Those time travelers that year

“That’s enough!” Loki’s expression faltered slightly, then he breathed a sigh of relief. “What can threaten God the Father is not just a cosmic treasure like the Aether.”

"Do you have any other means to threaten God the Father?" Ciel asked Loki curiously.

“Of course!” Loki replied confidently. “Don’t forget, I still have the Casket of Ice… Although its original owner is dead, it is still an artifact of the Jotunheim ice giants… I don’t believe I can’t severely injure a Skyfather by using this artifact as a price.”

"You intend to unleash the full power of the Ice Box by destroying itself? But that would render you useless!" Charles said. "Without the Ice Box's divine power of ice, you, relying solely on the power of illusion, probably wouldn't even be qualified to participate in the battle!"

"But I still have you!"

"So you're planning to sell me off?!"

"Don't put it so harshly. Using the destruction of the Ice Casket to severely injure a Heavenly Father is already a very good deal," Loki replied. "Whether it's for you or for me... surely you can't even defeat a severely injured Heavenly Father?"

"Are you so sure the Ice Box can severely injure Surtr?"

"Do you have another way? Whether I can do it or not is my business. Do you think I would do something I'm not sure I can do?"

"...Hard to say!"

“I’m not foolish enough to risk my life. Besides, you have the Aether and the Mind Stone, two fundamental elements of the universe, in your hands… In an emergency, don’t tell me you didn’t have a backup plan with the Tesseract!” Loki said with a sneer. “I was able to manipulate the Tesseract remotely once, so don’t tell me you can’t…”

"There's no need to be so obvious. Can you honestly say you haven't left a backdoor in the Cosmic Cube to control it at any time?"

"...The backdoor control I left on the Cosmic Cube is still there."

"That settles it!"

……

If, after witnessing Odin's power, the disguised Shire and Loki still had time to chat, then for Malekith, the Dark Elf King, it was a complete collapse of his dreams.

For millennia, Malekith, once ambitious and driven, ultimately met a crushing defeat at the hands of the previous Asgardian king, had been consumed by thoughts of rebuilding his kingdom and continuing his unrealistic dream of plunging the universe into darkness. However, fate intervened; the Aether abandoned him, and his last remaining followers and people perished.

Odin's strike not only destroyed the Dark Elves' last warship, but also utterly annihilated their last vestiges of courage and tenacity, as well as the hatred that had accumulated during millennia of slumber and lurking. Without the warship, he and the remaining Dark Elf soldiers could not escape Asgard into the cosmos. Without the Aether, his ambitions for restoring his kingdom were nothing but a pipe dream.

Everything is gone, just like in that war thousands of years ago, where the previous Asgardian king led the Asgardian army to completely destroy the Dark Elves' kingdom and slaughter them all. Now, Odin, the current king, has personally pushed the Dark Elves into an abyss of no return.

"No, no!" Malekith trembled as he watched all this. He couldn't accept this ending; even dying on the path to realizing his ambitions would be better than ending up like this. However, reality had already changed after the arrival of an outsider. He had no choice but to accept it. Moreover, his trembling voice finally brought the two people who were 'chatting' back to their senses.

"I forgot there's still one dead survivor here!"

"How do we solve this?"

"He's been listening for a while now, so let's make sure he can't hear anymore!" In Malekith's eyes, the blue-eyed 'Valkyrie' said cruelly, "Aren't you quite good at manipulating souls anyway? Well then, take care of him..."

"No, you can't!" At this moment, Malekith reacted, took a step back, and roared at the two obviously problematic 'Valkyries' in front of him with angry and desperate eyes, "I am the King of the Dark Elves, I am the ruler of the universe, you two women..."

His voice abruptly stopped, and the 'Valkyrie' with dark golden eyes, who had appeared in front of him without him noticing, grabbed his neck and lifted him up. The next moment, a power familiar to Malekith began to surge. Under the control of its master, the power of the aether particles rushed into his body in Malekith's horrified gaze.

Pong

Malekith, the once-ruling Dark Elf King, who should have been a major villainous boss, died a miserable death at the hands of the Aether particles he once controlled, turning into ashes. Even his soul could not escape its fate, being swallowed by an even darker abyss and sinking into eternal darkness.

