Arctic.
In the icy valley where Russell teleported, chaotic gunfire echoed all around.
The HYDRA base lay in ruins, flames raging as smoke billowed into the cold air.
HYDRA soldiers from two different factions—each wearing combat uniforms of different colors—were engaged in a brutal firefight.
When the sun finally dipped below the horizon, the last gunshot echoed and faded.
In front of a massive vault door, Red Skull lay slumped on the ground, his back against the cold metal. He was panting heavily, blood staining his chest.
He looked like a man on the verge of death.
Standing before him was someone with pale, flesh-colored skin stretched tight over a skeleton-thin frame.
A woman.
Red Skull's breathing was ragged, but he smiled faintly.
"Cynthia… my daughter… you've surpassed me. I'm proud."
The woman's expression remained cold.
"I don't go by that name anymore."
"I'm Original Sin."
Her tone was flat as ice.
"Give me the password. You know this door will only slow me down."
The smile faded slightly from Red Skull's face.
"There's something inside… something wrong."
"I regretted summoning it the moment I saw it."
"It carries fear… and destruction."
Original Sin sneered.
"You're a coward, Father."
"The Red Skull I once knew… he's dead. All that's left of him is a pathetic man hiding in this body."
Without hesitation, she raised her gun and shot him straight through the heart.
Red Skull's body slumped.
Coldly efficient, she stepped forward, used a surgical instrument to remove one of his eyes, and placed it into the scanner beside the vault door.
Behind her, HYDRA agents advanced, quickly working to crack the secondary password.
Ten minutes later, with a grinding roar, the massive alloy door—easily weighing dozens of tons—slid open.
Inside was a chamber no larger than 200 square meters.
Walls and floor reinforced with the same alloy. Airtight. No dead corners.
And yet, in this vault more secure than Fort Knox, there was only one item.
A giant war hammer.
Over two meters tall, with a handle of brown wood and a hammerhead of silver-gray unknown metal, sealed in a block of solid ice.
Runes were carved along its surface.
Yet somehow, the meaning of those words was instantly understood:
[Only those who are worthy]
[Can lift this hammer]
[Become Skadi]
Original Sin's eyes blazed with fanaticism.
This is it…
This is the hammer I used to kill Captain America in my dream.
She stepped forward, unable to stop herself.
As she reached the hammer, the ice surrounding it began to melt, revealing the handle.
She grasped it.
A blinding white light exploded from her hand.
Moments later, as the light faded, Original Sin stood clad in armor etched with mysterious patterns. The war hammer, now sized perfectly for her grip, rested in her hand.
Cold air swirled around her like a living thing.
And faintly, she heard a voice whispering in her mind.
"Come find me…"
"My daughter…"
Asgard.
A golden portal opened.
Russell stepped out, eyes narrowing in surprise.
Asgard… had collapsed.
Above him, there was no simulated sunlight—only the dark void of space.
The great World Tree shimmered faintly overhead, glowing green like aurora, casting an eerie light.
Though Asgard lay in ruins, Russell saw soldiers everywhere—armored men and women resting in the forests and mountains.
Their armor glowed with powerful enchantments.
Each one radiated killing intent far beyond the Asgardian soldiers Russell remembered from the Sacred Timeline.
He narrowed his eyes.
Why does a 'peaceful' Nine Realms need an army this powerful?
And… Odin wasn't here.
Neither was the All-Seeing Raven.
Russell didn't sense their presence anywhere.
In the next instant, space shifted.
He reappeared in the dungeon.
The prison remained intact, but the cells were empty.
Except for one.
Thor.
He hung suspended between two stone pillars.
Chains bound his wrists and ankles.
His hair was long and matted. His head hung low.
Silent. Motionless.
Russell's expression darkened.
At that moment, footsteps echoed in the dungeon.
Thor's eyelids moved slightly.
Without lifting his head, he said in a low voice, "Don't bother… these chains are inscribed with Odin's runes. They can't be broken."
