Ragnarok: Fallout of the gods

"Yes, Odin managed to thwart Ragnarok. He was able to slay Fenrir, the Beast Devourer, seal Surtr the Fire Giant, and eliminate the army that was close to annihilating Asgard." Bestla said. "But as The Rune Walkers- Odin's new weapons- continued to gain strength, Odin began to lose his hold over them. it wasn't long before he lost control of them and the Rune Walkers turned loose against the Nine Realms. To protect Asgard, Odin closed off the Bifrost, the bridge that connected all the Nine Realms. This act alone stripped the connection between Yggdrasil and the other realms, wiping out Odr from the other Realms including Midgard." The World Tree. Ragna thought about it. It sounds like the World Tree was the embodiment of this Universe's will. A will that connected all Realms. Without that will, it made sense that there was no ambient energy left in Midgard. So how do the Vikings still cultivate if the World Essence was gone?

"What happened then," Torvi, the black-haired girl asked.

"Without Yggdrasil, the other realms died out, and the inhabitants were forced to migrate to Midgard which still stands. The gods abandoned their creations, sealing themselves in Asgard. Chaos reigned all over Midgard with the Rune Walkers going out of control and attacking all living things."

"Why did they turn against living things," Anders, the Volur child asked.

"The story states that they had gone mad without World Essence, becoming corrupted beings that bore hatred towards creation and sought to end it all. Mankind and all the other remaining races sought refugees here on this land, a land that was believed to be left by the gods. It was in this land, were the Five Kingdoms were formed, and peace was brought to the world." Bestka smiled as she finished reciting the ancient story. She turned to observe the children and then she cleared her throats. "Now, I suppose it's getting late and we should all get ready for bed." The children groaned as Bestla got up, followed by the children as the door to the room opened. Their parents were there, here to pick them up and take them home. Ragna glanced at them and again was amazed at their height and build. Both the males and females were tall, slim, and filled with muscles underneath the leather armor that they wore. Ragna was careful in controlling his mental force as he sensed the flow of Essence within them. How do they have Essence and a core if there is no World Essence? Ragna needed to find out how they gained their core if he was going to form his own. He had wondered if he should study his parents, but how the hell was he supposed to scan their bodies without them noticing it? He could tell that his parents were powerful warriors, especially his Mother. He couldn't;t take that risk. Not unless he wanted to expose himself.

After the children were gone, and Bestla took Ragna to his room for the night, Ragna was left to pace around his room to mull over the story his mother had told them. Ragna knew that the story was not the whole truth to it as he was sure some of the fact most likely got twisted as time passed on. From what he could tell of the story, it sounded to him that if the gods did exist, they were most likely ancient cultivators who managed to reach the Divine stage of cultivation. A goal he once had in his past life.

"it seems to me godhood is easily attainable in this world," Ragna said. In his former world, Cultivation was an arduous process that took time and effort and in some cases, very difficult and nigh impossible to reach the top. Ragna had just been one of the lucky few who were born with cultivation talent. He went to his door, deciding to go to the library that was above, where all Manuscripts and texts were kept. Mother had assigned times in which he could be there, and right now, he was not supposed to be there. But Ragna was desperate. He needed to find as much information as he could about cultivation in this world. Walking up the stairs to get to the third floor was easy. Ragna's control of his body was very high, able to make less noise as he walked. And he was able to easily unlock the door to the library. The library wasn't the biggest he had seen but it was better than the public one available for the public. Ragna had been disappointed to find out there wasn't that much information about cultivation that was available to the public. But he was sure there would be answers here. As he went over the books, he saw documents on Seafaring, Raiding, and Conquest, all things the Norsemen used to do before Ragnarok came. Now, they were forced to abandon some of their old traditions to maintain the peace that they had gained. Ragna had no desire to conquer places or raid, as he was more interested in growing his power. As he strolled through texts on martial arts, he finally came across what he wanted. The side of the library he was in was a section his mother would have never let him come to as most of his studies were controlled by her and she was very strict about what information he gained. Normally Ragna would have been furious and would have believed that his Mother was trying to curtail his cultivation development, but he knew that was not the case. In his mother's eyes, he was just eight years old, a child who shouldn't be bothered by complex things. She might think he was a genius because of how fast he had learned things but she still treated him as a child and even spoiled him sometimes. She was very adamant about giving him a normal average Norse childhood, which Ragna appreciated. He thought of his past life and couldn't help but compare it to his current one. In his other life, Ragna's parent had treated him differently. His mother had died giving birth to him, his powers killing her in the process. His Father, a King and ruler had treated him like a weapon that should be raised in protecting his assets. Ragna had grown to detest him and the wars he had fought for that bastard. His life growing up in Ymir while both shared some similarities was very different. Yes, again Ragna was of royal birth. His Mother was the princess of the Kingdom of Norland, and her father the very King. Ragna was treated like a Prince which he was, and he was also the son of the Earl of the village. But he was treated with love. For some reason, ever since he was born, Ragna could feel his mother's love for him like they were still connected through the umbilical cord. It was this reason why Ragna never had a bias against his parents from what he had experienced in his past life. The text he was targeting was a big black book with the words: Runic Magic and True Names. He directed his mental force towards the book and willed it towards him. Mental force was not just used to expand his perception beyond his physical senses, it could also be used to exert his influence on objects beyond his personal space. Although on how much influence one could have depends on the type of Mental force one uses. Ragna was using the basic Mental force to pull the texts towards himself when-

