Light (Part 1)

"You can call me Abe, or whatever you want, but everyone here calls me Old Man. As you can see, I am the oldest gladiator here."

An old man in a silver robe sat outside Thor's cell. He was a Sakaaran with reddish skin, but old age had made his body very withered, as if he had become a different race.

"You are the newcomer chosen by His Highness the Prince, which is why I have come to tell you the rules of the gladiatorial combat on Planet Sakaar ..." The old man named Abe held a long spear in his hand. Although he was old, his speech was still quite clear. His jaw trembled a little when he spoke, as if he had no confidence.

Locked to the dungeon wall, Thor rolled his somewhat cloudy eyes at the old man and asked in a hoarse voice, "They captured another Asgard... who is he?"

Abe shook his head and said to himself, "On the day of the competition, you need to get dressed, put on the designated armor and Helmet, and take your weapon. This is your weapon. Do you need me to introduce it to you?"

Abe showed Thor the long spear he was holding. Thor's gaze fell on it, and he gave a somewhat mocking look. His facial muscles, which hadn't shown any expression in a long time, were a little stiff.

Thor's cheeks were completely sunken, and his eyes were deeply sunken in their sockets. He no longer resembled the brave and mighty Asgard prince; he looked like a prisoner who had been locked up for many years.

But after his eyes regained a little of their sparkle, an even sharper aura emanated from him, making every expression of his captivating. Abe, seeing his expression, said, "I've only heard about the Asgardian from others. I've heard that you are born with great power. You'd better show me your true abilities, and perhaps His Highness will spare you."

"Is that man your prince?" Thor asked. "What's his name?"

Upon hearing the Prince Ashan, Abe trembled slightly, then said, "How could I possibly mention His Highness's True Name? He is the most revered prince of Kallstar, His Majesty the Emperor's favorite youngest son, and the future master of Planet Sakaar..."

"... Why do you... cough cough... revere him so much?"

"Because he is the most respected prince of Planet Sakaar..."

Abe just kept repeating the same words, as if reciting an article over and over. After a while, he stood up shakily, threw the gun in front of Thor's cell, and said, "Later, His Highness the Prince will send you out to duel with his valiant gladiators. Remember to put on your clothes and armor and take your weapon..."

With that, he hunched over and left. Not long after, Sakaaran guard entered the dungeon, opened Thor's cell door, unlocked the shackles on his wrists, and led him outside the dungeon.

After emerging from the dungeon, there was a small training ground. Prince Ashan stood in the center of the training ground, where two strong aliens were fighting in front of him.

He saw Thor approaching, smiled, and was in a good mood, eager to talk. He waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to release Thor, but did not remove his handcuffs and shackles. Instead, he left him standing there. Prince Ashan turned to him and asked, "What do you think of them? How do they compare to the warriors of Asgard?"

Thor did not answer. He was thin, haggard, and expressionless. Prince Ashan's expression turned ugly. He said, "Asgardian, you'd better put down your arrogance. You are just trash thrown out by your people. You are no different from them. Now you are all my slaves!"

"You said you captured another Asgard, who is he?" Thor stared at Prince Ashan, his eyes sharp as a Blade, a quality never before seen in Thor.

In the past, Thor, like most Asgard, had a resolute expression and exuded a valiant spirit. But now, he was like someone who had transformed from a blunt weapon into a sharp one, from a warhammer into a spear.

Prince Ashan, seeing his gaze, instinctively took a half-step back, feeling somewhat guilty. But quickly, realizing his mistake, he became enraged and ordered the guard to whip Thor hard.

The guards pressed Thor's shoulders, forcing him to kneel. Prince Ashan looked down at Thor and said, "Don't look at me like that, you damned trash! I am the heir to the throne of Planet Sakaar, the most noble prince!"

Thor lowered his head and lowered his gaze. Prince Ashan thought he was afraid and was about to show a smug expression when he heard Thor say in a hoarse voice, "Now I realize how ridiculous what I did before was."

"Just like you are now, perhaps back then, in the eyes of some higher beings, I was just an ignorant native who was fighting and squabbling in an anthill..."

Prince Ashan didn't understand what Thor was trying to say, but that didn't stop him from hearing the sarcasm in Thor's tone. He stepped forward and kicked Thor hard, knocking him to the ground, and said, "Do you think you're so noble, Asgardian? This is Planet Sakaar, not a place for you to run wild!"

"If you were truly capable, would you be in this sorry state? You'd better behave yourself and not embarrass me in the upcoming duel, or else..."

As he spoke, he turned to look at the two aliens who were fighting. One of them had already been defeated and was being beaten to the ground by the other. Prince Ashan, with a gloomy face, waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to separate them, and then picked up the defeated one.

The defeated alien had purple skin and four arms. Thor knew that it must be a native of the Big Horn Galaxy. Prince Ashan took a long spear from his subordinate and then ordered his subordinate to pin the strong Arcturian to the ground.

