The All Knowing

Max and Odin skimmed low over Vanaheim's vast, verdant forests aboard the emerald Viking‑ship construct that Max had made. The vessel glided just above the treetops, its sails billowing in the soft wind and casting green light onto the branches below.

Near the prow, Odin stood with folded arms, the breeze tugging at his cloak and beard. His expression was unusually serious. He glanced back at Max, who was at the helm and clearly enjoying the view—eyes wide, taking in the endless green and the rivers winding through the foliage.

"Grænlaðr," Odin called, breaking the silence.

Max turned. "Yeah?"

"The Infinity Stones," Odin said thoughtfully. "I have heard the old tales. My father has yet to speak of them directly—only that there are six, and they bring unimaginable destruction. What do you know?"

Max nodded slowly; he couldn't think of a reason to not tell Odin about them. He lifted his ring hand, and six glowing constructs formed in the air, each a perfect replica of a stone he had seen in the movies.

"Before the beginning," he explained, "there were six singularities. When the universe was born, those singularities condensed into concentrated ingots; these were the Infinity Stones, each one controlling an essential aspect of existence."

He pointed to each construct in turn: "Time, Reality, Mind, Power, Soul, and Space." He motioned to the one. "the Space Stone the one Surtur is using to invade the realms."

Odin studied the constructs, jaw tight and brow furrowed with equal awe and concern.

"They're some of the most dangerous artifacts in the universe," Max said. "One alone can destroy a world; together—"

"I see," Odin murmured. "Thank you, Grænlaðr."

"You'd have learned eventually," Max replied.

"Perhaps," Odin said with a dry chuckle. "But it could have taken me years before my father told me about it. He is a secretive man….won't reveal anything to anyone, not even to his own son."

'Guess Odin really took after his father' Max thought, remembering how he kept a lot of secrets from his sons in the future. He was a young Aesir now already so powerful and yet only at the beginning of his path to becoming All‑Father.

Suddenly Odin tensed, eyes narrowing. "We're close. Mimir's glade lies ahead."

Max looked forward and saw it: a vast clearing, almost a hidden sanctuary carved from the wild. Colossal, ancient trees surrounded the space, roots twisting like serpents through the earth. The glade's floor was polished marble and vine‑covered stone, weathered but still gleaming in the filtered sunlight.

Suspended among the branches were curved‑wood structures that seemed to have grown from the trees themselves.

Odin stepped off the ship as Max dismissed it with a thought. "Mimir waits for us," he said quietly. "Be ready. His mind‑magic can twist your senses before you notice."

Max nodded. "Jade, scan the area. Any life signs?"

"Scanning… anomalous presence directly behind you."

Max dropped low. A shadow streaked across the marble—too fast to track. Odin spun, Mjolnir already in hand.

"Back to back," he growled.

They stood shoulder to shoulder, slowly turning to cover every angle. Green energy flared around Max's fists; Mjolnir thrummed in Odin's grip.

Odin called out, voice clear. "Mimir! I didn't come to fight but to seek your wisdom."

Only the rustling leaves answered—until a booming voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere.

"Leave, Borson. You will not find what you seek here."

Odin did not flinch. "The realms are in danger, Uncle. Surtur invades them. I must know where Muspelheim lies."

"Leave," the voice repeated, louder and angrier. "You trespass on sacred ground."

Max frowned. "Jade, pinpoint him."

"Location indeterminate," the AI replied. "He is… everywhere."

The glade's marble suddenly rippled like disturbed water. From it rose a figure cloaked in twisting magic and shadow.

Mimir.

He stood tall in robes of deep violet and forest green, his long beard streaked with silver and black. Runes glowed faintly on his skin. One eye shone silver, the other gold—both filled with quiet, overwhelming power.

"There," Odin muttered, tense.

Mimir's voice filled the air once more, this time coming from his own mouth. "Last chance, Borson. Leave."

Odin stepped forward, his voice rising with passion. "Surtur comes for us all! You know this. You have seen Ragnarök. Help me stop it."

Mimir's face twisted into a sneer. "He comes for Asgard, boy. Good. Let him burn it. Let Ragnarök come. Your father deserves it."

Odin's eyes darkened. "How dare you."

A shaft of golden light formed in Mimir's hand and took shape as an ornate spear, regal in design.

Odin drew a sharp breath. "Gungnir…"

The spear of Asgard's kings, the very symbol of the throne.

