[Ragnarok]
The Omniverse continued endlessly into infinity, expanding at a speed and on a scale that even the gods had yet to comprehend. Beyond it existed an independent realm belonging to the gods. Among these realms, the most unique was the collection of nine worlds supported by a gigantic World Tree known as Yggdrasil.
Of the nine worlds, eight—excluding Midgard, the realm of humanity—had themselves become independent Omniverses, separate from the greater Omniverse.
Asgard: the Omniverse of the gods, ruled by Odin, chief of the Aesir.
Alfheim: the Omniverse inhabited by elves.
Vanaheim: the Omniverse ruled by the Vanir.
Nidavellir: the Omniverse inhabited by dwarves.
Svartalfheim: the Omniverse where the dark elves dwelled.
Jotunheim: the Omniverse inhabited by giants.
Niflheim: the Omniverse covered by an endless world of ice.
Helheim: the Omniverse that served as the realm of the dead for all the worlds mentioned above.
Muspelheim: the Omniverse inhabited by the giant race known as the Muspels.
The enormous World Tree that encompassed all these realms connected the Omniverses to one another, but it could not itself be used for travel between them.
Therefore, Odin created a rainbow-colored tunnel known as the Bifrost, allowing passage between the various Omniverses.
Yet all worlds would eventually disappear.
Yes—their end would come through the final war known as Ragnarok.
Odin was attempting to deepen his knowledge even further, writing the runes he himself had created in glowing letters suspended in midair.
He was inside Valhalla, the enormous fortress Odin had constructed in preparation for the final war.
Floating at the center of the cosmos and shining like a star, the fortress housed countless soldiers.
In preparation for Ragnarok, the pure energy of the dead—their souls—was gathered from throughout existence and brought into Valhalla, where they were reconstructed as warriors.
The process extended across every Omniverse, encompassing countless races and species, from beings shaped like humans to entities that possessed forms unlike anything recognizable.
Their number exceeded even the concept of inconceivable infinity, and it continued to increase.
Odin's actions appeared to consist merely of writing luminous runes in midair, but in reality, he was creating infinite Omniverses.
Then, behind Odin, within a study constructed entirely from light, an enormous head suddenly materialized.
It was Mimir, Odin's advisor. Originally a giant of the Vanir, Mimir had been beheaded. However, Odin, unwilling to waste his extraordinary intelligence, had used magic to preserve him as an existence consisting solely of his head.
"My lord. The time has come. The time of Ragnarok."
The enormous head spoke to Odin through telepathy.
Odin stopped writing the luminous runes.
He rose as though saying, So it has finally come, and stared at the enormous head behind him.
The moment he turned around, Odin's clothing transformed from a black robe into golden armor that radiated magical light. One of his eye sockets was empty, and through the hollow opening, the vastness of outer space could be seen.
Mimir stared into that cosmic void within Odin's eye and felt an overwhelming presence so intense that he experienced a chill down what might have been his spine—despite the fact that he no longer possessed one.
"I have waited for this moment. I have prepared for it. I built Valhalla and gathered the dead here. I have not obtained everything, but I have placed many things within my hands."
Odin looked down at his own palm.
"I do not wish to lose them. Even if this is the destiny that was ordained for me from the moment of my birth."
Mimir rarely heard Odin speak with such weakness. Yet there was little else he could say.
"You have no choice but to fight. Ragnarok is an unavoidable destiny. Fight until everything is lost."
Mimir spoke as though admonishing him.
"You resent me, do you not? I have forced you to serve me even after reducing you to such a form."
Odin spoke with a faint laugh, one tinged with self-mockery.
"To be honest, it would be a lie to say that I do not resent being reduced to this form. But at the same time, there is also a part of me that is grateful. By remaining at your side, I have witnessed and learned much, and I have earned the trust of Odin, the chief of the gods. That is something I am proud of."
With those words, the enormous head smiled.
Odin smiled as well, and for a brief moment, silence descended upon them.
But that silence was suddenly shattered by a tremendous roar.
The sound of thunder.
Odin sensed Thor's arrival and teleported away through magic, appearing outside Valhalla in the vastness of space.
There, stretching across and seemingly covering the entire cosmos, was an enormous, impossibly muscular yellow arm whose end could not be seen.
It was unmistakably Thor's arm.
"Ragnarok has arrived!"
Thor stood majestically within the vast cosmos and shouted with a voice as thunderous as lightning itself.
That declaration became the signal.
From Valhalla, soldiers poured forth like ants emerging from a nest, flooding into space like an eruption of magma.
Then, beyond Thor's enormous arm, a legion of giants began advancing, piercing directly through the dimensional wall of Asgard.
They had no need for a rainbow tunnel.
They simply tore through dimensions themselves, and the giants—each larger than entire universes—advanced toward their enemy.
Odin thrust his radiant golden palm toward the heavens and gave the command that would begin Ragnarok.
At that moment, the gods other than Thor gathered from their respective Omniverses into Odin's Omniverse.
The armies of the gods and the armies of the giants finally collided.
The war of Ragnarok had begun.
[Ragnarok]
—The battle has only just begun.