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Chapter 807: A Conspiracy Concerning the Nine Realms
The moment this thought appeared in his mind, Malekith thought he had gone mad.
But perhaps it wasn't him who was mad, but the entire world?
It seemed that all of the Nine Realms, except for Midgard, were trapped in some kind of cycle.
At a specific time, they would all be destroyed, only to inexplicably reappear later.
It was all like a performance.
When the story reached its end, all the actors would leave the stage, only to return when the audience wished to see the show again, except none of them retained their previous memories.
So, the question was: who was the audience for this grand play?
Malekith considered himself quite intelligent, yet he couldn't figure out the answer.
He tried asking the World Tree for the answer, only to find he couldn't afford the price of obtaining it.
This implied that Malekith himself was insignificant compared to the true answer.
This ambiguous and terrifying realization thrilled Malekith.
Indeed, compared to normal people, Malekith was slightly abnormal, but compared to the current Light Elf Empress, he seemed quite sane.
Perhaps 'madman' and 'sane person' weren't antonyms after all.
Malekith yearned for the answer, but he also knew he was merely an ant before the truth.
An ant crushing an elephant was just a fantasy of the weak, but perhaps an ant could dodge being crushed by an elephant?
Malekith disliked this feeling of his fate being out of his control, so he wanted to find a way to evade this crisis.
Perhaps if he survived this time, he might find a way to learn the final truth?
Even while leading his army on the campaign, Malekith constantly pondered this problem.
He tried thinking from a different angle: why keep the Nine Realms trapped in a cycle?
Endless death, endless rebirth, what meaning could there be in this?
If it was just for entertainment, what was the point of repeating a play with only minor changes so many times?
Based on the contradictions Malekith alone had discovered, he could deduce at least four reboots.
Wouldn't watching it so many times become tiresome?
Malekith tried to put himself in the perspective of the hidden mastermind.
Repeating something infinitely clearly benefited the mastermind; at least Malekith wouldn't repeat something unprofitable multiple times.
Trying to think using the mindset of a creature he didn't understand at all was truly a difficult task.
Malekith's head spun from thinking.
He finally decided to switch books to clear his mind, turning to read a Light Elf magic tome.
An article criticizing dark magic caught his attention.
The Light Elves deeply abhorred dark magic; using it in Alfheim was a grave crime.
However, to deal with enemies who used dark magic, the Light Elves had also recorded considerable information related to it.
But it was almost entirely introductory knowledge and methods for countering dark magic, with absolutely no mention of how to cultivate it.
Yet, in Malekith's eyes, this was a poor attempt at concealment.
Because anyone with a certain degree of talent could reverse-engineer how to cultivate dark magic based on this information.
It was fundamentally something that deterred gentlemen but not villains.
However, to warn the world, the article did mention the side effects and evils of dark magic, such as a passage criticizing living sacrifice.
Sacrifice was a magic that perfectly embodied equivalent exchange: you gained corresponding things based on the price you paid.
If capable, you could even sacrifice the people of an entire nation to obtain immense power.
Malekith's former teacher once had the idea of sacrificing him, but before it could be realized, Malekith, having grown strong, stabbed him.
Malekith regretted it immediately after stabbing him.
How could he not have thought of the sacrifice tactic himself?
Failing to completely exploit the old man was truly a miscalculation.
Recalling the warm moments of his childhood, Malekith couldn't help but wear a satisfied smile.
He instinctively started to turn the page, but his gaze lingered on the last sentence.
Sacrifice a nation, gain great power.
Of course, this wasn't the entirety of the sentence; Malekith had taken it out of context, focusing only on the main point and completely ignoring the subsequent side effects and warnings, because this sentence indeed gave him a line of thought.
What if the entire Nine Realms was one colossal sacrifice?
The more Malekith thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
The hidden masterminds might be a group of immensely powerful beings who discovered the fertile land of the Nine Realms and then sacrificed it to gain formidable power for themselves.
Having tasted the benefits, the hidden masterminds obviously wouldn't let it go.
