Reinhard fell through his dreams again, consciousness tumbling through darkness before snapping back into focus. He was Odin once more, standing in the devastated fire realm with weapons in each hand.

The Void-Splinter Spear and the First Flame's blade.

Odin began walking, each step forward as his body began healing itself instantly. Every step he took, a wound would instantly mend and heal until the ninth step, when he was fully healed. On his tenth step, reality responded.

The space before him rippled before it gently split open like fabric parting in the middle. A doorway opened, revealing the familiar white expanse beyond.

Odin stepped through.

The transition was instantaneous.

Fire and devastation vanished, replaced by endless frost. The icy realm stretched out in all directions, its frozen beauty unchanged despite the cosmic battles that had raged elsewhere. Snow fell in gentle curtains.

Ice mountains caught pale light and threw it back in prismatic displays.

Odin paused, taking in the landscape. Then something within him shifted, power folding inward, presence diminishing until even his transcendent nature became muted. His existence masked itself, becoming an invisible existence that nothing but those like him could sense or see.

He began walking again, moving through the realm silently.

Frost giants appeared in the distance. Reinhard watched through Odin's eyes as they gathered in a clearing, their massive crystalline forms reflecting the ambient light. They were building a structure of ice that rose with surprising speed under their coordinated efforts.

Towers and walls are taking shape with practiced ease.

Then one giant laughed, the sound boomed across the frozen plain, full of genuine delight. But then he swung his fist, smashing into the structure, which exploded into fragments, ice shards spinning through the air in glittering clouds.

The other giants roared approval, their voices mixing into chaotic harmony. They stomped on the remains, grinding them to powder, then immediately began building again, creating only to destroy, finding joy in the cycle itself.

Odin sighed, Reinhard felt the familiar frustration rise, and then it was forcibly suppressed. There was no point in that anger anymore as understanding had replaced it, even if acceptance hadn't fully formed.

He continued walking, and new figures came into view.

Two young men clashed in a snowy field. Their forms were similar to Odin's, smaller than the frost giants but marked with the same bronze accents that spoke of mixed heritage. Ice and fire both flow through their veins.

Vili moved with aggressive precision as he slashed through the air. Each swing carried force that made the ground tremble. His silver hair whipped around his face as he pressed forward, grinning with fierce joy.

Ve countered with fluid grace, where Vili attacked with power, Ve responded with technique. He redirects rather than blocking, flowing around strikes instead of meeting them head-on. His blade moved in patterns that seemed almost dance-like, each motion connected to the next in seamless sequence.

Their weapons met with ringing impacts.

Ice sparked against ice, with snow erupting around their feet with each exchange. And through it all, they laughed without any worry, the sounds of brothers testing themselves against each other.

A faint smile touched Odin's lips as a comforting warmth spread through his chest. It cut through the grief and determination that had dominated since Adumula's death.

Vili.

Reinhard felt Odin's memories surface, images flooding their shared consciousness.

A younger Odin sits cross-legged in the snow, gesturing excitedly as he describes a theory about building construction. His hands moved rapidly, sketching invisible diagrams in the air.

Vili listened for perhaps thirty seconds before interrupting. "That's stupid." He said bluntly, his tone carrying no malice. "You're trying to force structure where chaos needs to exist. The realms aren't puzzles to solve, they're living things."

Odin's face flushed. "You don't understand what I'm-"

"I understand perfectly." Vili stood, brushing snow from his legs. "You're scared of uncertainty, so you're trying to map everything. But some things need to stay unknown."

They'd argued for hours, but neither was convinced of the other. Then afterward, Odin found himself questioning his assumptions, examining his theories from angles he'd never considered.

Another memory surfaced.

Odin and Vili are sparring at the edge of a frozen lake. Not the playful clash happening now, but something more serious. Odin had just proposed a radical idea about restructuring how the frost giants organized themselves.

"You can't force them to change." Vili said between strikes. His sword moved, slashed, hacked, and smashed against e Odin's defense. "They are what they are."

"Everything can change!" Odin blocked desperately, bronze-tipped fingers gripping his practice weapon. "We just need the right approach!"

"No." Vili's blade slipped past Odin's guard, stopping just short of his throat. "You need to accept what you can't control."

Odin had stormed off. But later, lying awake, he'd realized Vili had been teaching him something crucial, the difference between what should be changed and what must be accepted.

Reinhard felt Odin's current thoughts overlay the memories.

Vili was the one who pushed back, who challenged every idea, and questioned every assumption. Where Odin got lost in possibility and theory, Vili brought brutal clarity. He knew what he wanted with unwavering certainty, which were simple goals pursued with absolute conviction.

Odin had envied that once.

The way Vili could look at a situation and immediately know the right action. No fog, no uncertainty, just clear vision and direct execution. While Odin walked in endless questions and hypotheticals, Vili simply acted.

While Odin felt a terrifying hunger for answers, Vili didn't care and was happy with how things were.

But Odin had learned from those challenges. Each argument had refined his thinking, forced him to voice not just what he believed but why. Vili's skepticism had become a whetstone against which Odin sharpened his convictions.

The Heart, Odin thought.

In their group of three, Vili represented the emotional side of the group. Odin's gaze then shifted to his other brother, Ve.

Ve executed a perfect counter, his blade sliding along Vili's and redirecting the strike harmlessly away. Vili laughed louder, adjusting his stance for another assault.

Ve.

Different memories surfaced.

Odin sits alone at the base of a massive ice formation, head in his hands. His mind raced with possibilities, too many ideas, too many questions, and curiosity spiraling into paralysis. What if he explored this realm? What if he tried that technique? What if the frost giants could be taught through demonstration rather than explanation? What if-

Ve appeared beside him, silent as falling snow, and he sat without speaking.

After a long moment, Ve said quietly: "You're drowning."

Odin looked up, eyes wide. "I just…There's so much to learn, so much to try, and I can't"-

"Pick one thing." Ve's voice carried a steady calm. "Then do it until you can't do it anymore, and then pick the next."

"But what if I choose wrong?"

"Then you'll learn from choosing wrong." Ve placed a hand on Odin's shoulder. "But being unable to choose because there are too many choices is worse than choosing poorly."

Another memory bloomed.

A younger Odin watches a group of smaller frost giants destroy a beautiful ice sculpture. Rage built in his chest, hot, violent anger that demanded he intervene, that he force them to stop, that he make them understand preservation.

Ve caught his arm before he could move. "Don't."

"But they're destroying-"

"And if you stop them now, they'll do it again tomorrow." Ve's grip tightened. "You can't control everything, brother. Some battles aren't worth fighting."

"Then what battles are worth it?"

Ve considered the question seriously. "The ones that create order instead of just preventing chaos. Build something better rather than stopping something worse."

That conversation had planted seeds, ones he hadn't realized until now.

Reinhard felt Odin's understanding deepen.

Ve was the stabilizer compared to him. Where Odin's imagination ran wild, and Vili's passion drove him forward, Ve provided grounding. He pushed them to put their theory into practical action. Made them break their ideas and what they wanted to do into steps.

The Hand, Odin thought.

Or perhaps the Form. Ve took ideas and gave them shape, took passion and gave it direction. Without him, Odin and Vili would have torn themselves apart in endless debate.

Together, the three of them formed something complete.

Mind, Heart, and Hand.

Theory, Passion, and Practice.

Three brothers who clashed with each other but grew from each other's presence and ideas.

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