepathy to take the Stone of the Dead into his hands.
"I want you to live with me forever, Annie," Ty said, showing her the gem. "I entrust my soul to you."
Instead of calming things down, this made her face harden. "You didn't give it to me because you trusted me," she lamented. "You gave it to me because I trusted you."
"I don't see any difference."
"You don't really care what I want," Anne said, her voice choked up. "You just pretend to know. You lure me to your side, say things you think I want to hear, provide some knowledge you want to share through me, and get me to trust you unconditionally when it hurts my friends, But when I ask you to do something that will cost you, you don't move until I force you. In the end, it all comes down to what you want."
Ty was starting to lose his patience. "Is it about Gwen Sifhar?" Anne, the self-deluded, self-righteous megalomaniac who blocks progress. How do you understand this?"
"No, it's about us. You're not teaching me, you... you're molding me in your image. Taking advantage of my emotions, my innocence..." She bit her lower lip in frustration and disappointment. "If you trusted me, you would tell me your plan. But you didn't. Because you're not sure I would agree if I did it. That's not trust, that's manipulation."
"Annie,"
"You said so yourself, Tae," she interrupted. "You will never die again. Even though the universe was at stake, you didn't risk yourself. Instead, you sacrificed everyone and used me to hide yourself. You didn't kill death, you cowered before it!"
Ty saw red. "You never died!"
He briefly lost control of his transformation as he roared, his eyes glowing and his mouth turning into a black abyss. His apprentice cringed at the sight.
"You were never dead, Annie," Tai replied more gently, regaining control of the situation and returning to his human form. "Everyone says death is peaceful and painless. But they are wrong. They are lying to themselves and others. Death is the worst thing that can happen to a person."
Tai knew this better than anyone. He's on the other side.
"When you die, at some point between life and the afterlife, everything goes dark. For a brief moment, your consciousness ceases to exist. All your memories, all your feelings, all your The thought, everything that made you who you were, was gone. After that, the torture of Helheim—torture you couldn't even comprehend—was almost a relief, because you still existed. When I returned to the world as a clan member, I woke up next to a tombstone. Do you know what is written on it?"
The necromancer gritted his teeth.
"May his soul rest in peace."
Anne said nothing, but her face grew increasingly tired.
"This world, our entire civilization, is built on lies and pain," Tai continued, the floodgates opening. "But the people don't know that. They don't care. They seem happy to die. They tell their children that there is no greater honor than to die for Ethil, and that those who don't go to Valhalla deserve it. The dead are in Suffering in excruciating pain while the living rejoice. This world is crazy and someone has to do something. Anyone, no matter the cost! But no one else can end this madness. No one but me."
He is the heir to an ancient legacy of necromancers that spanned the ages, but while Medelot made men burn, Tai was left alone to focus on creating his elixir.
"I did not shrink from death, Anne," said the Necromancer. "The others did. They paid morbid tribute to Hel, submitting rather than resisting. In the end, I defeated Death. Who else could have done it but me, Anne ?Who else can save the Nine Kingdoms from destruction?Gwe
hyfa
?Ea
thla
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s?”
"If Odin doesn't help deal with the satyrs—"
"If Odin had any humanity, none of this would have happened!" Ty interrupted sternly. “I have the power to eradicate disease, hunger and death! Today, I have saved more lives than anyone else! I have given you a life that will never age, never get sick, and never experience the horrors that I have experienced My body! I have worked for decades, suffered every insult, and faced every setback, but I have never lost hope! I have done so much for you and everyone, don’t I also deserve happiness? "
She said nothing, and the expression on her face was unreadable. "If you think death is so terrible and nothing could be worse," said Anne, "why do you continue to kill people? Why do you sacrifice people who are loyal to you without risking yourself?"
The necromancer tried to clear her mind
"How dare you read my mind, Ty," Annie said, frowning. "I can see it in your eyes."
"Annie," the Necromancer held out his hand to her. "Stay with me. I can teach you the secrets of magic. Things you can't even imagine. We can do a lot if we stick together."
Anne didn't hold his hand, but looked at it, her face full of contradictions. However, she finally turned her head away. "I'm not going to be one of them, Ty," she said sadly. "I will not be one of the sacrifices."
"Annie, Anne!" Ty shouted, and his apprentice turned and walked away. "I have done so much for you, are you going to leave me?"
“I appreciate your gifts and knowledge,” she said. "I paid my debt today and I don't owe you anything anymore, Ty. You will never change."
"Annie! Anne!" At this time, he was screaming. "Annie!"
But she was no longer heard, disappearing into the receding night.
Tai didn't know how long he stood in the snow, with only the howling wind accompanying him, but it seemed like there would be no end. That moment of absolute loneliness was brought about by too many lies.
He felt the other person approaching and caught a glimpse of Mrs. Salter and a group of white vampire rats hiding in her shadow; the sight alone brought him relief. The priestess cast a spell on herself to heal the burns, the flames consuming her skin and clothing. But she still maintained her dignity.
"Ma'am." Her naked body looked so vulnerable that Tai immediately summoned a dark cloak to protect her modesty. Black suits her better than white. "How much did you hear?"
