Asgard.
Thor brings Loki back to the Hall of the Immortals.
"Father, we have returned."
Thor dragged Loki before Odin.
"Loki." Odin looked at Loki with a complicated expression.
Loki wasn't dead, and for that, Odin was glad.
But what Loki had done filled Odin with sorrow and disappointment.
Long ago, after defeating the Frost Giants, Odin had seen Loki on the battlefield, abandoned as a child, and the idea sprouted in him, he took Loki back to Asgard.
Odin once said that Thor and Loki were born kings.
Thor would be the god-king of Asgard.
And Loki, he wanted to make him king of Jotunheim and the Frost Giants.
That way, the two brothers could bring lasting peace between Asgard and Jotunheim, without further wars.
But Odin didn't expect Loki to have such a hard time accepting his true identity, to the point where he wanted to destroy all of Jotunheim with his own hands.
That was not what Odin wanted to see.
"Guards, take Loki to the dungeon."
Odin sighed when he saw Loki unwilling to say a single word.
And Loki, upon hearing his father's decision, remained indifferent.
He said he didn't care, he had already lost anyway.
Thor silently watched Loki's back as they dragged him away, saying nothing.
This was the punishment Loki deserved.
"Father, these are the Cosmic Cube and the Mind Scepter that Loki received from Thanos."
Thor handed over the two items to Odin.
"The Cosmic Cube… I didn't expect it to return to my hands again."
A look of remembrance appeared on Odin's face; it had been thousands of years since he placed the Cosmic Cube on Earth.
"Thor, use it as soon as possible to repair the Rainbow Bridge. Once it's restored, you must immediately set out to calm the chaos in the Nine Realms."
"Yes, Father. And the scepter?"
"For now, place it in the vault, this thing is a bit dangerous, I need to think it over."
Odin hesitated.
"Understood."
Thor turned and left.
"Three Infinity Stones have already appeared. If they stay in Asgard, I fear they'll bring us misfortune…"
Odin thought with concern.
In his youth, he himself had collected Infinity Stones, and now in the Hall of the Immortals, there exists a replica of the Infinity Gauntlet.
So he knew how immense the power of all six stones was.
And he knew Thanos was trying to gather them.
As long as Odin lived, he didn't have to worry too much about Thanos, but the problem was that he would soon die.
When Asgard loses its protector, Thanos will surely come.
And for now, Thor couldn't deal with Thanos, so keeping the Infinity Stones in Asgard would only attract disaster.
Moreover, besides Thanos, Odin had to worry about Hela too.
All of those things would happen after his death; even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to stop them.
"If only there was someone as powerful as me… Hm? How could I forget that boy?"
"In the end, everything will fall to Alaric."
Odin suddenly recalled the crisis Loki brought to Earth, which, as far as he knew, was resolved by Alaric!
Moreover, if Odin wasn't mistaken, Alaric was now at the single-universe level, and with him on their side, not only was Earth safe, but all Nine Realms as well, because with Alaric as a shield, there would be no major catastrophes.
Then Odin wouldn't have to worry about Thanos.
"Hmm… After all, the Mind Stone and Space Stone should still be on Earth."
Odin muttered.
Though this move might seem a bit cowardly, plainly put, he was luring enemies to Earth.
But Odin said: once he dies, and the Ancient One retires, the only one to rely on in all Nine Realms will be Alaric.
Yes, with great power comes great responsibility.
Odin didn't only want the Infinity Stones to be on Earth in the end, even Hela's matters, he wanted to entrust to Alaric.
"Wait… Once the Rainbow Bridge is fixed, I can go to Alaric and talk with him."
...
"Great Thanos!"
Deep in space, aboard a massive warship.
General Corvus Glaive approached the floating throne and bowed deeply.
"Where is Ebony Maw?" Thanos' heavy voice was heard.
"He went to Earth with the Legion."
"Is it not over yet?" Thanos frowned.
"We don't know…" the General hesitated.
"What does that mean?!"
"Ebony Maw and the others… if nothing has changed… likely will not return."
The General lowered his head.
"Did Odin act?!" Thanos thundered.
Originally, he thought Odin wouldn't intervene, as he sent only a small force to Earth, and that through Loki, the prince of Asgard.
As long as Thanos didn't act personally, logically, Odin would send help at most, not his full strength.
But as far as Thanos knew, even if Odin sent Thor to Earth, with Ebony Maw's power, they shouldn't have been completely wiped out!?
"We… don't know. But, according to the last intercepted signal from the Legion ship, Odin didn't act. They were consumed by a black hole.
We presume a powerful Earthling intervened."
The General explained.
"Earth… Ancient One?"
Thanos pondered.
Makes sense: the Supreme Sorcerer Ancient One is on Earth.
"I understand. Don't touch Earth."
With Odin and the Ancient One there, Thanos couldn't risk direct conflict for now.
He had to endure and wait.
But at least the good news was that now he knew of three Infinity Stones within the Nine Realms, which would shorten his search time.
"Understood," the General withdrew.
...
"You're back!"
"Alaric, you were so cool!"
When Alaric, Amora, and Gwen returned, Clea shouted and ran to greet them.
"Well done, Alaric."
The Ancient One looked at Alaric with a gentle smile, clearly very pleased.
"What are you doing here?" Alaric asked.
"I came to help and also keep an eye on your house."
"Thanks for the effort." Alaric nodded.
"I didn't expect your place to get this lively so quickly."
The Ancient One looked at the three girls who had gathered around him and said meaningfully.
"Khmm… Well, it's a bit more lively."
Alaric cleared his throat.
"Alright, I won't interfere in your affairs, handle it yourself."
The Ancient One said and turned to leave.
"Hey, lend me the Time Stone again."
"Where are you planning to go now?"
"I'm not going anywhere, I just want to study the Time Stone, it'll be quick."
Alaric explained.
"Don't do anything stupid and mess up the timeline."
The Ancient One handed him the Eye of Agamotto, while warning him.
"Don't worry, I won't."
"Take care of yourself, I'm heading back."
"Goodbye!"