# 1290
Chapter 1290
The Soul That Never Existed
Upon hearing these words, it was as if countless thunderbolts crashed down within Lin Qiye's mind!
His mind went completely blank.
"What do you mean?!" Lin Qiye's brow furrowed tightly. "There's only one soul in his body?!"
"I mean exactly what I said." Skuld whispered softly. "A hundred years ago, Sister Idun did indeed give her heart to Brother Bragi... but that was just a heart! A heart is merely an organ, completely different from a soul!
Before you arrived, the two elder sisters checked him over several times. There has only ever been his own soul in his body!
Sister Idun's soul has never existed. How could it possibly have been separated?"
Lin Qiye stood frozen like a statue.
Idun's soul... simply doesn't exist??
"Big brother, you just said that all these years, he has been writing letters to his wife... It is indeed impossible for there to be a second Sister Idun who knows so much about their past. But don't forget, besides Sister Idun herself, there is one other person who knows everything about their past...
It's himself..."
Skuld closed her eyes helplessly and continued slowly, "Perhaps all these years, he has been writing letters to himself. He just never noticed."
Lin Qiye's face instantly turned ashen!
In a daze, fragments of every conversation with Idun flashed through Lin Qiye's mind.
【I... My name is Idun.】
【...I underestimated the power of the Mist. Neither Bragi nor I are particularly powerful deities. I control the authority of youth and can barely resist the Mist with my strong life force, but Bragi cannot...】
【I gave him my heart...】
【When I gave him my heart, he was already unconscious, and I only came out after he had fallen asleep each time... He never realized my existence.】
He quickly recalled in the hospital, that "Idun" who climbed out of bed late at night, who primped before the mirror, who gazed tenderly at Bragi in the mirror, who smiled as she wrote about past memories with Bragi...
Wearing a white gauze dress, sitting before the bronze mirror, under the dim candlelight, his gaze was so full of sorrow and longing.
If that wasn't Idun... then who was it?
A second personality hidden within Bragi?
If that were true, then Bragi's illness from the very beginning wasn't lovesickness... but some extreme form of dissociation?!
Lin Qiye seemed to realize something and abruptly stood up from the boulder.
"No... that's impossible... How could this be?! I clearly saw Idun's youth ability on him..."
Lin Qiye clearly remembered that in the hospital, on Bragi's treatment panel, he saw "Idun" written in parentheses, and when he抽取 abilities, he even drew Idun's 【Eternal Secret Garden】!
If Idun was fake, where did these abilities come from?
"Is that so hard to understand?" Skuld blinked her eyes.
"Goddess of Youth Idun gave her heart to Brother Bragi. That heart has been beating inside him for hundreds of years and has long merged completely with him.
Now, he is not only the Norse God of Poetry and Music, but also the new God of Youth!
His body carries two authorities simultaneously—the authority of music and the authority of youth.
He... is truly a dual-divine integration."
Lin Qiye stood stunned.
Dual-divine integration...?!
Lin Qiye came to his senses and immediately immersed his consciousness into the Asylum of the Gods!
His form had barely appeared in the courtyard when a translucent panel floated before him:
"Bragi Treatment Progress: 100%"
"Poetry and Music God Bragi treatment completed. Please leave the facility immediately."
"Reward extraction conditions met. Beginning random extraction of Bragi divine abilities..."
Below these lines, two ability wheels floated quietly in the void.
One belonged to the God of Poetry and Music, the other... to the God of Youth.
Lin Qiye studied that panel repeatedly, disbelief evident in his eyes.
The name "Idun" after the parentheses... was gone?
Why?!
Could it be that in Patient Room No. 3 of this hospital, there had only ever been Bragi alone?
But if that were the case, why did it only write "God of Poetry and Music" as the prefix? Where was "God of Youth"?
As if responding to Lin Qiye's thoughts, the virtual panel before him suddenly flickered, and one of the lines reappeared:
"God of Poetry and Music - God of Youth - Bragi Treatment Complete. Please Leave the Facility Immediately."
Witnessing this change on the panel with his own eyes, Lin Qiye was completely frozen.
It... changed by itself?
How was this possible?!!
This was the first time the hospital's notifications had changed like this. It completely overturned Lin Qiye's understanding... He felt something was wrong with this situation, but he couldn't pinpoint where the problem lay.
Was there a problem with the hospital itself? Or was there a problem with himself?
Lin Qiye felt his mind had turned to complete chaos. Before he could think clearly, a dull sound came from the outside world.
Lin Qiye snapped back to reality and looked toward the dim cave.
The barrier Verdandi had summoned had disappeared. She held a mysterious purple Chaos crystal in her hand and slowly walked out of the cave. Bragi stumbled along behind her, as if drunk.
"Verdandi... you... wait for me!" Bragi stumbled to block her path, widening his eyes as much as possible, hope burning in his gaze. "Where's my wife? Did we succeed?!"
"...We succeeded." Verdandi's expression was incredibly gentle as she handed the purple crystal in her hand to Bragi.
"Idun's soul has been stored in this crystal. As long as we send it to the Asgard source dimension for nurturing, it can slowly rebuild her physical body...
You two will meet again soon."
Hearing these words, unspeakable joy appeared in Bragi's eyes. He held the crystal as if it were a priceless treasure and softly spoke:
"Idun... Idun? Can you hear me?"
"Her soul is completely isolated from the outside world within this crystal. No matter what you say, she cannot hear it." Verdandi said. "We will accompany you to find Thor later. Let him store the crystal in the source dimension, and then you simply need to wait here patiently for her return."
"Yes!" Bragi turned around and spoke solemnly, "Thank you, the three goddesses!"
"Verdandi!"
Lin Qiye stepped forward abruptly, looking up at the tall Verdandi with utmost seriousness. "I would like to speak with you privately."
Verdandi's eyes narrowed slightly. She glanced at Skuld beside her, who had her head down looking like she had done something wrong, then nodded. "Alright, this way please."
Lin Qiye followed Verdandi deep into the forest until they were completely far from Bragi and the others. Only then did Lin Qiye忍不住 ask:
"Is there really only one soul in Bragi's body?"
Verdandi gave him a complicated look. "It seems Skuld has already told you... Yes, there is absolutely no Idun soul within his body.
I don't know why you and he both believe there is Idun's presence within him, but I can tell you with certainty... this is false. All of that was merely his illusion—a role he played and an atonement from the deepest recesses of his heart.
Perhaps a hundred years ago, when Idun gave her heart to him, he actually sensed everything. However, he couldn't accept this truth, so he created another 'Idun' to deceive himself...
He deceived both himself... and you."