At the gateway to Asgard, as Heimdall watched the dwarves and the four warriors of the palace return, he sighed and said, "The King is waiting for you. Go to him quickly!"
"Heimdall! Why did Thor...?" Sif was the first to regain her senses and immediately shouted at Heimdall.
"Thor has been controlled by the Mind Stone. He didn't intend to attack you, but the Thor you knew is no longer the same." Heimdall cut off Sif's words and explained.
"Controlled by the Mind Stone?!" Sif and the others were taken aback. Only now did they understand why Thor had acted so strangely before, even attacking them after Thanos had been knocked unconscious.
"Why didn't the King take action?!" Realizing what had happened, Fandral angrily questioned Heimdall.
Before their visit to Earth, even though Thor and the four warriors shared a deep bond of camaraderie, Fandral would never have questioned the King's decisions.
Back then, in their hearts, King Odin was supreme. Even if they had a strong relationship with Thor, Thor was only the crown prince. While they might have felt some dissatisfaction, they would never express it openly.
But after going to Earth, things were different. Having experienced mind control, Thor became the hope of Asgard in the minds of the four warriors. Even though Thor had not yet ascended to the throne, his life was far more important to them than the safety of King Odin.
Thus, even though Fandral knew King Odin's condition wasn't great and that fighting a powerful enemy posed risks to himself, he still believed that Odin should have stepped in to save Thor. Even if it meant sacrificing himself, saving Thor was worth it!
"Fandral! Show respect to the King!" Heimdall's gaze sharpened as he looked at Fandral sternly. "The King has his own reasons for not intervening. Do you think he cares less about Thor's life than you?"
"I want to see what reasons he has!" Fandral, still unconvinced, ran toward the palace. Sif and the others, while not as extreme as Fandral, shared similar thoughts and followed him to the palace.
"My apologies, Eitri, for making you witness this." Heimdall sighed helplessly and turned to the Dwarf King.
"It's fine. They're just deeply concerned about Prince Thor's safety, which is understandable," Eitri replied, shaking his head with an awkward smile. "Asgard helped us drive away the invading Titans, but in doing so, Prince Thor fell into danger. In some ways, Nidavellir bears some responsibility for that…"
Eitri's embarrassment was understandable. After all, Thor had been captured while fighting Thanos on Nidavellir. No matter how one looked at it, Nidavellir had some connection to the incident. Moreover, before Thor and the others arrived, Eitri had angrily cursed Asgard.
If Heimdall weren't present, Asgard might never have known about those words. But with Heimdall there, it was impossible to hide anything from him.
"Protecting Nidavellir is also Asgard's responsibility. But as you can see, Asgard isn't doing so well right now, so sometimes support arrives a bit slowly…" Heimdall, however, didn't hold Eitri's previous words against him. After all, in moments of crisis, saying such things was understandable.
In fact, Heimdall's attitude toward Eitri was surprisingly kind, so much so that Eitri felt both surprised and slightly uneasy.
In the past, even when Asgard needed Nidavellir to forge weapons, the gods had never treated Eitri with such respect.
To put it bluntly, no matter how great Eitri's craftsmanship was, without the power of Asgard's gods, his creations were just weapons—not divine artifacts. In the eyes of Asgardians, Eitri was merely a tool.
But now, the situation had changed. Although the value of Eitri and the dwarves hadn't increased, Asgard was no longer what it used to be.
After the battles with Robert and Clark, Asgard had been severely weakened. To rebuild and regain strength, it needed to absorb more people and talent.
And Eitri was a talent that could provide significant help to Asgard, especially since Thor had been captured while rescuing Nidavellir. This was a great favor to the dwarves.
"I understand. If times hadn't changed, that Titan wouldn't have dared to invade Nidavellir," Eitri nodded in agreement, sighing. "Whether it was when the King was in his prime or when Princess Hela… uh, sorry, I misspoke!"
"No need to apologize. Hela is no longer a taboo subject in Asgard. After all, in Asgard's current state, there's nothing left to keep hidden," Heimdall smiled, comforting Eitri. "What you should be considering now is the future of the dwarves."
"Returning to Nidavellir would be difficult. While I can teleport you back, Asgard can't constantly monitor the situation there. Most importantly, with Thor captured, Asgard has lost much of its strength. If you face another threat, Asgard may not be able to help."
"So, what are you suggesting? Or rather, what is the King suggesting?" Eitri, sensing something, asked directly. "Nidavellir has always had close ties to Asgard. You can speak frankly."
"We can carve out a section of Asgard for the dwarves to live in. Once Asgard regains its strength, or when the dwarves are strong enough to protect themselves, or if that mad Titan dies, the dwarves can return to Nidavellir," Heimdall explained Asgard's plan.
"Agreed!" Eitri did not hesitate and immediately accepted.
