Chapter 629: Twilight Descends

Fenliru lay crouched in the endless darkness, for a long time.

Fenliru cannot recall how many years he has been imprisoned, and time has lost its meaning here.

The rope called Gleipnir Rope, smooth as silk, was tougher than any chain, tightly binding his neck, forelegs and hind legs, anchoring him to a massive rock!

Each time he struggled, the rope tightened a little more!

His fangs were already worn, his claws gouged deep grooves into the rock, yet he never ceased trying.

He is a wolf, a giant wolf, a sky‑devouring, earth‑devouring wolf; he should not be locked here like a mad dog!

Suddenly.

His ears twitched.

He heard a sound coming from far, far away, like wind through the World Tree's leaves, like water surging up from the depths of Mimir's Spring, like something suppressed for a thousand years finally finding a crack!!

Fenliru jerked his head upward; his golden vertical pupils lit up in the darkness, like two lamps burning through the night sky.

He opened his mouth, revealing two rows of sharp teeth, and let out a low growl.

The sound squeezed out from deep within his throat:

"Time has come."

He lifted his head and called into the darkness.

"My sons, go and devour the sun and the moon for me!"

"Go!"

His sons Sikuer and Hati, the god‑wolves that chase the sun and moon, have been running across the sky since their birth.

They inherited their father's wildness, faster than wind, swifter than arrows, more relentless than any hunter.

Fenliru's voice pierced the rock, the soil, the clouds, and reached the heavens!!

Sikuer halted in the sky.

His four hooves struck the void, his golden vertical pupils fixed on the massive, scorching fireball that had burned for countless ages ahead.

The sun continued its course, utterly unaware that danger had arrived.

Sikuer opened his mouth, which gaped far wider than usual, as vast as an abyss, as a fissure, as a black hole that could swallow everything!

It lunged forward and clamped onto the sun.

The sun struggled once, flaring a final dazzling ray, then went out!

Darkness spread from the heavens!

Hati lunged toward the moon.

The moon was smaller than the sun, colder than the sun, more fragile than the sun.

It barely had time to struggle before Hati swallowed it whole!

A silvery‑white light flashed at the horizon for an instant, then vanished completely.

At the very moment they struck.

Gulinkenbi, the rooster perched atop the World Tree, sensed something amiss!

It was a golden rooster, its feathers like flames, its crest like sunrise; each dawn it crowed punctually, awakening the Gods of Asgard.

The sun did not rise, nor did the moon.

Although Bader was already dead, the sun and moon should not have vanished!

The sky remained pitch black, deeper than the darkest night.

Gulinkenbi opened his beak and let out a long cry.

The sound was sharp and lingering, tearing the dead silence, spreading from the World Tree's summit toward the Nine Realms.

It called again and again, its cries full of warning, full of terror!!

And below,

Nidehuoge lurked in the deepest part of the World Tree, among the massive, moss‑covered roots.

It was a venomous dragon, its scales black, its eyes blood‑red, gnawing at the World Tree's roots for years.

It chewed slowly, bite after bite, year after year, as if completing an endless task.

But it heard Gulinkenbi's cry.

That cry came from the treetop, piercing the trunk, the bark, and the roots riddled with countless holes from its bites.

"Hehe, is it time now............"

Nidehuoge paused, lifted its head, its blood‑red eyes flashing in the darkness.

Then it snapped down fiercely, more forceful than ever before!!!

Its teeth sank into the World Tree's root, tearing violently, ripping out a massive chunk with skin and bone.

The World Tree emitted a deep groan, the whole tree trembling from its summit to its roots, from Asgard to Heerhaimu!!!

The Nine Realms fell into total darkness, with no light, no direction, no hope.

People ran out of their houses, stood in the snow, looked up at the pitch‑black firmament, seeing nothing.

They lit torches, the firelight illuminating their terrified faces.

They did not know what had happened, only feeling cold, a cold seeping from the gaps in their bones, a cold rising from their hearts.

In the cavern, Loki opened his eyes.

His hair still covered his face, venom still dripped on him, chains still bound his shoulders, waist, and knees.

But he sensed it.

Those sounds, those vibrations, those things that had traveled from distant places, suppressed for an unknown length of time!!

A faint, cold curve slowly formed at the corner of his mouth:

"Yemengjide,"

His voice was soft, as if calling a child he hadn't seen in a long time:

"My child, you should awaken."

At the far‑end of the world's deep sea, the giant serpent Yemengjide slept on the ocean floor.

Its body coiled around the entire Midejierte, head and tail meeting, encircling every inch of the Human World's land.

It slept so deeply, as if it were dead.

Loki's voice pierced the water, the silt, and its heavy Scale, landing at its ear.

Yemengjide opened its eyes.

"Yes, father."

The next moment!

The seawater began to churn!

It wasn't wind‑blown waves; it was the kind of colossal surge that rose from the sea floor, making the whole ocean roil!!

Yemengjide lifted its head and raised a sky‑full of Water Curtain.

The seawater surged onto the shore, drowning villages, drowning forests, drowning hills!!

People screamed and ran in the darkness, swept away by the wave, vanishing into the icy seawater!!

Yemengjide continued to rise, its massive body emerging from the sea floor, coiling around the earth—one loop, another loop, and another!

"Very good!"

Loki smiled.

He lowered his head to look at the chains on his body, those enchanted, indestructible chains.

He inhaled deeply, tensed every muscle, and jerked sharply.

The chains snapped!

All the chains broke at once, like ropes pulled too tight suddenly loosening, snapping, striking the cave wall, sending shards of stone flying!

He rose from the stone, moved his stiff limbs, and his joints emitted crisp crack! crack! sounds!!

"Siguen, you should go, I don't want what comes next to involve you."

"Go, the farther the better!"

After speaking with Siguen.

He walked to the cave entrance, gazing at the boundless darkness beyond.

Wind poured in from outside, carrying the salty scent of seawater, the chill of ice and snow, and a certain free aroma he hadn't smelled in a very long time!!

His mouth curved even deeper.

"Damn you bastards, now it's your turn!" he sneered, his voice echoing in the darkness, "I Loki will—"

His words caught.

Because, in his line of sight.

The sky cracked.

A fissure appeared on the eastern horizon, stretching straight upward, cleaving the boundless darkness in two!

Sunlight poured out from behind the fissure, golden, warm, blinding, as if someone had opened a door in the firmament!

Loki's smile froze on his face.

He stared at the fissure, at the light streaming through it, at the silhouette standing within the light.

Far away, the features indistinct, but he knew who it was.

He gritted his teeth and forced two words out between his teeth.

"Yu Lin!"