So they used their power to rebirth the Nine Realms, set them up, let them develop freely to the state they desired, and then harvested the fruits.
The World Tree was their fruit tree, the Nine Realms were the fruits, and they were the nutrients within the fruits.
As for why they always grew into similar forms, well, you should know that an apple tree normally doesn't grow bananas.
Once Malekith deduced this idea, he became convinced it was the correct answer.
Having obtained the correct answer, he felt invigorated, even happier than the day he first learned magic.
But this excitement lasted only a short time before disappearing.
Malekith had only found the answer; he hadn't found a way to avoid his fate of being sacrificed.
However, Malekith felt there must be a way, because he could find flaws in the Light Elf archives, proving that these hidden masterminds were not as invincible as imagined.
There had to be another way, he just hadn't thought of it yet.
Malekith believed the day he figured it out wasn't far off.
Before that, he needed to accumulate power.
Starting by plundering the power of the Great Serpent seemed like a good beginning.
Harboring such thoughts, Malekith commanded the Dark Elves to wreak havoc not far from the Great Serpent.
He needed to wait for the right opportunity, to profit when both sides were mutually wounded.
Therefore, although Malekith appeared to be commanding his soldiers, his attention was actually focused on the Great Serpent's side.
After all, there were no opponents among the humans worthy of his concern.
"Hm?"
Malekith frowned.
A discordant sound came from the army ahead.
It seemed someone had broken into his ranks.
What a bunch of Midgardian insects courting death.
Malekith used magic to enhance his vision.
The first thing that met his eyes was a creature resembling a minotaur; although it lacked a bull's head, it possessed a powerful lower body capable of shattering the earth with a single stomp.
There was also a fish-like creature, agile and highly skilled in martial arts.
Another was a female using hair as red as flames to attack, her true capabilities unclear for now.
Finally, there was an unremarkable-looking large fellow in a tight suit, walking towards him with utter disdain.
"Hmph! Courting death!"
Malekith sneered and leaped down from his mount.
End of Chapter
The moment this thought appeared in his mind, Malekith thought he had gone mad.
But perhaps it wasn't him who was mad, but the entire world?
It seemed that all of the Nine Realms, except for Midgard, were trapped in some kind of cycle.
At a specific time, they would all be destroyed, only to inexplicably reappear later.
It was all like a performance.
When the story reached its end, all the actors would leave the stage, only to return when the audience wished to see the show again, except none of them retained their previous memories.
So, the question was: who was the audience for this grand play?
Malekith considered himself quite intelligent, yet he couldn't figure out the answer.
He tried asking the World Tree for the answer, only to find he couldn't afford the price of obtaining it.
This implied that Malekith himself was insignificant compared to the true answer.
This ambiguous and terrifying realization thrilled Malekith.
Indeed, compared to normal people, Malekith was slightly abnormal, but compared to the current Light Elf Empress, he seemed quite sane.
Perhaps 'madman' and 'sane person' weren't antonyms after all.
Malekith yearned for the answer, but he also knew he was merely an ant before the truth.
An ant crushing an elephant was just a fantasy of the weak, but perhaps an ant could dodge being crushed by an elephant?
Malekith disliked this feeling of his fate being out of his control, so he wanted to find a way to evade this crisis.
Perhaps if he survived this time, he might find a way to learn the final truth?
Even while leading his army on the campaign, Malekith constantly pondered this problem.
He tried thinking from a different angle: why keep the Nine Realms trapped in a cycle?
Endless death, endless rebirth, what meaning could there be in this?
If it was just for entertainment, what was the point of repeating a play with only minor changes so many times?
Based on the contradictions Malekith alone had discovered, he could deduce at least four reboots.
Wouldn't watching it so many times become tiresome?
Malekith tried to put himself in the perspective of the hidden mastermind.
Repeating something infinitely clearly benefited the mastermind; at least Malekith wouldn't repeat something unprofitable multiple times.
Trying to think using the mindset of a creature he didn't understand at all was truly a difficult task.
