Thor shot forward at full speed, charging straight into Odin's palace under the indifferent gazes of countless guards.
After all, Thor had done far too many ridiculous things over the years. The guards were long since used to it. Who would even bother reacting anymore?
Besides, Thor was the prince. Even if someone did care, what guard could possibly stop him?
They were nothing more than ordinary Asgardian soldiers, without divine authority, and even less so the legendary power of the runes. They could not even take a casual punch from Thor.
If anyone wanted to exchange a few blows with Prince Thor, they would at least have to be one of the berserkers from Asgard's expeditionary forces!
And so, Thor rushed all the way through the palace and into the rear garden, arriving beside his father, who was quietly admiring the scenery.
"Father!"
he said hurriedly.
"I've found Loki's trail. He's in Midgard, and I'm going to bring him back!"
When the words fell, Odin did not show even the slightest change in expression.
As the Allfather who had sat on the throne for five thousand years, he had truly seen too many storms and upheavals.
Odin merely nodded slowly and said, without even looking at Thor, "Go see your mother. Tell her what you have learned about Loki. After that, meet me at the Bifrost."
"See Mother? Why? Did something happen to her?"
Thor was startled.
At those words, dissatisfaction finally appeared in Odin's eyes. He slowly turned and fixed Thor with a deep, weighty stare.
Thor immediately felt helpless.
No matter when or where it happened, whenever his father wore that expression, there was only one thing coming next.
A lecture.
And Odin's next words proved Thor absolutely right.
"Thor!"
Odin said sternly.
"During all these days of drinking and indulgence, have you paid any attention to whether your people had new needs? Have you paid any attention to whether your warriors had grown weary? You paid even less attention to your mother!
"She has been grieving Loki's disappearance this entire time, yet you never spared it any concern!
"When you returned from Midgard, compassion finally took root in your heart. That was progress. But compassion has not changed your love of praise, revelry, and drink.
"You can do better, but only if you are willing to do more!
"Go to your mother. Tell her of Loki with your own lips and let her be at peace. Then bring Loki back before her and prove that you have not disappointed her!
"Go, now!!!"
Odin's words did not frighten Thor in the slightest. He had heard this sort of thing too many times already.
Right now, his head was filled only with thoughts of his brother and the woman he loved. There was no room left for anything else.
So he answered in a hasty rush.
"Alright, I'm going, and I will do more. But you'd better hurry too. I'll meet you at the Bifrost soon..."
Before he had even finished speaking, Thor had already flown off with Mjolnir in hand, leaving Odin to lower his eyelids in silent resignation.
He narrowed his eyes and looked toward the drifting clouds in the far distance.
That son of his truly was a constant source of worry.
If a man had to lose something before he could mature, then just how much would this son of his have to lose before he truly grew up?
...Sigh.
Setting that thought aside, the aging Odin returned to the palace. He picked up Gungnir, the divine spear that had accompanied him throughout his life, and clenched his right hand tightly into a fist.
As his hand closed, radiant golden armor manifested out of nowhere and wrapped itself around his body.
Under present circumstances, with the Bifrost still broken, if he wanted to force its operation, then he had no choice but to use the dark magic he had learned from the Vanir.
When it came to that kind of power, he had always treated it with the utmost caution.
Meanwhile, Thor flew straight into his mother's chambers and found her in the blink of an eye, sitting quietly beside Yggdrasil.
Only when he arrived at her side did she finally react.
She looked up at him, thought for a moment, and then asked softly,
"This is the first time you've come to see me alone since returning from Midgard, and there is no confusion on your face. So you have come to tell me something."
"That's right, Mother."
Thor knew his mother had always been this perceptive. She possessed the domain of wisdom and the ancient magic inherited through the Vanir, almost as though she could see through the hearts of gods themselves.
And just as expected, a faint glimmer of spirit rose in Frigga's expression. She smiled softly and asked,
"It must have been your father who told you to come to me. There is news of Loki, isn't there?"
"That's right, Mother. Loki is in Midgard, and I'm about to go find him!"
"That is wonderful. I have long hoped for our family to be reunited. Though I think you're even more eager to see that girl of yours on Earth.
"A man's love always arrives so suddenly. I won't lecture you for it. But aside from caring for the woman you love, there is one thing you must promise me, Thor.
"No matter what happens, do not let your brother come to harm!"
"Don't worry, Mother. He's my brother. Besides, there's nothing on Midgard that could possibly hurt a prince of Asgard!"
Thor looked supremely confident, and that really was what he believed.
Of course, Frigga had never approved of such thinking.
Hearing Thor's words, she gently shook her head.
"My child, you should call it Earth, because it already possesses a civilization of its own, and Earth is the name given to it by the children it nurtures.
"I taught you that every intelligent race deserves the respect due to it.
"And besides, there are strong beings on Earth who are worthy of respect."
"Alright, alright, I know. Don't worry, Mom. I don't start wars carelessly anymore. I'll love the people of Midg... Earth just as I love every one of my own people!"
"Mm. Go to your father now. You can hardly contain yourself anymore. I only hope you remember what I told you."
"Got it!"
The moment he heard his mother's farewell, Thor felt like an arrow leaving the bow. In the blink of an eye, he rushed to the Bifrost.
When Odin saw his son approaching, he nodded to him from afar.
Then Odin gripped Gungnir and slammed the spear hard against the ground!
Boom!!!
An invisible gust of wind scattered Thor's long hair, and the power of the Bifrost began gathering in an instant.
At that moment, Odin spoke.
"The Bifrost is the greatest miracle in all the Nine Realms. On the day it was created, even if it were destroyed, its lingering shadow would still be enough to serve as the core of a passage.
"The complete bridge exists mainly to reduce the cost of transport.
