Thalia and Elaria exchanged a brief, uneasy glance.

"…That's why," Thalia began slowly, "when I first came here, I immediately realized this isn't the Earth from my memories." She paused, recalling the time she'd first inherited the memories of her in Taufik's world. "In your Earth, even corrupted Mana still lingers. But here, there's nothing. Not even a trace"

"…Then why?" Taufik asked. "Where are the aboriginal beings of this Earth? I want to have a talk with them"

Elaria hesitated, fidgeting slightly before answering. "…Actually," she said carefully, "there's a long history behind that"

At those words, Taufik snapped his fingers.

In an instant, the empty space before them shimmered. From nothing, a wooden table and three elegant chairs materialized, followed by a soft clinking sound as a full tea set and trays of pastries appeared neatly on top.

Steam rose from the teapot, carrying a faint scent of jasmine.

Thalia didn't even flinch. She simply brushed a few stray specks of dust from one of the chairs before sitting down. In her memories, this kind of casual absurdity was perfectly normal for Taufik.

But Elaria…

"This…" she breathed, wide-eyed. The sudden appearance of objects was surprising enough, but what truly unsettled her was the utter lack of Mana. There hadn't been even the faintest ripple of energy, no sign of conjuration or material manipulation.

Yet the tea was real. The warmth was real. Everything was real.

Her gaze behind her blindfold lingered on Taufik, who was already seated comfortably, one leg crossed, quietly pouring himself a cup of tea as if nothing extraordinary had happened. Curiosity, sharp and almost childlike flickered in her eyes.

"Please, take a seat," Taufik said evenly, gesturing to the chair across from him. His tone carried a calm authority that left no room for argument. "I want to know what happened here first… before we continue this journey"

The faint breeze rustled across the barren ground as Elaria finally moved to sit down, her expression torn between awe and intrigue.

"Please, start," Taufik said calmly. "We have all the time we need"

He poured himself a cup of tea, the quiet clink of porcelain echoing softly through the still air. Then his gaze drifted upward toward the pale, endless sky. "…At least before those who are peeking at us decide to take action"

Elaria and Thalia exchanged a look before following his gaze. The heavens above seemed serene... only drifting clouds against boundless blue... yet both of them knew exactly who he meant.

"…Æsir?" Thalia asked, her tone a mix of curiosity and unease.

"I think so," Taufik replied lightly, as if speaking of a passing breeze. For him, the Æsir were nothing more than distant spectators. Powerful, yes, but not beyond comprehension. In his eyes, they were equals to Zeus and the Olympians, not beings to be feared.

He turned back to Elaria, his expression unchanged. "Please, continue"

Elaria hesitated. Even without looking, she could feel Heimdall's gaze, the ever-watchful eyes of the Guardian of Bifröst, seeing across all realms through the pulse of Yggdrasil itself. It was nearly impossible to escape his sight.

But when she looked back at Taufik, at that calm, steady presence that even gods might find disquieting, she exhaled quietly and began.

"Actually… in the beginning," she said softly, her voice carrying a solemn rhythm, "there were only two realms within Yggdrasil... Niflheim and Muspelheim. The cold and the flame. And within them existed two Primordial Beings: Ymir, the embodiment of darkness and chaos, and Auðumbla, the symbol of light and creation"

Her tone was gentle, almost reverent, as if reciting a hymn long forbidden to be spoken aloud. "From Ymir's vast form came the first of the Jötnar, the Giants, beings of raw, untamed power. And from Auðumbla's milk, drawn as she licked the ancient ice, was born Búri, ancestor of the Æsir"

She lifted her gaze, her eyes behind that blindfold, eyes that seemed to be able to see through anything, seemed distant and glassy. "Búri begot Bor, who fathered Odin, Vili, and Vé... the brothers who would shape existence itself. They slew Ymir, and from his vast corpse they formed the world. His flesh became earth, his blood the seas, his bones the mountains, and his skull… the heavens above"

A stillness fell over the land, the air itself holding its breath as her words rippled through the silence, ancient, weighty, and true.

"But that act," Elaria continued, her voice lowering, "was not without consequence. Ymir's death unbalanced the current of creation. His life force, the primal essence of Yggdrasil, was scattered throughout the newborn realms. That same essence became what mortals now call Mana"

Taufik's brow furrowed slightly. "So here, Mana is… Ymir's life?"

