Odin walked outside the Royal Palace, looking down upon his kingdom.
"With the flames of war reignited across the Nine Realms, Asgard's elite warriors have already been deployed. Even your mother, Frigga, must set out for Vanaheim to mediate the disputes."
"Given the current situation, I have no choice but to interrupt the Odinsleep and use what remains of my life to protect Asgard until the very end."
Thor listened and spoke loudly and urgently, "Father! You don't have to bear this alone! I can protect Asgard too! I have found the true power of the God of Thunder!"
Hearing Thor's words, a gratified smile finally appeared on Odin's face.
He nodded, his eyes filled with pride.
"I know, my son. I feel the thunder awakening within you." Odin's gaze shone with pride. "That is why I have called you back."
"And in calling you back, I have a more important mission to entrust to you."
Thor stood tall, awaiting his father's command.
"I need you to go to Muspelheim," Odin instructed in a deep voice.
"Find the Fire Giant, Surtur. Defeat him and bring back his crown."
"Surtur's crown?" Thor asked, puzzled. "What do you want that thing for?"
"You only need to understand, my son," Odin did not answer directly, "that obtaining it will help Asgard through this crisis."
Thor stared at Odin for a few seconds but did not press further.
He knew his father; when Odin spoke in such a tone, any further questioning was pointless.
Thor placed a hand over his chest and bowed slightly.
"As you wish, Father."
Without another word, Thor turned and strode out of the great hall.
Just before he stepped through the archway of the hall, Odin's voice came from behind him.
"Remember, Thor. Asgard is not a place..."
"...it is a people."
Thor's footsteps paused for a moment.
After two seconds of silence, he raised his arm and gave a casual wave behind him.
Then, he resumed his pace and continued walking, his figure disappearing outside the Royal Palace.
Odin watched Thor's departing back, a gratified smile slowly spreading across his face.
This once reckless and impulsive son had finally shed his brashness and gained the true bearing of a king.
Meanwhile, walking along the corridors of the Royal Palace, Thor was thinking about something else entirely.
"Not a place, but a people..."
Thor frowned, lost in thought.
"That sounds familiar. Homelander seemed to have said something similar."
"Could it be... that guy really is some love child my father left behind from a past fling?"
...
Queens, New York.
Peter Parker sat at his computer desk, having not moved for an entire day.
He just stared at the monitor interface, pressing the refresh button every so often.
Yesterday, with a throbbing head, he had finished all five hundred psychological test questions for the Vought Vanguard Hero Academy.
Those questions were pure torture.
If he had a choice, Peter would rather derive a thousand nonlinear partial differential equations or calculate the Critical Line Theorem of the Riemann Hypothesis on a blackboard.
After finishing the online test, he immediately went to the Vought Headquarters Medical Center for a health checkup.
Because Aunt May worked at Vought, as a family member of an internal employee, he enjoyed exclusive internal benefits.
This allowed him to avoid waiting in two-kilometer-long lines at designated locations like other applicants.
Since leaving the medical center, Peter had been stationed in front of his computer, waiting from day to night, and from night until the current day.
The rumble of a garbage truck collecting trash came from outside the room.
Just as he was about to give up and lie down on his bed for a while.
"Ding-dong—"
A crisp notification sound rang out from the computer speakers.
Peter jumped out of his chair, practically pressing his face against the screen as he clicked on the unread email that had just popped up.
[Dear Mr. Peter Parker:]
[We are very pleased to inform you that, following an evaluation by the Vought Vanguard Hero Academy Admissions Committee, you have successfully passed all tests.]
[We are honored to inform you that you have been officially admitted to the Vought Vanguard Hero Academy.]
[Please bring your personal identification and proceed to Area A on the 5th floor of Vought Tower next Monday at 9:00 AM for registration.]
[Saving the World starts here. — Vought]
Peter stared at every word on the screen, reading it five times over.
"Admitted," Peter whispered to himself.
"I've been admitted!"
He jumped out of his chair in excitement and did a backflip.
"Yeah!!!"
Peter let out roar after roar, launching himself like a cannonball and sticking directly to the bedroom ceiling.
He crawled all over the ceiling and walls.
"Click."
The bedroom door handle turned.
The door was pushed open.
May Parker stood at the door.
She was wearing a professional suit with a Vought employee pass hanging around her neck, getting ready to head out for work.
Aunt May frowned at the messy room. "Peter, are you tearing the house down? It's Monday; why haven't you changed into your school uniform yet? The school bus will be here in ten minutes."
Peter jumped in front of Aunt May, his face filled with irrepressible ecstasy.
"Aunt May, I don't need to catch the school bus anymore. Not ever!"
"What are you talking about?" Aunt May looked at Peter in confusion. "Have you lost your mind?"
"No, I'm perfectly sane!" Peter shouted excitedly.
"Aunt May, you need to go to school and handle my withdrawal. I'm not going to Midtown High School anymore!"
May's face darkened. She put her hands on her hips, assuming a parental air of authority.
"Peter Parker, this joke isn't funny at all. Dropping out? What do you want to do? Sell hot dogs on the street?"
Peter didn't say a word; he spun his laptop around, pointing the screen toward Aunt May at the door.
"Because I'm going to this school," Peter said, pointing at the screen.
May walked forward suspiciously, her eyes falling on the screen.
The Vought V-shaped logo on the email was exceptionally prominent.
May's eyes quickly scanned the text—at first with confusion, then shock, and finally complete disbelief.
She looked up at Peter, then looked back down and read the email again.
"Vought... Hero Academy?" May's voice trembled slightly.
"You passed the tests? I heard not even one in ten thousand can pass."
"Yes! I just got the email!" Peter clenched his fists in excitement.
Aunt May stood frozen in place for a full half-minute.
As a Vought International employee, she knew all too well the weight of this email.
This wasn't just some ordinary university; it was a ticket to a higher social class.
She suddenly broke into a smile, her eyes filled with pride.
"Oh my god, Peter..." Aunt May stepped forward and hugged him. "This is crazy. It looks like we'll be colleagues in the future."