Controlling the Frost Giant avatar, they became more cautious in their movements as they approached the Well of Urd, filled with the breath of fate.
The surrounding light became ambiguous, as if filtered through an invisible veil, and even the air carried a heavy sense of destiny.
However, just as they were about to enter the sacred and forbidden forest around the well, a frivolous voice suddenly rang out.
"Yo—look who's here? A lost big guy carrying the musty stench of Niflheim."
The avatar abruptly stopped and slowly turned around.
There, leaning against a twisted ancient tree, was a slender god.
A cynical smile was on his face, but his eyes were as sharp as daggers, as if he could pierce through the frost giant's disguise and look directly at its core.
This was Loki, the god of fire and cunning.
Loki stepped forward and circled the tense 'Frost Giant' with interest, his nose twitching slightly as if sensing some intriguing scent.
"Tsk, tsk, this disguise... it's quite something. Cold, rocky skin, dull eyes... almost perfect."
He stopped in front of the avatar, his smile growing more malicious.
"Almost. But that little something deep in your eyes... that 'calculation' which doesn't belong to giants, can't be hidden from my eyes. So, tell me, what kind of 'foreign body' crawled out of which corner to run to the holy place of the three Norn goddesses? Peeping on them? Or do you want to manipulate your lousy thread of fate?"
The consciousness of Hades and Metis instantly tightened.
Discovered! Although Loki hadn't seen through everything, he clearly sensed the anomaly.
A hard fight or argument could lead to unforeseen consequences, especially so close to the target.
The avatar remained silent, looking at Loki with the usual murky eyes of a frost giant, as if not understanding what he was saying.
Loki sneered and waved his hand: "Alright, don't pretend. I'm not going to expose you; that's too boring. I'm just curious... someone with such... exquisite camouflage skills coming here, they didn't come to pay homage to the three Norn goddesses, did they?"
He leaned closer, lowering his voice with a mix of charm and mockery: "Let me guess... You, or you, are whimsical and want to... go against fate? Even... kill them?"
He uttered the last few words almost into the avatar's 'ear', his tone full of absurdity.
Hades's will remained cold, but Metis's wisdom analyzed rapidly.
Loki didn't make a move immediately but jested here, showing he had other plans, or... was just having fun. (Trust Loki to be like that)
Seeing the avatar still silent, Loki stepped back, exaggeratedly spread his arms, and burst into sharp laughter: "Hahahahaha! Foolish! This is so foolish! Kill fate? What do you think fate is? An enemy you can destroy with brute force?"
"They are the representatives of the rules! The weavers who intertwine the very veins of the world! You could block a spot, cut a thread, or even try to burn the whole fabric... But can you kill 'time' itself?"
His laughter echoed through the silent forest, filled with pity and mockery for the ignorant.
"Fate can only be hidden, not destroyed! This is a problem even the old raven Odin is thinking about! Only you? A giant hiding its head and tail? Give it up! Instead of thinking about how to kill them, think about how to deceive their eyes, or... like me, find yourself some fun and dance in the gaps of fate!"
Having delivered these suggestive yet extremely sharp words, Loki patted the avatar on the shoulder with satisfaction, as if he had completed a joke, leaving behind only a fading trail of laughter.
"Good luck, strange 'giant'... Hope you don't get directly crushed by the spindle of fate; that would be too boring, hahaha..."
Loki disappeared, leaving the avatars of Hades and Metis standing alone, surrounded only by the gurgling of the spring and the all-pervading coercion of fate.
The words "Fate can only be hidden, not destroyed..." instantly awakened them.
Their previous thinking had been limited by the experience of the world of Chaos.
In the Greek world, the goddesses of fate, although powerful ancient deities, were not completely immovable cornerstones of the world.
But here, the three Norn goddesses—Urðr (past), Verðandi (present), and Skuld (future)—were closely linked to the root of the World Tree.
They were not only the weavers of fate, but also, to some extent, the embodied executors of the concept of 'fate' in this world.
Loki's mockery, though harsh, pointed to a cold fact and... a possible, sinister path.
It couldn't be killed, but it could be... 'covered'.
More precisely, replacement.
What they were about to do was not to crudely destroy the loom of fate, but to... quietly become the weaver themselves.
This new plan required even greater power, especially in the realms of 'fate', 'time', and 'secrecy'.
In the world of Chaos, there was an ancient being—Nyx, the embodiment of night, whose fate and time flowed beneath her sleeves.
Hades's will did not hesitate for a second; he instantly diverted most of his attention from the Norse world avatar back to the obsidian throne in the depths of Chaos's Hades.
He wasted no time and directly used the authority of Hades to touch the primordial triple-aspect goddess, who slept in the darkest part of Hades—Nyx.
The eternal Night Realm rippled slightly, and Nyx's figure was not fully revealed, but her eyes were already open in the darkness, silently looking at Hades.
Without greetings or explanations, Hades used the most refined divine thoughts to convey his discoveries in the Norse world, Loki's warnings, and the new 'replacement' plan.
Nyx instantly understood this information.
"The weaving of fate... an amusing trial."
She did not ask about the risks, did not question the motives.
"Very well, let's just atone for our sins."
As the words fell, an extremely condensed shadow clone, containing the core authorities of 'secrecy', 'fate', 'constancy', and 'time', was separated from her.
This clone was like the deepest condensation of night, without fixed form, but radiating the majesty that silences everything.
This night clone silently merged with Hades's shadow, ready to accompany him to that strange world.
And Nyx's main body, having completed this separation, slowly closed her eyes and once again sank into a deep sleep.
With the support of Nyx's clone, the will of Hades and Metis refocused on the plant avatar in the Norse world.
Cautiously, like the most patient hunters, they continued to approach the central part of the Well of Urd.
Passing through the strange forest, the scene before them was finally fully revealed.
Beneath a natural arch formed by the roots of the vast World Tree lay a pool of crystal-clear water, seemingly reflecting thousands of scenes of the past—the Well of Urd.
Beside the well, surrounding it, were the three goddesses.