Mimir lifted it with ease, eyes gleaming. "A weapon your father does not deserve, and neither do you."

Odin stood firm. "Mimir, I ask once more: tell us where to find Muspelheim."

Silence stretched for a moment. Then Mimir's gaze shifted to Max. The sneer faded, replaced by confusion, then anger.

"Who is your companion, Borson?" His voice was suddenly cold and precise.

Odin half‑turned. "Grænlaðr. A friend who aids me."

"No… no," muttered Mimir, eyes fixed on Max. "What is he?"

Odin's mouth curved in a dry smile. "I thought you were the all‑knowing one, Uncle. Surely you should know."

Mimir's voice fell to a growl. "Why can I not see you clearly? What magic hides your essence from me? Who dares mask himself from Mimir, son of Buri?"

Max folded his arms. "Guess you're not as all‑knowing as people say."

Light flared in Mimir's eyes. "Impudent whelp."

He turned back to Odin. "I will tell you where Muspelheim lies, but your companion stays here… with me."

Max stiffened. Oh, no, he thought.

"No," Odin snapped, stepping in front of Max.

The air went still. Mimir's face twitched with fury, then he raised Gungnir. A beam of golden energy burst from the spear and struck Odin squarely in the chest, hurling him across the clearing into a marble column.

"ODIN!" Max shouted. He leapt skyward, his ring blazing as twin emerald beams shot toward Mimir.

The blasts hammered a hastily raised shield of magic. It cracked like glass but held.

"Warning," Jade intoned in Max's mind. "Gungnir is amplifying Mimir's power."

"Noted," Max growled, weaving through another volley that carved a crater in the stone floor.

Mimir's voice echoed around him. "You are not of this world, not of this realm. I will learn your secrets."

A flash of lightning erupted behind Mimir. Bruised but unbroken, Odin surged back into the fight, Mjolnir spinning in his grasp, his face set in grim fury.

"You want a battle, Uncle?" he roared. "Then have one!"

Odin charged straight at his uncle, Mjolnir spinning in his grasp and crackling with lightning. Each swing of the enchanted hammer landed like a bolt from the heavens, thunder shaking the marble beneath their feet. Mimir barely moved. He raised Gungnir with effortless grace, matching every strike with chilling precision. With his free hand he conjured illusions that blurred the battlefield—phantom copies weaving through the trees, deflecting Odin's blows and leaving the prince striking at shadows.

Odin roared in frustration, his power meeting nothing but smoke and silence.

High above, Max circled with his hands glowing bright green. He hurled construct after construct at Mimir: giant emerald boulders, spinning cars flung like sling stones, even a full‑sized passenger jet thrown like a spear. Mimir remained calm at the center, Gungnir cutting graceful arcs that shattered each attack. Waves of magic pulsed from his body, unraveling Max's creations in midair. Max struck harder each time, but Mimir adapted, chanting counter‑spells in the Aesir tongue that disrupted the constructs' very structure.

The battle dragged on, and the tide turned against them.

Max tried everything. He summoned towering fire‑giant puppets to overwhelm Mimir's senses, yet a single snap of Mimir's fingers dissolved them in a crimson shock wave.

On the ground, Odin now fought with desperate speed, trading raw strength for feints. Max supported him from above, throwing up barriers and distractions, but Mimir kept them both dancing to his tune. A shimmer of light sent Odin swinging at a phantom. A flash of red bent one of Max's beams back on itself. Mimir was not only powerful; he was several moves ahead.

He pivoted, aimed Gungnir at Odin, and released a surge of golden magic. It slammed into Odin's chest like a battering ram and hurled him through a pillar into the forest's edge.

"Damn it!" Max shouted, dropping lower and charging another blast.

Mimir had already turned. A strange glow gathered in his palm, deep red with black edges. He flicked his fingers. The spell flew faster than Max could track. He raised a shield a fraction too late.

The crimson burst struck and seeped into his mind rather than his body. Pain flooded every thought.

"Warning," Jade said in his head. "Hostile energy detected. Mental corruption in progress. Initiating countermeasures—"

Max heard no more. The world twisted, light fractured, and sound echoed backward. Impossible colors swam across his vision. The green glow of his ring flickered out, and he fell like a puppet with cut strings, crashing onto the tiled floor below.

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===

Time seemed to pass, although Max could not be sure. Days blended into a comforting monotony.