248. Asgard (8)

In the storyline of Thor: The Dark Elves were able to wreak havoc in Asgard, which was truly fortunate. If Asgard hadn't been careless and caught off guard, and if an outsider like the Shire hadn't interfered with their original destiny, they would have been in dire straits. However, now, with the Shire's intervention, these dark elves have unfortunately met their demise.

Without the formidable fighting prowess of the corrupted dark elf, the escaped prisoners never managed to wreak havoc on Asgard as depicted in the movies. Similarly, the corrupted dark elf, stabbed to death by the Shire, didn't help Malekith infiltrate the Golden Palace and ultimately kill the Queen of the Gods, as he did in the original story. Furthermore, without his trump card, Malekith encountered the disguised Shire and Loki. The former was an unexpected character, and the latter, Loki, wasn't imprisoned as in the movies, nor was he as weak in combat as portrayed in the films!

Thus, the Dark Elves met their tragic end, with Malekith being the most tragic of all. Not only was his ace stabbed to death by the Ciel, but his elite troops were also killed by the Ciel and Loki working together. Furthermore, he himself met an unfortunate end at the hands of the Aether, and his soul was then taken by the Ciel.

Incidentally, after killing Malekith, the Dark Elf King, the Shire cast his soul into the abyss, only to discover that Malekith was truly a piece of trash. Despite possessing the rank of a planetary god, his strength was pathetic. While much stronger than an average Asgardian soldier, without the Aether, he was clearly far inferior to planetary gods like Thor and Loki. Although both were rulers, Odin was incredibly powerful. With a single projectile of Gungnir, he directly blasted apart the energy torrent of the main cannon, destroyed a warship, cleared a path through a meteor shower, and pierced through a planet roughly the size of the moon.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, in the Marvel universe where Shire currently exists, Odin could easily defeat dozens, if not hundreds, of Malekiths. Even on Earth, Captain America might not be able to beat him, but against Hulk and Iron Man, he'd be doomed. In other words, without the Aether, Malekith and his Dark Elves are currently considered useless aliens.

Charles looked down on this piece of trash. Any one of his henchmen was stronger than this guy, and even the Tumor Tree was more powerful. He didn't have the intelligence of the Princess of the Age of Gods, and his appearance was unconventional (actually, it was mainly a matter of appearance). In the end, Charles thought about it and realized that even after being manipulated by the Abyss, he would only be a small monster or an elite. He decided to just throw him into the Primordial Flame as firewood.

He is a king, after all!

Whether he was willing to be forcibly linked with the Flame was not something Charles wanted to know. It's about making use of waste! What's there to be willing about? Rather than staying and wasting resources, he might as well go to the incinerator and be a hero in the next life.

Then, thousands of years later, these remaining dark elves finally met their end in Asgard. Malekith was utterly annihilated, leaving not a trace. The vast majority of dark elf soldiers were either killed in battle or being hunted down by the enraged Asgardians. Their only interstellar warship, capable of traversing the stars, was blasted down by Odin, who showed no signs of aging whatsoever. Thus, the final fate of these survivors was sealed. Caught off guard and suffering heavy losses due to carelessness, the Asgardians and the Aesir would not let them go. Their fate was either to be chopped to pieces or hanged…

The former is estimated to have a slightly higher chance.

In short, after Odin intervened, the sudden riot came to a complete end. The Asgardian soldiers, having recovered, quickly wiped out the invaders.

While the entire Asgard was focused on these former enemies and their inexplicable resurgence, and on the series of events in which Asgard defeated these remaining dead, two guests with ulterior motives arrived in the heart of Asgard.

The Well of Mimir, and its guardian, the wise giant Mimir, reside here.

In fact, the Mimir Well was not originally located in Asgard, but rather next to the second root of the World Tree in Jotunheim. During the war with Jotunheim a thousand years ago, after Odin defeated Laufey, he brought their artifacts back to Asgard and, using Asgardian technology and his own power as the Heavenly Father, moved the entire space where the Mimir Well was located into Asgard.

This is what Loki told the Shire: the Mimir Well isn't actually in the real dimension, but rather in a demiplane-like place. The Urd Well, on the other hand, is on the other side of Asgard's borders, where the three Fates—Urd, Beldandy, and Skadi—and their palaces reside.

