Asgard.
On Asgard's arena, thunder roared and dark clouds blotted out the sky. Black sword light pierced the heavens as the gods watched in horror one of the highest-level duels in Asgard.
The duel lasted from day until night. In the end, Thor—who had undergone Hellish training and believed he had surpassed the future version of himself he had seen—was beaten to exhaustion and collapsed unwillingly.
Stephen Strange stood in Thor's palace, watching the dark clouds be torn apart. Thunder wailed in defiance while towering black sword light rose beneath the starlit sky, domineering and merciless as it proclaimed that Asgard had welcomed a new king.
Not long afterward, Thor draped one thick arm over Loki's shoulder. With a grim expression, Loki supported his brother and brought him back to Thor's palace.
Thor's injuries were not particularly severe. Though the armor over his chest had been cut apart by a blade, making it look as though his chest had been ripped open, and though he was covered in sword wounds, bruises, cuts, exposed flesh, and a shredded crimson cape—
—to Asgardian Warriors with their powerful bodies, these were not serious injuries.
He was mainly exhausted, having drained all his strength and the thunderous energy within him.
Hela had allowed him to unleash every last bolt of thunder and every ounce of strength, fighting him to his heart's content.
At the beginning, Thor had been brimming with confidence and fighting spirit, unstoppable. But Hela repeatedly recovered swiftly from fatal wounds and fought him until he was spent, forcing him to exhaust everything he had learned, all his strength, and every technique. In the end, Thor was overcome with frustration.
Hela was one with Asgard. As long as she stood upon Asgard, she was immortal.
More than Odin, Loki, or Thor, she