Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1685 Omens

Since the onset of winter, the snowfall in Scandinavia has never stopped. Countless meteorologists have tried to predict when the relentless snowfall will end based on satellite cloud images, but they have all failed. The chaotic cold air over Scandinavia seems to refuse to be heated by the sun and ocean currents before freezing the sea.

Under the cover of night, the grass in front of the cabin was covered with frost and snow. A campfire, encircled by stones, burned slowly, its flames leaping like molten metal on the snow. The aged king sat before the fire, holding a golden cup. The scalding black liquid inside emitted thin white smoke. He slowly swallowed the almost burning liquid and exhaled air strong enough to ignite. The young king approached the fire, and the old king shook off his grey cloak, inviting the young king to sit on a stone beside the fire. The old king took out his golden cup and poured a cup of wine for the young king.

"I've received a letter of inquiry," said the old king. "Why the rush?"

"I need to take the shuttle to the space station in two hours. I'll have time to talk to you then, and I can board the plane here as well," the young king said with a relaxed expression that completely disregarded NATO's air defense system. "You must have some thoughts about the omens surrounding Neptune, after all, Fimbulwinter has arrived, and Ragnarok is just around the corner."

"Just as I foresaw. Fire, lightning, towers, death—no matter how much I resisted, I couldn't stop the prophecy. I once thought myself superior to humans, but the more I avoided the prophecy, the sooner Ragnarok came." He said wearily, "The self-fulfilling prophecy, a cliché story, isn't it? I've always been wary of the gods in the shadows, who covet the flesh and blood of Asgard. The stronger Asgard becomes, the stronger they become. I only made one mistake, and they attacked me."

"I've heard the prophecy of a new god's birth since my very existence, the ashes of countless dead civilizations echoing the name of that new god." The young king reached out to the fire, warming his almost frozen body. He removed his black velvet cloak, drank the wine offered by the host of this place, and struggled to keep his expression from contorting. He was quite certain that this dark, liquid called wine contained a certain proportion of aviation fuel, which, if he asked, would surely be proudly proclaimed as fuel from some starship. "The stars have moved to their rightful place, and the vicious dagger has pierced the veil and entered reality. It is the harbinger of disaster."

The old king stared at him like a wounded wolf. "You don't need to tell me what I already know."

"The destruction of Asgard will cause immeasurable suffering, and the realm of non-existence will feast on it, tearing open the veil to enter the mortal world," the young king replied calmly with his eyes. He stroked the gray-black hound at his feet, which had just finished eating venison. A dull clap of thunder streaked across the clear, snowy night sky, sounding like the strained trembling and coughing of aging lungs.

"Those who exist behind the veil crave to fill their insatiable thirst with endless souls, and they bring about Ragnarok. In the stories of Asgard and the words of the Vanir wizards, the unborn Destroyer is called Nidhogg, and he is as old as all the Destroyers who have been born."

Old Wolf understood from the man's eyes that he had never let his guard down.

Asgard and Kamar-Taj share common interests; any intelligent race in the galaxy yearning for free will must be wary of extradimensional interference with the real world. The old king recalled Agamotto's original intention in establishing Kamar-Taj, and now that will had been passed down to the ruler before him. This will was remarkably bright, and the old king couldn't help but recall when Agamotto set the initial goal, he himself had inherited a powerful royal family, plotting to forge allies, wage wars, and vie for galactic dominance, completely forgetting that the truly dangerous enemy had already set its sights on the material universe.

Looking back now, Odin's premonitions and speculations are gradually becoming reality.

"Thor won't let things get to this point, and Asgard won't be completely destroyed. He hasn't yet understood his true nature. When he does, he will avenge Asgard. I've already paid the price for Thor; it's an inviolable pact." The old king's expression was stubborn. However, the guest on the other rock completely disregarded his meaning. The old king stared at him strangely. "No one has ever dared to look at anything else while I'm speaking; you're the first."

"My empire is rising, and I still have a lot of work to do." The Emperor quickly glanced at the mission briefing sent by Stephanie. He put away his data panel and said nonchalantly, "Now I know the Asgardian royal family's purpose in creating Valhalla and Hel. I think Bauer (Odin's father) must have noticed this threat as well. Hela probably still thinks her ability to easily manipulate the undead and learn dark magic is just her talent, right? If you really want her to become the Queen of Asgard, you probably wouldn't allow her to access the soul engine of Hel."

