Chapter 195: Agreement
9th March 2012, Asgard
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
Instead, the life force I used to power the blood runes was drained from the trap over time. The fact that it held for years, was enough for me to be proud of how energy efficient my trap was, especially given the circumstances.
I used the energy remnants of the trap to extrapolate when it had failed. Huh, it was barely a few months ago. It seems that I had truly extrapolated a draw out of this. I sighed in relief; at least some good came from that fight. I was worried that I lost six years with Selene and Wanda for nothing.
I got up, still staring at the remnants of my experimental trap that almost defeated a cosmic entity. Since it worked, it meant that Entropy was fallible, that there were ways to defeat him. I already had plans upon plans, traps upon traps. For the first time in a while, I felt hope.
I looked at the two godlings looking at me worriedly, “He isn’t here. Let’s go.”
They both held onto me as we teleported to Asgard.
This time, I actually let Thor gain control over the Tesseract’s destination. It’s more appropriate that he does; he’s the one who knows where in Asgard we’re supposed to land, after all.
We arrived on a rainbow bridge. Huh, the Bifrost. I look back to find the end of the bridge being broken. I raised an eyebrow and looked at the Crown Prince of Asgard, “This was your doing?”
He looked sheepish, but nodded, “Loki was using the Bifrost to destroy Jotunheim. It was the only way to stop it.”
I look at the God of Mischief who also looked away in shame, “Really, Loki, genocide?”
He didn’t answer and I continued, “The Bifrost is a very dangerous artifact, one created with the assistance of the Tesseract. Using it to destroy an entire realm could have had far reaching consequences to the rest of the nine realms, which would have no doubt endangered Asgard even more.”
He still didn’t look at me. He does look ashamed of his actions, and I’ll leave the rest of his scolding to his mother. Frigga could be terrifying when she wanted to be. Well, according to Odin that is. I never had the pleasure of meeting the woman. For some reason, the All Father didn’t want us to meet.
Still, the Bifrost isn’t the machine that Thor destroyed. Theoretically speaking Odin could summon the Bifrost to him, but the portal will be unstable, imprecise, and very dangerous. Still, it could be done. What the Bifrost actually is, is the connection between the nine realms and the borders of the ever expanding universe, or as the Asgardians call it, Yggdrasil, the world tree.
The thing is that outside of Midgard, the nine realms don’t actually exist in the main universe. They’re pocket dimensions, separate from each other, that each faction lives in, connected only from the border of the universe. Imagine the universe as a bubble, Earth, or Midgard exists in this bubble. The rest of the nine realms, only exist in little, tiny pocket dimensions. The inhabitants of the nine realms have fought wars for thousands of years, but because of the limited possibility of travel between realms, they only sent a few of their champions each to the other realms using rituals to access a fragment of the Bifrost. It was limited until Odin created the machine using the space stone, to channel the full power of the Bifrost. For the first time, a Realm could send out an entire army, their full might, to fight their enemies, and it won Odin the title of King of the Nine Realms.
Thor destroying it will have far reaching consequences in the entire nine realms. They will not be under Odin’s oversight, meaning rebellions are going to start appearing everywhere. Let’s just say that Odin is going to be busy for the near future.
My companions and I walked the length of the rainbow bridge. I spent that time admiring Asgard. It really was a beautiful place, filled with magic. The average Asgardian was happy with his lot in life, there was little to no poverty. It was the closest thing there was to a utopia. It’s a shame that it’s built on lies and bloodshed. That the gold that fill Asgard’s halls is nothing but the prizes of Odin’s theft during his conquest.
But then, suddenly, the moment he was declared the King of the Nine Realms, his personality shifted from a warmonger to a peace loving man. It was a relief for the rest of the nine realms, but they did not forget the King’s previous brutality.
We arrived to the edge of the bridge, to see a gold armored man with orange eyes. I nod at him, “Heimdall.”
He bowed to me, “Morrigan, it’s good to see you in person.”
