Hearing Frigga's question, Heisenberg, who had been sitting rigidly upright, gave a slight start.
After a moment, he sighed and let his body soften a little. Not only did his back naturally settle against the throne's backrest, but his head even tilted slightly to the left, coming to rest in the crook of Frigga's arm.
His hair brushed against her gossamer-draped sleeve, and he asked softly:
"Is there anything in this world that escapes your notice, Frigga?"
"There is also the place Your Majesty intends to go."
Frigga's voice was tender, and as she spoke, she smoothly drew his head against her chest.
The back of Heisenberg's head pressed into gentle warmth, but between the two of them, there was not the slightest trace of intimacy.
Frigga continued.
"I have tried to imagine many places—the Grandmaster's Sakaar, the territories of the Celestials, or some other realm you have never visited but yearn for greatly."
Mid-sentence, she suddenly stopped her massage and rested her chin on Heisenberg's thick hair, her expression full of worry.
And she went on, her voice heavy with concern:
"But I cannot fathom why you are so restless right now. Nor can I understand why you, with all the power you now possess, still feel such unease about the journey you are about to undertake!"
"Unease?"
Heisenberg cut Frigga off, defending himself.
"You misunderstand. How could I be uneasy? I will not fear the journey ahead."
"Then why, if you are not uneasy, are you preparing for the possibility of never returning?"
Frigga asked in return, gently tightening her arms around his head.
"What you just told me, all of it, was about what you intend to do in the next few years. Were you merely telling me your plans? Of course not. You were actually telling me what I should do, should you not be here. When you subjectively feel the need for me to understand your intentions and prepare to carry everything out in your stead, haven't you already braced yourself for the chance that you may not come back?"
At this, Heisenberg felt a sudden twinge of nervousness at being so thoroughly seen through and hurriedly made to sit up.
But Frigga had anticipated this. She tightened her hold just a little, keeping him nestled in her arms, and whispered an explanation:
"Don't be agitated. I never said you were afraid. After all, you only told me about matters of concern for the next few years—not what Asgard must attend to over the next several millennia, yes? A few years means that while you have some misgivings, they are only misgivings. I am like you; I don't believe those misgivings can truly cause you trouble!"
At that, Frigga suddenly smiled. She pursed her soft lips playfully and spoke to Heisenberg with a look of genuine admiration.
"But Your Majesty truly surprises me. You didn't speak of these things with your subordinates, or with Hela and Loki! I never imagined that the person you chose to trust would be me—and has always been me. This is something I never expected. Take Odin, for example: even before his departure, he never shared any long-term plans with me. His heart held only his children! Compared to Odin, and even compared to all the renowned gods and god-kings of the Nine Realms, you are far gentler, Your Majesty. I truly envy the one you will love in the future. Her fate will surpass that of all previous queens in the history of the Aesir. You and destiny will both treat her kindly, won't you?"
With those words, Frigga affectionately ruffled Heisenberg's hair.
After spending so much time with him, Frigga understood Heisenberg's character. This man might outwardly seem inclined to settle everything with violence, skilled at killing his enemies, and domineering and authoritarian in word and deed. But his heart was, in truth, extraordinarily delicate and gentle. Having lived her life between the Aesir and the Vanir, Frigga had always known a world where strength reigned supreme. Naturally, she couldn't fully grasp Heisenberg's Eastern philosophy of trust and commitment toward a partner—even if, for now, that partnership was only in name.
And at this moment, Heisenberg could not help but sense something more in Frigga's words.
His heart suddenly raced, and he intended to lift his head to say something more to the woman behind him—or simply to do something.
But just then, chaotic footsteps reached their ears.
In an instant, Frigga's eyes flew wide open. Realizing the sound was drawing near, she hastily released Heisenberg and lightly hopped down from the armrest of the throne. Then she furrowed her lovely brow and quickly smoothed the front of her gown.
As for Heisenberg, he looked toward the four figures approaching from beyond the great hall with a face full of displeasure.
It was Sif, leading the Warriors Three, strolling over as if on a leisurely outing.
From afar, the four of them spotted Heisenberg upon the throne and the Queen beside him. Sif even drew an envious breath—the Queen was truly so beautiful! Especially today, her warm cheeks flushed with a faint, wine-like blush that could mesmerize even a woman.
As Sif and the others drew closer, Frigga pursed her lips, then gently bowed to Heisenberg.
"Your Majesty, I shall take my leave now."
"Mm."
Heisenberg nodded, watching the goddess of love walk gracefully away from his side.
A moment later, Heisenberg collected himself and looked at the four with some annoyance. They, of course, wouldn't make the king ask first; they all bowed to him in unison. Once the salute was done, Sif gazed at Heisenberg with great hope and asked loudly:
"Your Majesty, the four of us wish to patrol Midgard. After all, there are still tens of thousands of Chitauri wreaking havoc there!"
"Bullshit!!!"
The moment Sif finished, Heisenberg cursed outright, making Sif's fingers twitch with nerves.
But fortunately, Heisenberg only cursed the once. Then he said to the four:
"More than your ample deference, I would prefer ample honesty! Why not simply say that you want to go see Thor? Or do you think I'm a tyrant who won't even allow you to visit a friend?"
