Ragnarok was the end of the world, the destruction of the nine realms, and the death of most gods and men. The war was the final battle between good and evil, with Odin leading the good against Loki who led the giants and monsters. Yet, strange as it may be, the outcome of the final battle was already known to the gods through prophecies. But even as such, they went on to face their destiny, knowing that they could never avert their death.

Perhaps to delay Ragnarok, the Aesir decided to confine the three most powerful creatures that would come against them, all of which were offspring of Loki and the giantess Angerboda. They were Hel, the Midgard serpent and Fenris.

The gods confined Hel in one of the nine realms over which she had complete power. It was the underworld, Niflheim. So it came to be that Hel became the goddess of the dead, and slowly the names Niflheim and Hel came almost interchangeable.

The Midgard Serpent, otherwise known as Jormungand, was the largest serpent in the world. Once it was born, the Aesir threw it into the sea, where it grew so large as to encircle the entire earth, thus taking on the name, the World Serpent.

Fenris, the giant wolf, was bound by the gods at the cost of Tyr's hand, one of the gods. Fenris was to remain bound until Ragnarok, where he would finally be liberated.

A sign which preceded Ragnarok was the death of Balder, Odin's son. This was brought about directly by Loki, who was eventually bound to three rocks with poison dripped on him, causing much suffering to Loki. He was to be bound till Ragnarok, when he would break free and lead the giants against the gods.

When Ragnarok finally comes, winter and cold weather would last for three years, as the giant wolves Skoll and Hati would swallow the sun and moon. The worm Nidhogg, would finally gnaw away the root of Yggdrasil that supported Niflheim.

Loki and Fenris would escape their imprisonment, and Jormungand would escape his confinement in the sea. The giants from Jotunheim and from Muspelheim would finally wage war against the gods. Heimdall would sound his horn atop Yggdrasil, alerting the gods to call to arms and gather the slain heroes in the halls of Valhalla, to begin the epic war upon the plain of Vigrid.

Freyr, unarmed, would first fall to the flaming sword of Surt, the fire giant. Tyr managed to kill the hellhound Garm but later died from wounds. The match between Heimdall and Loki resulted in them killing each other. Thor managed to kill the Migard Serpent with his mighty hammer, but soon after he succumbed to poison from the serpent and died.

Odin contested Fenris with his spear Gungnir but fell prey to the wolf and was devoured. His son, Vidar, on seeing his father's death, grew so angry he bound upon the wolf and tore Fenris' jaws asunder. The nine worlds under Yggdrasil became a blazing inferno, with most of the inhabitants of the realms dying in a pit of flames as the earth sank into the sea.

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