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!"
"Ahem... sorry, I forgot."
Sif hurriedly straightened her appearance, then dropped to one knee before the queen. "Your Majesty!"
"Mm, rise."
Apocalypse said, "Your Majesty, I don't quite understand..."
It was not strange that Queen Frigga knew he was from another world.
In the original story, when Thor traveled back in time, she had recognized at a glance that he had returned from the future.
Frigga said, "As everyone knows, I know a little sorcery and can glimpse fragments of the future."
"When you fought Odin last time, your existence appeared in Asgard's river of time like an indelible mark."
"So I informed Odin and invited you here as a guest."
No wonder when he had picked up Thor's Hammer, Odin's mental pressure had first been filled with towering rage, then suddenly made a complete reversal. So Frigga had informed him.
"Your Majesty, can you see my future?"
Frigga shook her head. "My ability only allows me to see fragments of images related to 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 another dimension. His status is noble, and he will be of great help to Asgard. You must not neglect him."
Thor said bluntly, "He's my brother. If I don't help him, who would I help? But I really can't see what's so noble about him."
Sif, standing to one side, asked, "Your Majesty, is Tang from the Eastern God Clan?"
Frigga gave Sif a meaningful look. "No. He does not possess the unique aura of the Dao found in the Eastern God Clan. His truth is nobler than that of any race in this world."
"What truth?" Everyone was completely baffled.
"The cultivation system of the Eastern God Clan is called Cultivation. True Cultivation does not pursue great power; power is merely a side effect of the 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 itself is a false appearance. Some powerful beings cultivate for thousands or tens of thousands of years merely 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 were jade, then our truth would at most be smoke, not worth mentioning."
Apocalypse felt a little embarrassed at being praised so highly by the queen. "Am I really that amazing? I can't even kill the Destroyer."
Speaking of truth and falsehood, Apocalypse did have some thoughts on the matter.
In his previous life, this world had seemed like nothing more than a fake two-dimensional setting, yet after traveling 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 unlike something that could have arisen naturally.
If that was the case, then a false him had entered a false world, and within this false world, he was the truest thing of all.
If the people of this world had a chance to return to his previous life, then would that be real or false?
How was one supposed to calculate all these layers of truth and falsehood?
Not to mention the theories discussed by ancient sages: "Nothing exists outside the mind, no principle exists outside the mind," or "The universe is my mind, and my mind is the universe," and so on.
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 emerged. Some of them might not have been powerful, their heads no harder than a brick, yet they spent their entire lives pursuing the essence of truth.
Apocalypse merely turned the thought over a little and already felt dizzy. Such philosophical questions really were not for a shut-in.
Frigga smiled. "Mr. Tang need not worry. As I said, the essence of cultivation is to Borrow Falsehood to Cultivate Truth. Power is only an incidental part of it. With the truth of Mr. Tang's essence, raising your strength will not be difficult."
"Furthermore, Mr. Tang's existence will have an immeasurable impact on our entire universe. Unfortunately, my level is too low, and I cannot see much more..."
Apocalypse said, "Since Your Majesty can see the future, why not prepare early and change it? You know, the final outcome..."
How miserable would Asgard's final fate be?
God King Odin would fade away, the queen would be assassinated, and Hela, the eldest daughter, would break through her seal and come to Asgard for a killing spree.
In the end, Surtur, that bull-headed monster, would wipe out the entire divine kingdom of Asgard.
The people of Asgard would barely manage to flee aboard a spaceship, only to encounter Thanos...
Loki would die, and Thor, like Odin, would lose an eye. He wondered if losing an eye was hereditary.
In the end, only a small portion of their bloodline would remain, passed down on Earth.
The divine kingdom that had once ruled the Nine Realms would be reduced to such a state.
Frigga smiled. "Asgard has not been destroyed, so how can there be a final outcome? If you mean those calamities... alas, everything is the best possible result!"
"Even Your Majesty believes in fatalism?"
Apocalypse neither agreed nor disagreed. Asgard's fate could still be called "the best possible result"?
Frigga sighed. "Many people believe that foreseeing the future and peering into the river of time allows one to change the future. In truth, there is not much any person can do. If one insists on changing it, then either one will obtain an even worse result, or some unforeseeable force will intervene."
Apocalypse thought of the Time Variance Authority from Loki. Was that the unforeseeable force?
If the future could not be changed and had long been predetermined, then what was the point of Doctor Strange peering into the future and searching through tens of millions of possibilities for the sole chance of success?
He might as well lie flat completely and let the Time Variance Authority work itself to death maintaining the timeline.
Wouldn't that simply become fatalism?
If it could be changed, then what was the point of the Time Variance Authority's existence?
Apocalypse could not figure any of this out, so he simply stopped thinking about it.
At least Apocalypse now knew that seeing the future did not mean knowing everything. Like Frigga, she could only see fragments of scenes related to Asgard.
As for everything else, it was all inferred and might not be accurate.
Thor watched Frigga and Apocalypse speak in riddles he could not understand, and anxiety rose in his heart. Taking advantage of Apocalypse's silence, he hurriedly said, "Mother, I wanted to tell you, this was all Loki's scheme..."
At the mention of Loki, Apocalypse immediately became alert.
Something was wrong!
He had been talking with Frigga for so long, yet Loki had not said a single word. He was far too quiet. That was absolutely not like him.
Apocalypse reached out, drew Sif's longsword, and with a ringing clang, sent it flying at Loki.
Thor was shocked. "Tang, what are you doing...?"
The longsword rapidly 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, after seeing Apocalypse and Thor, two top-tier powerhouses, arrive, how could he possibly stand still and wait to die?
Apocalypse did not know when Loki had slipped away. He had probably already left quietly the moment Apocalypse entered.
At that moment, brilliant seven-colored light flared outside.
Intense light shone into the royal 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."
Before you continue