Meeting Gaia
Eastern Heilongjiang.
"I remember Gaia is the origin of Greek mythology, so what are we doing here?"
Seeing Lin Xu's confusion, Ancient One explained, "You're wrong. Gaia is not only the origin of Greek mythology, but also the common origin of all mythologies in the Nine Realms. It's just that her influence on Greek mythology was the most direct."
"Gaia's love for all living beings is selfless. After humanity was able to survive independently, He turned His gaze to the even weaker animals, and this place became Heaven for them."
Soon, the two arrived at a lakeside.
"We've arrived. He's right here."
Hearing Ancient One's words, Lin Xu looked at the lake, which seemed unremarkable.
"The bottom of the lake?"
"That's right, you go by yourself. I have dark energy on me, so I won't go."
"OK..."
Out of respect for Gaia, Lin Xu did not fly up and plunge in; instead, he walked down the lake step by step.
The lake water was above his knees and above his head. After walking for more than ten minutes, finally, a small temple built of stone appeared in front of him.
It lacks the ancient charm of Kamar-Taj and the grandeur of Oshtur's palace in Antarctica; it's just an ordinary stone house.
As soon as he got close, a golden light shone, separating him from the stone hut.
But he was extremely familiar with the aura of that golden light!
It's the Odinforce!!
Lin Xu was filled with doubt. Why was Odin's divine power here?
As divine power was activated, Odin's phantom appeared outside the hut.
"Trespassers, die!"
Judging from its appearance, this illusory figure does not possess emotions and serves only as the most basic form of protection.
Fortunately, there was still some unconverted Odinforce in his Sub-Dimension.
Lin Xu drew a wisp of divine power from the Sub-Dimension and infused it into the protective golden light. The illusory figure became much more condensed. It glanced at Lin Xu, nodded slowly, and disappeared.
It seems they're mistaking Lin Xu for Odin himself...
With a touch of curiosity, Lin Xu arrived at the door of the cottage and gently knocked.
Knock knock~
After waiting for a long time, there was no response.
It seemed that today's efforts had been in vain. Just as Lin Xu was about to leave, Odin's phantom appeared once more.
This time, the phantom clearly possessed sentience.
An air barrier separates the lake from the water.
"He is in very poor condition; you have come at the wrong time."
"Sworn brother?" As soon as Odin spoke, Lin Xu knew that this thing must have been taken over.
Why are you here?
When Lin Xu turned around, the phantom of Odin looked at his forehead and twitched at the corner of his mouth.
What exactly did this kid do to receive the divine light from his father?
He initially made Lin Xu acknowledge him as his elder brother only to align himself with Asgard's interests, ensuring that Asgard wouldn't abandon Thor and Loki in their time of need.
How did I become his younger brother without even realizing it...?
"What, is it inconvenient to say?"
"No, I was thinking about something else."
Odin snapped out of his distracting thoughts.
About thirty years ago, for some unknown reason, Gaia became what she looks like now.
"At that time, besides the Chthon, many other dimensions were spying on reality. The Ancient One was overwhelmed and found me, so I stayed here to protect it for several years."
Although Odin only said a few words, Lin Xu could tell from them how dangerous the situation had been.
Gaia was seriously injured, and as His good older brother, Chthon would definitely seek revenge, after all, the God Eater who once hunted Chthon was Gaia's son.
Besides these, countless other demons have been hunted down by the God Eaters...
They certainly wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip by.
"And then what happened?"
"Later... the Celestials, the council of elders, almost all the ancient cosmic forces came to inquire about the situation, but when they saw me here, they all left. After all, I am old, and they dared not make a move."
Hearing this, Lin Xu silently rolled his eyes. Nonsense. Young Odin might have reservations, but old Odin... heh heh, what if he were to give you a complete metamorphosis?
"Until a fool came along... At the time, I had left the Gungnir and the Destroyer Armor in the Underworld to guard against Hela's interference. Bare-handed, I only managed to beat him half to death, but alas..."
"Who is this guy, so powerful?" Lin Xu glanced at him. Although he didn't have any weapons, he knew all too well how strong Odinforce was; he himself only had a little over 90% of it.
"Thanos, grandson of Kronos." (In Greek mythology, Kronos is the son of Gaia, but in Marvel, Kronos is only a branch of the Eternals, while Gaia only participated in the Celestials' transformation of the Eternals.)
Lin Xu:...
Then, he suddenly remembered someone.
Drax!
Or rather, the Earthling soul Douglas within Drax.
Douglas was on vacation when he stumbled upon Thanos's spaceship and was killed. His soul was then taken from Mephisto by Kronos.
So, Thanos came to Earth thirty years ago for Gaia?
Where did he get this information from?!
At this moment, Odin spoke up and asked, "You've finished asking your questions. Now it's my turn, fourth brother. What brings you here?"
Hearing the title "fourth brother," Lin Xu was speechless. Why did he have to rank his younger brother, and in such a subtle way?
"I've come to ask Gaia some questions..."
Before Lin Xu could finish speaking, a peaceful voice suddenly reached their ears.
"I didn't expect my little sister to have another child besides Agamotto. It's inconvenient for me to see you, just ask directly."
Upon hearing Gaia's incredibly informative words, Odin's eyes widened instantly.
What does "another offspring besides Agamotto" mean? Is Lin Xu the son of Oshtur?
Wait a minute, when they first met, Lin Xu was clearly just a mortal. Could it be that the old Ancient One Yi was deliberately playing a trick on him?
If that's the case, then the divine light on Lin Xu's forehead can be explained...
You old bastard, you've been cheating on your mother with someone else?
Lin Xu had no time to pay attention to Odin, who was frantically filling in his mind, and quickly seized the opportunity to tell Gaia his request.
"Ahem, Auntie... um, according to predictions, a mage who cultivates the Darkhold and devours fearsome creatures will be born in the near future. How should I deal with this?"
"... Do you know what fear is?"
"Uh... an emotion?"
"Fear, born of the Mother of Fear, like the One-Above-All, is without beginning or end. Long ago, the Mother of Fear ravaged the Multiverse, One-Above-All intervened and slew her, but in doing so, another being without beginning or end was born— the One-Below-All..."
"The One-Below-All is not only the opposite of the One-Above-All, but also the opposite of the Mother of Fear. He symbolizes fearlessness, and he filters out the fearless through cosmic radiation. You only need to find this type of person and use their fearless spirit to always find their weakness." (From the Incredible Hulk series)