The Emperor was quite curious about the genetics of the Aesir, so he and Maya Hansen conducted genetic experiments on the biological tissues of Thor (blood samples collected by S.H.I.E.L.D.), Sif (blood samples collected by the Emperor), Hela (bloodstains remaining on her armor), and Lorelei (egg cells collected in the dungeons of the Immortal City). They also used psionic experimental equipment that the Aesir had agreed to export (some of which was sent to Mars for reverse engineering. "The Asgardians didn't do any anti-reverse engineering measures!" exclaimed a Martian technologist who had disassembled an export version of the F-35 in surprise). All the results proved that, given that Frigga, the most powerful witch of the Vanir, was not entirely proficient in dark magic, the statistical theory of psionic genetics could hardly explain Hela's talent. Maya Hansen was more inclined to believe that external psionic power influenced Hela, an influence not reflected in the psionic genes possessed by the Aesir, a theory supported by the Emperor's private experiments.

"Hela is powerful, but every Aesir god must sacrifice for their people."

"This isn't an accusation based on humanity, but on political maneuvering. Crude political maneuvering only alienates potential allies. I have the right to criticize, after all, this is the big trouble you've left for me or Thor." The young emperor glared at him with annoyance. He clenched his fists. If it weren't for the Aesir royal family's agreement to export those research equipment, weapons used for research, and a large amount of psionic technology, he wouldn't be putting up with this nonsense—however, he had to secure more benefits for the human race, ensuring that they could defend themselves as soon as possible after Ragnarok—from Asgard's genetic engineering to psionic weapons, the emperor's ambition required all the wealth of this world to fill it. "The planetary sealing techniques of Helheim, the Soul Engine, and other equipment are directly linked to your life. After you die, only Thor and I can deal with her. I don't believe Lady Frigga has any attachment to this world."

"You are free to dispose of Hela as you see fit, but I believe you will choose the one most beneficial. Hela is powerful, and she can offer you much help, provided you can do what I cannot—such as sophisticated political maneuvering—you need not worry about Ragnarok triggering unimaginable storms in the outer dimensions. The future you fear will not arrive immediately. I only need you to provide assistance to Thor." Odin puffed out his chest, declaring the facts as a king. "Valhalla and Helheim are not as perfect as I envisioned. After all, demiplanes cannot truly replace the outer dimensions. Even with Agamotto's involvement in these two projects, it is enough to ensure that the souls of the Asgardians will not be completely lost behind the curtain. The people of Asgard, even in death, can only be ruled by me."

Ragnarok was not a single battle that destroyed Asgard, but rather a long and massive series of wars known as Fimbulwinter, resulting in immense suffering and death. All Asgardian colonies would lose contact with the destruction of Asgard, and the governments of numerous colonies across half the galaxy would collapse from the loss of communication and resources. The colonized would rebel again, and the resulting death and suffering would be absorbed by the outer dimensions, giving rise to countless destroyers of civilizations. The library of Kamar-Taj records the true names of over ten thousand extradimensional beings, many of whom were born from human conflicts arising from war, murder, conspiracies, and the joys and sorrows born of desire—a phenomenon objectively existing and independent of subjective will. The arcane sorcerers have dealt with many of these beings.

The soul engines of Valhalla and Helheim, along with the faith that the Aesir had repeatedly demanded of all their colonies for millennia, did reduce the number of Asgardian souls falling into the outer dimensions. However, those two soul engines could not absorb the souls that had perished in war across half the galaxy, nor the extreme suffering emanating from those souls and the still-living beings. Although Odin seemed confident, the god-king himself knew that Asgard would cease to exist. Thor alone and the few remaining Asgardians could never restore Asgard to its former glory. In this world, only the Aesir and the nostalgic name of Asgard would remain.

