Asgard's funeral had ended, but that sense of heaviness still weighed heavily upon the Golden Palace.
Frigga dismissed all the handmaidens, leaving only her, Thor, Loki, and this "mentor" Lin Huai, who had just learned the real truth, in the side hall.
"Mother..." Thor's voice was hoarse. He wanted to say something, but felt that anything he said would be useless and provide no comfort.
Loki was uncharacteristically quiet, leaning motionless in the shadows of the corner. Only his green eyes flickered in the Darkness, his thoughts unknown.
Sister.
Odin's eldest daughter, Hela, the Goddess of Death.
The weight of this name smashed everything they thought they knew into pieces.
Lin Huai was the first to speak.
He knew that continuing to grieve was useless; Odin's death was only the beginning. The real drama was just about to begin.
"Queen of the Gods, Thor, Loki," Lin Huai's voice was flat. "We don't have time for sorrow here."
He walked to the center of the hall, looked at the three of them, and said, "Hela's return is certain, and she is only the beginning. In the deeper reaches of the Universe, there is something even greedier and more terrifying staring at the Nine Realms, staring at Asgard's vault."
Loki sneered, "Teacher, can I still call you teacher? You were unwilling to tell us the truth. If my sister, who can be infinitely resurrected, returns, can you handle her?"
"Loki!" Thor cursed in a low voice, but the confusion in his eyes showed that he was just as uncertain.
"That's why I need your help." Lin Huai turned to Frigga and bowed. "I must enter Odin's vault and take two things."
"You still dare to plot for Father's treasures?!" Thor reacted instantly and tried to rush forward, but Frigga reached out to stop him.
"Let him finish." The Queen of the Gods' voice was weary, but her eyes remained clear.
"Those aren't treasures; they are calamities," Lin Huai said. "When the Universe first began, a single point exploded, becoming six singularities representing the laws of the Universe. Later, these six singularities were forged by the Universe into the six Infinity Stones."
He held up one finger: "One is the Tesseract that you all know, representing'Space'."
He held up a second finger: "And another is the Aether Particle you just brought back, representing 'Reality'."
Lin Huai looked at the startled brothers and continued, "Besides these, there is the eye of agamotto representing Time, the Mind Stone representing Mind, the Cosmic Orb representing Power, and the most mysterious Soul Stone."
"Each stone possesses World-shattering power. If they are gathered together..." Lin Huai paused. "The wielder could wipe out half of all life in the Universe with just a snap of their fingers."
Thor and Loki's faces turned pale instantly. Such power was beyond their imagination.
"Right now, two Infinity Stones are kept in Asgard's vault." Lin Huai's gaze sharpened. "Do you think this is a safe, or a target glowing in the dark Universe, specifically attracting thieves?"
"You said that 'more terrifying thing'... is coming for them?" Frigga asked, remembering that Odin seemed to have been worried about something while he was alive.
"Yes." Lin Huai nodded. "He is called Thanos, a Lunatic Titan. He collects the stones not for money or power, but to execute his twisted philosophy of 'balance.' Hela's threat, compared to him, is nothing more than a domestic disturbance at the front door."
The hall fell into silence once more.
If what Lin Huai said was true, then Asgard was currently sitting on a powder keg that could detonate the entire Universe at any moment.
"I must take them away," Lin Huai stated his purpose. "Rather than letting them cause trouble here, it's better to turn them into weapons in our hands."
At the same time, outside the Nine Realms, in a Dimensional Prison called Helheim where it was forever night.
*Crack...*
A crisp sound.
The golden runes covering the dimensional wall grew dimmer and dimmer, covered in cracks.
Odin's aura had vanished.
In the deepest part of the Darkness, a pair of green eyes that had slept for a thousand years suddenly snapped open.
There was no joy in those eyes, only hatred and killing intent.
"Father... Odin... you hypocritical old man..."
A tall figure slowly stood up, her powerful body wrapped in a dark green tight-fitting battle suit, her seaweed-like long black hair moving without any wind.
She was Hela, Odin's eldest daughter, Asgard's first Conqueror, the Goddess of Death.
"Did you think that by using your life, you could imprison me forever?" Hela snorted, raising her hand to gently touch the crumbling golden wall in front of her.
*Bang!*
The seal exploded instantly under her finger.
A surge of Deathly Divine Power and resentment erupted from her body, throwing the dilapidated prison into chaos.
"Asgard..." Hela closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the air belonging to the Nine Realms, which she hadn't smelled for a long time. "I have returned. Are you ready to welcome your true Queen?"
She spread her arms and tilted her head back.
Then, she tilted her head as if listening to something.
"Come to my side, my most loyal child." In her heart, she called the name of the one who had conquered the Nine Realms with her, "Fenrir!"
As she called, a massive shadow of a Demonic Wolf slowly gathered in the void.
The Demonic Wolf was as large as a mountain, its fur pitch black, its mere silhouette emitting a heart-palpitating aura of terror.
A satisfied smile appeared on Hela's face as she prepared to welcome her companion's cheers.
But when the wolf fully emerged, the smile on her face froze.
Fenrir's appearance had become very strange.
It was no longer a pure physical entity; its massive body seemed woven from thick black mist and illusory starlight, existing between reality and illusion. Especially at its heart, a strange, swirling core constantly emitting wisps of white mist was beating, radiating a mysterious aura belonging to another World that even she found unfamiliar.
Fenrir had appeared, but it just stood there, its green eyes looking at her coldly. It wasn't affectionate like before; instead, it looked at her as if she were a stranger.
Hela frowned.
"Fenrir?" she tried calling again.
The Demonic Wolf didn't react, just watching her as if she were a stranger.
"Something strange happened that I don't know about..." Hela's face suddenly turned cold. "Which death-seeking insect dared to touch my pet while I was sleeping?"
In Asgard's Golden Palace, Lin Huai finished speaking while looking at the brothers' complex expressions.
"Hiding the stones separately, even in every corner of the Universe, is useless. One day, they will be found."
He paused.
"My plan has never been about defense."
"The only way to win this gamble is to collect the stones yourself and take a seat at the table as a player."
He looked at Thor.
"I need those five stones. This is your first lesson, Thor, future King of the Gods."