In the vast and silent Universe, with the backdrop of pitch-blackness, distorted light clusters of various colors were scattered everywhere, like a child's random scribbles, devoid of any aesthetic appeal.
Suddenly, a dark red beam of light shot out from a Nebula so dim it was almost invisible, breaking the static image of the Universe. It streaked across the void, disappearing in less than half a second.
As this blood-red beam of light swept past the stars, in a massive, pipe organ-shaped palace, Odin, clad in golden armor and holding the Eternal Spear, suddenly rose from his throne. His single eye gazed into the distance, his vision piercing through the thick palace walls, sweeping over the vast city, and scanning the star clusters in the void of the Universe.
"Heimdall, check the Nine Realms. Something has intruded into the Nine Realms," Odin spoke abruptly, his voice not loud, yet it carried to the starting point of the Rainbow Bridge, the Bifrost, built in the vast sea some two to three hundred kilometers away from the palace. This spatial bridge, constructed from the three elements of ice, air, and fire, could reach any place in the Nine Realms and was the foundation of Asgard's rule over the Nine Realms.
Heimdall, the Guardian of the Rainbow Bridge, fully encased in dark gold armor, received the command from the Father of the Gods—Odin. He immediately lifted his head and focused his gaze forward. His eyes, radiating a faint golden light, could perceive everything, ignoring space and distance. Anything reachable by the Rainbow Bridge, he could see instantly.
After a while, Heimdall finished scanning the Nine Realms. His dark face showed no expression as he gently shook his head and said, "All is well in the Nine Realms. I have not detected any abnormality."
In just that short time, Odin, holding the Eternal Spear and riding the eight-legged divine horse Sleipnir, had already arrived at the starting point of the Rainbow Bridge from the palace. With his left hand, he pulled the reins, halting the rapidly running eight-legged divine horse. His expression was very serious as he said, "Just now, I did indeed feel something not belonging to the Nine Realms intrude. It flew between Asgard and Jotunheim, but now I cannot find that thing."
"Something that can hide from the Father of the Gods can naturally also hide from my all-seeing eye."
"Could it be the Infinity Stones?" Odin thought inwardly, scanning the vast star field before him with his single eye holding the Eternal Spear, yet he could no longer find that strange feeling. Finally, his gaze settled on a dark Nebula so dim it was almost invisible. He spoke, "Open the Rainbow Bridge to the Lost Land."
Standing on the high platform, Heimdall heard the command and immediately raised the long sword he was holding, inserting it precisely into the center of the platform. The next second, beams of lightning sparked from the Guardian sword—Bultr steel—inserted into the center of the platform, striking the mechanical gears around it, which resembled clocks, providing power and causing these gears to rotate rapidly.
The spherical Bifrost rotated as the gears turned. Eventually, all the energy concentrated at the conical tip at the top of the Bifrost, transforming into a seven-colored beam of light that shot towards the Nebula so dim it was almost invisible.
This colorful beam of light, launched from Asgard, streaked across the vast void of the Universe at a speed exceeding that of light, penetrating the dense dust surrounding what was called the Lost Land, and reaching a massive landmass suspended in the void within this boundless dark Nebula.
The fully armed Odin stepped out of the Rainbow Bridge, finding himself within an immense cave. At the center of the huge cave, measuring three to four hundred meters in length and width, was a colossal stone pillar with a diameter of over fifty meters. It stood in the cave as if propping up the heavens and connecting to the Earth, possessing an imposing aura of reaching skyward and grounding below.
The surroundings were pitch black, with only the Rainbow Bridge behind him emitting seven-colored light, illuminating the area and allowing Odin's single eye to clearly see that the stone pillar, about ten meters from the ground, had cracked open with numerous fissures, shattering the sealing array inscribed on its surface. At the center was a hole with a diameter of thirty centimeters, and the edge was a radiating break caused by an explosion from the inside, clearly indicating that something had burst out from within.
"The seal on the Aether Particle has been broken. Was that the Aether Particle that just passed? Who took the Aether Particle? The Dark Elves or..." Odin thought to himself, involuntarily tightening his grip on the Eternal Spear. Without lingering, he immediately turned and stepped back into the Rainbow Bridge, returning to Asgard.