I smirked at him; the man never could scry me without me letting him first. I have spent centuries perfecting my protections against divination and seers. The man’s reach might be very impressive, being able to see Yggdrasil through his eyes, to see everything that the Bifrost could reach. But not me. It must have been hard on his pride sometimes. I have no doubt that Odin has asked him to keep an eye on me every now and then.
The man greeted the Crown Prince, “Prince Thor, I see that you were successful in your endeavors.”
He motioned towards the bound Loki and the Tesseract. Thor bellowed a laugh, “Ah, my friend, it’s good to be back. It was a glorious battle with newfound allies. It has been a while since I have been pushed this far. Nevertheless, I stood victorious.”
I snorted, “That’s good and all, but you’re still using your hammer as a crutch. You’ll never be able to truly unlock your potential and be able to reach the hammer’s true power while you keep relying on it to even channel a shard of your powers.”
He glared at me and pouted, “Mjölnir is enough for me.”
I shook my head, and looked at Heimdall, “Is he always this stubborn?”
The All Seer snorted, “That he is. Believe it or not, he used to be much worse when he was younger.”
I snorted, but changed the subject, “Did you see what happened in New York?”
“Yes, your intervention saved many lives from Loki’s foolishness.”
I nod absentmindedly, “Perhaps it did, perhaps it didn’t.”
We walked towards the throne room. Odin was waiting for us. I could immediately recognize the gold armor and Gungnir, his golden spear. On his right, a beautiful woman was sitting regally. This was Frigga, Odin’s wife and Queen of Asgard. The woman’s eyes immediately softened, and her shoulders sagged in relief when she saw her two sons coming back unharmed.
Thor knelt in front of his father, “Father, I have fulfilled my mission. Loki has been returned to Asgard, and the Tesseract is back in Asgard’s hands.”
Odin nodded, “Well done, Thor. Heimdall, escort Loki to the dungeons. We’ll speak of his punishment later. Frigga, Thor, go with them. Morrigan and I have much to discuss.”
They bowed and left for the dungeons. I spread my senses trying to determine if we’re alone. After confirming it, I cast a very powerful anti scrying ward, preventing anyone outside the two of us from ever seeing this conversation. I nod at him, “I have warded the area. We’re clear.”
The man’s shoulders visibly sag, “I was told that you wanted to speak to me.”
I nodded, “We have a problem, a big problem. But before that, why did you send Thor to Midgard, why allow Loki to send the Destroyer there as well. We had an agreement, Odin. You don’t interfere in Midgard without my permission, and I don’t interfere in the affairs of the other realms without yours. You’ve respected the agreement for thousands of years, ever since I defeated Hela. Why did you break it this time?”
He answered in a tone filled with regret, “It wasn’t my decision. They needed Thor out of the way, for him to not become king. He presents a threat, especially how dangerous the last one was. He’s already messed with their plans now. Sending Thor to Midgard was always going to happen, but I was able to alter it slightly for him to grow properly, to start understanding the qualities of being a king, to become worthy of his title.”
I grunted, “So, they took advantage of my absence, since it happened in one of the nine realms, they were able to witness it. They used it to bring forward their plans, to get another cycle running when the last Thor messed with this one.”
Odin nodded, “I had no choice in the matter.”
“Alright, this I could understand. With that out of the way, we have a problem, a big problem.”
He looked intrigued, “What is it?”
“Did you feel something happen around six years ago?”
“The abnormality, what was that?”
I snorted, “A cosmic entity decided to interfere and broke the laws of time. The entire universe is on lockdown. He was able to create a sentient projection here, an Avatar that could channel a fragment of his power. He seeks to destroy the multiverse, Odin. I have tried fighting him, and the best I could manage was a draw, one that I tricked him into. We probably rearranged the surface of Nifleheim a few times. He’s immensely powerful.”
The man paled at the news, “How could he destroy the multiverse? And which cosmic entity is it?”
