Forn sat inside the cave Odin had pointed out to her, focusing her aura around her body to accelerate her recovery. Several days passed in heavy silence, where she heard nothing but her own breathing and the distant sound of the wind.
But suddenly—
The air around her trembled.
It wasn't an ordinary vibration, but a deep tremor, like a massive heartbeat pulsing from somewhere far away.
Forn immediately spread her aura to sense danger, yet she felt no killing intent and no enemy approaching the cave.
She froze for a moment.
"The tremor… it's not coming from here."
She focused more.
"It's… from a distant mountain."
After a brief moment of thought, she stood up and cautiously left the cave. The moment she raised her eyes toward the distant mountain from which the tremor was emanating—
She stopped in place.
Her eyes widened.
Her body trembled.
"How…? Weren't they supposed to be extinct? How can they still exist?!"
The mountain was melting.
Lava poured from it in torrents, but this was no ordinary eruption. The energy radiating from it was different… ancient… primordial… terrifying.
Forn felt an immediate urge to flee the island.
But—
A single voice stopped her in her tracks, freezing her limbs.
"There is no danger. Continue your treatment, little girl."
That voice—
It wasn't loud, yet it carried a weight that made her soul tremble.
She slowly returned to the cave, thinking in fear:
"Who… who was that? That voice… it sounded like one of the Rulers! How is that possible? How can there be a Ruler here? This island is far from the Continent of Mira!"
And suddenly, she realized the truth.
"I'm not in an ordinary place… this is a legendary land… a place that exists only in ancient myths."
Although she had witnessed many strange things on the Continent of Mira… what she saw in the mountain, and what she had just heard, surpassed all her expectations.
Far from the cave—
Athena was gazing calmly toward the mountain, her brothers standing beside her.
She spoke in a low voice:
"This is strange… isn't it? We were sitting atop a disaster like this."
Hades replied in a dark calm tone:
"No, sister… what's strange is that we didn't feel any disturbance at all."
Poseidon was about to comment and start a discussion, but Odin's serious voice cut them off:
"Silence. Just watch. There must be no mistakes. Is that understood?"
Silence fell immediately.
Lava exploded from the mountain, melting rocks and opening deep fissures in its peak.
And suddenly—
A gigantic hand emerged from the lava.
A hand glowing with the color of fire.
Then… very slowly…
A massive body began to rise from the heart of the mountain.
Little by little—
The Child of the Giants emerged.
An infant… yet his size rivaled castles.
Flames surrounded his body, and his eyes glowed with a primordial energy that did not belong to this era.
Poseidon swallowed and said:
"This… is truly terrifying. If he's this powerful as an infant… what will he be like when he grows up?"
No one answered.
But Odin's gaze remained steady.
It was not a look of fear—
But of anticipation.
As if he had been waiting for this day for a long time.
As soon as Odin finished speaking, his brothers looked at him silently, each thinking the same possibility—
But Odin calmly cut through their thoughts and said:
"Do not forget… this child has become our servant now. No matter how powerful he becomes in the future, it will not harm us—it will benefit us. And do not forget something even more important… we have not yet reached our peak strength. We are still evolving. We have not reached our ceiling."
Hades and his brothers exchanged glances, then quickly regained their composure, as if Odin's words had restored their confidence.
Hades muttered in a low voice:
"Yes… we are still evolving. Perhaps in the future, we will be able to face them directly."
Odin said in a deep calm tone:
"It is only time… that we lack, my brothers. With time and proper training, we will certainly grow stronger."
And suddenly—
The Child of the Giants' cry echoed across the island.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
His laughter shook the very sky.
The moment Odin heard it, he quickly waved his hand, and a terrifying storm erupted, sweeping across the area and dispersing the immense pressure the child was radiating throughout the island to frighten instinctive creatures.
Odin looked at his brothers and said firmly:
"You go and take care of our children. I will handle this child. Do not worry."
Poseidon and Hades nodded and quickly scattered across the island.
Odin remained alone.
He looked at the child—whose size rivaled several houses—and sighed lightly to himself.
"This will be troublesome."
In an instant, he moved beside the child with blinding speed and waved his hand, saying in a commanding voice:
"Kneel before me, child."
The giant infant looked at him in confusion, slowly moving his head left and right as if he understood nothing.
Odin realized that the Child of the Giants was still an infant—unable to speak, unable to understand commands.
But what reassured him… was that the child did not attack.
It seemed as though control over him had become instinctive, requiring no understanding or explanation.
Odin smiled faintly and said:
"It seems taming you will not be easy… little one."
As soon as the child heard his voice, he burst into laughter again and began rolling across the ground, crushing rocks and carving cracks into the mountain.
Odin's smile stiffened, turning into a forced expression hiding suppressed irritation.
He said through tightened teeth:
"Are you trying to destroy the mountain… you troublesome infant?"
But the child did not stop.
He laughed even louder and moved even more wildly, enjoying the chaos he was creating.
At that moment, Odin realized that this lava-born infant might destroy the mountain stone by stone if left like this.
So he waved his hand quickly—
Terrifying winds erupted, lifting the child from his place and raising him high into the sky, away from the mountain.
The tremors ceased.
Odin looked at the mountain and saw it finally stabilizing.
He let out a long sigh.
"Good… as long as it wasn't destroyed."
Then, using his power, he carried the infant through the air, traveling across the island until he found a distant and suitable area.
He placed him down there with relative gentleness.
But the moment the child's feet touched the ground, he screamed again and began rolling and playing, unaware of the destruction he was causing.
Odin stood watching him in silence.
Then he sighed deeply and said:
"Yes… this is truly going to be troublesome."