He knew that rejecting Asgard's proposal wouldn't benefit the dwarves at all.
Moreover, Asgard had come to their rescue, and Thor had been captured while saving Nidavellir. The dwarves owed them a great debt.
But more importantly, the safety of the dwarves was paramount. Without Asgard's protection, even if Heimdall sent them back to Nidavellir, they wouldn't survive for long.
Thanos could attack again at any moment, and the dwarves had no means of resistance. And with the creation of the Infinity Gauntlet, others might target Nidavellir, turning the dwarves into enslaved tools at best.
"Believe me, you won't regret your decision," Heimdall said, smiling as he saw Eitri nod in agreement. The atmosphere between them was exceptionally harmonious.
But the atmosphere in the palace was quite the opposite. Upon arriving, Fandral immediately confronted King Odin. Before Odin could respond, the palace guards angrily raised their weapons, ready to execute Fandral for his insubordination.
However, the four warriors of the palace were not intimidated. They drew their weapons, divine light shimmering around them, prepared to strike down the guards where they stood.
Even in the face of a confrontation with King Odin, the four showed no fear. After all, these guards had been hastily recruited after the invasions by Robert and Clark. And even if they had been the original guards, the four warriors still wouldn't have been afraid.
At this point, the four warriors were among Asgard's top fighters. With Thor absent, only King Odin and Queen Frigga outranked them in strength. Even Heimdall and Loki, imprisoned in the dungeon, couldn't match the four warriors now.
"Stop!" As the tension in the palace reached its peak, King Odin waved his hand, halting the guards. "Fandral, are you blaming me for not saving Thor?"
The four warriors, weapons still in hand, stared silently at King Odin, their meaning clear: What else could we be upset about?
"Thor is my son. How could I want to harm him?" Odin shook his head helplessly. In his younger days, he would have killed the four warriors without hesitation, no matter how strong they were.
But Asgard no longer had the strength it once did. The four warriors were loyal to Thor, which would be beneficial when Thor inherited the throne. The aging and weakened Odin knew he had to tolerate them now.
"Thor obtained part of the rune's power from the World Tree, but he didn't gain all of it, nor has he fully mastered what he did receive," Odin explained, his eyes gleaming with wisdom.
"The power of the Mind Stone is no less potent than that of the runes. While Thor is being controlled, the Mind Stone is constantly stimulating the rune's power within him. Over time, Thor will understand the runes more and more, and his strength will grow."
"When Thor's power surpasses the limit of what Thanos can control with the Mind Stone, that will be the moment Thor breaks free and defeats Thanos!"
"Are you sure that won't be a problem?" the four warriors asked, still somewhat skeptical after hearing Odin's explanation.
"I will have Heimdall keep watch. Thor will be fine. And if the situation becomes truly dire, I will use the last of my strength to bring Thor back," Odin solemnly promised.
"Thank you, Your Majesty! Please forgive us for our earlier disrespect!" The four warriors finally felt at ease and addressed Odin more respectfully.
"No need to worry. With your help, Thor will undoubtedly lead Asgard to even greater glory," Odin said with a kind smile, and the tension in the palace lifted once more.
While major events were unfolding in Asgard and Nidavellir, things on Earth remained relatively quiet. The new year had already begun.
The dark and tragic year
of 2013 had come to an end, and 2014 had started without any major supernatural incidents. However, the atmosphere on Earth was far from as light and relaxed as in Asgard's palace. The entire planet was tense and on edge, and even ordinary people could feel it.
The events of the previous year had been too numerous and terrifying. Worse yet, in past incidents, whether it was Robert, Clark, or the Avengers, they had tried to minimize casualties. Despite the large scale of previous events, major loss of life had been relatively rare.
But last year was different. The global population had decreased by more than half, all due to extraordinary events. In a way, Thanos didn't even need to enact his plan to wipe out half the population—Earth had already exceeded that target.
With such devastating losses, it was no wonder the atmosphere on Earth had become so grim.
Especially with the death of Superman, many people had lost the one figure they had faith in. What made it worse was that Superman had been a constant presence. Whether people loved or hated him, they had to admit that seeing Superman brought a sense of reassurance, as though a bright light was shining on their hearts. Even in the face of danger, people felt less panic.
But now, Superman was gone, and that light had vanished with him. People could no longer look up and see the god-like figure flying through the sky, or expect him to rush in and save the day during a disaster.
It's often said that people only realize what they had once it's gone. Before the explosion at the Capitol, people had even vandalized Superman's theme park. Now that he was gone, many were visiting the park, mourning his absence. Whether or not this was ironic, no one could say for sure.
But Superman wouldn't disappear just because people cursed him, nor would he return just because they longed for him. After all, he was never a god formed by faith to begin with.
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