“He’s called Entropy, and he seeks the Stones to break down the walls of this reality before spreading his essence through the entire multiverse, reducing every universe into nothing more than scattering atoms in the freezing cold.”
“And yet you brought the Space Stone here.”
I shook my head, “If you want me to take it back, I will find another place to hide it. But I thought that you would like to use it to rebuild the Bifrost. But I cannot defeat him alone. I’m not powerful enough, neither are you. We need to fight this together.”
Odin shook his head, “As much as I want to, I can’t. I’m still bound. I cannot act outside their plans. I know how dangerous this is likely to become, but the best I could do is send Thor to Midgard to aid you.”
I snorted, “Thor won’t be enough. Even with the entire might of Asgard it might not be enough. He will use the Mad Titan to get the Stones. He will let him snap half the living beings in the universe out of existence, trillions of lives, killed, and when the barrier between worlds is destabilized and at its weakest. He will spread his essence, allowing it to infect the entire multiverse. Thor can probably fight Thanos, maybe not even that. He’s barely scratched the surface of his potential, and no matter how I see it, I can’t see him contributing to the fight against Entropy. Only select individuals, like you and myself can really stand a chance. The good news for you is that this presents an opportunity for you, and for Asgard.”
“What is it that you speak of?”
“When the universe was locked down, it had many implications. The most important one is that time travel to both the past and the future has become impossible. I’m not talking about physical time travel but also future sight and prophecies.”
Odin stiffened in realization, “This means that they are restricted as well, they will not be able to plan properly. This is a chance we’ll never get again.”
I nodded, “This is why, I want to add something to the deal. Midgard is still off limits until Entropy is defeated. After that it’ll be under your supervision. I will also help you free yourself and Asgard from their hands, and in exchange for all of this, I’m expecting your personal help and the help of all of Asgard in the coming crisis.”
“You mean that…”
“Yes, if you agree with this, I’ll help you get rid of ‘Those Who Sit Above In Shadows’ permanently. For the first time, you’ll be free, Asgard will be free.”
Chapter 195: Agreement
9th March 2012, Asgard
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
Instead, the life force I used to power the blood runes was drained from the trap over time. The fact that it held for years, was enough for me to be proud of how energy efficient my trap was, especially given the circumstances.
I used the energy remnants of the trap to extrapolate when it had failed. Huh, it was barely a few months ago. It seems that I had truly extrapolated a draw out of this. I sighed in relief; at least some good came from that fight. I was worried that I lost six years with Selene and Wanda for nothing.
I got up, still staring at the remnants of my experimental trap that almost defeated a cosmic entity. Since it worked, it meant that Entropy was fallible, that there were ways to defeat him. I already had plans upon plans, traps upon traps. For the first time in a while, I felt hope.
I looked at the two godlings looking at me worriedly, “He isn’t here. Let’s go.”
They both held onto me as we teleported to Asgard.
This time, I actually let Thor gain control over the Tesseract’s destination. It’s more appropriate that he does; he’s the one who knows where in Asgard we’re supposed to land, after all.
We arrived on a rainbow bridge. Huh, the Bifrost. I look back to find the end of the bridge being broken. I raised an eyebrow and looked at the Crown Prince of Asgard, “This was your doing?”
He looked sheepish, but nodded, “Loki was using the Bifrost to destroy Jotunheim. It was the only way to stop it.”
I look at the God of Mischief who also looked away in shame, “Really, Loki, genocide?”
He didn’t answer and I continued, “The Bifrost is a very dangerous artifact, one created with the assistance of the Tesseract. Using it to destroy an entire realm could have had far reaching consequences to the rest of the nine realms, which would have no doubt endangered Asgard even more.”
He still didn’t look at me. He does look ashamed of his actions, and I’ll leave the rest of his scolding to his mother. Frigga could be terrifying when she wanted to be. Well, according to Odin that is. I never had the pleasure of meeting the woman. For some reason, the All Father didn’t want us to meet.
