Chapter Six: The Progenitor of the Gods' Doubts 1
The exposed head had its eyes tightly closed. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be that of a handsome man.
Although his hair was disheveled, hanging down to the nape of his neck, it did not detract from his good looks.
Beneath his slightly furrowed brow, his eyes, though closed, still hinted at their vibrant spirit when open. His high-bridged nose and well-defined lips exuded his handsomeness and charm.
Even if all the world's finest stonemasons were gathered together, exhausting their life's work to meticulously sculpt and polish the faces of the gods, they could never capture even a fraction of the man's likeness.
This was because the owner of this head was of an extremely revered and illustrious identity—the Progenitor of the Gods, Buri!
"To think that we could actually unearth a living being..."
The fire giant Surtur's face was filled with disbelief, utterly shocked.
Even though the mysterious black dragon had made numerous solemn assurances to him, his inherently suspicious nature remained unconvinced. He simply couldn't easily believe that Nidhogg, known for his cunning and treachery, would speak the truth this time.
The black dragon now stood firmly before the head. If the head's owner were among mortals of later generations, he would be considered a robust man, but compared to the two astonishingly large monsters before him, he was as small as a grain of sand.
Only now, as they shrank, could they examine this "little man" so closely and carefully.
And the one known as the progenitor of the gods, Buri, seemed to remain deeply asleep, showing no sign of waking.
Then, the black dragon extended its sharp claws, gently extending its thick, hard toes forward, finally placing them slowly on Bree's broad forehead.
In an instant, a mysterious and unpredictable power surged forth, and countless profound and complex runes flowed from the black dragon's body like clouds and water. Then, under the influence of this powerful force, Bree, whose eyes had been tightly closed, opened his deep and sharp eyes without warning.
The black dragon had awakened Bree prematurely.
But only his head and neck were awake; the part protruding from the salt flats was awake, but his limbs and torso beneath the salt flats remained numb. Therefore, Bree could only turn his head and blink, but could not walk or run.
So Bree opened his eyes and saw the two monsters before him.
The progenitor of the gods was no ordinary being; he saw through the monsters' true forms at a glance. In Buri's eyes, the figure, about the height of a human and wielding a sword, was actually a towering lava volcano.
Boiling lava flowed like a torrent through the volcano's ravines, and the splashing lava outlined its shape; two enormous, blazing flames were the giant's eyes, and whenever the flames flickered, the entire Land of Mist was enveloped in an eerie atmosphere of alternating light and shadow.
The Fire Giant, Surtur.
Buri saw through his disguise; his innate knowledge already revealed his identity as a giant.
Buri turned to look at another monster, which had transformed into what later became known as a cat, its body jet black, its fur glossy and smooth; its eyes, however, were dull and cloudy, revealing a hint of cunning and treachery.
Its true form was even more hideous, with jagged horns, black scales covering its entire body, tightly interlocked teeth that could spew venom from its mouth, and it breathed out poisonous mist. Its body was shriveled and emaciated, like someone who had starved to death in the dead of winter, its skin clinging tightly to its bones, utterly devoid of color.
Yet, this seemingly frail body sprouted a pair of enormous wings that almost blotted out the entire sky. Those wings contrasted sharply with its small frame, making it appear particularly jarring and bizarre.
The poisonous dragon Nidhogg…?
Buri frowned. The progenitor of the gods knew the past, and guided by fate, could even foresee the future.
In the future he saw, the black dragon Nidhogg devoured the roots of the World Tree, laughing maniacally as it carried endless skeletons on its back, before plunging into the abyss after Ragnarok.
But the black dragon that Buri saw in the future did not quite match the one before him.
Was it the passage of time that caused the change?
Of course not. The passage of time cannot destroy the essence of a god.
Buri blinked, not voicing his doubts. He should have been licked out by the cow Odombra, but instead, he had been dug out by these two monsters.
Looking at Ymir, fast asleep on the cow's back, snoring loudly, the giant was all alone, with nothing but the cow for support.
Buri turned his head to observe the world, his head strangely completing a full circle, discerning the objects in the sky.
There were only five living beings in the entire world.
"This shouldn't be happening," Buri thought. The progenitor of the frost giants had not yet given birth to his descendants. Neither the six-headed giant Sergetimir born from Ymir's intertwined feet and the connection of their energies, nor the two giants, male and female, formed from the sweat flowing from Ymir's armpits during his slumber, had appeared. He felt he'd been born too early.
Blee turned his gaze to the monster before him. The hideous black dragon approached him, crouching down like a cat, its tail swishing in the air. Its dim, yellowish pupils revealed its master's delight.
"Do you know what's happening now?" the black dragon asked, its first words neither a threat nor intimidation, but an inquiry.
Blee met the dragon's gaze, first nodding, then shaking his head.
"I know you dug me from the salt mound. I know your names, and I know the name of the frost giant. I now know your grudges, and the events that have unfolded throughout the Kinggalon Gap, north and south, are like pages turned in a book to me."
Blee slowly spoke, his head emerging from the salt mound.
"Oh, it seems you and Ymir are indeed different. He seems a bit dim-witted."
The black dragon looked at Buri, somewhat surprised. The progenitor of the gods was indeed extraordinary. The black dragon had thought he, like Ymir, was newly born and knew nothing.
"Ymir, that mindless giant, you think he's just all brute force, but you don't know he's also incredibly intelligent. It's just that before the creation of the world, intelligence is useless to him, so he doesn't use it."1
The black dragon grinned. Buri's words were astonishing; he was actually praising Ymir's intelligence. If the black dragon and Surtur had really recklessly fought Ymir, and Ymir, driven to desperation, had used his brain, they probably wouldn't have been able to handle him.
Luckily, they hadn't attacked, otherwise, escape would have been difficult.
The black dragon then wanted to ask Buri more questions, but before it could speak, Buri gave the answer.
"As for what you're thinking, I'm afraid I cannot answer. How can a god ally with a monster?"
Buri spoke gently, preemptively rejecting the black dragon's question.