System: There's Something Wrong With My System.-Chapter 49 - How Is It Begin

#A/N - "This Chapter requires a lot, a lot of research and rereading to become a Chapter"

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In each world in the Multiverse, the Creator is known by a different name. In Norse mythology, he is known as Ginnungagap, the first entity who created everything from the Void. One of his first creations was Yggdrasil, the World Tree that connects the entire universe.

With the birth of Yggdrasil, two primordial beings (Aboriginal Beings) appeared:

Ymir, the symbol of darkness and chaos.

Auðumbla, the symbol of light and goodness.

They are the two poles that maintain the balance of Yggdrasil. Ymir lives in Muspelheim, the place of fire and the first light, to disguise his darkness. While Auðumbla lives in Niflheim, the world of darkness, to dampen the brilliance of her light.

However, this balance began to waver when Auðumbla licked the ice for three days, and from there emerged Buri, the ancestor of the Æsir gods. Buri’s birth marked the beginning of the imbalance.

Ymir became restless. In his sleep, he sweated, and from that sweat the first two Jotuns were born: a man and a woman. This is where the Jotun (giants) first appeared, as a reaction of the universe to balance the existence of the gods.

The conflict between Buri and the Jotuns slowly grew. But balance was maintained, even after Bor, Buri’s son, married Bestla, a Jotun. They had three children: Odin, Vili, and Vé. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The three saw Yggdrasil as a world filled with chaos without order. They believed its source was Ymir. Together, they killed Ymir.

After Odin, Vili, and Ve slew Ymir, the body of the ancient giant became the foundation for new worlds. From his flesh came the earth; his blood became the seas and rivers; his bones rose as mountains; and his skull became the vault of the sky.

From his remains came other creatures: the Elves from the sparks of light, and the Dwarves from the maggots that crawled in his flesh.

The other seven realms were born: the worlds of men, the gods, the elves, the dwarves, and others, all derived from a once-living body.

But this creation did not come without a price.

Ymir was not just the first being, he was one of two Aboriginal Beings, the natural balances that kept Yggdrasil going. The universe could not survive without both of them dying, but the loss of even one of them would tear apart the deepest harmony of reality.

So when Ymir died, the will of the universe was awakened. He created something that had never existed before: a realm of shadow, a place without light and without law, where the chaos that Ymir once represented could still flow.

And so the Shadow Realm was born, not from Ymir’s body, but from the will of the Universe itself.

Knowing that her existence without her mate would shake what remained of the balance, Auðumbla chose to disappear. She did not die, was not destroyed, but returned to where she came from, to the Primordial Void that transcended all realms.

With her passing, Yggdrasil did not collapse, but stood with a wound that would never heal: the loss of its two guardians of balance.

And ever since, the world has been guarded by gods.

The Shadow Realm was not created by the gods. It was the universe’s will to maintain balance after Ymir’s death.

The creatures in the Shadow Realm are made up of human shadows, fears, nightmares, and imaginations. They are dark versions of reality: dark copies of humans, creatures of fairy tales told or never told.

But the gods were unaware of the Shadow Realm’s existence until it was too late. The Shadow Realm grew and grew, becoming a threat to all of Yggdrasil.

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After overthrowing Ymir and forming the world from his body, Odin and his brothers, Vili and Vé, claimed control of Yggdrasil.

They proclaimed themselves the new rulers of reality, and from their high thrones in Asgard, they established law and order in the universe.

The Jotuns, Ymir’s descendants, symbols of chaos and wild power were forced to leave Muspelheim. Odin exiled them to a new realm, called Jötunheim, a strange and wild place that became the alien domain of the giants.

Asgard, the highest and brightest realm, became the home of the Æsir.

The Elves were placed in Alfheim, the Dwarves in Svartalfheim, and the other creatures were scattered to the realms that suited their natures.

However, one realm remained empty: Midgard, Earth.

So the three brothers descended to Midgard. On the shores of the new world, they found two driftwood pieces. From these pieces of wood they created the first pair of humans: Askr, the man, and Embla, the woman.

Odin breathed life and spirit into their bodies. Vili gave them reason, understanding, and movement. Vé gave them names and clothing, as a sign of their identity and honor.

As a final gift, Odin bestowed upon them a single, most sacred power, the lifeblood of Yggdrasil itself: Mana.

This energy is the lifeblood of the universe, the power that flows through all that lives and grows. With it, humanity was given the chance to grow, to create, and, one day, maybe even to challenge its own destiny.

But beyond this creation, the shadow of Jötunheim and the will of the Shadow Realm lurked.

For the balance had been disturbed, and no power can last forever without consequence.

As humanity progressed, the Shadow Realm became deeper and more complex. Eventually, it began to spill over its invisible boundaries and touch the real world.

