8. The Collapsed Ground

"Well..."

On the lowest branch of the world tree, this mysterious and magnificent creation of stars extends out of three kingdoms.

They are Niflheim, the land of fog, and the underworld connected to it, and Muspelheim, the land of flames full of flames and flame giants.

And the mysterious dark kingdom of Walter Alheim. It is said that there was once a kingdom of dwarves, but it was abandoned for some reason.

These three kingdoms are the three most dangerous worlds among the nine kingdoms. They are connected to other kingdoms by Midgard, the atrium world located in the center of the World Tree. local adventure.

There are dangers all over here, not to mention, in any civilization system, it is not something normal people would do to take the initiative to go to the world where the dead go.

But now, Thor and Loki, wrapped in black cloaks, are standing on the chariot pulled by the two fierce goats of the Teeth Grinder and Teeth Grinder, in an icy and penetrating mist, facing the cold enough to freeze any living thing moving forward.

"I'm feeling a bit adventurous on this trip now, Thor."

Loki took out a jug of warmed mead from his cloak, took a sip for himself, and handed the bottle to the silent Thor, who took it in his hand, took a big gulp, and poured the delicate jug He shook it by his ear.

"There's some left."

Thor's hair and beard were covered with frost, but he didn't care. He threw the flagon to Loki, and looking at the fog in front of him, he said:

"But the remaining amount is no longer enough to support us to complete this journey that only the dead come."

"It's really hard without alcohol."

Loki tied the jug on his belt, and looked around at the mist around him. In the looming cold mist, he could vaguely see some sculptures of various creatures, all of which were extremely realistic ice sculptures, which were mistaken for various reasons. The last warning left by those who have fallen into this mist.

The horror preserved on the faces of the lifelike ice sculptures speaks almost perfectly of the dangers of the area.

"But it's a magic jug, my brother, and if we hold out long enough, we'll be drinking good mead again."

Loki reached out and brushed the top of his frozen, swollen golden battle helmet, the two decorations that bent back like ram's horns, and he said to Thor:

"I won it from the dwarves of Nidaville. They often gather in Mithril Castle to gamble. They have loud voices, but they are very good at playing cards."

"So you paid a thousand dollars?"

Thor knew all too well what his brother was capable of, and as he pulled the reins to bring the stubborn Teeth Grinder back into the chariot's tracks, he said:

"You always like to cheat."

"Hey, don't worry about it, brother, it's a game to win, everyone is just using their own methods."

Loki shrugged, and in the mist that was cold enough to make the gods of Asgard shiver, he said:

"I won, and that's what matters."

"boom"

When the two sneaking brothers entered the fog deep enough, the two God's Domain beasts responsible for leading them could no longer move forward.

Teeth Grinder and Teeth Grinder, the two mythical beasts the brave Thor subdued in his youth, the leader of all the goats in God's Domain, are stubborn twins.

Uh, don't get me wrong, Gnazers and Grinders just look like goats, and they're far more dangerous than goats.

They eat meat, drink, occasionally chew grass, and pull out huge feces that match their terrifying appetite.

They can fly, breathe fire, and bite through thick chains with ease.

At the beginning, Thor was only envious of the horses of the elf cavalry in Alfheim. He was very young at the time, eager to show off, so Loki, who was younger than him, came up with a bad idea.

He told Thor that a man with great courage should have a mount worthy of his courage, and that horses are meaningless. For Thor, only subduing the most terrifying beast in the realm of God can prove his bravery.

Young Thor...was a very reckless guy, and of course he's just as reckless now as he was when he was younger.

Anyway, he followed Loki's advice, and it took him almost five years to barely tame the two horrible creatures, the Gnapper and the Grinder, with the help of the best dwarven blacksmith in Nidaville. help.

Well, that's another story.

In short, on the frosty land of Niflheim today, two goats with beautiful chewing heads roared towards the mist in front of them. They were not afraid of the cold, but no matter how they spouted fire, they could no longer make the front of their eyes feel cold. The dense fog dispersed even a little bit.

"Come on, Loki."

Thor grabbed his warhammer from his hand, and amidst the beating of the blue lightning, he leaped into the ground nimbly, stepped on the thick snow, and said to Loki, who stepped down from the goat chariot with grace behind him :

"The way forward, we can only go by ourselves."

"The road ahead can only be walked by the dead."

Loki shook his head, he said to his brother who was more than brave but not resourceful:

"The elf who lost the bet told me that at the end of Niflheim, under the underworld of the ice world, something terrible has ended."

"The current Hades is not a friendly place. Most importantly, if we forcefully enter the Hades as living beings, then we will be captured by the labyrinth of the legendary Hades."

Asgard's best deceiver and dramatist rubbed his chin, and he said to Thor who was feeding the goat with meat and fodder:

"We may end up in different areas of the maze of Hades. If we are lucky, we will see the way to the border of hell, but if we are unlucky, we will be trapped there."

"It doesn't matter."

Thor patted his beloved goat, and let the two goats lead the empty cart back to Asgard. He watched the Teeth Grinder and Teeth Grinder soar into the air and disappear into the fog of Niflheim. brother said:

"There are always walls in the maze, and Mjolnir will help me destroy all walls and make a way..."

"Brother, you don't need to go down with me. You don't need to take risks with me in dangerous places. You have done enough for me. Now, you just need to tell me which direction the border of hell is in the underworld."

"I don't worry about the maze, Thor."

Loki unfolded a map before his eyes, and he said to Thor:

"I'm worried about the god of death who can't name it. You know, I know every god in Asgard, but I don't know anything about the god of death. Many people say that he is missing, but I think the answer may not be. So easy."