Elaria nodded. "Yes. The energy of existence itself. When Odin shaped Midgard and gave life to humankind, he shared with them a fragment of that essence, a gift of creation. He believed that through humanity, Yggdrasil would continue to grow, evolving through will and discovery"

She paused, her eyes lowering to the untouched cup before her. "But humans… learned to consume it. They turned Mana into a weapon... into greed, into excess. Their endless hunger drained the flow of Yggdrasil itself. The Great Tree began to weaken, its roots trembling beneath the weight of imbalance"

Her expression darkened with quiet sorrow. "And so, to preserve the cycle, Odin and the Æsir made a cruel decision. They severed humanity's connection to Mana, not merely sealing it, but removing it entirely from Midgard. Without Mana, this realm became silent. Humans could no longer shape the unseen, could no longer touch the divine. Civilization regressed, collapsing into the mundane"

She looked away, her voice fading to a whisper. "At first, chaos reigned. But with time, humans forgot. They no longer remembered that they once held powers rivaling the gods themselves... Yggdrasil survived, but Midgard became hollow, an empty echo of what it once was"

Silence followed, so deep that even the wind seemed unwilling to intrude.

Taufik leaned back in his chair, eyes distant. "Necessary… but cruel," he murmured. "So Odin chose to revoke the gift he himself had given... to preserve the others at the cost of this world"

Elaria looked at him quietly, unsure what flickered behind his eyes, pity, anger… or understanding.

"It's necessar-" Elaria began, but Taufik cut her off.

"No," he said, his tone calm yet sharp. "It's foolish… no, that's too hasty. Removing Mana from Midgard was necessary if it truly threatened existence. But removing it outright-" he paused, eyes narrowing slightly, "... that was a foolish act"

Elaria frowned. "How so?"

Taufik didn't answer immediately. His gaze drifted toward the empty horizon, his thoughts far away.

She didn't know humans well. To her, they were fragile, short-lived, unremarkable beings. Yet Taufik knew otherwise. Humans were weak, yes, but they possessed something no other race could replicate. He wasn't even sure if the humans of this Yggdrasil shared the same spark as those from his own universe, for the humans here were not direct creations of the Creator.

But one thing remained true everywhere, human adaptability. They were born frail, but could become terrifying beyond measure.

And then there were their emotions.

Hatred. Fear. Hope. Love. The things that gods often dismissed as mortal flaws, yet those same emotions had shaped worlds and toppled empires.

With what Odin had done, humanity might have submitted out of fear… but deep beneath that submission, hatred festered, a generational resentment that would never fade. It would pass from parent to child, memory to myth, until it became something eternal.

Taufik didn't know for certain, but he could feel it, somewhere in this world, a fragment of humanity still remembered the truth. Some group, some bloodline, must have preserved the story of what the Æsir took from them.

"You want to know?" Taufik finally asked, his voice breaking the silence as he turned his eyes back to Elaria.

Elaria hesitated, then nodded.

Taufik smiled faintly. "…Then be human. After that, you'll understand just how terrifying they can be"

"…You speak as if you know them well," Elaria said quietly.

Taufik chuckled, a soft, almost nostalgic sound. "Know them?" he repeated. "I was one. I've seen both their kindness and their cruelty, the way they destroy and create in the same breath. Humans can be greedy, yes… but they also carry infinite potential. Every great hero, every savior, every monster... they all come from humanity"

He looked down at his teacup, then back at her with a faint, almost wistful smile. "They're nothing… yet they can become anything. That's what makes them terrifying, and beautiful. At least, the humans I know"

Elaria fell silent. The weight of his words pressed down on her like gravity itself. She wasn't sure which part disturbed her more, the truth in his tone, or the realization that this being before her, so far beyond comprehension, had once been human.

She turned toward Thalia for confirmation, and her sister simply nodded. There was no denial in her eyes, only quiet acknowledgment. In her memories, Taufik's family had all been human… except for his wives.

"You want to know how terrifying humans can be when given a chance?" Taufik asked softly.

Elaria's breath caught, but she nodded again.

Taufik's lips curved into a grin, not of malice, but of inevitability. "Then I'll show you," he said. His voice was calm, but beneath it lingered something vast and unspoken. "... Later"

"…Why not now?" Elaria asked softly.

Taufik hummed, a low thoughtful sound, then rose from his chair. The motion was unhurried, almost casual, but it carried an undeniable gravity that made the air feel heavier.

"Stand up," he said simply.

Though puzzled, both Elaria and Thalia obeyed without question. The moment they did, Taufik raised his hand slightly, and with a faint ripple in the air, the entire scene vanished. The table, the chairs, the teapot, the pastries, everything dissolved into motes of shadow and light, fading into nothing as if they had never existed.

Elaria blinked in astonishment. "They're gone…"

Taufik didn't respond immediately. His eyes were fixed upward, toward the sky, no longer calm, but sharp, watchful.

"I can't," he finally said. His tone was still calm, but there was weight behind it, the kind that made even Thalia instinctively reach for her blade.

Then his voice dropped lower. "Because we have a visitor"

....

...

..

.

#A/N: In this universe, my story; "System: Something Is Wrong With My System" Happened.