The Record of Unusual Creatures

Without Nangong Wuyue’s reminder, Hao Ren would have missed out this important fact

This was not to say that Hao Ren knew nothing about Norse mythology. In fact, he knew that in the original version, Ymir and Yggdrasil were actually related, but ever since he got to know the actual characters in the myths, he began to forget the myths themselves — the giant of wisdom, Ymir had become a Guardian of the Plane of Dreams; Yggdrasil was now a First Born; Loki’s daughter, Hela, Goddess of Death, was but a solitary and gloomy lady. Little by little, reality replaced the myths he had learned…

Hao Ren immediately contacted Ymir, who was keeping watch of Athens Sanctuary.

Since the unusual creatures there were busy setting up a new governing body, the Shadow Council, and also keen to understand the truth behind the demon hunters, Ymir, as the otherworldling Ancient and consultant to the demon hunters, became a very crucial figure. The old giant was now a trusted member of the Sanctuary who had something to keep him occupied day in and day out. When Hao Ren’s call was answered, he could hear a fierce debate going on in the background. A sharp voice sounded particularly familiar — Hao Ren thought it must be Hessiana, picking an argument with someone… or a fight.

“Hello, friend.” Ymir sounded as calm as ever, his voice heard clearly over the hubbub in the background.

“That’s quite a party you have there.” Hao Ren said jokingly. “Who’s Hessiana arguing with?”

“I’m in a meeting. The young lady is in a disagreement with the Lucas family.” Ymir sounded amused as well. “This is the first grand meeting of the Shadow Council. We are discussing the size of the first group of people to leave the Sanctuary.”

Hao Ren was surprised. “The Shadow Council is already up and running? That’s fast. Are you a member?”

Ymir took two seconds to come back with a reply. “I am the Speaker.”

“What?!” Hao Ren struggled to contain his excitement and surprise. “You’re the Speaker?”

Ymir hummed in affirmation indifferently, as he did not think it was something particularly extraordinary. He had seen much in his life, having served as a consultant for the demon hunters and all.

Hao Ren, however, was still finding it hard to believe. He always thought that Ymir, as a unique member of the Ancients, would enjoy a certain prestige amongst the unusual creatures, so it was only to be expected that he found himself invited into the Shadow Council. Nevertheless, seeing the old giant rise to become the leader of the council surprised him—the giant had been out of touch with the unusual creatures for two millennia, and had even served as the demon hunter’s consultant for a living. His past put him in a unique but awkward position. Had the days of hunting not been over, his occupation would have been best kept under wraps. Moreover, he did not have deep connections in the otherworldling society, or any influence in the Athens Sanctuary. In fact, to the people in the Sanctuary, he was in essence, an outsider with celebrity status.

Without influence and connections, how did Ymir find himself elected as the Speaker?

“I had support from Hessiana and her family. Hela was also helpful — she is an eccentric character, but it seems that her words hold sway over here.” Ymir smiled amicably and explained his situation. “Of course, the most important reason is that they could not decide on a better candidate.”

Hao Ren knew immediately what he meant by “could not decide on a better candidate”. The support from the otherworldling families for the Ancient was only a superficial gesture. The real reason for their decision was that no family would side with another. Since unity amongst the families was out of the question, anyone chosen from them to be Speaker would inevitably be kicked off their seat.

Given the circumstances, a highly respected, uninfluential, and symbolic Speaker was their best option. As long as the Shadow Council itself was reasonably structured, the Speaker did not hold any actual power. A neutral Ancient who did not want trouble was a rational and reasonable choice — he need only sit there and look pretty.

Besides, he knew Vivian.

Of course, things rarely went according to plan. The Speaker of the Shadow Council kept to himself for now, but Hao Ren was not sure if this inclination would persist in future. After all, the Shadow Council was only newly in place. No one knew what it would look like in the years to come.

“I am not interested in the position,” Ymir explained slowly. “However, but the good Hessiana managed to convince me after much effort. But enough about me now, how may I help you?”

Hao Ren nodded and went straight to business. “Oh, right, I have a question — Are you on good terms with Yggdrasil?”

“On good terms?” Ymir paused as if recalling something. “How do you it can communicate?”

Hao Ren knew immediately from his response that there was a story here!

“Few people know how to speak with Yggdrasil. Most people are not aware that is is a conscious being.” Ymir continued slowly. “Odin knew, but he could not understand the plant’s thoughts. Nidhogg knew too, but he went mad when he tried to listen to Yggdrasil’s voice, and burned himself to death. The rest of the Norse Gods thought of Yggdrasil as a normal plant. They never tried to speak with the World Tree, and I would not have allowed them to — one Nidhogg is one too many.”

“So how did you figure out the way to communicate with the World Tree?” Hao Ren asked expectantly. “Do you communicate often?”

“I have always been able to hear Yggdrasil speak ever since I was born.” Ymir smiled. “It came easily to me. However, the way the World Tree’s mind works is very unusual. It will be difficult for me to describe to you what it is thinking.”

Hao Ren wanted to mention that he had established a mental link with the First Born before without going crazy, but that would be digressing. Instead, he described the day’s events to Ymir. “We managed to use the resonant frequency of Gungnir’s broken pieces to find a dimensional rift that led us to Yggdrasil. If not mistaken, the dimensional rift was also… the door to the Aesirian Garden.”

Ymir was understandably agitated by the news. “You found it?! How is the place now?”

“It escaped.” Hao Ren sighed. “We didn’t know that Yggdrasil is still alive…”

After a pause, he told Ymir the details of their mission. Ymir went silent for a long time after he was finished, and then let out a thoughtful sigh. “To think that it ended up so far away… Never in my life did I imagine that I would leave the planet, but now, to think that Yggdrasil has been floating around in space for the past two millennia… I never knew it had so much power, and that it could survive that cataclysm.”

Lily was curious about what he just said. “You didn’t know that Yggdrasil has the ability to move in spacetime?”

“No,” Ymir replied. “It has never shown this kind of ability before, not even when the demon hunters invaded the territory of the Gods. Having said that… The demon hunters could only severe the connection between Nine Realms and the Material Plane, but did no harm to Yggdrasil itself. Perhaps the World Tree never felt threatened in the first place.”

“That is new.” Vivian commented with raised brows. “I always wondered why it would be chased off Earth despite being so powerful.”

Hao Ren interjected. “Ahem, ahem, that aside, our main concern now is that it had escaped. We think our probing had ‘frightened’ the World Tree, so…”

“So you have come to me for help. I understand now.” Ymir smiled. “I would be most delighted to help, but do you think you can find it again?”

Hao Ren smiled confidently. “Certainly. I have the resources to conduct a massive search operation.”

“Then it is settled.” Ymir agreed to the arrangement. “I am available most of the time, but I cannot be absent for too long. The Shadow Council is in its early stages of operation. Even as a Speaker only in name, I have things to attend to.”

Hao Ren expressed his appreciation of the giant’s situation. He then asked about Yggdrasil again. “Since you once chatted with the World Tree before, do you know what it thinks about? Does it have memories of where it came from?”

“I don’t think it has memories.” The old giant replied. “Besides, whenever I am connected to its mind, I found it in a constant sluggish state. It barely responded to external stimuli and lacked active thinking patterns. At least, that was how I remembered Yggdrasil to be. Based on your description, however, I think that it has gotten a lot more sensitive now.”

Hao Ren considered Ymir’s words carefully.