The Hammer Base was unusually quiet that night, the kind of silence that carried tension beneath its surface. Loki stood motionless in the doorway of a solitary confinement cell, his expression blank and his eyes unfocused as if his mind had wandered somewhere far away. Sweat dripped down the faces of the two men standing nearby. Professor Charles leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, while the illusionist Jason wiped his forehead with a trembling hand.
Professor Charles spoke urgently, his voice tight with strain. "He's incredibly powerful. We won't be able to hold this much longer." The trap had been carefully prepared by Ethan Voss. Using the combined abilities of two Level-4 mutants, they had dragged Loki, the Prince of Asgard, into a carefully constructed illusion.
But Loki was no ordinary opponent. As the greatest sorcerer in the Nine Realms, his mental strength was extraordinary. Even while trapped inside the illusion, his resistance pushed constantly against its boundaries. Maintaining the false world was already becoming a tremendous burden for Charles.
At that moment, Ethan made his move.
With a casual flick of his finger, a portal snapped open in midair like a tearing wound in space. Another smooth motion of his hand widened it into a vast swirling gateway. The portal expanded instantly, swallowing Loki whole like a giant beast opening its jaws.
Inside the illusion, Loki quickly realized what had happened. Yet instead of panicking, he laughed softly to himself. His confidence remained completely intact, because in his mind there were countless ways to shatter a simple illusion.
He began with the most straightforward method available to him. Arcane energy gathered in his hands, and waves of magic spread through the illusionary world like ripples in water. Under the force of his magic, the entire illusion began to tremble violently. Cracks spread across the false landscape, and the fragile world seemed on the verge of collapsing.
Just a little more, he thought. It will break any second now.
But the moment he believed victory was within reach, something changed.
The illusion that had been crumbling suddenly hardened, transforming instantly into something as solid and impenetrable as iron walls. The magical cracks vanished. The world stabilized with terrifying firmness, becoming completely indestructible.
Shock flashed across Loki's face.
He immediately attempted several other methods. Spell after spell burst outward as he searched for weaknesses in the illusion. Yet no matter what he tried, nothing worked. Exhaustion slowly crept into his body as he continued struggling.
The snow-covered wilderness surrounding him remained completely unchanged.
After a long while, Loki even began to feel cold. It was a sensation he had not experienced in thousands of years.
Far away in Asgard, another disturbance was unfolding.
Although Odin, the All-Father and King of the Gods, had fallen into his deep divine slumber, his consciousness still maintained a faint awareness of the outside world. Even in sleep, the ruler of Asgard could sense shifts in the cosmic order.
Suddenly, Odin felt a sharp jolt.
His brows furrowed even in slumber, because he sensed something deeply wrong. His second son, the clever and cunning prince he knew so well, had suddenly vanished.
Not simply hidden or concealed.
Vanished completely.
It was as if Loki had disappeared from the universe itself.
What happened?
Meanwhile, Ethan had already followed Loki into the realm of the divine kingdom.
Within that realm, Ethan possessed absolute authority as its creator. With such control over the environment itself, trapping Loki inside a reinforced illusion was effortless. Yet the moment Loki entered this space, Ethan sensed something new.
For the first time, he felt the Origin of the Divine Kingdom.
This origin was the very foundation of the entire realm. It represented the primal forces that sustained the world itself: time, space, matter, and spirit. These were the fundamental sources from which everything within the kingdom was created.
Perhaps it was because Ethan had grown powerful enough to perceive it, or perhaps Loki's unique nature triggered the reaction. Whatever the cause, the moment Loki entered the realm, the origin of the kingdom awakened and began analyzing him.
Invisible streams of primal energy gathered around Loki's body.
They studied everything.
The divine power of an Asgardian. The structure of Asgardian magic. Even the ancient bloodline of the Frost Giants hidden within Loki's veins. All of that information flowed continuously into the origin of the divine kingdom.
Within Ethan's perception, countless streams of data poured into the core of the realm. Divine power, magical structures, and bloodline patterns merged together, becoming part of the kingdom's growing database.
Ethan extended his hand slightly.
A tiny wisp of fire appeared above his palm.
This was not a mutant ability.
It was magic.
In the next instant, countless figures appeared around him. Every one of them looked identical to him, yet each displayed different expressions and movements. Some smiled, others frowned, and some walked in different directions as if they existed in separate realities.
Then all of the phantoms disappeared simultaneously.
Ethan clicked his tongue in amazement.
Magic and bloodline abilities had now been successfully integrated into the origin database of the divine kingdom. Bloodlines could be directly granted to others, while magic could either be bestowed or learned naturally.
In other words, Noah Town could now introduce an entirely new magical profession.
The origin of the divine realm continued analyzing Loki, and the process clearly required time. Since Loki's value was extremely high, Ethan allowed the analysis to proceed slowly and thoroughly.
Leaving Loki behind, Ethan turned his attention to another opportunity.
Thor.
At the moment, Thor had been stripped of his divine power and appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary human. To manage the situation, Ethan had Jason construct another simple illusion around him.
In Thor's mind, he was still locked in solitary confinement.
In reality, he had already been brought into the divine kingdom.
Just as Ethan had predicted, Thor's divine power had not truly vanished. Although Odin's punishment sealed his abilities on the surface, the power of thunder still remained buried deep within him.
Combined with his powerful lightning affinity and pure Asgardian bloodline, the analysis process for Thor turned out to be even longer than Loki's.
At that same moment, Odin stirred again in distant Asgard.
First one son disappeared.
And now another.
My son…
Back at the Hammer Base, Ethan shifted his focus toward the final treasure of this trip.
Thor's hammer.
He had no intention of attempting to lift it. According to the hammer's enchantment, his personal standards of worthiness likely would not qualify. Instead, Ethan simply opened another portal.
