# 1332
Chapter 1333: Odin's Return
Divine Mountain.
The endless stone steps stretched upward from the ground like a celestial ladder, towering into the clouds.
At the end of these steps, at Asgard's highest peak, a magnificent and grand temple stood imposingly. Standing before this temple and gazing down, one could see the entire panorama of the divine realm.
Only the successive Divine Kings could reside in this temple, and its previous master was Odin.
Thor stood at the temple entrance, gazing at the chaotic battlefield far below. His golden curly hair fluttered in the wind between the clouds, and his crimson cloak was like a splash of vivid red against the sacred hall, dazzlingly brilliant.
"Thor... can they hold the line?"
Sif gently embraced Thor from behind, asking with some concern.
"They can." Thor spoke with certainty. "Even though successive troubles have caused heavy losses to the gods, Asgard is still a top-tier divine realm in this world—it won't collapse so easily... Now that I have inherited the Divine King's throne, all hearts are united. They will eventually be buried beneath our Norse Gods."
Thor raised his fingertip, and hazy phantom light condensed from nothingness, like a vast sea drifting beside him.
A prism-like, translucent crystal rose from this sea of light. Guided by Thor, it gradually floated toward the temple's apex.
Since he had inherited the Divine King's throne, Asgard's divine realm origin should naturally return to the Divine King's Hall with him. As that prism crystal slowly embedded into the recess at the temple's summit, brilliant phantom light illuminated along the gray-blue pathways, instantly covering the entire temple.
In the grand, empty temple, the prism's source blazed with radiance. Those flowing luminous patterns were like the temple's blood vessels, pulsing in rhythm with the source's flickering frequency.
After restoring the origin to its place, a small purple crystal floated from Thor's palm, drifting directly toward the divine realm's origin.
This was the "Soul of Iden" that Bragi had brought.
"Can Iden truly be resurrected by nourishing her with the divine realm's origin?" Sif couldn't help but ask.
"Unknown, but since Bragi said so, we just need to follow his instructions." Thor shook his head. "In any case, this won't bring any loss to Asgard."
After this purple crystal merged into the phantom sea, Thor turned around, gazing down at the battlefield below. Deep purple lightning flickered in the depths of his eyes.
"Sif, stay here... I'm going down to help them."
"Mm."
He reached out and summoned a silver hammer into his hand. Just as he prepared to swoop down the mountain peak—
A sigh sounded from behind them both.
"Ah—"
At that sound, Thor and Sif both froze, their eyes narrowing!
Tyr, Vera, and the others had gone with the other gods to intercept the invaders. This Divine King's Hall should only have the two of them!
Where did that sigh come from?
Thor immediately gripped his silver hammer's handle, dense lightning erupting forth. He spun around sharply, about to strike—
When he saw the figure, he froze completely.
On the shattered remnants of the white divine throne, a familiar figure in tattered divine robes had somehow appeared. Crimson worms writhed wildly in his eye sockets as he gazed at Thor and Sif with complex emotions.
"Father?!"
Thor blurted out in shock.
Standing in the Divine King's Hall was no one else but Asgard's previous Divine King—Thor himself's father... Odin.
Since Odin had been chased away by the Saint of Ethics and the others, he had never appeared in Asgard again. Many Norse gods speculated he should already be dead, or had been chased to some other place and would never return here... Yet Thor never imagined that at this critical moment, Odin would return!
Thor stood at the temple entrance, suddenly uncertain what attitude to use to face Odin.
He was his father, the previous Divine King of Asgard, the being Thor had once revered above all... But he was also the one who betrayed Asgard, engineered the Mist Catastrophe, and nearly destroyed all of Norse civilization—a Cthulhu Covenant collaborator.
"Thor..." Odin looked at Thor, seemingly somewhat disappointed. "I never thought it would be you who ultimately took control of Asgard... I assumed Loki would be standing here."
Hearing Odin's words, Thor stiffened, his expression darkening.
"Father, don't you believe in me?" Thor's brow furrowed tightly as he spoke earnestly. "With me as Divine King, Asgard will only grow stronger! Loki's temperament is entirely unsuitable for ruling!"
Odin shook his head and slowly said:
"On the matter of Divine Kingship, I believe you could absolutely do better than Loki, even better than me.
However, you've misunderstood something critical, Thor.
What I need is not a Divine King who can lead Asgard to greater prosperity... I need a hand I can control to manipulate the Norse Gods."
"...Father, I don't understand your meaning." Thor's frown deepened.
Odin stared at Thor in silence. The Divine King's Hall fell deathly quiet.
Faint rumbling echoed from the mountainside.
After an unknown duration, Odin's low voice sounded once more:
"Thor, my dear child... are you willing to follow me and rebuild a truly existing Asgard?"
...
Sword cries rang continuously above the clouds. In the sky, a figure burst through the cloud layer and plummeted earthward like a meteor.
The War God Tyr's sword-holding hand trembled violently. Dense sword wounds covered his entire body, making him look utterly disheveled. He stared intently at the figure with the black box descending closely behind him, his eyes filled with defiance and fury.
Dust scattered across the sky. A low roar rose from the earth as he charged back into the heavens, fearlessly confronting that world-shaking sword!
"This guy's got real resilience. After Sword Saint Senior cut him seven or eight times, he's still bouncing around." Baili Pangpang clutched his wound while sitting on the Somersault Cloud, unable to resist complaining.
Lin Qiye intently steered the Somersault Cloud and said: "Among the Norse Gods, there are quite a few powerful Chief Gods. Their strength cannot be underestimated."
As Lin Qiye spoke, a streak of light sliced across the clouds and crashed heavily into the nearby earth.
The hazy dust settled. A tall, long-haired goddess, gripping a spear, slowly emerged...
Upon seeing the goddess's face, Lin Qiye was slightly stunned.
"It's her...?"
The now-normal Cao Yuan was regulating his breath on the Somersault Cloud. His peripheral vision swept toward the goddess's direction, and he found he couldn't look away.
He slightly parted his lips, astonished, and said, "Seven Nights, do you know her?"
"Yes." Lin Qiye nodded. "The 'Present' goddess... Verdandi."