Later, Odin lay atop Adumala as she moved through the snowy landscape. The towering cow's steps were slow, patient, giving him time to think.
Reinhard felt the thoughts moving through Odin's mind were dark, mixed with terrible thoughts that grew darker with each passing moment.
"Do these Frost Giants." Odin whispered to himself. "Even deserve to exist?"
The question seemed to send a ripple outward, disrupting even the sullen hush of the frozen realm. The air itself seemed to pause, uncertain whether to draw the next breath.
As the words echoed, Reinhard felt a slow change in Odin. The anger that had previously surged in him began to withdraw from the surface and concentrate at the core.
The light in Odin's gaze dimmed, not extinguished but compressed, like a star collapsing inward before its final detonation. His eyes no longer blazed but absorbed, drawing in everything without reflection.
