It wasn't until now that Zeus saw 'himself' for the first ti in his true form.
Hollow eye sockets, white flowing beard, he wore a helt adorned with an eagle and was clad in golden armor, his appearance nearing middle age yet still exuding a formidable valor. 'Odin' grasped a long spear, his hand donned with the Draupnir gold ring.
Even if it was rely an image recreated, Zeus could easily deduce that the divine lance was a divine artifact not a whit inferior to the Arrows of Thunder.
But all of this was an illusion, a re echo of a past scene recreated in the confluence of powers from two realms. If Zeus had not arrived today, 'Odin' would have continued to repeat the sa actions in his mory, in an eternal recurrence, until his power was finally exhausted.
But when the Divine King of Chaos received the response of the world through the ritual, Asgard's last resistance was also crushed.
If 'Odin' had been a real deity, he might have been assimilated by the world and beco a mber of the new world, but it was only a fragnt of a remnant, a re thought. So, having lost the basis for its existence, it inevitably headed towards destruction.
It did not know if the real 'him' had completely died, but as a thought, it was destined to be destroyed along with the last vestiges of the Nine Realms' power remaining in Asgard.
"To consu one's own wife, to regard her as one's own wisdom... it's truly an unexpected outco. After all, how could the sches of an 'outsider' like win against 'one of our own' who is favored by fate?"
With a touch of irony, 'Odin', though sowhat regretful, was not too regretful, because such an outco had been anticipated. Therefore, he had no intention of interacting with Zeus; he rely greedily gazed at this illusory world one last ti, as if in reminiscence of the past.
He too, like Zeus, thought he had grasped everything after receiving revelation. But as he picked up the Rune Scriptures, he also foresaw the arrival of the Twilight of the Gods.
This seemingly equal exchange was, in fact, unequal. Odin's eyes could trade for the Spring of Wisdom's fountain, but not for the runes that would decode the source of the world. Similarly, losing the power of tis might be more valuable than an eye, but by no ans comparable to the path that leads directly to the pinnacle of greatness.
So having seen destruction, what did Zeus see? Or perhaps he has seen it, but I just don't know yet.
From clarity to blur, 'Odin's' image eventually dissipated, and the phantasm borne of his mory began to crumble as well. The true Asgard now erged into Zeus's perception, but now it was a part of the present world.
It was like the Underworld, a realm unto itself, with its own portals, and this portal's front was located in Olympus.
"The Divine King of the Otherworld... how many secrets of this world remain unknown to . Beyond Chaos there are even other realms, and their ultimate fate is destruction?"
Indifferently witnessing the 'death' of 'Odin', Zeus gradually cald down from his initial joy. The experience of today had brought him unimaginable gain, yet it was a miracle that could not be replicated; even if he attempted it again, it was dood not to succeed a second ti.
It was an unavoidable situation, as from the beginning the entire ritual was not under Zeus's control, nor recognized by the fundantal laws of the Chaos World. Without the power of the Nine Realms, the world simply would not respond to a bizarre 'sacrifice'.
The scher was the remnant of Odin, the power sustaining its operation was the world force intertwined between the two realms, whereas Zeus was rely a bystander caught up in the currents, even almost sacrificing himself in the process. The immortal deities of Chaos could not even manage to take their own lives, so how could they possibly offer themselves as a sacrifice to the world?
This was the manifestation of laws from an otherworldly realm.
However, unexpectedly, from now on, due to the success of Zeus and because the world itself participated in the ritual, sacrifices to the world may truly stir so power of the realms, although it will likely only affect places like the Abyss.
As for Chaos itself, unless soone can sacrifice sothing beyond the world to It, It will continue to exist as if not at all, unresponsive to any call of gods or n.
"World... such a terrifying power. But did fate really destine to beco this powerful?"
He sighed thoughtfully, but also with so doubts. Without today's accident, Zeus wouldn't have known how he could possibly break through to grow as strong as the 'future self' in the ritual. And at the end of the ritual, that version of himself seed to have said sothing to him, but unfortunately, the Divine King could not 'hear' clearly at the mont.
It would require him to advance further to achieve that, to have equal power that could transcend ti and fate, to hear the 'warning' of that false self.
Yes, Zeus had realized that this version of himself was not truly real; it was just a false future montarily manifested by destined power. Without surprise, it would never have the chance to co true.
"Indeed, fate is not unchangeable, just like you."
Sensing the life within his own head, Zeus thought silently.
"In the face of sufficient power and wisdom, nothing is predestined."
This extraordinary daughter of his proved just that, her birth had been delayed, and her brother had lost even the chance to co into the world. Yet, Zeus harbored a hint of wariness towards her existence.
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