A coronation ceremony recognized by only one person, Lothar, finally ran its course. There were no blessings from a parent, no adoration from her subjects. Yet, Hela, in her splendid robes, still took her rightful place on the throne of Asgard by virtue of her ever-growing power. It was the throne of Asgard, the seat of the King of the Nine Realms.
In a secret dungeon beneath the palace, the imprisoned Frigga watched with a heavy heart. It had finally come to this. One wrong step, and everything followed. She had disagreed with Odin's brutal treatment of Hela, but a rage-filled Odin had made the decision to erase all traces of Hela anyway.
The small mirror in her cell did not reflect Frigga's haggard face, but the departure of various people after the coronation ceremony. The people of Asgard were filled with both fear and confusion. They feared Hela's brutal methods, and they were confused by her identity.
Odin's daughter, the first in line to the throne of Asgard. Was this a royal struggle? The people who should have stood their ground and taken up arms under Heimdall's leadership were now lost in confusion, faced with the historical murals in the palace.
Step...
Step...
Step...
The uniform footsteps were particularly jarring in the silent dungeon. Two undead guards dragged a divine power-chained Thor before the haggard Frigga.
"Mmph!"
"Mmph! Mmph!!"
"Mmph! Mmph!! Mmph!!!"
Thor, who had been hanging his head, became incredibly agitated when he saw his mother in the cell, but everything he wanted to say was sealed inside his stomach by the muzzle.
"Thor?"
"Thor!"
"Wait!"
"What are you doing to him?!"
"Hela! What are you doing to your brother?!"
"Hela?!"
Knowing that the undead soldiers only obeyed Hela's orders, Frigga instinctively grabbed the dungeon gate, but a sudden surge of magic sent her flying back!
"Mmph!"
Thor's struggling eyes were filled with fury. His explosive emotions stirred the divine power sealed within his body, causing him to repeatedly strike against the cage that Woz had personally set up.
Clang!
Clang!
The heavy chains crashed against the uneven ground, but they wouldn't break. The two undead soldiers escorting Thor exchanged a look. They simply kicked Thor, who was still wrestling with his chains, into the cell next to Frigga's. It was a baffling sight. Even though their eye sockets were empty, the two undead guards understood each other's "gaze."
"Thor!"
"Thor!"
"Are you okay, Thor?!"
Ignoring the soreness and pain in her body, Frigga pounded on the transparent wall, her face etched with worry.
After a long struggle with the binding chains, Thor finally gave up in frustration. He couldn't break free. No matter how much his power surged with his emotions, he couldn't break these damned chains.
"Mmph, mmph mmph, mmph..."
Pointing at the metal muzzle on his mouth, Thor struggled to get a single word out. He finally gave up, forced to settle for jumping up and down to show Frigga that he was fine.
"Thor, you...?" As Frigga was about to use a magical language to communicate with her son, she saw a crimson light reflected on the transparent wall. An intricate magic circle made Frigga's face light up with joy. She recognized this spell—a traditional one from the lineage of the Sorcerer Supreme. Reinforcements had arrived!
Upon seeing the man walk out of the magic circle, Frigga let go of her last bit of caution. Both the man's iconic sorcerer's robe and his rings, a symbol of his identity, were enough to prove he was from the Sanctum Sanctorum. Most importantly, the only person at the Sanctum Sanctorum who knew the coordinates of Asgard was the Ancient One.
"A pleasure to meet you, Queen Frigga. My name is Kaecilius, and I am a disciple of the Ancient One."
The man's introduction confirmed Frigga's thoughts.
"My master sent me to rescue you. Please, come with me right away. My concealment spell won't last long on Asgard." Though his words were urgent, Kaecilius spoke in a calm and unhurried manner.
"Thank you, but I need to bring someone with me, my son." Having waited so long for someone from the Sanctum Sanctorum, a great weight was lifted from Frigga's heart. She immediately pointed to the bound Thor across the transparent wall.
"You may."
Kaecilius nodded, agreeing to her request. A crimson teleportation circle appeared as the man performed a hand sign. Kaecilius held out his hand to Frigga.
"Thank you." Frigga bowed slightly in gratitude, a gesture of politeness. But as her hand touched Kaecilius's, she suddenly felt that something was wrong. Why was this man's hand so cold?
Under Thor's disbelieving gaze, Frigga's body was suddenly engulfed by a black mist that erupted from Kaecilius.
"Mmph!"
"Mmph mmph!!"
"Mmph mmph mmph!!!"
Thor desperately slammed his fists against the wall and thrashed against his chains, hoping someone would come to check on the commotion. But as time passed, his eyes filled with despair. No one came. And the man who called himself "Kaecilius" had already picked up the unconscious Frigga from the black mist and left through the magic circle.
"Mmph!!!!!!!!"
Thor roared in agony, his wild blond hair flying. He had been punching the wall and door so hard that blood was now oozing from his knuckles. But in the secret dungeon, no one answered.
"What do you want to do next?"
"Wait."
"Wait? For what?"
On the high platform in Asgard's main square, Hela watched as the people dispersed after the ceremony. She turned to look at Lothar, who was standing behind her.
"I'm waiting for someone to get the Soul Stone off Vormir for me."
Lothar leaned on the railing, his tone clearly annoyed as he spoke about the Soul Stone. It had the highest degree of autonomy of the six stones he had encountered, even going so far as to threaten people. If it weren't for Thanos's ultimate goal, he would have blasted Vormir to smithereens with a single energy beam.
"And then?" Hela pressed on.
"Then what?" Lothar frowned in confusion.
"After your father's goal is realized, will you go back and kill that Frieza?" Hela would never forget the "kiss" on Midgard all those years ago. While it healed Lothar's soul, it also showed her the deep-seated blood feud in the man's memory.
"Your home's on fire."
"I know you might think I'm— What?"
"I said, your home's on fire."
Hela, who was slow to catch on, widened her eyes and looked in the direction Lothar was pointing. On top of the majestic palace of Asgard, small red flames were spreading at an alarming rate.
BOOM!!!
A single spark had started a wildfire. Hela's eyes turned crimson.
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