Once Soren had put a safe distance between himself and Asgard, he finally halted. During his brief reconnaissance, he had already discovered something troubling:
The Bifrost was no longer usable.
Hela had seized control of it completely, any attempt to use the bridge now would be suicide.
That left only one method.
Heimdall's coordinates.
Soren exhaled and lifted a hand. Space trembled at his touch, folding inward like liquid glass. But he dared not open the passage too close to Asgard.
The moment he tore space, a shockwave of spatial distortion would ripple outward and Hela might notice.
So he pushed farther. Farther. Until Asgard's golden towers were only distant glimmers in the void.
Then, only then, did he begin.
A shimmering channel opened slowly in the air. Soren adjusted its stability again and again, reshaping the entry point with delicate precision.
On the other side, the world that emerged grew sharper with each correction…
a realm engulfed in flame.
Muspelheim.
Soren's destination. his body dissolved into soft ripples of refracted space and vanished into the channel.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
Back in Asgard, perched atop Odin's abandoned throne, Hela stirred.
Her dark eyes flickered toward the far edge of the realm, toward the place where Soren had slipped through the fabric of space.
A crease appeared between her brows, sharp as a blade.
"…Hn?"
She had sensed something. A disturbance far beyond the mortal scale.
But she had only just returned to Asgard, its full authority had not yet bent completely to her will. Her link to Asgard was powerful, but not absolute.
If Soren had attempted the same escape even a few days later, after Hela fully mastered her domain, he would never have slipped away unnoticed.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
The moment Soren stepped out of the spatial rift, a blast of searing heat slammed into him.
Muspelheim greeted with roaring fire.
Flames burst from the ground like living beasts. Rivers of molten rock cut through the land, the very air burned, sharp enough to scorch lungs that were unprepared.
Even Soren, whose body far surpassed mortal limits, felt the heat claw at his skin.
"This world… its temperature is unreal."
Fire didn't merely surround Muspelheim, it defined it. The entire realm was a furnace.
"…" He wasted no time.
The Mind Gem on his brow flared open like a golden eye. Circles of psychic geometry spun outward across his forehead, and a torrent of mental power surged into the burning sky.
But even that power cracked under Muspelheim's oppressive heat. The high temperature distorted psychic waves, shortening their reach and twisting their edges. Soren pushed harder, gritting his teeth.
Finally, at the distant edge of his perception…
A familiar signature. "Freyja."
A spark of surprise lit his eyes. Without hesitation, he teleported toward the source.
…
Meanwhile, within Muspelheim's burning wilderness, Freyja moved slowly between walls of rising flame.
She had been in this realm far too long.
Even as a goddess of war, with a body honed for combat and endurance, Muspelheim gnawed at her strength. This world was not meant for habitation, certainly not for someone who lacked a fire giant's blood.
Only her mastery of Asgard's innate magic kept her alive here.
Sweat stung her eyes, her breath came shallow and hot, and the air itself seemed to burn her lungs. No living being should thrive in a place like this, yet the monster looming in front of her did.
The creature was massive, towering like a mountain of living fire.
Shaped like a hellish tiger enlarged a hundred times over, its molten flesh glowed with every breath. Freyja knew it well.
A Molten Hound, one of the flame lord Surtur's most ruthless beasts. These monsters were the top predators of Muspelheim. Even an Asgardian warrior would be hunted and devoured.
Even she, Asgard's battle-hardened goddess, felt a rare edge of unease.
This is bad… I can't keep this barrier up forever.
The shimmering blue shield she'd woven around herself was beginning to buckle, its surface trembling under the oppressive heat.
She had come to Muspelheim under 'Odin's' command to search for clues about the Soul Stone and to assist Soren if she found him. She hadn't expected to stumble directly into a beast's territory.
The Molten Hound's maw opened, dripping fire like molten saliva.
Freyja gritted her teeth. I'll have to use taboo magic just to escape… even if it drains me completely.
She raised her hands, power swelling, and then faltered.
A blinding streak of light carved through the air, slicing across the monster's torso.
The Molten Hound shuddered, a spray of incandescent blood splashed across the scorched ground before the creature let out a soundless heave and collapsed backward into the magma, swallowed whole.
Freyja stared, stunned.
What?
Before she could react, something moved behind her.
Arms wrapped around her from behind.
Freyja's magic surged, ready to explode~
"It's me. Don't be afraid."
Soren's steady voice brushed against her ear. His tone alone stopped her spell.
Her body went rigid, and heat flushed through her face far hotter than Muspelheim's flames.
"S-Soren! Let go of me!" She stammered, trying to twist free. But his strength was overwhelming, his grip inescapable.
And worse… the moment he held her, the suffocating heat around her simply vanished. The air cooled as a subtle spatial aura wrapped around them both.
Her heart fluttered unwillingly.
Soren, of course, noticed her struggle and ignored it completely.
"You were about to exhaust your magic. Holding you keeps the heat off you." His voice was maddeningly casual.
"Otherwise, in a few more minutes… our plump, confident goddess of war might've shriveled into a very sad old woman."
Freyja's face turned scarlet. "S-stop saying things like that!"
Soren only chuckled softly, loosening his grip at last.
As he stepped back, the shield of spatial energy remained around her, sealing out the flames more effectively than any magic she could cast in her weakened state.
Freyja didn't move, she wasn't sure she trusted her legs yet.
"You're safe now." Soren tilted his head and met her eyes.
Her heart thumped once… she hated how relieved she felt.