Still, the Bifrost isn’t the machine that Thor destroyed. Theoretically speaking Odin could summon the Bifrost to him, but the portal will be unstable, imprecise, and very dangerous. Still, it could be done. What the Bifrost actually is, is the connection between the nine realms and the borders of the ever expanding universe, or as the Asgardians call it, Yggdrasil, the world tree.
The thing is that outside of Midgard, the nine realms don’t actually exist in the main universe. They’re pocket dimensions, separate from each other, that each faction lives in, connected only from the border of the universe. Imagine the universe as a bubble, Earth, or Midgard exists in this bubble. The rest of the nine realms, only exist in little, tiny pocket dimensions. The inhabitants of the nine realms have fought wars for thousands of years, but because of the limited possibility of travel between realms, they only sent a few of their champions each to the other realms using rituals to access a fragment of the Bifrost. It was limited until Odin created the machine using the space stone, to channel the full power of the Bifrost. For the first time, a Realm could send out an entire army, their full might, to fight their enemies, and it won Odin the title of King of the Nine Realms.
Thor destroying it will have far reaching consequences in the entire nine realms. They will not be under Odin’s oversight, meaning rebellions are going to start appearing everywhere. Let’s just say that Odin is going to be busy for the near future.
My companions and I walked the length of the rainbow bridge. I spent that time admiring Asgard. It really was a beautiful place, filled with magic. The average Asgardian was happy with his lot in life, there was little to no poverty. It was the closest thing there was to a utopia. It’s a shame that it’s built on lies and bloodshed. That the gold that fill Asgard’s halls is nothing but the prizes of Odin’s theft during his conquest.
But then, suddenly, the moment he was declared the King of the Nine Realms, his personality shifted from a warmonger to a peace loving man. It was a relief for the rest of the nine realms, but they did not forget the King’s previous brutality.
We arrived to the edge of the bridge, to see a gold armored man with orange eyes. I nod at him, “Heimdall.”
He bowed to me, “Morrigan, it’s good to see you in person.”
I smirked at him; the man never could scry me without me letting him first. I have spent centuries perfecting my protections against divination and seers. The man’s reach might be very impressive, being able to see Yggdrasil through his eyes, to see everything that the Bifrost could reach. But not me. It must have been hard on his pride sometimes. I have no doubt that Odin has asked him to keep an eye on me every now and then.
The man greeted the Crown Prince, “Prince Thor, I see that you were successful in your endeavors.”
He motioned towards the bound Loki and the Tesseract. Thor bellowed a laugh, “Ah, my friend, it’s good to be back. It was a glorious battle with newfound allies. It has been a while since I have been pushed this far. Nevertheless, I stood victorious.”
I snorted, “That’s good and all, but you’re still using your hammer as a crutch. You’ll never be able to truly unlock your potential and be able to reach the hammer’s true power while you keep relying on it to even channel a shard of your powers.”
He glared at me and pouted, “Mjölnir is enough for me.”
I shook my head, and looked at Heimdall, “Is he always this stubborn?”
The All Seer snorted, “That he is. Believe it or not, he used to be much worse when he was younger.”
I snorted, but changed the subject, “Did you see what happened in New York?”
“Yes, your intervention saved many lives from Loki’s foolishness.”
I nod absentmindedly, “Perhaps it did, perhaps it didn’t.”
We walked towards the throne room. Odin was waiting for us. I could immediately recognize the gold armor and Gungnir, his golden spear. On his right, a beautiful woman was sitting regally. This was Frigga, Odin’s wife and Queen of Asgard. The woman’s eyes immediately softened, and her shoulders sagged in relief when she saw her two sons coming back unharmed.
Thor knelt in front of his father, “Father, I have fulfilled my mission. Loki has been returned to Asgard, and the Tesseract is back in Asgard’s hands.”
Odin nodded, “Well done, Thor. Heimdall, escort Loki to the dungeons. We’ll speak of his punishment later. Frigga, Thor, go with them. Morrigan and I have much to discuss.”
