Vormir's Tattered Map

The atmosphere in the vast manor fell into a deathly silence after Hela appeared.

"Damn it!"

Finally, the awkward silence was broken by Ego's angry outburst in the video.

"Are you Hela, Odin's daughter?"

The Collector casually swiped the chip into his pocket, pretending nothing had happened, before resuming the conversation.

"Your father mentioned you to me."

"My father has mentioned you to me as well," Hela shrugged in response.

In broad daylight, under the clear sky, two grown men were actually huddled together looking at that thing. Hela never imagined that the Collector, a cosmic Kami, would have such a unique hobby.

Have you lived too long and become mentally unstable?

Recalling her father Odin's description of the Collector —a life form that has existed since the birth of the universe— Hela suddenly understood.

"Odin really should upgrade your Asgard transportation system."

Perhaps sensing Hela's somewhat suspicious gaze, the Collector immediately changed the subject.

Even the finest horse has its limits.

Unless it stops being a horse.

"Perhaps." The Collector changed the subject, Hela, naturally, wouldn't be so oblivious as to keep pressing the issue. She turned around, took out the cards her father had given her before he left, and handed them to the Collector.

"Come with me. Of course, Robin, you come too. This matter is also related to you."

The Collector, having received the card, gently stroked its raised base with his right index finger. After sensing Odin's energy fluctuations, he smiled and put the card away, turning and walking into the manor on his new toy.

Upon seeing the arrival of guests, the slaves suppressed their anxiety, bowed respectfully to the three men, and withdrew.

"What is the current situation in the Nine Realms?"

Upon entering the manor and pushing open the door to the storage room, Hela was Hela by a dazzling array of collections.

These are all precious treasures collected by the Collector during his years of holing up on Knowhere; each one is priceless.

"I heard before that Malekith, who controlled the Aether, has been resurrected. Odin must be having a tough time now."

The Collector couldn't help but smile as he recalled the spirited young Odin.

Those days did bring him a long-lost joy, but unfortunately, Odin was ultimately a man with a family business to inherit.

"He's dead."

"What did you say?" The Collector paused, his voice tinged with surprise.

"Killed by Odin?"

"No, it's Thanos."

Hela shook her head, but when Thanos's name was mentioned, the image that came to her mind was that of a blond-haired, blue-eyed man.

Thanos flashed his blade, and Malekith's head fell to the ground.

This marked the end of his sinful life.

But before Thanos, it was the man who claimed to be Super Saiyan who had surpassed the Saiyan who left the deepest impression on Hela.

"That Titan survivor?"

"He is indeed a formidable fellow." The Collector stopped in front of the counter displaying one of his collectibles.

"However, this makes me understand why Odin wanted this thing."

A tattered map was handed to Hela by the Collector himself.

"It seems he was feeling the pressure."

Hela took the map, looked at it from left to right, but couldn't make heads or tails of it.

She couldn't understand why her father Odin would value this broken map so much, even sending her to retrieve it personally from such a distant place on the eve of the final battle with the Frost Giant.

"Vormir?"

What kind of place is this?

The destination marked on the map was a planet that Hela had never heard of.

"It is an extremely desolate place, but there exists a power that Odin desperately needs right now."

After handing the tattered old map to Hela, the Collector, with his hands behind his back, stepped on the new floating toy and slowly led the two people behind him to the other side of the storage room.

"Father, what we desperately need right now is strength?"

Hela was puzzled.

Her father, Odin, can now be considered the most powerful being in the Nine Realms. After Malekith's death, Laufey of Jotunheim alone is simply not enough to withstand the conquest of Asgard.

In this situation, what additional power is needed?

Have you ever heard of the Infinity Stones?

Suddenly, the Collector turned around and stared directly at Hela.

"What?" Hela frowned.

She'd heard Beckett mention that the Aether in Malekith's possession was the legendary Reality Stone.

"That is one of the forces that existed since the beginning of this universe, and the force that exists on this Vormir is one of the six Infinity Stones."

"It represents the soul."

[Soul?]

As a divine warrior who has awakened the Death Divinity, Hela immediately thought of her special abilities upon hearing this word.

"Although I don't know why Odin suddenly wants to take this map from me, since he has taken my collection, you must give me something that I am very interested in in return."

He led Hela to the experimental field on the other side of the storage room.

"This is..."

Blue fluorescence flowed through the dense network of pipes, and at the end of these pipes was a floating glass bottle.

Inside this glass bottle is a flower bud about to bloom.

"Once this magnificent piece is fully formed, you can take the map with you," The Collector said, bending down and getting closer to the glass bottle, his hands behind his back.

"What's this?"

Hela, who had absolutely no idea what this thing was, asked in a low voice.

"Robin."

The Collector snapped his the Snap, pointing to the silent man who had been following behind him.

"That is the Flower of Life."

Robin, with his helmet tucked into his waistband, spoke in a steady and powerful voice.

"Flower of Life that grows from Stardust as its mud, nourished by the Milky Way, and never withers once it takes shape, forever blooming in the silent universe."

There was one more thing Robin didn't say.

That is, the life-nourishing effect of this flower is completely insignificant to the Collector. The reason he was willing to spend 30 million years cultivating this flower in Gafa was simply because the moment the flower bloomed was beautiful.

Yes, the Collector are just that boring.

Of course, you could also say that this is a pursuit, a pursuit full of style.

What should I do?

Hela didn't really understand it, because she had never even heard of it before.

"Kill this man, find his true form, and take his Star Core."

The Collector held up the chip in his hand, and Ego, dressed in clothes, appeared at the very beginning of the video.

"This is the fastest way right now."

"Who is he?"

Hela frowned as she watched the video of a man dancing with a woman in the manor.

To maintain his image as an elder, the Collector pressed pause, freezing the video on the moment the man confidently raised an eyebrow.

"His name is Ego."