Malekith's head spun from thinking.
He finally decided to switch books to clear his mind, turning to read a Light Elf magic tome.
An article criticizing dark magic caught his attention.
The Light Elves deeply abhorred dark magic; using it in Alfheim was a grave crime.
However, to deal with enemies who used dark magic, the Light Elves had also recorded considerable information related to it.
But it was almost entirely introductory knowledge and methods for countering dark magic, with absolutely no mention of how to cultivate it.
Yet, in Malekith's eyes, this was a poor attempt at concealment.
Because anyone with a certain degree of talent could reverse-engineer how to cultivate dark magic based on this information.
It was fundamentally something that deterred gentlemen but not villains.
However, to warn the world, the article did mention the side effects and evils of dark magic, such as a passage criticizing living sacrifice.
Sacrifice was a magic that perfectly embodied equivalent exchange: you gained corresponding things based on the price you paid.
If capable, you could even sacrifice the people of an entire nation to obtain immense power.
Malekith's former teacher once had the idea of sacrificing him, but before it could be realized, Malekith, having grown strong, stabbed him.
Malekith regretted it immediately after stabbing him.
How could he not have thought of the sacrifice tactic himself?
Failing to completely exploit the old man was truly a miscalculation.
Recalling the warm moments of his childhood, Malekith couldn't help but wear a satisfied smile.
He instinctively started to turn the page, but his gaze lingered on the last sentence.
Sacrifice a nation, gain great power.
Of course, this wasn't the entirety of the sentence; Malekith had taken it out of context, focusing only on the main point and completely ignoring the subsequent side effects and warnings, because this sentence indeed gave him a line of thought.
What if the entire Nine Realms was one colossal sacrifice?
The more Malekith thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
The hidden masterminds might be a group of immensely powerful beings who discovered the fertile land of the Nine Realms and then sacrificed it to gain formidable power for themselves.
Having tasted the benefits, the hidden masterminds obviously wouldn't let it go.
So they used their power to rebirth the Nine Realms, set them up, let them develop freely to the state they desired, and then harvested the fruits.
The World Tree was their fruit tree, the Nine Realms were the fruits, and they were the nutrients within the fruits.
As for why they always grew into similar forms, well, you should know that an apple tree normally doesn't grow bananas.
Once Malekith deduced this idea, he became convinced it was the correct answer.
Having obtained the correct answer, he felt invigorated, even happier than the day he first learned magic.
But this excitement lasted only a short time before disappearing.
Malekith had only found the answer; he hadn't found a way to avoid his fate of being sacrificed.
However, Malekith felt there must be a way, because he could find flaws in the Light Elf archives, proving that these hidden masterminds were not as invincible as imagined.
There had to be another way, he just hadn't thought of it yet.
Malekith believed the day he figured it out wasn't far off.
Before that, he needed to accumulate power.
Starting by plundering the power of the Great Serpent seemed like a good beginning.
Harboring such thoughts, Malekith commanded the Dark Elves to wreak havoc not far from the Great Serpent.
He needed to wait for the right opportunity, to profit when both sides were mutually wounded.
Therefore, although Malekith appeared to be commanding his soldiers, his attention was actually focused on the Great Serpent's side.
After all, there were no opponents among the humans worthy of his concern.
"Hm?"
Malekith frowned.
A discordant sound came from the army ahead.
It seemed someone had broken into his ranks.
What a bunch of Midgardian insects courting death.
Malekith used magic to enhance his vision.
The first thing that met his eyes was a creature resembling a minotaur; although it lacked a bull's head, it possessed a powerful lower body capable of shattering the earth with a single stomp.
There was also a fish-like creature, agile and highly skilled in martial arts.
Another was a female using hair as red as flames to attack, her true capabilities unclear for now.
Finally, there was an unremarkable-looking large fellow in a tight suit, walking towards him with utter disdain.
"Hmph! Courting death!"
Malekith sneered and leaped down from his mount.
End of Chapter
