The message still lingered in Alexander's mind.
Frigga will not die.
Relief had washed over him—but it didn't fade.
It stayed.
So Alexander walked.
No destination in mind.
No intention.
Just… walking.
The Path of Roots
Without realizing it, his steps slowed.
The air changed.
The light dimmed beneath an endless canopy.
And Alexander found himself standing before it.
Yggdrasil.
The World Tree towered above him, roots stretching across realms, branches touching eternity.
Alexander didn't kneel.
He didn't speak loudly.
He simply reached out—
And placed his palm against the bark.
"…Thank you," he said quietly.
For hiding me.
For protecting me.
For my mother.
Yggdrasil's Will
I felt him.
The child I once shielded—now grown.
Not demanding.
Not seeking reward.
Only gratitude.
My roots trembled softly.
He noticed.
So I answered.
A single seed fell gently into his hand.
Small.
Warm.
Heavy with possibility.
A World Tree seed.
Alexander's eyes widened.
"…Are you serious?"
The seed pulsed once, gently.
Yes.
Alexander swallowed, then nodded respectfully.
"I'll protect it," he promised.
And with that—
He turned and left.
A Queen's Unease
In the royal chambers—
Frigga paused mid-step.
Her hand pressed lightly against her chest.
"…Something has changed," she murmured.
The threads of fate felt… lighter.
Not broken.
Shifted.
She smiled softly, though she didn't know why.
"Perhaps," she said quietly,
"it's just my imagination."
Death Notices the Change
Elsewhere—
Death stood very still.
A name that should have echoed…
Did not.
Frigga Odinsdottir.
Her death was gone.
Removed.
Death did not feel anger.
She felt—
Curiosity.
"…Alexander," Death whispered.
Her cloak fluttered slightly.
"So it was you."
Her thoughts softened.
And the crush she had tried to ignore only deepened.
A Plan Forms
Infinity appeared beside her, radiant and thoughtful.
"You felt it too," Infinity said.
Death nodded.
"He changed it."
Infinity smiled faintly.
"…We should meet him."
Death hesitated.
"How?"
Infinity considered.
"Carefully."
They shared a quiet understanding.
The time was approaching.
Back in the Palace
Alexander returned to his chambers, seed safely stored away.
Ciel appeared instantly.
"Master," she said calmly,
"you have acquired an object classified as World-Root Origin."
Alexander exhaled.
"…Yeah."
He looked out over Asgard.
For the first time—
Fate felt kind.
And the World Tree watched—
Satisfied.