For millennia, the Aesir have repeatedly emphasized their divine status, demanding faith from the Nine Realms and their colonies. Part of this stems from Odin's foresight of Ragnarok, orchestrated by the beings behind the veil, aiming to devour the souls of the Nine Realms. However, the primary motivation lies with the Aesir's own power. As long as the Asgardians remember the Aesir, their power will resurface—something the Emperor absolutely cannot allow. No one will remember the Aesir's glory in the future. If Thor truly intends to revive Asgard, the Emperor will crush even the embers of that revival. After all, the galaxy is too small to accommodate only one ruling race, and even Odin can sense Thor's intense ambition. But the dying king can do nothing.

The Aesir (Asgardian royal family) are different from Asgardians. Their lifespan alone reveals them to be a distinct species. Even Odin, not being immortal, could easily live for tens of thousands of years without the aid of Earthly immortality techniques. The Agamotto school, also known as the Kamar-Taj school, has always considered Asgardians a subspecies of humanity, mutants heavily modified by extradimensional forces and genetic engineering. The library contains extensive anatomical and pathological data on Asgardians, as well as evidence of the Aesir's large-scale genetic engineering of them. Even so...

"As long as Thor doesn't stand in my way, I won't be his enemy." The Emperor glanced at him. "You know what I want."

"You're just like your teacher, never asking questions directly. All you want is assurance from me—assure that the soul engines of Valhalla and Helheim are still functioning properly, assure that Ragnarok won't affect humanity in the soul world—" The old king clearly realized something, muttering words like "greedy devil" and "extortion," before finally recovering after a long while. Only when he heard the sound of birds flapping their wings nearby did he grin and say irritably, "—Lorelei, that banshee is stealing secrets for you; it's already fair enough that I haven't sent soldiers to kill her."

"This is a transaction, and we must strive for fairness as much as possible."

The young king shrugged. He loosened his grip on his weapon. There was no need to start a war here, even if he was confident he could defeat the old man; the consequences would outweigh the gains. He didn't have time to deal with Ragnarok now. That operation required the participation of his entire army, including genetically modified ones, to maximize humanity's benefits. He had been planning this for many years, and the greatest threat standing in his way was this dying king before him.

"Compared to what I want, Gungnir isn't that valuable."

"I told you, you're exactly like your teacher."

The old king turned his head, his one eye glancing at the snowfield illuminated by the firelight not far away.

A raven, carrying a message, stared intently at the scene, its gaze cold and its demeanor serious. A beautiful Norwegian snowy owl hopped and scurried across the snow, squawking excitedly, beside a pile of burnt-out soot. The owl seemed quite pleased with the arrival of its new black-feathered friend, who merely watched the noisy fellow with indifferent eyes.

In fact, it appeared even earlier than the emperor.

Odin had noticed it long ago; after all, the snow-white owl was incredibly noisy, its calls audible from a kilometer away. It had flown all the way from Oslo (Kasirius's residence in Oslo) carrying a scroll of parchment, dropping it on the snow before the Emperor emerged from the rising flames—the Emperor's journey here had been fraught with twists and turns. The one-eyed old man could easily guess the purpose of this: secrecy, to avoid revealing any direct traces that might foreshadow related clues or spatial teleportation. Odin scoffed at the Emperor's secrecy, calling it the typical cowardly behavior of a wizard, completely forgetting that he too was a psionicist. But when the Emperor offered to demonstrate his power here and dispel the endless snow, the old man vaguely tried to brush it off, then declared with righteous indignation that his retirement was not to be disturbed, not even by Heimdall.

The old king's gaze passed over the noisy snowy owl and fell upon the night sky, which the firelight could not illuminate.

A blurry figure in a deep yellow robe stood in the snow, like a ghostly shadow. The Emperor followed Odin's gaze, nodded to the figure in gratitude. The Sorcerer Supreme had lost his physical body, but he hadn't completely merged into the non-existent dimension; instead, he had gained immortality in another form. If the Sorcerer Supreme weren't present, it's hard to imagine that the newly crowned Emperor could have intimidated Odin—in fact, even the Sorcerer Supreme was overthinking it—Odin had no intention of taking action; he planned to wait for the Emperor to discover the secret himself.

"Frigga has prepared the pyre for my funeral. We will witness the end in the ashes of Asgard. I hope you can return in time for my funeral. Before the eternal game behind the veil comes to a temporary halt, humanity and Asgard still have time. This is not the end of Asgard or humanity; it is a war between chaos and order, destruction and rebirth."

(End of this chapter)