After crossing the Eldarval Plains in the heart of Asgard, you'll reach the edge of a garden. Surrounded by golden walls, massive structures are adorned with enormous statues, and squads of Asgardian soldiers in dark gold armor patrol the area. The atmosphere is meticulous and orderly, making it difficult to blend in.

No matter how chaotic things were outside, these soldiers would not move from their positions without Odin's orders. On this very day, while Odin and the other Aesir were dealing with the Dark Elf invasion, two 'Valkyries' with the same long hair but different eye colors approached.

Soon, some of the Asgardian soldiers on duty stepped forward to intercept them.

"Valkyrie, please halt!" An Asgardian soldier who appeared to be a commander stepped forward. At the same time, the soldiers on duty began to secretly prepare for battle, since generally no one other than Odin himself would come here.

"Greetings, Your Excellency!" The blue-eyed 'Valkyrie' bowed to the commander before her and said, "We have been sent by Lord Odin."

"What happened? Why did His Majesty send you here?"

“Just now, the remaining dark elves launched a surprise attack on Asgard…” the Valkyrie replied. “His Majesty is dealing with the prisoners and then sent us to question Lord Mimir about where these dark elves came from… This is His Majesty’s decree.” As she spoke, the Valkyrie produced a rolled-up parchment scroll from somewhere and handed it to the commander on duty.

Frowning, the commander took the parchment scroll with a puzzled look, then reached out and pulled the rope binding it. However, just as he tried to untie the scroll, the two 'Valkyries' in front of him simultaneously raised their hands slightly, a faint golden light flashing by, but this went unnoticed by anyone.

After opening the parchment, the commander swayed slightly, but nothing happened. He examined the parchment carefully by himself before exchanging it with the two 'Valkyries'. Then he waved his hand, signaling the guards to let him pass.

With the clatter of gears turning, the steel gate leading to the garden was opened. The two 'Valkyries' saluted the guardians before entering the garden one after the other. The gate then closed, obscuring the view inside.

249. Asgard (9)

Deep within the garden lies a scene of birdsong and fragrant flowers, and the most striking feature is a spring beside a plant that resembles a tree root. It's just an ordinary spring, surrounded by simple mud bricks, the water clear and shallow, appearing to be nothing more than a simple well. However, if someone familiar with the garden saw the root-like plant beside it, no one would mistake it for a mere well.

Because that root-like plant is actually a root, a root belonging to the World Tree. This is one of Yggdrasil's roots. As the World Tree, Yggdrasil connects different dimensions and links the nine realms. Therefore, this spring, which relies on one of Yggdrasil's roots, is not merely an ordinary object, but the foundation of the entire Aesir's current glory—the Fountain of Wisdom.

Legend has it that Odin, the Father of Gods, gained wisdom and created runes here by sacrificing one of his eyes and hanging himself from a tree.

However, in the past, no one could enter this place, and the only one remaining here was Mimir himself, or rather, only his head. He was someone who should have died—after all, even giants would die when they lost their bodies and were left with only their heads. But Odin revived Mimir, allowing this former god of wisdom to survive to this day.

Normally, only Odin can enter this place. However, even Odin only comes here to consult Mimir when he encounters problems he cannot solve or has questions. Most of the time, Mimir, who is now only a head, is asleep.

Now, Mimir, who had been asleep for some time, opened his dim eyes again. Someone had entered, and it wasn't Odin. This surprised Mimir, because apart from Odin, who visited most frequently, no other visitors had come for a long time.

“An unexpected visitor!” Mimir’s aged voice rang out as he looked at the two 'Valkyries' approaching and said, “The last time I saw you was hundreds of years ago… So, there’s no need to use illusions to disguise yourself here—Loki.”

"Greetings, God of Wisdom..." A flash of golden light appeared, and Loki and the Shire shed their illusionary disguises, revealing their true forms. "Loki greets you!" Loki said, bowing slightly to Mimir, whose head was now the only remaining part of him.

Meanwhile, Sharl, who had also arrived, watched Mimir with great interest. To be honest, it was truly astonishing that he could survive with only his head remaining. But that was all. At least, Mimir was now completely powerless; anyone could easily kill him. No wonder Odin heavily guarded the Well of Wisdom; it was less about protecting the Well of Wisdom and more about protecting the remaining Mimir.

“Then, Loki, the god of deception!” Mimir said weakly, “what brings you to this half-dead old man like me?”