The swirling gateway expanded directly around the hammer.
A moment later, Mjolnir vanished.
Far away in Asgard, Odin trembled again even within his divine slumber.
Now the hammer was gone too.
Queen Frigga stood nearby, watching the sleeping king with growing concern. Her brows knit together as she observed his uneasy condition. The All-Father had never shown such strange reactions during divine slumber before.
Meanwhile, Ethan considered the trip to New Mexico a complete success.
It was time to pack up and return home.
In truth, he did not have much to pack. Nearly everything in the base belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D., not to him. After a brief moment of thought, he walked toward Jane Foster's room and found her already asleep.
He decided to be direct.
"Are you interested in working for me?"
Jane blinked in confusion as she woke up. "What?"
"That muscular guy who came with you," Ethan continued calmly, "for certain reasons I have to take him with me. Do you want to come along as well?"
Jane's cheeks flushed slightly. "I'm not even that familiar with him."
Ethan shrugged. "You would become familiar pretty quickly if you stayed around him for a few days. Besides, this happens to be the moment when he needs emotional comfort the most."
If you like him, then be bold. If you don't, I'll simply introduce him to someone else.
"You…" Jane looked a little irritated. "How can you casually decide other people's relationships?"
"Did I decide anything?" Ethan asked innocently. "I'm just trying to help him. He just experienced the immense grief of being exiled, abandoned, losing his father, and being rejected by his mother."
I'm simply trying to help him distract himself.
Jane froze when she heard the tragic story. Her expression softened almost instantly, and her eyes even reddened slightly.
Ethan sighed inwardly.
Women really were emotional creatures. Once their sympathy was triggered, it flowed like an unstoppable tide.
Seeing the opportunity, he continued smoothly. "You also have two companions with you. If you're willing, they can come as well."
He paused briefly before adding, "I'm very interested in the research topic you're working on. I could even build a dedicated laboratory for you."
You won't have to choose between love and your career.
Jane cleared her throat before answering decisively.
"Alright."
The next day, Ethan returned to New York.
Of course, he did not keep Thor imprisoned inside the divine realm forever. Before leaving New Mexico, he released him after the analysis was complete.
Once they arrived in New York, Ethan held a friendly and surprisingly relaxed conversation with Thor.
Thor initially appeared disheartened and uninterested in nearly everything. However, Ethan reminded him of the reason for his exile, which quickly reignited his determination.
The easygoing prince never questioned how Ethan knew the details.
Thor focused on one thing only.
He wanted to fulfill his father's expectations and become a worthy king.
Regarding that goal, Ethan offered him a thoughtful piece of advice.
A qualified king must first learn how to love—and how to be loved.
After thinking about it carefully, Thor found himself agreeing completely.
So Ethan provided him with everything necessary to begin that journey. A luxurious mansion, several sports cars, elegant suits, a personal guide, and a generous amount of money.
All of it had a single purpose.
Helping Thor pursue Jane Foster.
The first lesson in loving and being loved was simple.
Fall in love.
As for Thor's hammer, it remained safely stored within Ethan's divine realm.
He did not hide this fact from Thor. Instead, he comforted him by explaining that once Thor truly possessed the qualities of a king, he would undoubtedly reclaim Mjolnir.
Meanwhile, Loki continued struggling to survive inside the endless snowy wilderness of the illusion.
It had to be said that Ethan's actions this time had dramatically altered the original course of events.
Ever since his last encounter with the Ancient One, he had been unable to forget that meeting.
He thought about their next encounter almost every day.
This time, he might even meet both the Ancient One and Odin, the King of the Gods, at the same time.
Besides, if he helped discipline the God-King's troublesome children, shouldn't he receive some sort of reward?
Even if there was no reward, it would be rather unreasonable for Odin to simply beat him up.
What Ethan truly hoped for was something else entirely.
He wanted to use this opportunity to establish a friendly relationship with Asgard.
After fully analyzing both princes and the hammer, Ethan's control over the divine kingdom deepened significantly.
The true nature of the divine kingdom was simple.
It was an omnipotent power placed entirely in the hands of its ruler.
Previously, every mutant who entered the kingdom simply expanded the realm's internal database. Their abilities created new possibilities for how the kingdom's origin could transform power.
After gaining Rogue's absorption ability, Ethan could strip mutant powers away from others within the divine realm. In essence, he was directly manipulating the origin of the realm itself.
When he deprived someone of a power, the ability returned to its original state. When he bestowed one, the origin transformed that essence into a usable ability.
Now, however, his abilities were no longer limited to mutant powers.
Bloodlines.
Magic.
Other supernatural abilities.
All of them could now be stripped, copied, or bestowed through the divine kingdom.
He also possessed the ability to create objects from nothing. Yet such creation consumed the precious essence of the divine kingdom.
For example, he could spend an enormous amount of that essence to recreate Thor's hammer perfectly. The replica could even exist outside the divine realm.
But the essence of the kingdom was extremely valuable. Recklessly consuming it might damage the entire realm.
Therefore, two possible development paths now lay before Ethan.
The first path focused on analysis. As long as powerful individuals or items entered the divine realm, the origin could study them without harming them. This would gradually increase the kingdom's transformative power, strengthening Ethan's Creator ability.
One day, he could truly become an omnipotent god within his own realm.
The second path involved expanding the resources and population of the divine kingdom itself. Certain exotic artifacts could also greatly strengthen the realm.
Thor's hammer was one such object.
Ethan could clearly sense the enormous power contained within Mjolnir. If it were absorbed into the origin of the divine kingdom, the realm's essence would increase dramatically.
But he chose not to do it.
Partly because of Odin.
More importantly, because a single hammer was insignificant compared to something much greater.
Asgard itself.
Yes, Asgard.
I've got my eye on you!
.....
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