When Odin offered to provide a treasure from his vault as payment for the mission, Charles's mind immediately recalled one particular item—the Infinity Gauntlet.
Though the stones on it were likely fakes, the gauntlet itself, if his intuition was right, should be genuine.
After all, the gauntlet made by the Dwarven King for Thanos was identical to the one in Odin's vault.
It was hard not to suspect that the Dwarven King had crafted it a second time.
As for the gauntlet's size, weapons of such a caliber could easily adjust to fit the user's physique.
With that in mind, Charles spoke up, "For the reward, I'm quite interested in the Infinity Gauntlet from your vault. Would you be willing to part with it?"
Odin paused, scrutinizing Charles carefully, "It seems your desire for the Infinity Stones is even greater than I expected."
"I can give it to you, but be warned—Earth already holds more than one Infinity Stone, and in the universe, several forces are actively collecting them."
Charles with his expression serious, nodded. "I will be careful."
…
Meanwhile-
Aboard the Dark Elves' ship-
Malekith gazed at a holographic image of the realms and remarked, "The Nine Realms are almost in alignment."
He then produced a silver dagger and, turning to Algrim, said, "You will be the last to be cursed."
Algrim turned toward Malekith and solemnly responded, "I will give my life, just as our people have, just as you have."
With that, Malekith plunged the dagger into Algrim's abdomen, inserting a cursed stone into the wound, "You will become a Kurse warrior, cursed by this world until it fully consumes you."
"When that happens, no enemy will be able to stop you."
Algrim took a deep breath and looked up at Malekith, "I will crush them completely and forge a new universe for you."
At that moment, a Dark Elf soldier brought forth a helmet that blocked detection, which Malekith placed on Algrim.
He then sent him to Vanaheim, where he was imprisoned with other rebels by the Warriors Three and taken to Asgard's dungeon.
From one of the cells, Loki watched as the new prisoners arrived and sarcastically commented, "Odin's always sending me new friends. How considerate."
Just then, Frigga appeared behind Loki, looking at her son, "You don't like the books I sent you?"
Loki turned, glancing at the books nearby, "Am I supposed to spend the rest of my days like this? Reading?"
Frigga sighed, "I've done my best to make you as comfortable as possible, Loki."
"Have you?" Loki retorted.
"Does Odin share your concern? What about Thor? I'm sure they must be losing sleep over me, so very concerned."
Frigga, exasperated, responded, "You know very well that you brought this upon yourself."
Loki, incredulous, replied, "Brought this on myself?"
"You all lied to me, telling me I was born to be a king. I merely sought to make that lie a reality."
Frigga looked at him and said, "A king?"
"A true king admits when he is wrong. What about the bloodshed you caused on Earth?"
Loki shot back, "Compared to the lives Odin has taken, it's nothing."
"Your father—" Frigga replied.
Before she could finish, Loki, in a burst of anger, shouted, "He's not my father!"
Frigga, seeing her son in a rage, remained silent for a few moments before quietly asking, "Then am I not your mother?"
Loki took a deep breath and then uttered words he didn't truly believe: "No, you're not."
Frigga, looking at Loki intently, replied, "You always see through everything, but you can never see through yourself."
Reaching out with her hands, Frigga offered comfort, but when Loki tried to touch her, it was merely an illusion that vanished into thin air within the prison.
…
Meanwhile-
Charles entered Odin's vault and obtained the Infinity Gauntlet he had been seeking. As soon as he touched the gauntlet, a system notification sounded in his mind:
Ding! Detected an item available for recharge. Would you like to proceed?
"No."
Charles took the gauntlet in hand, examining the fake gems embedded in it. Odin, noticing his interest, chuckled, "Those are counterfeits."
With a wave of his hand, Charles removed the six stones from the gauntlet. He then removed the Dragon Ring from his left hand and placed it on his right, slipping the Infinity Gauntlet onto his left hand instead.
As soon as he wore it, the massive gauntlet began to shrink, responding to the energy Charles channeled into it. It quickly adjusted to the size of his hand, fitting perfectly.
Charles flexed his fingers, satisfied with how well it fit. He then retrieved the Space Stone from his storage space and embedded it into the gauntlet.
Ding!
With a crisp sound, the Space Stone clicked into place, and blue energy surged through the gauntlet, flowing up Charles's arm before slowly receding.
Seeing Charles effortlessly control the power of an Infinity Stone, Odin began to suspect that his bloodline was far from ordinary—he couldn't possibly be just an average human from Earth.
This was, after all, a raw Infinity Stone, not the Tesseract that protected it with a casing. The two were vastly different in terms of the conditions required for their use.
Most beings couldn't even hold an Infinity Stone without risking their lives, let alone control it.
Yet Charles appeared to wield its power with ease.
Odin said, "Now that you have what you want, make sure to focus on the task at hand."
"The Nine Realms are about to align, and I must go to Helheim. Once I return, you can depart for your mission. Until then, remain in Asgard."
Charles agreed. Even if Odin had asked him to leave, he would have found a reason to stay—saving Queen Frigga was worth a try, and he was also eager to test the strength of the Kursed warrior.
"Understood. I'll check in on Thor in the meantime."
With that, Charles left the palace, and Odin, leaving behind an energy projection of himself, made his way to Helheim.
…
Meanwhile-
Thor was showing Jane around Asgard, having dressed her in Asgardian attire. Jane, curious, asked, "Did you know I was in trouble when you came to find me?"
Thor, walking beside her, replied, "When Heimdall couldn't see you, I knew you were no longer on Earth."
Jane, astonished, asked, "How is that even possible?"
Thor continued, "I suspected you were both here and not here. The Nine Realms move through the World Tree, orbiting Midgard, just like Earth orbits the sun."
"Every 5,000 years, these realms align in a straight line, and we call this event the Convergence."
"During this time, the boundaries between the realms become blurred, and it's likely that you found one of those weak points."
"You're lucky that point didn't close. Once the realms shift out of alignment, the connection between them breaks."
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