Thor, Loki, and the Valkyrie rushed out of the vault.
The scene before them made them stop in their tracks.
On the Bifrost Bridge, Hela was kneeling on the ground. The Goddess of Death—who had crushed Mjolnir and slaughtered the armies of Valhalla—had her head lowered, her body trembling slightly.
Standing opposite her… was Levi.
He was still wearing that same set of Earth clothes, not even a wrinkle on them.
Thor's mind buzzed, going completely blank.
He couldn't understand.
Just minutes ago, he had been prepared to perish together with Asgard, to trade Ragnarok for the destruction of this invincible sister of his.
And now… she was kneeling.
Anger overwhelmed his shock.
"Why didn't you kill her?!" Thor strode forward, his voice shaking with emotion. He pointed at Hela and roared at Levi, "She killed so many of our people! She destroyed Asgard!"
Levi's gaze swept past the survivors at the far end of the bridge—still shaken and terrified—before finally settling on Thor.
His eyes were calm, as if he were looking at an ignorant child.
"Asgard needs a king. A king strong enough," he said flatly, as if discussing the weather. "You're not qualified."
The words struck Thor like an invisible hammer, smashing into his chest.
I am Odin's son. The future king of Asgard.
All his pride, all his convictions, were crushed in that instant.
"I am the king of Asgard!" he roared, eyes bloodshot. "I will never allow this butcher to sit on the throne!"
He raised his fist again—without lightning this time—charging forward like an ordinary man, driven by sheer resolve.
But he only managed two steps.
The air around him suddenly turned viscous, like solidifying cement.
It felt as though he had fallen into an invisible swamp. Every movement drained all his strength.
Levi stood just a few meters away, yet Thor struggled in slow motion, unable to get any closer.
Loki's pupils shrank sharply. He understood better than anyone what this meant.
This wasn't magic. It wasn't energy.
This was control over the rules themselves.
He quietly stepped back, widening the distance between himself and his brother.
The Valkyrie tightened her grip on Dragonfang, veins bulging on the back of her hand—but Heimdall pressed a hand on her shoulder and slowly shook his head.
Levi paid no attention to Thor, who struggled like an insect trapped in amber.
He raised his hand. The savage crown of Surtur—the very object capable of triggering Ragnarok—floated quietly in his palm.
He looked at the surviving Asgardians. His voice wasn't loud, yet it rang clearly in everyone's ears.
"From this day forward, Hela Odinsdottir is the new Guardian of Asgard."
"Her power will protect you. Her life will be bound to this land—until she has atoned for all her sins."
"This is my will."
As his words fell, his fingers slowly closed.
"No—!"
A shrill scream burst from the crown.
That indestructible creation of darkness was crushed in his hand like a fragile eggshell, shattering piece by piece.
No explosion. No energy surge.
The metal and laws that composed it were directly broken down into their most fundamental particles, dispersing into the wind.
Silence fell over the Bifrost.
Only Thor's heavy breathing remained.
He was pinned in place, unable to move.
Just days ago, this man had been his ally—a powerful companion he could fight alongside.
Now, standing there, Levi felt no different from Odin himself.
Levi finally turned his gaze to Thor.
"A qualified king must first learn not how to fight—but how to choose."
He waved his hand casually, and the force restraining Thor vanished instantly.
Thor staggered, nearly collapsing to his knees. He forced himself to stay upright, fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his flesh—but not a trace of resistance remained.
Levi was right.
He couldn't refute it.
Levi turned to Hela, who was still kneeling.
Her body trembled. The arrogance and bloodlust that once filled her eyes were gone, replaced entirely by fear. The mark Levi had planted deep within her soul left her incapable of defiance.
"Stand," Levi commanded.
Hela stiffened, then slowly—humiliatingly—rose to her feet.
Levi's gaze swept over the empty space behind her, where her undead army once stood.
"Let them rest," he ordered again.
Hela's face turned pale. That had been her final army—her symbol of power.
She clenched her teeth, instinctively wanting to resist, but a sharp, needle-like pain pierced her mind, making her body tremble.
In the end, she raised her hand and weakly waved it toward the empty bridge.
Deep beneath Asgard, the slumbering undead soldiers waiting to be summoned turned to ash in that instant—vanishing forever.
Loki's eyes flickered. He knew it was his moment.
He immediately stepped forward, straightened his robes, and gave Levi a deep bow, lowering his posture completely.
"You have demonstrated the bearing of a true king. For Asgard to be reborn under your protection is a blessing for all the Nine Realms," he said with utmost sincerity.
Levi glanced at him, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"You're quite the talker, Loki. I hope you remain this clever."
Cold sweat instantly broke out across Loki's back. He knew his schemes were completely transparent before this man.
Levi ignored the gods, each lost in their own thoughts.
He turned to face the devastated ruins.
The palace lay in ruins. The gardens were burned. The sky was dimmed by war.
Slowly, he raised his right hand.
"The scars here… should be healed."
As his voice fell, the law of Reality Warping activated.
An invisible ripple swept across all of Asgard.
The jagged chasms in the الأرض, the bottomless trenches—were smoothed over as if wiped away by an unseen hand, rapidly closing.
"The structures… should regain their glory."
The Law of Force and Spatial Control activated simultaneously.
Countless fragments of ruined palaces and shattered stone rose into the air. They didn't simply reassemble—instead, they were crushed into pure golden particles, like a grand swarm of glowing fireflies filling the sky.
Then, those particles began to reshape.
Brand-new palaces rose from the ground, their lines more refined, their structures more magnificent than before. Golden domes shone once more beneath the dim sky, radiating divine brilliance.
The shattered Bifrost began to repair itself, no longer fragile like glass, but transformed into a semi-transparent crystalline structure of pure energy, with rainbow light flowing within.
Finally, Levi's gaze swept across the withered trees and scorched earth.
"This place… should be alive again."
The Law of Time descended as a visible rain of green light.
Where it fell, dead wood sprang back to life, and fresh shoots broke through the soil. Lush grass spread across the once-charred الأرض at an unbelievable speed, flowers blooming quietly among it.
In mere seconds, Asgard transformed from a hellish ruin into a divine realm more glorious and vibrant than ever before.
Everyone stood frozen in awe.
Levi slowly lowered his hand and turned back to Thor, who looked utterly lost.
"Asgard is fine now. But you're still too weak."
He looked Thor up and down, noting his empty hands, and shook his head.
"No hammer, and you don't know how to fight anymore? Pathetic."
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