"So your psychic energy is awakened," A voice interrupted Ragna, making him lose concentration. The book dropped on the floor and Ragna jumped up in fright when he saw his Mother. She was in a yellow nightgown, her golden hair all loose around her shoulder. Ragna quickly calmed his increased heartbeat, cursing himself for not paying attention to his environment. Well, he couldn't blame himself. He had made a habit of not using his mental force that much in his house not to alert his mother and Aksel.

"Wait..what do you mean Psychic energy," Ragna said.

"This..." Mother said as the book rose from the ground and moved towards his mother. Ragna sensed the mental energy fluctuation as his mother's mental force activated. So they call Mental force psychic energy in this world. I have to remember it.

"Psychic energy...what's that," Ragna tried to clarify some things. Bestla smiled at her son's question as she put the book back on the shelf. Over the years, Bestla had suspected that there was more to her son than meets the eye. He was more inquisitive than children his age, his development and learning curve too quick for a child even blessed to possess Lothbrok blood. She had also sensed psychic fluctuations around him sometimes. It was faint and suppressed so she had suspected that he was trying to hide his Awakened power of Insight and Awareness. No normal child or person should have awakened psychic energy from birth and yet he had.

"Psychic energy is the force that exists within our mind," Bestla said pointing to her head. "It is the power that gives us Insights and awareness into the other forces that exist in the universe," Definitely sounds like Mental force. "Psychic energy acts as a source of energy that allows our Mind eye to see beyond just the physical world." Mind's eye, heh. Sounds like Internal sight to me.

"Ragna, are you a reincarnated person," Bestla said. Ragna froze upon hearing that word from his Mother. His blue eyes met hers and Bestla knew she was right. She smiled as she grabbed him and carried him. Ragna did nothing remembering his mother's strength. They left the Library as Bestla took him back to his room. Ragna's room was large and filled with books and texts he normally read. There was a table and desk where he once sat to practice his writing and do some readings. Bestla laid him on his bed and covered him with the blanket. She caressed his head, feeling the bond that existed between them. Bestla had always been aware of the emotional bond that existed between them as even after the umbilical cord was cut, her Psychic energy could sense the emotion and wellbeing of her son. With it, Bestla could always know the whereabouts of her son and if he was safe.

"Is it a problem that I'm reincarnated," Ragna asked in a low voice. She could sense the tension within him even though he did his best not to show it. She smiled and shook her head.

"Ragna, our world runs on Reincarnation," Bestla said. "Everyone in this world is a reincarnation of someone from the past." Ragna raised his eyebrows at hearing that. "All souls are recycled and sent to the world of living with a new life, especially now that Valhalla and Hel are gone." Valhalla. He had read about it. it was once a place in the afterlife where Warriors were chosen to go to as a blessing for their deeds as mortals. A great place where one could continue to cultivate their power and fight for the gods. "it seems to me the difference between you and the rest of us is that you might have regained some aspects of your past life, am I right," I see. She doesn't;t know my soul originated from a different Universe than from this Universe. it's better that way. Explaining about the various Multiverse might be too much.

"Yes, but I..."

"I don't care about that. Who you were or what you did in some past life doesn't matter to me. What matters to me is that you are my son. My blood." Bestla said. Ragna tried his best not to shed a tear but even with the mastery he had over his body couldn't stop his emotions from affecting his body. Tears slid down his eyes making him try to clear it but Bestla stopped him. She liked seeing Ragna appear as a normal kid sometimes instead of him trying to appear as a stoic being. She waited a while for him to finish crying. After he wiped his tears, she decided to ask the question. "So why were you in the library? You know you're not supposed to be there at this time. Oh! Shit.