# 1282
Chapter 1283: Ragnarök
Holding Mumu, Skuld's face immediately lit up with joy. She bowed deeply to Lin Qiye, then cradling Mumu in her hands like a treasured possession, she ran toward the forest.
Watching Mumu's bewildered expression, Lin Qiye could only silently give it an encouraging look:
Whether you can win Skuld over is up to you! Mumu!
"I'm sorry, although my sister is over a thousand years old, her mind is forever like a child's." Standing at the edge of the cliff, Verdandi saw this scene, and the cold sharpness in her gaze toward Lin Qiye and the others diminished slightly as she spoke calmly.
"I understand." Lin Qiye nodded. "That's how the future should be."
Upon hearing this, a trace of surprise appeared in Verdandi's eyes.
Her gaze swept over Si Xiaonan and Subject 27 repeatedly before she spoke again: "So, what brings you here?"
"I have something I'd like to ask of the three goddesses..."
Lin Qiye didn't beat around the bush. He immediately described Jialan's current situation, and finally his gaze fell upon Skuld, who was playing happily with Mumu in the forest.
"...Only the 'Future' Goddess Skuld can save my beloved. I implore the goddess to grant this."
Verdandi listened silently to Lin Qiye's words, then looked toward Urd, the "Past" goddess beside her. The latter gave a barely perceptible nod.
"I understand what you mean." Verdandi spoke calmly. "But I'm very sorry—we must refuse."
"Why?"
"Why should we help you?" Urd continued. "You're from Great Xia; we're the three Norse goddesses. Our positions are fundamentally different. Not immediately capturing you and sending you to Asgard is already more than generous. Why should we specifically help you rescue someone?"
"I can pay you a reward..."
"A reward? You mean that 【Holy Grail】 that can only be used a few times?" Urd shook her head. "We don't need wishes granted by such filthy things, and we have no interest in the other divine artifacts you possess."
Lin Qiye was left speechless.
Originally, Lin Qiye had indeed planned to use the wish-granting power of the 【Holy Grail】 as a bargaining chip to request the three goddesses' assistance—or even just Skuld's help alone—but he never expected that before he could even speak, Urd had already seen through his hand. This one sentence directly blocked all of Lin Qiye's options.
Lin Qiye exchanged a glance with Si Xiaonan, the latter's eyes full of helplessness.
"Goddess, is there really no other possibility?" Lin Qiye asked with the last glimmer of hope.
"Very sorry." Verdandi extended her hand, gracefully pointing toward the path down the mountain, and spoke calmly, "Please return."
"Sister, I could actually help..." Skuld, cradling Mumu, suddenly poked her head out from the forest and said quietly, "Although I can't see his entire future, I can feel that this big brother is so pitiful..."
"Skuld!" Verdandi glared at Skuld.
Skuld: (╥╯^╰╥)
She quietly shrunk her head back into the grass.
"Please return." Verdandi extended her hand once more, her tone several degrees firmer than before.
Lin Qiye was silent for a long while, then let out a deep sigh.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, Skuld's head suddenly popped out of the grass again:
"Sister!"
"Skuld! You cannot go!"
"...No, that's not it, Sister..." Skuld, holding Mumu, stood bewildered at the edge of the grass. She extended one hand, pointing toward the horizon that was gradually darkening in the twilight.
"Sister... the sunset has turned red."
Upon hearing these words, Verdandi and Urd froze, then, as if having thought of something, their faces changed drastically. They turned sharply to look at the horizon.
The sunset, like scattered gold, gently bathed every inch of the earth in light. Though the rays were growing dimmer, there was no sign of the red that Skuld described.
"Are you certain, Skuld? It really turned red?!" Urd rushed to Skuld's side, gripping her shoulders, and asked with the utmost seriousness.
"It's really true, Sister... It's red, the same red as last time, over a hundred years ago..."
Skuld seemed frightened, her small face turning pale, her voice getting softer and softer.
Lin Qiye, who had been about to leave, seeing this, asked Si Xiaonan in confusion:
"What does this mean? Isn't the sun yellow? And doesn't the twilight eventually turn red? That's normal, isn't it?"
"This isn't the mortal realm like Asgard. Here, the sunrise and sunset are governed by the gods, so even during twilight, red would never appear, because that portends ill fortune..." Si Xiaonan's expression grew increasingly grave. "We can't see the red—that's normal. But she... she's different.
She's the 'Future' goddess. If she sees red in the twilight, that means..."
"Ragnarök..."
Verdandi, in her violet robes, stood at the edge of the cliff, gazing at the sunset. Her eyes were full of solemnity. "Ragnarök again... Last time it was the mist that destroyed the world. What will it be this time...?"
"Skuld, can you see where the red in the twilight is coming from?" Urd embraced Skuld's shoulders and asked seriously.
Skuld, holding Mumu like a doll, hesitated for a moment, then slightly turned her head to look at Lin Qiye beside her...
Lin Qiye's expression changed.
Skuld gazed at him in confusion for a long while, then shook her head. Her gaze shifted to sweep through the void around him, and she spoke with some uncertainty, "I, I can't see... No, wait. It seems like something is hidden?"
Verdandi's expression tightened. Her form blurred, and she appeared beside Lin Qiye. Narrowing her eyes, she spoke in a low voice:
"What else are you hiding?"
"I'm not hiding anything?" Lin Qiye said in astonishment.
This time, Lin Qiye was truly wronged without cause. He only had Subject 27 hidden within him—there was absolutely nowhere else to hide anyone.
"Sister, maybe I was mistaken." After hesitating for a long while, Skuld finally said quietly.
Verdandi's gaze was like a scalpel, sweeping over every inch of the space around Lin Qiye's body. After confirming there was nothing unusual, she let out a long sigh.
"Forget it. Just go..." Verdandi turned, her long black hair gently swaying as she slowly walked toward the cliff's edge, her eyes full of complexity and helplessness. "Ragnarök, Ragnarök... Since it's already twilight, how could it be so easy to avoid?"
Though Lin Qiye was filled with doubts, he didn't press further. He gestured to Mumu, who immediately scrambled out of Skuld's embrace, leaping and landing on Lin Qiye's back, clinging to his neck like a little mascot.
As it followed Lin Qiye and the others down the mountain, it didn't forget to wave goodbye to the dispirited Skuld.