The sun had once again illuminated the sky, though veiled by the branches and leaves of the Sigi tree, and Ivar already knew what name he would give the tree: "Yggdrasil, or the world tree," he whispered. He arrived at the hospital and searched for his mother, telling everyone to enter Yggdrasil.
"Ivar, what are you doing here?" asked his mother.
"Mom, we have to go home before some idiots realize they have supernatural abilities and do whatever they want," replied Ivar.
"So what the Divine voice said was true," said his mother.
"Mom, there's no proof that it was a Divine voice in the religious sense, and besides, what ability did you get, Mom?" Ivar asked.
"Healing, I don't know how I know, but I can heal all injuries and diseases, it seems to have something to do with my job as a nurse," replied her mother.
They gathered the medical team members and the patients in the courtyard and entered Yggdrasil through one of its roots; the inside was like being on a train; Ivar and his mother sat next to a window and as the train moved forward they could see the outside of the tree and how they were climbing higher.
When they reached the first branch, Ivar glanced out of the window and saw how high up they were, even though they were now halfway up the tree;
From this height he could see a landscape that was previously unknown to him; it was like being at the top of a mountain and looking at the whole world. For a moment, the train, heading towards the branch, passed through clouds, and Ivar didn't know what to say.
The train stopped in a place that resembled a station, but open-air. The place was crowded with people, and there were signs and arrows directing them toward a large square. Once everyone had gathered, a voice rang out; Ivar didn't recognize it—it wasn't Sigi's, nor that of anyone he knew.
"Hello dear strangers, We are the NORNS, the guardians of YGGDRASIL the world tree created by our master whose name will not be revealed.
Before giving you more information, you must make a choice;
LIVE ACCORDING TO THE RULES OF YGGDRASIL OR DESCEND AND SURVIVE BELOW.
Anyone without superhuman abilities can enter, but those with abilities will have to identify themselves and will receive a bracelet that will block their abilities inside Yggdrasil. The laws inside Yggdrasil are not so different from those of the old world, except that a condemned person can prove their innocence in a tournament of the condemned.
Now choose, will you come to Yggdrasil or not?"
Ivar couldn't believe it; he left his mother after making her understand that she had to follow what the Norns told her to do and that after that she would be taken to their new home.
Ivar took off with the top of the tree as his destination; it took him about thirty minutes at full speed, and it should be noted that his flight speed was Mach 2; arriving at the top, he found his young one sitting on one of the branches, contemplating the sky which he could now touch.
"The world is much bigger than before Ivar, normally at this altitude we should be beyond Earth's atmosphere and yet when I look up I only see an even bigger sky" he said.
"Four parallel dimensions merged, so maybe the planet increased in size because of that," Ivar replied.
"The Norns are actually AIs with bodies created by the tree, it's weird, all I had to do was imagine beings that would assist people, that would help them adapt to Yggdrasil, and the tree synthesized the Norns," said Sigi.
"What abilities did you have, Ivar?" asked Sigi.
"My body has changed, it is much more powerful than anything in movies, anime or even novels; but I am not yet at my full potential," Ivar replied.
"It seems that nothing can touch me, that nothing that exists poses a danger to me, as if I can completely ignore the laws that constitute the world," added Ivar.
"For me it's a little different," said Sigi, "it's as if I understand everything and can do whatever I want, as if I can literally manipulate and change the laws of the universe."
"It seems we're the protagonists for once," Ivar suddenly whispered.
"I don't want to be ahero"of humanity," said Sigi.
"I don't want to lead these people," Ivar also said.
"What if we helped as many people as possible by planting trees around the world and then let them fend for themselves?" suggested Sigi.
"And if they destroy your world trees, you want to see the Norns use them in a malicious or even disgusting way, don't forget that most of the people you're going to save are garbage, some of them were calm in the old world but now that the world is changing and they've obtained powers, so to speak, they're going to reveal their true garbage faces without shame," Ivar replied.
"So what do we do? We have the power to save everyone, and when I say everyone, I mean everyone, Ivar! Are you able to live with the thought that you could have saved billions of people and you didn't?" asked Sigi.
"Why are you asking me that when you already know the answer, we're thinking the same thing about it," replied Ivar.
"We don't care, we don't know them," said Sigi with a smile on his lips while looking at his older brother who had the same expression.
"We're doing the bare minimum, just enough to have a clear conscience after the survivors manage on their own without our help, and when I say our help, I'm talking about the world tree and the Norns," said Ivar.
"After all, we are in the same situation as them, so why should we be the ones to both save them and offer them shelter without expecting anything in return?" said Sigi.
"From now on I am just a simple guy whose abilities (powers) are:
"We will use all our capabilities which are indispensable and when I say indispensable I mean…" said Sigi.
"Whether it's for family or the destruction of a species or a civilization, after all, apart from you, no one can put me in danger and vice versa, so when we say family, it's for…" said Ivar.
"Our parents, our children if we have any, in short, our blood," Sigi adds.