Seeing Odin enter the Bifrost from the Rainbow Bridge, Heimdall immediately drew out the Guardian sword—Bultr steel—and the Rainbow Bridge instantly vanished. Odin's voice echoed in his ears: "Heimdall, inform Vanaheim, Alfheim, and Nidavellir that Asgard will welcome a new king. The coronation ceremony will be held in ten days."
Heimdall looked up in surprise upon hearing the command. Before he could ask, Odin, whose face was extremely grim, had already ridden Sleipnir towards the direction of the palace, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Meanwhile, on a street on Earth, Li Tian's face was equally grim, seemingly trending from ashen to green. The thick night and the residual light from the streetlamp two meters to his left made the shop window in front of him act like a mirror, reflecting the figure of a boy around 1.6 meters tall.
His slightly curly black short hair was damp with sweat, clinging to his forehead in strands. His skin was as pale as paper, showing no sign of blood. His high nose bridge was quite prominent, and the edges of his brown pupils had thin, hair-like dark red rings.
No matter how he looked, this face, which could only be described as clear and handsome rather than devilishly charming or cool, was utterly unfamiliar. Not to mention his thin arms and legs, he probably didn't even weigh fifty kilograms, a stark contrast to his own tendency towards being overweight. Yet, when he raised his hand, this stranger in the mirror also raised his arm; when he blinked, this stranger in the mirror also blinked...
In his mind, the scene of when he first woke up was still 'playing': lying face down in the back of a truck, covered in blood on his chest. He scrambled out, only to find the scene outside even more terrifying: there were two black commercial vehicles in front of and behind the truck, and a ground covered with corpses in black suits. Missing limbs were common, and some had their heads separated from their bodies. Large amounts of blood gushed out, forming rivers that flowed freely on the ground, the smell of blood assaulting his nostrils, making him nauseous.
The slaughterhouse-like scene brought infinite fear, making Li Tian's mind go blank. By the time he regained consciousness, he had already arrived on this unfamiliar street, and then he saw this utterly strange face reflected in the window, and it seemed, perhaps, it was himself?
"How... how is this possible? Isn't transmigrating something that only happens in novels?" Li Tian muttered in a low voice, somewhat unable to accept the fact that he had entered a strange body. He repeatedly pondered what he had done last night to meet the conditions for transmigration.
As a qualified struggling author, he usually didn't consider sleeping until midnight. Last night, after finishing his writing, he turned off the computer normally. No 'YES' or 'NO' options popped up on the screen, the water in his cup had long been finished, there was no lightning storm outside the window under the starry moonlight, and there was no electrical leakage from the power source. Why did he wake up and open his eyes to find himself in a truck, and in a different appearance?
Being an online author is truly a dangerous profession these days. Even sleeping peacefully can cause problems. Suddenly transmigrating or being reborn to shoulder the responsibility of saving the World. Have you considered my feelings? Have you asked for my opinion?
While Li Tian was lost in thought, a draft blew through, making him shiver. The coolness on his chest made him instinctively lower his head, and he saw a bulge on the chest area of his brown short-sleeved shirt, which was soaked with blood. Reaching out to touch it, it felt hard and solid. Although it was covered in blood, it felt like metal. Was it an ornament?
Li Tian had always been someone whose actions were faster than his thoughts, especially now that his brain was reeling from the shock of 'transmigration', leaving him with little capacity to think about anything else. After touching it, he casually pulled it out, wanting to see what it was.
Facts proved that, except for snatching red envelopes, it's better to be slow with your hands at other times. As soon as his hand moved, Li Tian felt something inside his chest move along with it. Only then did his brain react and start to think about the source of the blood soaking his chest and the truck bed.
"Could this be a knife stuck in my chest, and the blood on my body is gushing out from here?" This terrifying thought flashed through his mind, and Li Tian instantly regretted it, but it was already too late. His quick hand had already pulled out the metal object.
"Oh, NO!"
Li Tian stared blankly at the rhombus-shaped, shuriken-like metal object he held in his hand. It was about eight centimeters long overall, three centimeters at its widest point, and the blade length looked to be well over five centimeters. This must have definitely pierced his heart.
"..."
By the way, if your heart is stabbed through and you pull the knife out, is there any way to save yourself? It's quite urgent. I can probably wait online for a minute. If there's no answer, I guess I'll be heading to the box.