"enough."
Tai expected a trial, but instead, the priestess gave him warmth and compassion. She took him in her arms and they embraced. She didn't say a word; she didn't need to.
"Ma'am," Tai said loudly, noticing the absence. "Where is Hagen?"
Mrs. Salter just gave her a tight hug without saying a word, and Tai understood. He also didn't see Oni Chuan, the strange ghost who had been serving him for a long time.
"Hagen, you fool..." "Why don't you run?" You should run away and survive..."
"I'm sorry, Walter," Mrs. Serenity said, her voice soft and sympathetic.
Hagen, the Duke, Haunted, the Ghost...even Asclepius. All the undead lieutenants standing around him were dead. He made it through alone, the eternal snake transcending death. It made him feel sad and lonely.
…
No.
He couldn't think like that. He would bring back Hagen, the Duke, and all his loyal soldiers. Even if the Earthlings killed them, even if their souls were trapped in his massive [Necromancer's Stone]. He'll find a way; he can do anything and has enough time to figure it out.
Walter Tye had made a promise to Hagen. In the end, they all get through it all. And the Necromancer will stop at nothing to make it happen.
As long as there is life, there is hope.
"Ma'am, why are you still here?" Ty glanced at the place where Annie once stood and asked.
"Because no matter what your reasons were, you saved the world," she said. "You saved me."
Yes. The world was almost destroyed and countless people died, but they survived. The prophecy said that only two people would survive Ragnarok, but they were proven wrong.
Why does victory leave a bitter aftertaste?
"I believe that there is more good than evil in you, my friend," continued the priestess, gently releasing her embrace and facing him with a smile. "One cannot erase the other. Forgiveness is more powerful than condemnation and I still have faith in you."
She was too pure for this world.
Maybe that's why he always goes out of his way to protect her, even when they're on opposite sides.
"Are you feeling better, my friend?" Joseph asked, looking him in the eyes.
"It's nothing," he admitted, "but I appreciate your gesture."
She didn't press the question; unlike Anne, she wouldn't give up on him. "What now, Walter? We won, now what? Of course, you thought about the consequences." "
Yes, he said a lot.
"With the seal of hell and the great cause of this black city, the border between the afterlife and Midgard no longer exists." Taiyi explained while looking at the sky and the stream of souls flying from above. . "All souls trapped in Helheim will be resurrected as undead. People may still die, but they won't stay dead. Once we recreate and distribute this elixir, people's living standards will Will keep improving. The transition will be... tough... but worth it. Then, we'll move on to other areas."
Zombies, vampires, ghouls and dullahan are everywhere crawling out of their cellars; old skeletons have become sentient; fresh corpses have opened their eyes, they were dead days ago and are more alive than they were alive. strong. All the dead will wake up again, ten times as many as the living. All thanks to Tai, as the master of the undead.
Under his command, they would destroy the last bastions of Esyr, Vanir, and Scourge in Midgard. All resistance will be eliminated. Eventually, peace will come and the living will accept the presence of the undead; like Castle Black, over time they will learn to coexist.
"Other realms?" the priestess asked.
"The gods and disaster are our real enemies," Tye explains. "They will never let us enjoy eternal peace, so they must leave. If Metro is right, then with immortality, humanity may one day be upgraded enough to compete with them."
He originally thought that the priestess would protest, but unexpectedly, Mrs. Seer looked at the sky thoughtfully, thinking about his words. "Before a war like this, we have to rebuild," she said more matter-of-factly. "People need order and guidance, Walter."
"I don't want to rule anyone," Tai responded, even though he knew he had become the most powerful entity in the kingdom. "Explore the abyss of knowledge and further push the boundaries of magic and science... This is my only wish." I would rather open a shop than a temple. "
World domination seems so unappealing. It was just a vanity project with no substance and no vision.
"My friend, if you want to achieve your dreams, you have to be responsible. There is still much to do."
For a moment, Ty thought about the future, about all the work that lay ahead of him, and he recalled Anne's parting words. He thought of all the sacrifices he'd made to get to this point, the blood he'd shed, the people he'd killed, the lies he'd told. Even if it was for the greater good, he did deceive Anne to ensure the success of this great work; the breakdown of their relationship was a heavy price to pay, though he was prepared to pay the price for victory.
Ty wonders if it was all worth it...if it was worth it in the end.
Finally, this is a stupid question.
Of course, it's worth it. If not, then all the sacrifices he has made will be in vain. He was ready to sacrifice everything to achieve his quest, and now that he had achieved his goal, he could not lament the price he had paid along the way.
Regret only belongs to those who don't know what they want.
However,……
Taiyi glanced at Yggdrasil, the world tree, and felt a strange sadness. It was as if he was standing there, in this very place, watching the death and rebirth of all things. This cosmic tree has witnessed countless cycles; it was there when the universe began, and it will remain until the end of the universe. Just like Tai himself.
He couldn't explain why, but the scene filled him, the Forever Snake, with a strange sense of melancholy.
"Walter?" Mrs. Searle asked, sensing his worry.
“Forever is a long time.”
