Throughout the long ascent up the cold and rough surface of the World Tree's root, besides the eternal mist and deathly silence, the fused will of Hades and Metis also detected a continuous sound.
The sound came from below, deep beneath the frozen soil and ice of Niflheim, faintly penetrating through the roots of the World Tree—not a roar, not a howl, but a horrific gnawing.
This sound was accompanied by an almost tangible aura of despair.
"Níðhöggr..." Metis's consciousness shivered with a cold wave, instantly recalling the name from the analyzed information of this world.
"The venomous dragon, chained beneath the 'Shore of Corpses' (Náströnd), gnawing at the roots of the World Tree."
Hades's will silently 'watched' the direction from which the sound came below.
He clearly felt that due to the constant gnawing, the venomous dragon's aura seemed to be growing—extremely slowly, but undeniably.
"It is growing larger," Hades stated the fact.
This discovery was not pleasing to the Norse gods.
The existence of Níðhöggr was like a festering wound on this world, constantly eroding the great tree that supported the Nine Realms.
This was pure, brutal consumption and destruction.
They documented this phenomenon as an important observation of the world.
But for now, their main goal was not this venomous dragon.
Climbing, endless climbing.
Time lost its meaning in the thick mist and ice.
After an unknown amount of time—perhaps days and nights, perhaps several ages—the surroundings finally began to change.
The piercing cold gradually weakened, and the gray-white mist thinned, giving way to a harsher, more spacious scene.
They had emerged from the main mass of Niflheim and arrived in a new land—Jötunheimr, the land of giants.
Before them was no longer the monotonous ice fields and mist, but a majestic, desolate, and primitive sense of power.
Vast mountains resembled sleeping ancient giants, with rugged cliffs and sparse, hardy vegetation.
The sky had become higher and taken on an icy azure hue.
The air was filled with the scent of earth, stone, wind, and snow.
The root system of the World Tree was still clearly visible here, like a vast network traversing mountains and canyons, with some parts even merging with the cliffs and rocks, becoming part of the landscape.
Hades and Metis, controlling the camouflaged Frost Giant avatar, leaped from the root system and stepped onto the harsh, cold land of Jötunheimr.
The avatar's enormous foot fell onto the snow-covered ground, emitting a dull thud.
They needed to seek clues here and determine the specific path to the Well of Urd.
The three Norn goddesses did not live in a noisy place; their location should be connected to another important root of the World Tree, the one that extended towards the mysterious 'Well of Urd', where the gods met and made judgments daily.
The avatar began its journey through the wilds of Jötunheimr.
They consciously avoided possible giant settlements, relying on their perception of energy flow and the veins of the World Tree to move towards life.
Jötunheimr was beyond imagination, inhabited by giants of all kinds—mountain giants, frost giants, tree giants... Most were enormous and incredibly strong, but their intelligence varied.
Some were like moving mountains, dull and confused; others radiated an aura of ancientness and cunning.
Crossing a glacier-filled canyon, they encountered their first 'inhabitants'.
It was a real frost giant, a full head taller than their avatar, with deep blue skin covered in white ice crystals, and a beard like a frozen waterfall.
He was carrying the carcass of a huge creature, apparently just returning from a hunt.
The frost giant saw their camouflaged avatar, and a flicker of doubt appeared in his huge single eye.
He stopped and boomed in a low, thunderous voice:
"Hey! Strange faces! Which corner did you crawl out from? Look at your cold air, did you crawl out of that snowy mountain? Why are you running around on my territory?"
Hades and Metis were instantly on alert.
Always be prepared for a possible conflict.
However, Metis's consciousness quickly analyzed the situation: a rigid fight was not the best policy, and causing a commotion would alert the snake.
Controlling the avatar, it replied in a hoarse voice with a cold tone:
"Lost. Lost our way." The avatar's eyes maintained the usual murky indifference of a frost giant, avoiding any excess wisdom or light.
The frost giant looked at them suspiciously, his nose twitching as if sniffing their scent.
"Lost? Hmph, but you have the strength to get here." He paused, as if losing interest in them.
"If you go east along this canyon, you'll see a great river surging from the 'Hvergelmir spring'. Follow the river downstream to get out of this desolate area. Don't go west; west leads towards the 'Well of Wisdom', and old One-Eye's ravens and ears have been moving around there lately, and they're very irritable."
With that, he waved his hand impatiently, carried his prey, and left with heavy steps.
"Hvergelmir spring..." Metis's consciousness quickly absorbed the information.
"The source of all the Élivágar rivers, also located in Niflheim, but an important tributary flows through Jötunheimr. And the 'Well of Wisdom'... that's Mímisbrunnr! Odin's goal!"
This chance encounter gave them valuable information.
Odin's attention was focused on Mímisbrunnr, which gave them the opportunity to head for the Well of Urd.
They followed the direction indicated by the frost giant, and sure enough, they soon heard the roar of water. Before them appeared a great black river, churning and radiating a cold air.
This was one of the Élivágar rivers, originating from the Hvergelmir spring.
Instead of going downstream, they went upstream, along the riverbanks towards the deeper part of Jötunheimr, where the roots of the World Tree were denser.
According to their calculations, the Well of Urd should be higher up, close to Ásgarðr, yet independent of the divine realm.
Along the way, they saw even more wonders of Jötunheimr: waterfalls reaching the clouds, ruins of strange palaces carved by glaciers, and giant beings of various shapes roaming the wilds.
They also avoided several giant settlements that were clearly fortified with powerful auras.
Finally, after passing through a highland covered in gray-white dead forests, they sensed a completely different energy fluctuation.
It was ancient, silent, as if containing the power of infinite possibilities and established trajectories.
The air was filled with a moist, earthy fragrance and an ancient, sandalwood-like scent.
They walked through the dead forest, and their eyes suddenly opened wide.
Before them appeared a calm lake, its water a deep, dark blue hue, reflecting the starry sky.
In the center of the lake, a vast spring surged from a clear source, with a gurgling sound and a strange rhythm.
Above the spring, the roots of the vast World Tree spread out like a canopy, and from the roots flowed shimmering dewdrops, which belonged to the 'dew of time'.