The Noblest Truth

Frigga pointed at Sif, who was still tucked under Apocalypse's arm, and asked, "This is..."

Sif immediately came to her senses and kicked wildly like a little fish. "Bastard, put me down," she said under her breath.

"Cough, cough... Sorry, I forgot."

Sif hurriedly straightened her appearance and knelt on one knee before the queen. "My queen!"

"Mm, rise."

Apocalypse said, "My queen, I don't quite understand..."

It was not strange that Queen Frigga knew he came from another world.

In the original story, when Thor traveled back, she had recognized at a glance that he had come from the future.

The queen said, "As everyone knows, I know a little sorcery and can glimpse fragments of the future."

"The last time you fought Odin, your existence was like an indelible mark that suddenly appeared in Asgard's river of time."

"That was why I informed Odin and invited you here as a guest."

No wonder when he had lifted Thor's Hammer, Odin's spiritual pressure had first blazed with fury, only for his attitude to suddenly make a complete reversal. So Frigga had informed him.

"My queen, can you see my future?"

Frigga shook her head. "My ability only allows me to see fragments concerning Asgard. The instant you came into contact with Odin, Asgard's river of time suddenly changed completely, overturning everything I had seen before."

Then she said to Thor, "Thor, this brother of yours comes from a different dimension. His status is noble, and he will be of great help to Asgard. You must not slight him."

Thor said bluntly, "He's my brother. Who else would I help if not him? But I really can't see what's so noble about him."

Sif, standing nearby, asked, "My queen, is Tang from the Eastern God Clan?"

Frigga gave Sif a meaningful look. "No. He does not carry the unique resonance of the Dao possessed by the Eastern God Clan. His truth is nobler than that of any race in this world."

"What truth?" Everyone was utterly confused.

"The Eastern God Clan's cultivation system is called Cultivation. True Cultivation does not pursue great power. Power is merely a side effect of the cultivation process."

"Borrow Falsehood to Cultivate Truth, achieve immortality, and ultimately transcend—that is their philosophy."

"Every one of us lives amid false appearances. Even this world is but a false appearance. Some powerful beings cultivate for thousands or tens of thousands of years, all to pursue that tiny fragment of true essence. Yet Mr. Tang's true essence far surpasses that of any powerful being I have ever seen."

"If Mr. Tang is jade, then our truth is, at most, smoke—utterly insignificant."

Being praised so highly by the queen, Apocalypse felt a little embarrassed. "Am I really that impressive? I can't even kill the Destroyer."

Speaking of truth and falsehood, Apocalypse did have some understanding.

In his previous life, this world had merely been a fictional two-dimensional universe, yet after he traveled here, everything had become so real.

But was his previous life necessarily real?

Many scientists in his previous life had claimed that, judging from various signs, there was a high probability that the universe humanity inhabited was a holographic simulation.

Everything was merely a program from a higher dimension.

The rigor of the universe's structure, the precision of its constants, and the beauty of its formulas all seemed too perfect to have arisen naturally.

If that was the case, then his false self had entered a false world, and within that false world, he was the truest thing of all.

If people from this world had the chance to return to his previous life, then would that be real or false?

How was one supposed to reckon with all this truth and falsehood?

Not to mention the theories discussed by certain sages, such as "nothing exists outside the mind, no principle exists outside the mind," and "the universe is my mind, and my mind is the universe."

Could it be that those sages had long ago seen through the fact that the world of his previous life was a holographic simulation program?

Thus, many cultivators appeared. Some of them might not have been powerful, and their heads might not have been tougher than a brick, yet they spent their entire lives pursuing true essence.

Apocalypse only turned the matter over in his mind for a moment before he felt himself getting dizzy. Philosophical questions really were not suited to a shut-in.

The queen smiled. "Mr. Tang need not worry. As I said, the essence of cultivation is Borrow Falsehood to Cultivate Truth. Power is merely an incidental part of it. Given the truth of Mr. Tang's essence, improving your strength will not be difficult."

"Indeed, Mr. Tang's existence will have an immeasurable impact on our entire universe. It is a pity that my level is too low for me to see much more..."

Apocalypse said, "Since you can see the future, my queen, why not prepare in advance to change it? After all, the final outcome..."

How tragic was Asgard's eventual fate?

Odin, the Allfather, was annihilated. The queen was assassinated. Their eldest daughter, Hela, broke through her seal and came to Asgard, slaughtering everyone in her path.

In the end, the entire divine realm of Asgard was wiped out by the bull-headed monster Surtur.

Asgard's people barely managed to escape aboard a spaceship, only to encounter Thanos...

Loki died. Thor, like Odin, lost an eye. Who knew whether losing an eye was hereditary?

In the end, only a small remnant of their bloodline remained to carry on upon Earth.

The divine realm that had once ruled the Nine Realms had fallen to such a state.

The queen smiled and said, "Asgard has not been destroyed, so how can there be an ending? If you mean those calamities... sigh, everything is the best possible outcome!"

"Are you a fatalist too, my queen?"

Apocalypse neither agreed nor disagreed. Asgard's fate still counted as "the best possible outcome"?

The queen sighed. "Many people believe that if they can foresee the future and peer into the river of time, they can change the future. In truth, there is very little any person can do. If one insists on changing it, either one will receive an even worse outcome, or some unforeseeable force will intervene."

Apocalypse thought of the Time Management Authority that appeared in Loki. Was that the unforeseeable force?

If the future could not be changed and had long been destined, then what was the point of Doctor Strange peering into the future and finding the sole chance of success among tens of millions of possibilities?

He might as well lie flat and let the Time Management Authority work itself to death maintaining the timeline.

Wouldn't that make it fatalism?

If it could be changed, then what was the point of the Time Management Authority existing?

Apocalypse could not figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

At the very least, Apocalypse now knew that seeing the future did not mean knowing everything. Like Frigga, she could only see fragmented images related to Asgard.

As for everything else, it was all inferred and might not necessarily be accurate.

Thor saw the queen and Apocalypse speaking in riddles, and since he could not understand them, he grew impatient. Taking advantage of Apocalypse's silence, he quickly said, "Mother, I wanted to tell you that this was all Loki's conspiracy..."

At the mention of Loki, Apocalypse instantly became alert.

Something was wrong!

He had spoken with the queen for so long, yet Loki had not said a single word. He was far too quiet. That was absolutely not like him.

Apocalypse stretched out a hand, drew Sif's longsword, and with a sharp clang, sent it flying toward Loki.

Thor was shocked. "Tang, what are you doing..."

The longsword swiftly passed through Loki's body and nailed itself into the wall behind him.

Loki slowly faded away and disappeared.

It really was an illusion!

With Loki's personality, how could he possibly remain still and wait for death after seeing two top-tier powerhouses like Apocalypse and Thor arrive?

Apocalypse did not know when Loki had slipped away. He had probably quietly left the moment Apocalypse entered.

At that moment, brilliant seven-colored light flared outside.

Intense light shone into the palace.

"Oh no!" Apocalypse recalled the original story and said to Thor, "Loki is going to use the power of the Rainbow Bridge to destroy Jotunheim."