Far from the catastrophes, conflicts, and the evil that had come to the continent of Mira, and the sparks of war on the island of Asgard,
and on the peak of the highest mountain on the island, there were several primitive wooden and stone houses, built in a simple style that reflected the harshness of life on those high peaks.
Among them was one of the largest houses on the mountain, and inside this house slept Odin, the ruler of Asgard.
Odin was sleeping, not to rest, but because he felt that after many long years of his father warning him about the child of the giants, the time for that child to awaken had come.
He felt that deep sensation that crept into his soul, but he wanted to be certain of its truth, so Odin slept with his eyes closed and used his prophetic power to see whether he was able to communicate with his father after all those long years.
Odin had devoured many souls from the island and had become far stronger than the last time he had spoken with him.
And even with all those souls he had consumed over the years, neither he nor his brothers felt that they had reached the limit of their power, for they were still able to devour many more souls to become stronger.
They had not yet reached the ceiling of their maximum power, and they still had the ability to develop and grow in strength.
Odin believed that this time speaking with his father would be easier than the previous time, for his telepathic ability had become tremendously stronger, surpassing what it had been in the past.
But even with his power, he found it difficult to speak with his father, for he felt that it was harder than last time.
Odin did not know the reason, but he sensed that the cause was his father's sleep, so he tried to wake him by every method he knew.
After many attempts, he sensed a strange movement and felt his connection to his father, and he knew that his father was awakening from the long hibernation he had been in.
The moment he thought of that, he found himself in complete darkness and heard a strange yet familiar voice, one he had heard many years ago.
"How are you, Odin?"
The voice was strange and deep, penetrating his very core and giving him a feeling of unease, but he replied:
"I am well, my father. My brothers and I carried out your orders and established our offspring on the island. But a few days ago, I sensed the danger you warned me about. He may awaken, my father… is this true?"
His father did not speak or answer his question, for Asgard was already sensing the location of the child of the giants and observing his condition.
And when he saw that Odin's feeling was correct, and that the child was about to be born, his expression darkened.
For he had been in a long slumber, and during that slumber he had seen many things, most of which he did not understand. But he understood one thing clearly: the giants were still alive and present in the world.
If Odin and his sons were to kill that child, the other giants would sense it and come seeking revenge, and it would not be unlikely that they would destroy the island that had already become his body and annihilate all his children and descendants.
Thus, he did not know what to do with that child.
At first, he wanted to devour its soul to see whether that would make him stronger or not, but after learning that the giants were still alive, he cast those foolish thoughts from his mind.
He knew that touching that child would alert the other giants, and he feared their wrath.
Before absolute power, one must submit—this was the lesson he had learned after all those years of remaining in this world.
He thought for a while about what he would do with the child, sinking into a whirlpool of possibilities that crowded his mind. A considerable amount of time passed before an idea flashed in his mind—an idea he saw as excellent, a way out of this dangerous predicament. At that point, he decided to tell Odin what he had concluded.
He spoke in a deep, steady voice, carrying the weight of the centuries he had lived:
"Odin, I do not want you to kill that child… I want you to raise him."
At that moment, it was as if time had stopped. Odin froze in place, his tongue unable to speak. Shock was clear on his features, and his eyes widened as he tried to comprehend what he had heard. After moments of heavy silence, he said in a hesitant voice:
"Do you want me to raise a child of the giants, my father?"
Asgard answered without hesitation:
"Yes, Odin. I want you to make this child see you as his father. This child will be a great help to us in the future, when we appear to the outside world, Odin."
The words seeped into Odin's mind, and he began to think deeply. He tried to connect what his father had said with what he knew and what he had learned throughout his life, until he believed he had understood the intent. He raised his head and said:
"Do you want us to make him a weapon for us, my father?"
When Asgard heard Odin's words, he felt a slight disappointment. He had believed that his son's prophetic abilities would allow him to see what he himself saw after becoming the island of Asgard. Yet, after a moment of thought, he realized that the matter was more complex than it seemed.
Odin truly possessed strong spiritual and prophetic abilities, but since Asgard had become the island itself, his soul had changed and his abilities had transformed. New powers had emerged within him—powers he had not yet discovered. He no longer resembled humans as he once did, but had become closer to the rulers.
True, he had not yet reached their level of power, but Asgard was confident that over time, and as Odin's offspring—children without abilities who would die and whose souls would be absorbed and devoured within his spirit—increased, he would grow stronger. With time, he would reach the level of the rulers.
And although this path required a long time, Asgard, after becoming immortal, no longer cared about time as he once had.
Asgard emerged from his thoughts and said in a clearer, firmer voice:
"No, Odin. I do not want you to adopt the child to turn him into a weapon. I want you to adopt him because the giants still exist in this world. I want you, by adopting and raising him, to gain a powerful ally in the future, my son."
Upon hearing these words, Odin felt as though a veil had been lifted from his eyes. He realized that his thinking had been narrow. His thoughts had been confined to using the child as a weapon, and he had never imagined that this child could be the key to making an entire race—one of the strongest races in the world—an ally to them.
True, he did not know that the giants were still alive, but that was no excuse for the narrowness of his thinking.
Odin sighed, then said in a hesitant tone that carried both anxiety and fear:
"My father… will this child want me to be his father? I fear that he may not, and that I would be forced to kill him, making the race of giants our enemy."
Odin said this, and he was not surprised by what his father told him about the giants' survival. He knew that many races written about as extinct had not truly vanished, but were hiding in the shadows, regaining their strength, and waiting for the right moment to return to the world.
For the mother of one of his brothers was from the angels—those who were said to be extinct. Thus, he was neither shocked nor surprised when he learned that the giants were still alive.