No one was allowed into the dungeon. Thor assumed it was one of the Warriors Three attempting to rescue him.
But that was impossible.
Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice echoed through the chamber.
"Why did Odin lock you up?"
Thor's head snapped up.
A complete stranger stood before him.
"An intruder?" Thor's expression hardened. Thunder flashed in his eyes—bolts of lightning surged out like serpents, crackling violently as they struck the figure.
But the lightning, strong enough to kill Jotun giants, did absolutely nothing.
In fact…
The lightning coiled harmlessly around the stranger's body, no longer crackling, but instead gathering gently in his pale palm, where it condensed into a small, egg-sized sphere of pure electricity.
"Huh… not bad," Russell commented casually.
Thor's eyes widened in disbelief.
His lightning—his power—was completely out of his control.
"Who… who are you?!" Thor roared.
Russell flicked his wrist.
The thunder orb dissolved into nothing but a thin wisp of black smoke.
He looked at Thor calmly and said, "You felt it, didn't you?"
Thor's voice cracked in shock. "Impossible! I'm Thor! The World Tree would never recognize another Thor!"
Russell smiled faintly. "Maybe… you're the fake."
With that, he casually waved his hand.
Thor's pupils shrank. He instinctively shouted, "No! That's impossible! You won't succeed—!"
But before he could finish, the air shattered with a familiar sonic boom.
A sharp tearing sound followed.
Bang!
Mjolnir shot through the air and landed squarely in Russell's hand.
He spun the hammer once or twice, then looked at the stunned Thor and smiled.
"See? You're the fake."
Thor was dumbfounded.
Not just because the stranger had summoned Mjolnir… but because Odin had revoked his worthiness long ago.
How…?
Russell saw the confusion in Thor's expression but didn't bother explaining.
It involved runic manipulation—Rune of Runes, to be precise—something he had spent weeks teaching Strange in another timeline. Too much hassle to explain here.
"Relax. Don't look at me like that. I've got several of these things. I'm not interested in stealing yours."
With that, he tossed Mjolnir onto the ground at Thor's feet, then pointed toward the dungeon's entrance.
"Now… tell me. What happened to Asgard? What's going on?"
If Asgard had been invaded, there should have been blood and bodies everywhere. But he saw no corpses, smelled no blood.
Thor, still bewildered over Mjolnir, sighed bitterly at the question.
"…It was Loki."
Russell raised his eyebrows.
Loki?
This variant was stronger than expected.
"And where is he now?" Russell asked.
Thor's expression clouded over.
"I don't know," he admitted. "After we fought on Earth, he vanished. Just like how he appeared—without warning."
"And… he's much stronger than before."
Russell frowned slightly.
This sounded more like a time anomaly than anything else.
But he didn't care. The more headaches TVA had to deal with, the happier he was.
Shifting the topic to his real purpose, he asked:
"Do you know who the 'Ancient Father of God Serpent' is?"
Thor blinked, caught off guard.
"Father of God Serpent? Who's that?"
"There's no such figure among Asgard's gods. Did you read some false Midgard myths or something?"
Russell frowned deeper.
Thor didn't seem to be lying.
Did I get the wrong pantheon? Is the serpent not tied to Asgard…? Maybe another realm…
Which meant another trip.
Damn it.
Suddenly, a deafening thunderclap rocked the dungeon.
Thor's face changed instantly.
"The All-Father is back!"
"If you don't leave now, you'll die here!"
Thor genuinely believed the strange man who had casually tossed him Mjolnir wasn't a villain.
Russell simply raised his head, his gaze piercing through stone as easily as air.
Outside, in the sky above Asgard, a figure hovered.
A man.
Holding a spear.
His face twisted in fury.
Russell grinned slowly.
"…I haven't heard that line in a long time."
The next second, his gaze dropped back down to Thor.
He asked calmly:
"Tell me something, Thor."
"Do gods bleed?"
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