The air deep in the World Tree's shadow froze in that instant.
After the question of whether Russell knew about them was raised, the towering figures that had been trading opinions so casually fell silent at once.
This was no ordinary pause in conversation. It was an instinct born of their long coexistence: when one sensed something wrong, they all fell quiet.
The indistinct shapes in the shadows shifted slightly, as though reassessing how much weight that new information carried in the larger situation.
"He couldn't possibly know we exist." The first shadow's voice was lower than before, edged with suppressed wariness.
"We've existed in the World Tree's shadow longer than any record in the Nine Realms. Even Odin only sensed us vaguely during a chance encounter. He never confirmed where we were or how many of us there were.
"That human on Earth shouldn't know any of this, even if they call him Om Messiah."
Another shadow stretched slightly beneath the branches, as though adjusting a position it had held for a long time.
"When he mentioned Rune King Thor, he was referring to Thor. He wasn't talking about the World Tree's power itself, but the blessing that only we can grant by carving its runes into a body.
"We haven't let anyone attempt it since Odin. I doubt even Asgard's own library has more than a few surviving pages.
"The fact that he knows about it means he's encountered information on it somewhere."
A third shadow spoke, its voice wavering between doubt and agreement.
"Maybe he learned it from Odin. Odin went to Earth himself to seek Russell's help in saving Thor.
"Under those circumstances, it wouldn't be strange for him to share some information about the World Tree and its runes."
That speculation about "sharing information" hung