"Uh, of course not, Your Majesty!"
Hearing this, Sif shook her head decisively, then nodded just as decisively.
"Then I'll be honest with you. We really do kind of want to see Thor. I have no idea what that fool is thinking, staying on Midgard for that damned woman! He's the God of Thunder of Asgard; I have to drag him back to serve at Your Majesty's command. So, Your Majesty, please let us go to Midgard~~~"
After she finished, Sif immediately looked at Heisenberg with expectation. Heisenberg gave a wry chuckle.
"Serve at my command—how hypocritical. But I'll allow it!"
"Ahah! Long live Your Majesty!"
Sif jumped up in delight, but Heisenberg abruptly halted their celebration and continued speaking to the four.
"You may go to Midgard, but I have other tasks for you. After you arrive, don't just eat and drink with Thor. Find time to go to New York and locate Hill, my subordinate who now serves as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Over the next three years, you are to cooperate with her in her work. I want you to quickly bring Midgard as a whole under control and deliver it into my hands! Understood?"
"Rest assured, Your Majesty, taking orders is what we do best! Thank you so much! We'll go find Heimdall right away!"
After expressing her thanks, Sif immediately made to leave. This brainless quartet had been this carefree for far too long.
But Heisenberg permitted their insolence, because the future had proven to him that no matter how unruly Sif and the others were, they would always stand before the enemy—and they would always die before the common folk of Asgard. As warriors, that was enough, wasn't it?
Just then, as Sif and the others were about to leave the palace to find Heimdall, Heisenberg watched their retreating backs and chuckled softly.
"Halt!"
At his command, the four froze in their tracks. Sif turned back, her face full of apprehension.
"Your Majesty…?" she asked nervously.
Seeing their foolish expressions, Heisenberg couldn't help but laugh as he said to them:
"Even if you went to Heimdall, he would still need my permission. I might as well send you there myself! Do not forget my instructions. Become the sword and shield that expand my influence over Midgard. Do all that you must! Before I send you off, I might as well share some news: I am currently selecting outstanding talents on a grand scale, and I will bestow upon them the countless divine positions the Aesir have accumulated over endless years! I hope that you, too, will become talents I need in the future. I hope to see Sif become a Valkyrie, and Hogun the God of the Hunt!"
"Is that true… Your Maj—!!"
Sif asked in astonishment, but before she could finish, Heisenberg unceremoniously tossed all of them to Earth via the Bifrost. Who knew how long that brainless quartet would be bouncing off the walls with excitement, haha!
With the brainless quartet sent off, only our resident grump was left sitting alone on the throne. He rested his hand on the armrest, propped his chin on his palm, and fell into silent contemplation.
Frigga's words today had struck home. She had given voice to things Heisenberg himself had not fully realized.
First, she had pointed out that Heisenberg intended to leave.
After Odin's death, Heisenberg had suddenly found himself in a state of temporary idleness. Of course, he still had plenty to do. In eight months: the Reality Stone and the Dark Elves—Heisenberg planned to seize the Dark Elves' world of Svartalfheim. A year and a half after that: the Power Stone and the invasion of Xandar—Heisenberg intended to use that event as a springboard to take Xandar outright, turning that famous neutral planet and cosmic transit hub into a bridgehead for the people of the Nine Realms to radiate across the universe! Then, starting from this Marvel 19999 world, he would begin his conquest, accomplishing feats far surpassing Darkseid. Why should Darkseid, every time he faces an enemy, be able to boast of having destroyed hundreds of thousands of worlds and conquered millions of them, while he himself could not?
He clearly still had so much to do, yet he couldn't help but feel the urge to leave Marvel 19999. Even if only temporarily, he wanted to cast aside his plans and goals. It was irrational!
But as Heisenberg sat there, re-examining everything that had happened recently, he finally understood why such thoughts had arisen in him.
Heisenberg leisurely opened the system and looked at the descriptions of the mission rewards. The reward that clearly stated "Five Minutes of Invincibility" made him frown in displeasure.
"I always thought those five minutes of invincibility were my trump card. But only now do I understand—it was merely the instinctive fear and unease toward danger that I carried as a mortal. After I killed numerous powerful enemies, after millions of lives slipped through my fingers, after I truly became the fear of others… I finally comprehend the true meaning of this invincibility reward!"
He smiled, moving the hand that had been propping his chin to lightly tap his fingers against his cheek.
"The reason the system uses invincibility as my reward is simply to let me know that as long as invincibility is still my reward, I have yet to achieve true invincibility!"
At this, Heisenberg's laughter suddenly grew much louder. Once he had laughed enough, he said to himself with disdain:
"And this invincibility reward also tells me something else. Whether it's the immediate future or the distant horizon, as long as I still treat the system's invincibility as my trump card, I can never become a truly invincible being! Because a life form of that caliber could not possibly lack a spirit to match!"
He suddenly slapped the armrest, his face brimming with eager anticipation as he continued:
"How can I, for the sake of a mere Doomsday, stay in this world for a full year until I possess that so-called invincibility? No matter how strong I am, I should still have some fear! But what I fear is by no means an enemy I cannot defeat! What I truly should fear… is that I still fear them!!!"
/-\
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