The Arcturian's face contorted with fear and despair. As Prince Ashan raised his spear, a look of resentment crossed his eyes, and he roared in his native tongue, "You despicable wretch, the flames will burn you to ashes!... Aaaaah!!!"

The spear pierced through his body, and blood splattered onto Thor's face. He remained expressionless with his head down, his long golden hair falling over his shoulders. His sharp aura was becoming increasingly undeniable, and even from several steps away, one could feel its piercing power.

Prince Ashan raised his blood-stained spear high, and all his subordinates roared with praise, calling him the most revered heir of Planet Sakaar. Thor knelt silently to one side.

"Look at you, Asgardian! You trash, thrown out by your own people, will never receive the same respect and worship as I do!"

"So what if you're Asgardian? You're just a common soldier who charges into battle and bleeds, and in the end, they'll throw you into the junkyard..."

Prince Ashan seems to really enjoy finding a sense of superiority in Thor, but that's not surprising, given that the Asgardian are renowned throughout the universe.

Before venturing into interstellar space, many interstellar civilizations, after developing their civilization to its highest level on their home planets, like to call themselves gods. However, such gods will not be recognized by other civilizations in the universe.

Most of them, after entering interstellar civilization, will also discover their past arrogance and find that they are no different from other civilizations.

However, the Asgardian are recognized as a divine race in the universe because they possess all the elements of a divine race as imagined by most civilizations.

They are born strong, physically robust, handsome, and have long lifespans, and they become stronger with age.

They are united, skilled in battle, and have perfectly combined technology and magic. They also possess their own unique aesthetic vision and artistic creation, as if they were favored by the creator and seem to have no flaws.

Prince Ashan felt he had made history for the Planet Sakaar by being able to trample such a race underfoot. No one had ever captured an Asgardian as a slave before, and he was indeed the heir favored by the heavens.

But the increasingly obvious sharpness emanating from Thor made him uneasy. To hide this unease and guilt, he spoke first, "You call yourselves the most warlike race in the universe, then now, go and defeat him, defeat the strongest gladiator here, and prove yourselves..."

He waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to grab Thor by the chain around his neck and lead him to the victor.

The victor was not Sakaaran, but another, much larger and stronger creature, with a small, elongated head and an enormous, mountain-like body. When it saw Thor approaching, the mountain roared and pounced on him.

Thor, handcuffed and shackled, with a heavy iron chain around his neck, had no way to dodge and was immediately pounced on by the monster. The monster opened its huge mouth and bit Thor's shoulder hard. Thor raised his head and screamed, using his last bit of strength to punch the monster in the eye, causing it to howl in pain and release its grip.

Thor knelt on the spot, panting heavily. His original muscles had almost disappeared due to insufficient nutrition and severe injuries, and the bones under his skin were clearly visible. He was as withered as a piece of firewood and seemed to have completely lost the glory of the Asgardian.

He dodged the attacks in a disheveled manner, but to no avail, and soon he was covered in wounds.

Prince Ashan laughed heartily, like a triumphant victor. Thor's lips trembled, not because of the humiliation of losing to his opponent, but because another emotion was about to overflow from his body.

For countless days and nights, he had been just like this fool in front of him, watching his enemies kneel at his feet, laughing triumphantly, and considering himself the victor who controlled everything.

Just like Prince Ashan did, he ordered his men to hold down the losers, and then he would finish them off himself, watching them scream, bleed, and die. The violent pleasure surged from his heart, making his eyes bloodshot.

Amidst the pain, layers upon layers of afterimages reappeared before Thor's eyes. He saw that everyone around him, just like him, had bloodshot eyes filled with bloodlust and violence.

Behind each of them emerged a blood-red vortex, from which monsters crawled out and clung to their backs, telling them: Go kill, go conquer, go destroy. You are the most powerful race in the universe. You were born this way, and you deserve to be this way.

Prince Ashan saw Thor suddenly stand up, his sharp will almost materializing, his eyes bloodshot, his face contorted, as if he were fighting against an unseen being.

In that instant, that sharp will began to rise, penetrating deep into the universe, until it touched the barrier of the cosmos.

In a daze, Thor saw the Truth of history and the past: the Asgardian trampled over the corpses of their enemies, their hands covered in blood, bonfires rose, songs resounded, cloaking the killing and endless destruction in a veneer of hypocrisy, and then dancing and celebrating wildly.

More and more corpses, more and more blood, ever-growing power, and then...

A flame ignited from the center of the World Tree, burning everything in its path.

A raging fire engulfed the magnificent Asgard, burning down its grand and beautiful Asgard Palace. The gods were reduced to helpless sheep, screaming in agony as they met their end in the terrible flames.

Beneath the cosmic barrier, Thor witnessed firsthand how Ragnarok descended.

Endless conquest and destruction will annihilate this universe; ever-increasing power will drain its very essence, and that fire—

That's the universe saving itself.