Elsewhere, the Nine Planes and Godly Essences

Malkor, like any other world, has legends shifting perspective all the time. Mortals twist and turn the true stories to what they want it to be, to what they want to hear, and the truth is muddled in there, in between the lines of deceit. What stays consistent through these tales, though, is that there exists nine realms, each realm drawn to a different alignment. Some speculate the Realms came to be at the dawn of existence itself, others claim Odari himself made them all. Others yet simply believe each god rose up birthed from the very planes they governed. Scholars are currently dominant on the theory they call "the Elsewhere" is an astral binding force that holds everything together. Some have taken to calling the Elsewhere phenomenon Yggdrassil, the binding world tree.
The Elsewhere is a force that, in depictions around legends, tales and religious texts, is represented as a tree, whose branches hold up and nurture the nine realms. Truthfully, no mortal has seen this "force", and it is believed that its function and concept in practicality is unfathomable to a mortal mind. Regardless, its existence is indeed a binding force that connects  and sustains the nine realms. The gods call it the Otherworld, and they are said to have the ability to traverse it in between the realms freely.
As each world comes into being, so does its guardians. The gods of a world are extensions of the world’s will to survive, adapt and evolve. However, gods are also independent beings. They are always compelled to follow the will of the world itself, but just as well they can at times perform actions for their own reasons. Each god has an essence, a raw core of power that binds them to the world and gives them their godly powers. That essence also acts as a key to enter the Otherworld. The essence's power weakens the further away they are (alignment-wise) from their home realm they are bound to. Certain rituals have been created by some gods to allow specific access between two planes, allowing mortals to traverse unharmed through the Otherworld. This is true for Malkor and Asakar, for example.
Mortals see the Otherworld as something entirely separate from Yggdrassil, as they see the metaphorical tree as a symbol of unity and hope, but they cannot truly comprehend what the Otherworld truly is. Daring scholars have attempted to dabble in the knowledge of the Otherworld, but none have emerged unscathed; Sometimes they die, sometimes they get injured for life, and other times they go completely insane. Scholars that are more conscious of their own safety have started theories on the Elsewhere and the Otherworld being one and the same, but due to their understanding of the two it's seen as unlikely.