The gods, especially Odin, only realized this when it was too late. The Shadow Realm had become a world unto itself, uncontrollable, unconquerable.

So to maintain what balance remained, Odin decided on one thing: Seal the Shadow Realm.

With the help of his son, Baldur, the god of light and beauty, they placed a Runic Seal at the center of the Shadow Realm. (This Rune which later became Ignivara)

This seal was not only a symbol of prohibition, but the concept of light itself, a boundary beyond which pure darkness could not pass.

But even light has its shadows. And even though the seal was in place, the shadows of the Shadow Realm still found a way to return...

Then... Baldur was dead.

And with his death, the seal of light began to weaken. Without the power of the concept of light to sustain the runes, the Shadow Realm began to crack.

Thousands of years passed.

Humans populated the Earth, developing civilizations, and harnessing Mana, the sacred energy of Yggdrasil, for their own purposes. But they became greedy.

They exploited Mana relentlessly without reverence, without restraint draining it from the world as if it were an endless well.

Yggdrasil, the World Tree and the anchor of all realms, began to weaken.

And with its decline, the Shadow Realm surged in strength.

Darkness crept into the seams of reality. The rift between the mortal world and the realm of shadows widened, no longer a whisper but a wound.

Sensing the growing imbalance, the universe responded.

From among humankind, a rare few were chosen by fate and forged by divine will. They were called Harbingers, beacons of power meant to hold back the encroaching dark.

Each was attuned to a primal force:

The Harbinger of Fire, whose wrath could raze armies.

The Harbinger of Water, bearer of calm tides and devastating floods.

The Harbinger of Wind, untouchable and swift as the storm.

The Harbinger of Earth, whose strength rivaled mountains.

The Harbinger of Thunder, crackling with divine fury.

The Harbinger of Frost, sovereign of eternal winter.

The Harbinger of Metal, a living fortress of steel and will.

The Harbinger of Flora, guardian of life and verdant decay.

The Harbinger of Aether, master of the unseen threads of existence.

And most revered of all: the Harbinger of Light, a title that only those of the bloodline of Baldur, the Shining God, could inherit.

Together, these ten formed a sacred order: The Circle.

Each era bore its own Circle, a generation of Harbingers entrusted with sealing breaches in the veil and ensuring that Yggdrasil’s breath, the flow of Mana remained steady.

But even legends fade.

Over time, The Circle could no longer contain the unraveling.

Yggdrasil groaned beneath the weight of imbalance.

Mana, once harmonious and vibrant, turned turbulent. Its rivers ran dry in some places, and flooded chaotically in others. The world fell into disarray.

Then came the harbingers of doom. The signs were undeniable:

Ragnarök had begun.

First came Fimbulwinter, a merciless, unnatural winter that endured for three years without pause. No spring. No summer. Only biting cold and endless snow.

The world froze.

Crops failed. Hunger gnawed at the bellies of kings and beggars alike. Desperation spread like wildfire.

Civilizations fractured. Empires crumbled.

Brother turned against brother.

Kingdoms drowned in blood.

The sacred values of humanity, honor, kinship, and mercy collapsed.

Even the gods grew restless.

At last, Odin Allfather summoned the Æsir for a final counsel atop the peak of Hliðskjálf.

With heavy hearts, they reached a devastating decision:

Mankind would be stripped of its right to wield Mana.

No longer would humans command the sacred force they had abused. The flow of energy was severed.

It was not a punishment.

It was a mercy.

A final act of hope, to delay the end.

And with that decision... Odin vanished.

He did not die. He did not ascend. He simply disappeared, slipping beyond the tapestry of fate like a thread cut loose from the Loom of the Norns.

His departure shattered the last chain of destiny.

And with it, the final seals fractured.

From the splinters of broken wards, the Zero Zone was born.

A realm of collapse.

A bleeding wound between dimensions where the real world and the Shadow Realm fused into one grotesque landscape.

There, the laws of nature unraveled.

There, day bled into night, and time lost its meaning.

There, shadow beings, once banished to the fringes of existence poured forth, no longer restrained by ancient boundaries.

But...

Just as the destruction was nearing its end, a mysterious entity emerged:

The Forgotten One, a being from beyond Yggdrasil, coming from nowhere, overstepping the written destiny.

He carried with him something that no human could ever possess:

The First Flame, A primordial spark from an era before Ymir, containing the true roots of Mana.

By granting it to humans, the ability to wield Mana was restored, but not as an inherited right, but as a curse and a test. Mana is no longer a right for all humans as it once was, but only for those who can still feel Mana.

Now the world is on the brink of Ragnarok.

The Shadow Realm continues to expand.

Yggdrasil is dying.

The Circle in this era is the last hope because in the long history of The Circle, since The First Flame existed, only in this era, a Harbinger of Light managed to survive the Shadow.

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