Price!
Such great power was never free, and not everyone was worthy to claim it.
Odin spoke in a low, steady voice:
"I hung myself upon Yggdrasil, pierced by thorns, for nine days and nine nights. I sacrificed my left eye forever… and only then did I gain the Runes of Power."
As he spoke, Odin lifted the black eyepatch.
Even here, in spirit form, his left eye remained empty—forever gone.
This sacrifice was not physical, but at the level of cosmic law. Unless one reached true multidimensional singularity, it could never be restored.
Russell frowned.
He didn't like the thought of losing an eye. Yet, to trade one eye for power beyond dimensions? It was a bargain worth considering.
Still, one question lingered.
"If this power is so great… why not let Thor inherit it?"
Odin turned his gaze toward Thor—who already bore the scar of his lost eye—and sighed.
"He is not qualified. The end of nine days and nine nights hanging from Yggdrasil is death. Even I was nearly consumed many times before I survived. By sheer fortune, I endured… but the power I gained was only the Runes of Power, still far too weak to face the Shadow Gods."
Then Odin's gaze returned to Russell.
"But you… you are different. If you are not chosen, then no Aesir will ever be. The runes have been waiting for you."
In Odin's eyes burned a rare hope—the hope that only Russell might wield the strength to slay those lurking in the shadows.
Odin inhaled deeply, his voice echoing like prophecy:
"Go! The power of time cannot touch them. Perhaps in other timelines, Ragnarök has already begun."
As his words fell, golden lightning burst from Odin's remaining eye and flowed into Russell's hand.
It was the power of Odin. Once, it had belonged to Bor, Odin's father—power inherited from Gaea herself.
And it was the key needed to approach the Runes.
Valhalla shook violently, rejecting the presence of living beings.
Russell gave Odin a nod of respect, then departed with Thor without hesitation.
Niflheim.
The Land of Mist. The roots of Yggdrasil. The lowest point of all realms.
Here, a portal opened, and Russell and Thor stepped out.
Russell had intended to come alone, but Thor had insisted on joining him—still stung by his helplessness in Valhalla. Perhaps, through sacrifice, he too could find power.
As they arrived, Yggdrasil revealed itself—not as pure energy, but as roots and branches made real, stretching endlessly.
From the ground came a gurgling sound.
A fissure cracked open, no wider than a meter, and clear water began to pour forth. Within moments, it formed into a spring.
The Fountain of Mimir had appeared.
Gaea's power… Mimir's wisdom… without both, the Rune power could never be claimed.
Thor stepped forward, resolute.
"I'll try first. If something happens, you can pull me out."
Russell saw it clearly—Thor was offering himself as a test subject, to spare Russell unnecessary risk.
Thor nodded once, took a deep breath, and stepped into the spring.
Though shallow at first, the waters deepened unnaturally as he walked toward the center, soon swallowing his head completely.
Bubbles rose to the surface.
Ten seconds later, Thor emerged, gasping, his face pale and shaken.
Before Russell could speak, Thor shook his head and sighed:
"The Fountain of Wisdom will take what is dearest to me. My heart is important, but above all, it values my eyes.
If I want wisdom, I must sacrifice my last good eye."
He went on to explain that he only had one real eye left. The artificial eye in his other socket had burned out from electrical overload when he used lightning, so it was impossible to offer it as a sacrifice.
Russell couldn't help but think this guy really wasn't very bright—he truly needed wisdom.
The broken artificial eye Rocket had once given him hadn't yet been replaced by the dwarves. Shaking his head, Russell snapped his fingers, and the flesh and blood in Thor's empty socket regenerated. The artificial eye was pushed out as a brand-new real eye formed.
"Wait… this works too?" Thor exclaimed, overjoyed.
Grinning from ear to ear, he rushed back to the Fountain of Wisdom.
A few seconds later, Thor returned, both eyes perfectly intact, but with a dazed, frustrated look on his face.
"This stupid spring changed its mind! Now it wants my brain, saying that's what's most important to me!"
You still have a brain? … Russell didn't know whether to laugh or comfort him. In the end, he could only think that the Thor of this sacred timeline was destined to gain nothing from the Fountain of Wisdom.
Dejected, Thor walked back ashore, while Russell stepped into the spring without hesitation.
Immediately, he felt the half-meter-deep puddle transform into a vast, independent space.
As the spring engulfed him, a spiritual force wrapped around his being.
But without his permission, nothing could enter his soul!
With a thought, Russell lowered his spiritual barrier.
At that very moment—
Thor, still sulking on the shore, suddenly saw ripples spread across the puddle's surface. The vibrations grew faster and denser by the second!
And then—
The entire spring exploded upward, its waters surging into the sky before bursting apart into countless shimmering raindrops.
Thor was stunned.
No one told me the Fountain of Wisdom had a fountain mode?!
Then, a new miracle unfolded.
The fog-shrouded land, which hadn't seen sunlight in thousands of years, suddenly cleared, and a dazzling rainbow arched across the heavens!
The light poured down unnaturally, converging upon Russell, who stood calmly in the water.
Thor glanced down and was shocked—
Russell's body was perfectly whole, showing no signs of sacrifice.
The Fountain's rules had been broken!
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