The roots of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, are its most sacred part, laced with the laws and raw power that uphold all of existence.
And yet, this very foundation has long been gnawed upon by a monstrous dragon, feared by all. For they knew: when the roots are devoured, the collapse of Yggdrasil would be inevitable and with it, the end of the Nine Realms.
If Surtur heralds Ragnarok for Asgard, then the dragon named Nidhogg is the embodiment of Ragnarok across the entire World Tree.
Odin stood silent, holding one of Yggdrasil's roots, and with solemn purpose, grafted it into the Stormbreaker Axe. In that instant, the axe roared with divine might. The entire kingdom of the Dwarves trembled violently, fear etched into every face.
Without a word, Odin raised Stormbreaker high. A blinding Rainbow Bridge flared open and swept him away, returning him to the skies of Asgard, to his world.
The Dwarf King could only watch in heavy silence before sighing deeply.
"Why… Why has the World Tree come to this?"
Howling winds tore through the void as Odin returned from the stars. From orbit, he saw his homeland in chaos, flames of war raging across its lands, his people crying out in agony. He spotted Laufey, leading hordes of Frost Giants, slaughtering everything in their path. Asgard had become a graveyard.
"Laufey, this is your day of reckoning!"
Drawing a deep breath, Odin looked aged and frail, but the aura around him surged with newfound fury. In his hand, Stormbreaker pulsed with divine power more terrifying than ever before.
Laufey looked up and smirked.
"Odin. I thought you'd died, somewhere out there in the stars."
With those words, he pulled out the Casket of Ancient Winters, the long-lost artifact had returned to its rightful master. Confident once more, Laufey opened the box, instantly freezing half of Asgard in a surge of elemental ice.
Odin met him head-on, axe crashing down in divine wrath!
The moment they clashed, Laufey's smug expression twisted into shock. Each of Odin's strikes tore gashes through his massive frame, something he'd never believed possible. This wasn't the Odin he remembered.
"This can't be! You're dying... you should be dying!" Laufey howled, brandishing the Casket to summon wave after wave of frost energy. But Odin met every assault head-on. The land of Asgard trembled beneath them.
Godly energy stormed the skies. Every blow had the force to shatter stars. Two god-kings now waged war upon the streets of Asgard itself.
But Odin had never fought with such fury. His killing intent was absolute, and Laufey sensed something deeper. A terrifying resolve. Odin had embraced death, and in doing so, had become more unstoppable than ever.
BOOM!
With one overwhelming blow, Stormbreaker shattered the Casket of Ancient Winters.
A maelstrom of deathly cold surged outward, engulfing Laufey first. Even his divine powers couldn't resist the freezing tide. He faltered, paralyzed.
"Farewell, Laufey. Our war of a million years ends today. We shall meet again, before Death."
Odin's long white hair billowed in the frigid wind. With a single, deliberate motion, he tore away the royal garb that marked him as king. Gripping Stormbreaker with both hands, he pulled the last dregs of Asgard's divine power into himself, then unleashed it in one final strike.
In that moment, it was as if the entire galaxy split apart.
Stars collapsed. Souls screamed. Death herself smiled.
And Laufey, King of the Frost Giants, perished, his face frozen in stunned silence, annihilated in a blow unlike anything the Nine Realms had ever witnessed.
Odin had reached the end of his life. He stumbled, Stormbreaker still in hand, collapsing onto the bloodstained earth of Asgard. Every surviving Asgardian bore witness to this, the fall of their king. Tears welled in their eyes.
"So… tired… I've ruled the Nine Realms for millions of years, yet I lived to see Asgard fall to ruin…"
Odin's voice was faint. His body, drained beyond repair. Even wielding Stormbreaker was now beyond him. But one final act remained.
To break the seal on the World Tree, and release another child of his blood.
"...Father."
A soft voice approached. Loki, his expression unreadable.
Odin slowly closed his eyes.
"In some ways… you're more fit to be king than Thor ever was. But…"
"But I'm not your real son, am I?!" Loki shouted, eyes red with rage. "I know, I'm Laufey's son!"
"No… that's not why. It's because… another child, far more terrifying than either of you, will inherit the throne. One last piece of advice, Loki…"
"Run. If you don't run now, it'll be too late."
With those final words, Odin's hand fell limp. Stormbreaker clattered to the ground.
Loki stood in a daze, unable to stop the inevitable. A mournful cry echoed from the World Tree, followed by a bone-chilling roar of exultation.
A vortex opened in the sky.
From within it emerged a figure, slender, ethereal, and wreathed in the aura of death. Every step she took spread dread like a plague.
"Odin… in the end, I won. You couldn't imprison me forever."
The woman raised a hand. A long sword materialized, glowing with cursed energy. The deathly aura around her grew thicker with every breath. Even Loki trembled.
"I am the final victor. I am the Goddess of Death, Hela."
She raised her blade, and drove it clean through Odin's lifeless chest.
"You monster! What are you doing?!" Loki roared. His face twisted in fury and fear, but he still pulled out his dagger.
"I'm reclaiming what's mine," Hela replied coldly. Her gaze fell upon Loki and paused, sensing his bloodline. But in the next moment, she dismissed him with a sneer. "Trash. Not worth the effort."
From Odin's corpse, streams of divine energy flowed, Odinforce, and Hela devoured them all.
She grew stronger by the second. As long as her feet touched the soil of Asgard, she would never weaken again.
"So this is what Asgard has become? Tch. No matter. As long as I live, the greatest glory of the Aesir will return, and the Nine Realms shall kneel beneath Asgard's shadow once more."
Hela ran a hand through her flowing black hair and smiled, dangerously beautiful.
BOOM.
At that moment, when the battle seemed over, and the new queen had risen…
A portal tore open in the sky.
From it stepped forth a towering titan, Surtur. His body wreathed in cosmic flame, wielding the Twilight Sword.
His voice was a growl of apocalypse:
"I, Surtur, come by the will of the Machine God, to bring Ragnarok upon Asgard!"
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