“I’ve come looking for an answer,” Loki said seriously. “An answer, one that can tell me whether everything I’ve done in the past, everything I’m thinking now, and everything that hasn’t happened yet but is destined to happen—has it all made any sense?”

“…I can’t tell you anything. As you can see, I’m just an old man who should be dead, but I’m still clinging to life,” Mimir replied. “Did Thanos tell you…some hidden truths!?”

“Yes, Mimir,” Loki said. “That tyrant wanted to see me vulnerable and broken, so he told me some of the truth back then…”

"But you are not as fragile as he imagines."

“Because what sustains me is anger and hatred!” Loki said in a somber tone. “From that moment on, I realized that what I needed was not just power and proving myself, but something else—freedom! The freedom to take control of my own destiny.”

"So tell me, God of Wisdom, what truth I need to know and what will solve all this."

“You already have the answer, don’t you?” Mimir sighed and said, “Beyond the spring, the Well of Wisdom holds the wisdom and knowledge of the universe, but it requires paying a price like Odin did.”

“But I won’t sacrifice an eye…” Loki took a step forward, “and I certainly won’t hang myself from a tree… So, thank you, wizard!”

“The primordial substance of the universe…” Mimir turned his gaze to the silent Charles. “I see. But, young man…” he said to Charles, “The primordial substance of the universe does indeed possess unparalleled power, but it can also lead the user to an abyss of no return.”

"That has absolutely nothing to do with me!" Charles rolled his eyes at this nonsensical, charlatan-like argument, then asked, "What should I do? Just tell me!"

“The power of the Primal Matter is enough to make the spring gush forth, and then you can learn the knowledge and truth you seek from the spring…” Mimir replied, “But once you know the truth, you, especially Loki, will have no way out.”

“I understand!” Loki said. “I understand better than anyone, but at least after that, I will be the first ‘free’ Asgardian god.”

……

Loki stepped aside to clear the path to the Fountain of Wisdom, and the Shire stepped forward. The Mind Scepter appeared in his hand, and then the azure gem on the Mind Scepter began to transform, eventually turning into a yellow diamond.

Shire walked to the edge of the Fountain of Wisdom, then placed the Scepter of the Mind over the water. Black and red aether particles emerged from his body, and red and gold light appeared... The two Infinity Stones began to resonate at that moment, and then the water of the Fountain of Wisdom began to ripple and gushed out.

What was clearly just a shallow puddle of water suddenly began to gush out, quickly overflowing to their ankles...

At this moment, Loki, with a serious yet impatient expression, walked over, bent down, scooped up some spring water, and drank it down. Then, Loki knelt on the water's surface, his face contorted in a grimace as he struggled.

Then not long after

"I see... I see!"

"The origin of the Nine Realms, the World Tree... Ragnarok..."

“I saw all of this, these truths, these facts, and now I know it all… Now I remember.”

“These things have happened before, time and time again. Time and time again I have unleashed Ragnarok, and time and time again I have walked towards death…”

“Each time, Ragnarok descends in various forms, but each time, I am chosen to bring it to fruition. The cycle continues endlessly…”

The remaining chapters are inspired by the Marvel comic book series Ragnarok.

250. Back to Earth

Loki, his face contorted in rage, rose silently from his kneeling position. However, to the Shire, Loki's fury seemed ready to explode. Pain, anger, hatred... and confusion—a myriad of emotions shifted across his face before finally settling into calm, as if the series of expressions had been nothing more than an illusion.

However, the Loki hidden beneath his calm expression seemed even more dangerous to Shire. If the previous Loki was someone who valued his own interests, then now he was like a vengeful evil god, or rather, the current Loki was truly no different from the evil god who propelled Ragnarok.

“God of Wisdom, thank you for your help!” Loki calmly bowed to Mimir and said, “My doubts are now clear…”

“Want to try, Loki!” Mimir said. “Like Odin, hang yourself up to gain the wisdom of the runes.”

“No! Mimir…” Loki shook his head. “If it were Thor, he would do that, but I am different. I am Loki, the god of evil, the god of deception… I will only do things my own way.”

“…Well then, good luck, Loki!” Mimir sighed, then closed his eyes and fell back into slumber.

Loki turned around without a word and started walking towards the garden exit.

“And now, Loki!” Shire followed, asking curiously, “I think I just caught something interesting in your mutterings.”