Two soaring, black-feathered crows flew quickly into the uppermost level of the Immortal Palace, their wings beating almost silently. They navigated the grand, empty halls and entered the depths of a secret stone chamber.
The black-feathered crows, named Hugin and Munin, flew with nimble and vigorous movements. They slowly came to rest on the edge of a huge, ornate coffin, which was covered with a shimmering, humming layer of an energy shield.
They tilted their small heads in unison and made a hoarse, hard-to-hear cawing sound that echoed faintly in the cold, still room.
The next moment, a one-eyed old man lying in the huge coffin suddenly opened an eye as deep and ancient as a celestial body in the universe.
"Loki still failed..." His voice was a dry, papery rasp, yet it filled the chamber. "His ability, just like his ambition, is rootless."
Wearing an ancient piece of armor, the Allfather slowly propped up his tall, slightly stooped body. The movement was pained and stiff. He subconsciously raised his fingers and touched the golden eye mask, staring at the two dull black-feathered crows with his one eye.
He slowly let out a heavy, shuddering sigh. "Or perhaps, the repentant Thor and his Midgard friends arrived too quickly... which caused a real deviation in my entire plan."
As the energy shield gradually dissipated with a soft fizzle, Odin, his beard gray and long, turned over and sat up from the huge coffin. His movements were as slow and stiff as an old man nearly seventy years old.
He was carefully guarded by the two black-feathered crows as he slowly left the inside of the coffin and stood with his bare feet on the cold, stone ground.
"The God-King Odin fell into an eternal sleep with declining power. The competition between his sons, Thor and Loki, for the position of God-King caused chaos in Asgard... Thor, stripped of his power, was exiled to Midgrard, far from the land of right and wrong, and became mediocre. Loki would gradually lose the support of the people, thereby weakening Asgard's internal and external strength, indirectly causing the prying and testing of powerful enemies, and detonating the Ragnarok that will lead to Asgard's destruction in advance..."
Odin murmured to himself, his voice a low rumble. He slowly narrowed his deep, ancient eye. A look of cold indifference and ruthless calculation flashed across his brows.
Then, the staggering Odin walked to a thick, unadorned wall. He seemed to see through the barriers of many buildings, his gaze penetrating stone and space, clearly observing the ruined Rainbow Bridge, the seriously injured Thor, the dying Loki, and the human agent from the Atrium.
"In the end, Odin, who had been waiting, would wake boldly, kill the ancient, powerful enemy that invaded Asgard, and finally eliminate Ragnarok at the cost of his life. The original plan should have been like this. But unfortunately, Frigga's pity for Loki was not very useful..."
A faint, wry smile touched Odin's lips. He stared down at his two old, wrinkled palms.
"If I could be younger, even just a hundred years younger, I wouldn't have to resort to this trick... Unfortunately, I have no time as my deadline is approaching. The only relief is Thor. He finally became a talent. He barely has the foundation to become a true king."
At this moment, Odin suddenly opened his one eye wide. He straightened his ricket-like back with a pained grunt, turning his head to look at the two crows.
He took a deep breath and murmured to himself with an extremely solemn expression, "For the future of Asgard, and for the future of Thor... I must destroy Ragnarok!"
The next moment, Odin, the Allfather, raised his hand.
An ancient spear, covered with numerous scars, its tip slightly missing, slowly appeared in his palm, feeling heavy and familiar.
The Eternal Spear Loki held was merely a ceremonial instrument representing Asgard's royal power. This 'Gungnir' had accompanied Odin in his conquests for thousands of years. The real, sure-shot weapon had never left his side.
"Old friends... let's go crazy one last time!"
The words were not yet spoken. God-King Odin took a deep breath again and suddenly took a step forward. The tall figure wearing ancient armor completely disappeared from the hidden stone room.
The next second, the entire Asgard seemed to be caught in a violent, earth-shaking change. A low, powerful hum vibrated through the very foundations of the city.
A huge golden shadow, one that almost spanned the continent of Asgard, suddenly appeared before countless Asgardians. The golden shadow was so large that it temporarily blocked the starry sky, casting the golden city in an even brighter, divine light.
"Ah, it's Odin!"
"Look! That's our Allfather!"
Accompanied by the heartfelt joy and deafening, adoring roar of countless Asgardians, the huge golden shadow, with its feet across the entire continent, suddenly raised the sure-shot spear, 'Gungnir', that was held tightly in its palm.
"The first shot... Muspelheim, the fire giant Surtur!"
Accompanied by the roar that echoed throughout the entire continent, 'Gungnir', now as large as the Rainbow Bridge itself, instantly escaped from the Allfather's hands. It traveled quickly through the endless, icy void, a streak of golden light shooting toward Muspelheim, one of the nine realms.
Almost at the same time, located inside the desolate, fiery Muspelheim, the fire giant Surtur, who was as big as a huge mountain, raised his head and let out a crazy roar that shook the nine worlds. It brandished the huge Sword of Twilight and faced 'Gungnir' as it came through the void.
Unfortunately, Odin's wrath, carrying terrifying divine power, easily knocked away the Sword of Twilight. The ancient and broken spear point forcefully penetrated the flame giant's chest, which burned with endless flames, and then returned to the cold void in the blink of an eye.
Accompanied by the huge body of the fire giant Surtur shattering and the angry, dying roar, the shadow of Odin standing on the continent of Asgard seemed to dim a little. The huge trace of the must-hit divine spear, 'Gungnir', appeared in his palm again.
"The second shot… the void surrounding the nine realms, the world serpent, Jörmungandr!"
The divine spear, thrown into the cold void again, seemed to travel much slower, but the destructive power wrapped in terrifying divine power was the same as before.
Not long after, accompanied by a miserable, universe-shaking howl that seemed to shake most of the stars, the divine spear 'Gungnir', stained with a large amount of scarlet, cosmic blood, returned to Odin's palm in the blink of an eye.
However, just when Odin, the Allfather, was about to forcibly condense the few remaining terrifying divine powers to throw the last shot at the sealed place deep in the Asgard continent, a series of terrifying, unseen eyes from the depths of the universe seemed to pass through the endless cold void.
They fell on the huge golden shadow of the God-King, which was growing dimmer and weaker.
Dormammu from the dark dimension.
Cyttorak from the scarlet dimension.
Mephisto from the endless hell.
The ancient eye demon from the weird dimension.
The planet devourer from infinite light-years away.
At this moment, many powerful beings, qualified to detect the fluctuations of God-King Odin's terrifying power, launched continuous, probing spying in the direction of the Nine Realms.
Faced with the prying of so many ancient enemies, Odin, the Allfather, who had tried his best and burned his remaining power, gradually dimmed.
Now was not the right time. He couldn't completely let go of Asgard and return to the Hall of Valor.
The next moment, the huge golden shadow, which was now rapidly disappearing, turned its huge head subconsciously. An ancient eye, as hot as a star, slowly looked at the position of the Rainbow Bridge.
The focus of his gaze swept over Thor, who was lying on the bridge and laughing.
Finally, it fell on the Terminator armor, which was still holding Loki's head tightly in its metal palm.