He sat at the kitchen table, sipping coffee while his parents chatted about a vacation. The television murmured in the background, showing a Norse‑themed cartoon where two armored Vikings hurled glowing magic at one another.

Max froze, spoon halfway to his lips.

The characters looked strangely familiar. One even sounded like—

"Grænlaðr. Snap out of it."

The whisper echoed in his mind. He jerked, nearly spilling his coffee. His mother looked up at once.

"Sweetheart, are you all right?"

Her face blurred for an instant, then cleared, still smiling and kind.

Something felt deeply wrong.

"Mental control breaking… seventy percent," a familiar woman's voice warned inside his head.

Max stared at his hand. His fingers trembled, and a power‑ring flickered in and out like a faulty bulb.

His mother's concern sharpened. "Max, you're scaring me. Henry, we should take him to the hospital."

His father stood and moved toward him.

"No," Max whispered, then louder, "No, wait."

He jumped to his feet; the chair crashed behind him. Hands clenched, he spoke through gritted teeth.

"This isn't real."

They looked stunned.

"This isn't real."

His gaze landed on the magazine again, the one that proclaimed he had found atlantis.

How absurd the logical part of his mind screamed.

"Atlantis?" Max laughed. "Atlantis isn't real."

The illusion shimmered and cracked.

Max laughed looking at his parents.

"And the most unbelievable part of all this is you two together. Even in my wildest dreams I don't picture that."

His ring pulsed, fully visible now. Max gritted his teeth, raised his hand, and clenched it into a fist.

"This isn't real!" he roared.

He glanced at his parents—probably the last time he would ever see them—and anger flared. He screamed, and the world shattered like glass.

Max drew a ragged breath and bolted upright.

He was back in the glade. Pain throbbed through every limb, but his mind was clear.

Ahead, chaos raged. Mimir stood at the center, eyes wild, Gungnir lifted high. Twisting roots bound Odin's arms and legs, dragging him toward the ground. Odin struggled but could not break free. The seer leveled the spear for a killing thrust.

Green energy flared as Max raised his arm. The ring blazed, and a colossal emerald fist, swirling with raw willpower, formed above him.

"MIMIR!" he shouted.

The fist slammed into the seer like a falling star, hurling him across the glade. Roots snapped, marble columns splintered, and dust billowed. Mimir skidded to a stop at the clearing's edge.

Odin tore himself free as the roots slackened, shattering the last vines with a burst of lightning. He staggered upright, coughing, and flashed Max a bruised grin.

"Welcome back," he rasped.

Max did not smile. Green light flared around him as he shot across the glade, trailing energy like fire. He slammed down beside Mimir and opened with a furious barrage of emerald‑bright punches that shook the ground.

Mimir had invaded his mind, twisted memories of the two people Max loved most, and that insult burned hotter than any wound.

The seer raised barriers of violet flame and whipped tendrils of magic, barely holding his ground. In the struggle Gungnir slipped from his grasp and clattered onto the stones between them.

The two traded blow for blow.

"You… could… have… just… answered… and we… would have left," Max growled between strikes.

"How naïve of you to believe that," Mimir shot back, preparing another spell.

"But now I know who you are, Elder…" he could not finish his words as he stiffened, eyes wide.

A golden spear jutted from his chest. Max looked past him and saw Odin gripping Gungnir, blood running down the blade.

"You didn't see that coming, did you?" Odin said, yanking the weapon free.

Mimir gasped, the magic fading from his hands. He dropped to his knees, scarlet spreading across his robes. "The child of Bor… still takes what he does not earn," he whispered, then pitched forward.

Max stood frozen. "Fuck.."

Odin stared at his fallen uncle, breathing hard, unreadable.

"Odin," Max called, edging closer. "Odin!"

"There was no other way," the prince said at last.

"Maybe. But what now?"

Before Odin could answer, distant horns and war‑cries rolled through the trees. The Vanir were coming; the ground itself seemed to tremble.

"We have to go," Max urged.

Odin hesitated, then to Max's horror raised Gungnir again and, with one clean stroke, severed Mimir's head.

Max recoiled. "What the fuck, Odin?!"

Odin lifted the head by its hair. "His head is more valuable than you think."

Max swallowed, formed a green box construct, and motioned for Odin to drop the grisly trophy inside. When it shut, he summoned the emerald Viking ship overhead. They leapt aboard, and with a surge of will the vessel sped skyward, leaving the shattered glade behind as the Vanir warriors poured into the clearing below.

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