Loki pinched his fingers, and a group of green light spots wrapped around Thor.

Unlike the brave and powerful Thor, Loki was not very interested in fighting and killing since he was a child, but he has a very high talent in magic. Loki learned magic with his mother and queen since he was a child. He is Aspen Gard's Master of Magic.

His understanding and use of illusion has even surpassed his own mother and the most powerful rune witch in Asgard.

"If you get lost, just follow this light."

Loki put away the map and said to Thor:

"It will take you to the passage of Hades leading to the border of hell, and I will meet you there."

"And, don't be reckless, Thor, I heard Limbo is the hell of all hell creatures, the energy there is super restraint against outsiders, and there is a queen who can't tell friend from foe... I mean , you'd better join me before..."

"I know."

Before Loki finished speaking, Thor moved his shoulders and walked into the fog in front of him with his warhammer in hand. His voice became erratic the next moment:

"Follow me, brother, I'll clear a way for you!"

"ah."

Loki patted his forehead in despair, and said:

"Odin's beard is awesome, Thor, when can you think before you act... What I said just now is in vain."

Although he complained about his reckless brother, Loki still took a few quick steps and rushed into the mist.

At least for now, the brotherhood between Loki and Thor is still very strong. Although he always likes to play pranks, it is only due to his personality, mixed with the younger brother's jealousy and envy for his elder brother.

But Loki knew that he would never be Thor.

The two brothers are synonymous with wisdom and strength, two sides of the same coin.

"hum"

The moment he stepped into the junction between Niflheim and Hades, Loki felt his magic power being quickly restrained, he began to fall freely, and landed on the ground a few minutes later.

"click"

He crushed a pile of decayed bones on the ground, and in front of his eyes was a temple that had completely collapsed.

"This is..."

Loki looked at the empty land around him with a strange expression. He took out the magic map he had won, looked left and right, and finally determined his position.

"The center of Hades, not on the left, not on the right, not on the south, not on the north, uh, bad luck, but not the worst."

Loki said something to himself. He put away the map and looked at the collapsed temple with great interest. He was basically sure that this was the temple of the mysterious God of Death.

Although he already knew the information about the great changes in Hades from that crazy elf, but looking at the ruined temple in front of him, Loki realized that Asgard's Hades should indeed have gone out. question.

And it's a big problem.

If that mysterious, unnameable god of death had his brains right, he would absolutely not allow his palace to be dilapidated like this.

"And, what is this?"

Loki took a few steps forward. He squatted beside a strange skeleton. He reached out and pulled out the rotten long sword stuck beside the skeleton.

From the shape of the long sword, one can vaguely tell that it was once a magic weapon, but now it has decayed over a long period of time.

"This look...wait."

Loki quickly took out a history book of Asgard from his dragon leather bag, flipped through a few pages, and compared the weapon in the picture with the rotten broken sword in front of him.

There was a gleam in his eye.

"This is the Dragon Tooth Sword, a weapon that only the legendary Valkyrie is qualified to use, but the Valkyrie was wiped out more than a thousand years ago..."

Loki rubbed his forehead, this clever prince quickly noticed something surprising from his discovery.

"No, didn't the Valkyrie Legion die on the battlefield against the Frost Giants? Their bones have long since converged, and there are still their tombstones in the mountains of Midgard... How could their weapons appear in the underworld? ?”

"Is it an error in the record? Or is there something else hidden?"

Loki got up, and he looked at the collapsed Death Palace with serious eyes.

"I'm getting more and more curious, where did Death... go? Is he still alive?"

"boom"

The sound of shaking came from behind Loki. The prince turned around and looked at the maze behind him. Thousands of kilometers away, a big "demolition" was going on. In this dead and hazy place, there were still roads Dazzling thunder is rising.

Needless to say, Loki knew who that was too.

It seems that Thor has no patience to go through this maze anymore, he chose the most direct way.

"I should join Thor."

A thought rang in Loki's mind:

"Without my help, Thor is sure to screw things up."

Loki turned around, intending to follow the plan, but after taking a few steps, he turned his head and looked at the collapsed temple behind him. He stood still, rubbing his chin, and after a while, he made a decision.

"Well, let Thor wait for a while, I really care more about what happens here. Besides, it might be a good choice to let my reckless brother suffer... If he wants to be king, then he You have to learn from me!"

Loki smiled, and said softly:

"Although I have shortcomings, I also have advantages. Brother, I hope you can last a little longer before I go to save you."

Ten minutes later, Thor used the powerful Mjolnir, the Thor's Hammer in Nordic legend, the most unruly artifact in Odin's arsenal, to break through dozens of thick walls. , came to the front of the abyss on the edge of Hades.

In the mountain wall in front of him, there is a pale passage like starlight, which is the passage between the underworld and the border of hell. The dead souls of Asgard will enter the underworld from there, and before that, they must Cross the border of hell.

Like the undead in other worlds, Limbo is the only way they must pass after death.

"Why isn't Loki here?"

Thor, who was holding a thundering hammer, looked around suspiciously, his resourceful brother was not here.

"Maybe I should wait for him."

Thinking so, Thor found a stone pillar and leaned on it.

But after a few minutes, Thor lost the patience to wait.

He is not good at waiting, he is always like a thunderbolt, the best executor, not the waiter.

"Forget it, I'll go first."

The young Thor held his hammer, and he said:

"My people are suffering, and I must rescue them."

"I will honor you, my father, and I will prove to you that I too can be a good king! Just like you."