"What is this...?"
The blue motes of light that Laufey had transformed into seemed to possess a will of their own. They surged toward Fenris all at once and slowly circled the Casket of Ancient Winters in his hands.
Fenris immediately drew back the foot he had just raised. He could clearly sense the vast energy surrounding him, every trace of it carrying Laufey's aura. Yet the violent aggression it had possessed moments ago was now completely gone.
"Your Majesty, do you know...?"
Fenris turned toward Frigga, only to find her staring back at him with the same bewilderment in her eyes.
"I don't know either... I've never seen anything like this before."
The countless blue motes illuminated everything around Fenris. After swirling around him like a vortex for several seconds, one particularly brilliant sphere of blue light suddenly rose from among them.
A moment later, it shot straight into the Casket of Ancient Winters at astonishing speed.
A crystalline blue gleam flashed across the dormant Casket, then quickly faded into nothingness. With it, every other abnormality disappeared as well.
It was as if a spark of insight had flashed through Fenris's mind. The next instant, a vast ocean of complex information flooded into his consciousness without warning. His head went rigid, and his entire body froze for a moment.
"This is..."
Fortunately, his mind was resilient enough to recover almost immediately.
After carefully examining the information, he discovered that it contained an enormous amount of knowledge concerning the Casket of Ancient Winters, along with countless details and techniques for wielding frost energy.
The sheer breadth of the knowledge and the depth of the experience were astonishing. It was practically a perfect guide capable of taking someone from an absolute beginner all the way to godhood.
Even with Fenris's mental abilities, he could not absorb all of it at once. He could only gain a general understanding for now.
"Are these Laufey's memories?"
No one in Asgard had ever shown much interest in the Casket of Ancient Winters. Across all the Nine Realms, there was likely no one other than Laufey who could possess such comprehensive experience with the artifact.
Moreover, this vast collection of knowledge was enough to allow Fenris to easily become a God of Frost. At least in this particular field, even Odin could not compare to Laufey.
"So I get the artifact and a free instruction manual?"
Fenris's eyes immediately lit up.
He had just been wondering how he would gradually familiarize himself with his new treasure. The frost power he had obtained from unlocking the Ancient Snow Demon was undoubtedly another tremendously powerful ability. If used properly, it could easily raise his strength to an entirely new level.
He had never expected the solution to fall into his lap just when he needed it most.
With the experience Laufey had accumulated over hundreds of thousands of years, following the path Laufey had already laid out would be hundreds of times better than blindly fumbling around on his own.
"I was planning to have a long talk with Iceman and exchange some pointers... But now, John, oh John, your teacher will always be your teacher!"
"Hahaha!"
Fenris cradled the Casket of Ancient Winters in his hands, unable to contain his delight as he laughed aloud.
"Still..."
"What exactly was that blue light that entered the Casket?"
Fenris tilted his head and raised the Casket of Ancient Winters before his eyes, examining it closely.
At first glance, the artifact seemed somehow different from before. Yet no matter how carefully he inspected it, he could not identify any actual change.
"Stop staring at it. No one is going to steal it from you."
Loki had no idea what had just happened. He merely watched from the side and spoke in a distinctly sour tone.
"I know you aren't afraid of that frost dome collapsing on top of you, but I doubt getting crushed beneath it would be pleasant."
"The Casket of Ancient Winters has looked the same for countless centuries," Frigga said with a gentle smile. "You can study it more carefully later. For now, we should leave."
"All right."
Fenris glanced around.
Under Thor's direction, Asgard's elderly, injured, and vulnerable citizens were being protected in the center of the formation as everyone hurried toward the enormous wall of ice.
The captured Frost Giants looked utterly dejected as they were escorted outside.
As for the Frost Giants still hiding among the ruins and refusing to come out...
The sky was practically falling, yet they still intended to hide there and wait for death?
Numerous blue figures soon darted out from concealed locations. Their long legs carried them forward at astonishing speed, but they were quickly caught and forced to join the evacuation with their heads hanging in defeat.
"We should go too," Fenris said softly.
After briefly reviewing the memories he had just received, he held the Casket of Ancient Winters between both hands.
A flash of blue light appeared, and the ornate rectangular Casket vanished from his palms.
"Not bad. That's convenient."
Fenris nodded in satisfaction, grabbed Loki with one hand, and extended his right hand with his palm facing upward.
Crack!
Cold air surged outward.
With a crisp chorus of splintering ice, a perfectly circular section of the frozen ground beneath the three of them broke free. The floating sheet of ice rose into the air, carrying Fenris and Frigga with it.
Snap!
Fenris snapped his fingers, and the ice rapidly carried the three of them toward the outskirts of the city.
"Remarkable control."
Despite their incredible speed, Fenris's deliberate control kept the flight perfectly stable.
They swept over the ground at low altitude, quickly passing the main body of evacuees and reaching the edge of the ice wall first.
Once they slowly descended to the ground, Frigga could not help but stare at Fenris in amazement.
This young man from Midgard was more exceptional than almost anyone she had ever encountered. He far surpassed the younger generation of the Nine Realms.
At around twenty years of age, he would not even be considered an adult by Asgardian standards, yet he was already capable of contending with the mightiest beings in existence.
His mastery over frost had already reached an extraordinary level. Even in Vanaheim, whose people had always excelled at wielding the forces of nature, he would be considered among the finest.
"Thank you."
Fenris gave the Queen a slight nod, then casually tossed Loki aside. Ignoring Loki as he grimaced in pain, Fenris turned his attention toward the towering wall of ice blocking their path.
The water vapor contained within the hurricane that had engulfed Asgard's capital had been frozen by Fenris's freezing breath.
Standing at the base of the wall and looking upward, he could see nothing but endless layers of ice stretching all the way into the clouds.
There were numerous cracks between the overlapping layers. Perhaps a small number of people could barely squeeze through them, but there was no chance an entire army could pass through in such a short time.
"What do we do?"
The first group at the head of the evacuation had just arrived. As they stared at the impossibly tall and thick wall of ice, the leading generals exchanged glances, each seeing the same anxiety in the others' eyes.
"Your Majesty, we..."
Boom!
At that moment, an enormous shadow descended over them.
Sensing that the little remaining light had been blocked, Fenris looked up and saw Thor flying toward them while carrying a massive slab of ground several hundred square meters in size.
Thor landed heavily.
The slab was covered in densely packed ice statues. Through the layers of ice, the terrified faces of the frozen Asgardians could still faintly be seen.
"There are still quite a few people alive. This is only one group."
Despite the freezing environment, Thor's face was drenched in sweat, and he panted heavily as he spoke.
"I'll have to make several more trips."
"Move! Why have all of you stopped? Don't you understand that we're running out of time?"
(End of Chapter)
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