Denial. A reflexive, instinctive denial.
Even Hela found herself bewildered after the words escaped her lips—why had she said that?
What was there to hide?
Following closely behind her father, Odin, as they walked toward the Bifrost, Hela pondered in silence, unable to make sense of the feeling gnawing at her.
It felt almost... like she’d been caught doing sothing wrong in secret.
"What’s wrong, Hela?"
Frigga had been waiting at the Bifrost for so ti. Seeing her daughter’s dazed expression, she asked gently.
As a caring mother, she was always ready to listen to her daughter’s worries.
In truth, she always had been, and that was precisely why, despite not being Hela’s birth mother, the two still shared a deep and close bond.
"It’s nothing. I was just thinking about so strange things."
Snapping out of her thoughts, Hela shook her head and followed Odin, vaulting onto her warhorse.
This would be their ride to Vormir.
They’d first use the Bifrost to travel beyond the Nine Realms, then ride across the cosmos—Asgard’s traditional thod of long-distance travel.
"Alright. But if you ever need soone to talk to, I’ll be here in Asgard, waiting for you."
Bathed in Frigga’s gentle gaze, Odin and Hela vanished into the shimring spectrum of the Bifrost.
...
Three days later.
Sowhere in the Universe.
"Father, honestly, I think it’s ti Asgard started developing its own starships."
Resting on an uninhabited planet, Hela took so fodder from her saddlebag, harvested from Asgardian pastures, and laid it before her steed. Then, as if struck by a thought, she looked up and spoke to Odin.
After growing used to the comfort of advanced spacecraft, traveling via horseback, however majestic, now felt irritatingly primitive.
Especially when she had to stop and feed the horse. Everything else paled in comparison.
"Oh?"
"I rember you used to love riding." Odin chuckled warmly at the mory. When she was little, Hela had been a frequent visitor to the royal stables.
"That may be, but we have no reason to reject more advanced technology, do we, Father?"
"Of course not. Then how about this... you take charge of it, Hela?"
"?" Hela frowned at the unexpected proposal.
"Yes. I’m entrusting it to you. Don’t disappoint , Hela."
Smiling, Odin patted the celestial steed as it munched contentedly, his deep, star-filled eyes gazing into the distant, mysterious expanse of the universe.
Out there, far beyond what they’d conquered, lay Odin’s next challenge.
It was the presence of those supre cosmic beings that drove him to seek the Soul Stone on Vormir.
With the Soul Stone, the Space Stone, and the Destroyer Armor, he might retain a sliver of hope even if defeat were imminent.
Odin’s growing power had long surpassed the confines of the Nine Realms.
Not long ago, he had led Asgard’s armies to conquer Vanaheim. Now, only Jotunheim remained in defiance.
Though the Frost Giants had lost their sacred relic, the Casket of Ancient Winters, King Laufey had seemingly inherited a portion of the power from the primordial giant Ymir, and with it, a thod to harness the World Tree’s energy to resist Asgard’s invasion.
Unless Odin was willing to destroy the very roots of the Nine Realms, the World Tree itself, he’d have to rely on slow, relentless attrition to take Jotunheim.
And it was for this very reason that Odin, having nearly completed his conquest, now turned his eyes beyond the Nine Realms, to the beings who stood supre over the wider cosmos.
He would challenge them.
He would conquer them.
He would beco the undisputed sovereign of the universe.
Such was the ambition swelling in Odin’s heart, an ambition that grew ever greater with his power.
All or nothing.
If he could defeat those supre entities, the entire universe would fall into his grasp. None, not even Thanos, would be able to stop him.
He knew the risks of this decision. But his heart burned with longing. He could no longer suppress it.
So he prepared for both outcos.
Hela’s leadership of Asgard’s technological renaissance would be her stepping stone to the throne.
If he never returned, the Asgardian royal line would remain unbroken, and Hela could inherit his will and complete the legacy he left behind.
? Take charge?
How do you even start designing a spaceship?
Riding toward Vormir, Hela fell into contemplation. She’d only ever used starships, not built them.
Maybe Lothar?
Almost instinctively, her mind went to Lothar. She recalled seeing him with a different ship each ti they t, each one unique.
Aside from him, she couldn’t think of anyone else with the expertise to help.
As the days stretched on, their journey passed in silence—Odin lost in ambition, Hela in thought.
Thirteen days later.
Vormir.
A barren world, devoid of life.
According to the map, the Soul Stone was here.
Unbothered by the snow now falling from Vormir’s sky, Hela opened her eyes, snapping out of her mories. She took the lead, guiding Odin toward their destination.
"Welco to Vormir, Odin, son of Bor."
"Welco to Vormir, Hela, daughter of Odin."
The sudden voice echoed eerily through the mountainside as they ascended from the plains.
"You know us?"
Odin stepped protectively in front of Hela, eyes locked on the figure erging from the snowy trail.
His tattered cloak couldn’t hide his striking features.
"To know who seeks the Stone... is part of the curse I bear."
"Where’s the Soul Stone?" Odin narrowed his eyes.
"Odin... you must understand. The Soul Stone exacts a cruel toll."
"I’m ready."
Odin’s expression was grave, shielding Hela behind him. He had waited a long ti for this mont.
"All who ca before you whispered the sa resolve. In the end, they all saw how blind they had been."
"Don’t compare to them."
"They spoke those words as well... and every one of them faltered... when the mont ca."
"What’s the price?" Hela, unable to bear the cryptic tone any longer, cut straight to the point.
"You must lose that which you love."
"What?"
"An everlasting exchange. A soul... for a soul."
The man smiled as he descended slowly from the air, landing softly on the snow-covered ground.
"And it must be soone you truly love.
"No tricks, no deception. The Soul Stone is, in many ways, the embodint of the universe’s wisdom. It can tell whether a heart is sincere and whether a price has truly been paid.
"Those who try to deceive it always pay dearly.
"Even you are no exception.
"So tell , Odin... what is your choice?"
The cloaked man’s smile was serene, but the look he gave Hela sent a chill down her spine.
She turned to face her father, and t his eyes.
"F-Father..."
The falling snow blanketed the mountain in a dead silence.
After a long pause, Odin finally spoke, his voice hoarse.
"It’s ti to go ho, Hela."
"Back ho... to Asgard."
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