They bowed and left for the dungeons. I spread my senses trying to determine if we’re alone. After confirming it, I cast a very powerful anti scrying ward, preventing anyone outside the two of us from ever seeing this conversation. I nod at him, “I have warded the area. We’re clear.”
The man’s shoulders visibly sag, “I was told that you wanted to speak to me.”
I nodded, “We have a problem, a big problem. But before that, why did you send Thor to Midgard, why allow Loki to send the Destroyer there as well. We had an agreement, Odin. You don’t interfere in Midgard without my permission, and I don’t interfere in the affairs of the other realms without yours. You’ve respected the agreement for thousands of years, ever since I defeated Hela. Why did you break it this time?”
He answered in a tone filled with regret, “It wasn’t my decision. They needed Thor out of the way, for him to not become king. He presents a threat, especially how dangerous the last one was. He’s already messed with their plans now. Sending Thor to Midgard was always going to happen, but I was able to alter it slightly for him to grow properly, to start understanding the qualities of being a king, to become worthy of his title.”
I grunted, “So, they took advantage of my absence, since it happened in one of the nine realms, they were able to witness it. They used it to bring forward their plans, to get another cycle running when the last Thor messed with this one.”
Odin nodded, “I had no choice in the matter.”
“Alright, this I could understand. With that out of the way, we have a problem, a big problem.”
He looked intrigued, “What is it?”
“Did you feel something happen around six years ago?”
“The abnormality, what was that?”
I snorted, “A cosmic entity decided to interfere and broke the laws of time. The entire universe is on lockdown. He was able to create a sentient projection here, an Avatar that could channel a fragment of his power. He seeks to destroy the multiverse, Odin. I have tried fighting him, and the best I could manage was a draw, one that I tricked him into. We probably rearranged the surface of Nifleheim a few times. He’s immensely powerful.”
The man paled at the news, “How could he destroy the multiverse? And which cosmic entity is it?”
“He’s called Entropy, and he seeks the Stones to break down the walls of this reality before spreading his essence through the entire multiverse, reducing every universe into nothing more than scattering atoms in the freezing cold.”
“And yet you brought the Space Stone here.”
I shook my head, “If you want me to take it back, I will find another place to hide it. But I thought that you would like to use it to rebuild the Bifrost. But I cannot defeat him alone. I’m not powerful enough, neither are you. We need to fight this together.”
Odin shook his head, “As much as I want to, I can’t. I’m still bound. I cannot act outside their plans. I know how dangerous this is likely to become, but the best I could do is send Thor to Midgard to aid you.”
I snorted, “Thor won’t be enough. Even with the entire might of Asgard it might not be enough. He will use the Mad Titan to get the Stones. He will let him snap half the living beings in the universe out of existence, trillions of lives, killed, and when the barrier between worlds is destabilized and at its weakest. He will spread his essence, allowing it to infect the entire multiverse. Thor can probably fight Thanos, maybe not even that. He’s barely scratched the surface of his potential, and no matter how I see it, I can’t see him contributing to the fight against Entropy. Only select individuals, like you and myself can really stand a chance. The good news for you is that this presents an opportunity for you, and for Asgard.”
“What is it that you speak of?”
“When the universe was locked down, it had many implications. The most important one is that time travel to both the past and the future has become impossible. I’m not talking about physical time travel but also future sight and prophecies.”
Odin stiffened in realization, “This means that they are restricted as well, they will not be able to plan properly. This is a chance we’ll never get again.”
I nodded, “This is why, I want to add something to the deal. Midgard is still off limits until Entropy is defeated. After that it’ll be under your supervision. I will also help you free yourself and Asgard from their hands, and in exchange for all of this, I’m expecting your personal help and the help of all of Asgard in the coming crisis.”
“You mean that…”
“Yes, if you agree with this, I’ll help you get rid of ‘Those Who Sit Above In Shadows’ permanently. For the first time, you’ll be free, Asgard will be free.”