"As my heir, and the future king of Asgard, you must learn as quickly as possible how to control the Bifrost without relying on Heimdall.
"This will be your final trump card, and the very core of Asgard itself!"
"Don't worry, Father. Mother already taught me that ridiculously long incantation. But isn't that dark magic? You told me before to keep away from those useless things that hurt the body!"
...
Odin felt a fresh wave of helplessness crash over him.
That was because he had wanted Thor, while still young, to develop confidence in the divine rune-power of Asgard!
That did not mean Vanir magic and dark magic were worthless!
But Thor was always like this.
Always so impossibly dense!
When Odin told him that war was the foundation upon which Asgard had been built, Thor became warlike and greedy for glory.
When Odin told him to learn compassion, Thor somehow concluded that a king should possess only compassion.
When Odin told him Mjolnir was important, Thor decided it must be the source of his power.
But Mjolnir had been meant to suppress Thor's own divine power, so he could learn how to wield it properly even under restraint. It was a tool, not something meant to turn him into the god of hammers!
Why was it that Thor's mind could only ever understand one side of anything?
Looking at the son standing before him with such eager anticipation written all over his face, Odin truly wanted to go back to the past and do something differently.
Was there really something wrong with the way he had raised his children? Why did every heir of his seem to have one flaw or another?
What a nightmare.
A nightmare so troubling that even the king of gods could not remain at peace.
...
Unfortunately, the Thor standing before him had not yet gone through all the suffering that awaited him in the future. He was still as stubborn and single-minded as ever.
So naturally, he had no idea what complicated thoughts were running through his father's mind.
He was simply waiting with obvious excitement for Odin to send him to Midgard.
Watching a son like that, Odin could only shake his head helplessly as he began murmuring a quiet incantation.
A moment later, a brilliant beam of rainbow light shot forth and instantly carried Thor away.
...
Two hours earlier, back on Earth, while Heisenberg was still chatting happily with Tony and Pepper inside Ehrenburg Restaurant, the command room aboard S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier was already in complete chaos.
Hill and all of her capable subordinates were so busy they could barely keep up.
Banner was seated in front of a computer, constantly reporting the situation to Hill and the others.
"Damn it, I don't know what's causing this, but the Tesseract's previously dormant energy index is skyrocketing at incredible speed!
"Fuck! If something really happens to it, then it's all my fault. All of it is my fault. Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!"
The pain in Banner's heart was impossible to describe.
After Hill followed his recommendation, shut down Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., and sealed away the Tesseract, it had not taken long for the Cube to begin acting up again.
If the Cube really did create a black hole according to Banner's calculations, then Earth would be finished.
Completely finished!!!
At that moment, even though the Hulk inside Banner had already decided long ago that he wanted nothing to do with him, a faint green tint still began to appear across Banner's skin.
That was because the overwhelming rage inside Banner had directly affected the Hulk.
The moment she saw this, Hill, who had been discussing response plans with Captain Rogers, panicked at once.
She rushed to Banner's side and carefully tried to calm him.
"Dr. Banner, don't panic. Please, don't panic!
"It can't be that serious. The Tesseract may just be experiencing a minor issue. Check the data again carefully.
"And besides, Earth still has that Kryptonian elder on it right now. Even if his character is worlds apart from my idol Superman, I still believe he wouldn't just stand by and let the planet he lives on be destroyed by the Tesseract!"
The moment those words fell, Banner suddenly seized on a hint of understanding.
He quickly calmed down, sat back in front of the computer, and carefully reexamined line after line of data.
As for the Heisenberg Hill had mentioned...
Sorry, neither Banner nor Hulk cared about that name. The two of them would rather rely on themselves!
When Hill saw that Banner no longer seemed on the verge of turning into the Hulk, she finally relaxed quite a bit.
She let out a long breath and then immediately prepared to contact Heisenberg.
This was not the time for selfishness.
If something really went wrong, then they would no longer need to worry about Heisenberg taking the Tesseract from them.
Because at that point, there would not even be an Earth left!
But just as she pulled out her phone, Banner, after staring at the screen for only a few seconds, suddenly shouted,
"Wait, I found it! It was these few seconds right here. The Tesseract's energy changed!
"Let me see... this is an isomorphic sequence pattern of energy distribution. It's far more stable than we expected.
"I'll calculate it. If a wormhole forms under this kind of arrangement, then it basically won't be a wormhole at all. It'll be some kind of extremely high-safety transport channel!"
At that point in his calculations, Banner suddenly remembered something. He spun around in his chair and looked toward Rogers, Natasha, and the others standing in front of the command station.
"Guys, I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?"
"Damn it, this is not the time for jokes. Get to the point!"
Hill mercilessly cut off Banner's dry sense of humor, making him purse his lips helplessly.
"Alright. The good news is that the Tesseract isn't going to explode at all.
"Its energy is incredibly stable, and the result of that stability is simply this: with the Cube itself as the core, a portal to an unknown location will form!"
"Then what's the bad news?" Natasha immediately asked.
At her question, Banner looked deeply at everyone present.
"The bad news is the portal itself, because it's a door that connects two points!
"Given that we know we are not the ones opening it from this side, then the one opening it must be coming from the other end!"
As he said this, he could not help swallowing hard.
"Someone, somewhere unknown, has taken control of the Tesseract, and they're about to arrive on Earth."
"Wait!"
Hill suddenly cut him off.
"If the portal is going to open centered on the Tesseract..."
Her expression suddenly turned a little strange. She clearly seemed to be suppressing a certain emotion before continuing,
"We stored the Tesseract in a secret vault three thousand meters underground, and we sealed the entrance with poured concrete.
"So... how exactly is the person on the other side supposed to walk out from a fully enclosed, nuclear-blast-resistant storage chamber buried three thousand meters underground...?"
/-\
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