Can You Celebrate for Me, Beckett?

Is it really such a coincidence?

Asgard, at the entrance to the Bifrost.

Hela watched her half-brother with great interest. Thor, bound by chains, struggled desperately, but ultimately to no avail.

Following closely behind Beckett, The Others tightly gripped the "keys" that held Thor's life in check, leaving Thor completely powerless to resist and forced to passively be led by the nose.

Believe it or not.

Hela's playful tone did not affect the incredibly strong-willed Beckett; the man's nonchalant demeanor made Hela slightly bored, and she curled her lip in disapproval.

She really wanted to see Beckett speechless and embarrassed, but unfortunately, she never got the chance.

Anyway, thanks.

Despite all the playful banter, Hela was still genuinely grateful to Beckett for kidnapping Thor and bringing him to her doorstep.

Thor was, after all, her brother and Odin's chosen Heir to the throne. During the more than a thousand years that Odin had sealed her away, Thor had amassed considerable prestige among both the common people and the military.

If someone like that were to wander the world, Hela's position would certainly not be very secure.

She had originally planned to personally seize it after the coronation ceremony, but now it's all good, she doesn't need to go through that trouble.

Snap!

Hela's wrist, which was about to take the chain, was grabbed by Beckett.

"???"

"The terms haven't been agreed upon yet, he doesn't belong to you." Beckett didn't care about the change in Hela's expression.

"Ten self-criticisms, detailing your unauthorized mobilization of the entire Dark Order military force without my father's permission," Beckett stated his conditions, gripping Hela's pale wrist.

"It must be profound, each piece no less than 2,000 words," Beckett added at the end.

"..."

After closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths, Hela finally broke free from Beckett's obstruction and looked directly at Beckett's suddenly annoying face. "Two articles."

"Deal." Beckett didn't even try to haggle, plunging Hela into deep self-doubt.

She felt that given Beckett's quick agreement, it was possible for her to negotiate a lower price for one article.

Thor, who was bound hand and foot, stopped struggling and instead looked back and forth between Beckett and Hela as if he had discovered a new continent.

He never imagined that his status as the rightful heir to Asgard would be worth only two self-criticisms...

"You mobilized the forces of the Dark Order without your father's permission?"

As Hela led Beckett and his party along the newly built VIP access road and closed the Bifrost gate, Hela asked...

"Didn't you say the Bifrost gate was broken?" Beckett replied, seemingly changing the subject.

"I am the Queen, and I decide when the Bifrost is good and when it is bad." Hela paused her waving fingers, and her forward speed increased slightly.

"But you, aren't you afraid that your father, like Odin, will suspect you of treason and usurpation because you mobilized the army without authorization?"

Hela, who was leading the way, glanced at Beckett, who was only half a step behind her, and asked jokingly.

Odin's death, the freedom gained from breaking the seal, and the anticipation of the future all make Hela Asgard queen who is about to ascend the throne today, willing to use those heart-wrenching memories of the past to make light of things.

It's both a joke and a warning.

"My father is not like Odin. The one who shares the same language with Odin should be Ego." Beckett subtly curled his lip to express his disdain.

Those two were people who could be ruthless enough to harm their children for a single goal, but his adoptive father Thanos was different.

"So confident?"

"Are you trying to sow discord between me and my father?" Beckett narrowed his eyes, his gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny.

"No, I'm just reminding you," Hela said without fear.

Odin's transformation was still vivid in her mind, and she did not want Beckett to suffer the same fate as herself.

"This is provocation." Beckett's expression was extremely serious.

"Interpret it however you like." Hela led Beckett and his party with queenly strides to the high platform erected in Asgard Square.

"Take him to the dungeon and lock him up with Frigga."

It has no skin and no muscle tissue.

Skeleton soldiers, dressed in standard Asgard guard armor, led the volatile Thor away from The Other under Hela's command.

"That's strange, isn't it?"

Seeing that Beckett's gaze was not on her but on the departing skeleton soldier, Hela asked with a smile.

"Are they all dead?" Although it was a question, Beckett's tone was quite certain.

He could not sense any life in these guards.

Not only these guards, but even the soldiers stationed on both sides of Asgard Square were lifeless corpses.

"Odin, kill them all."

"Just because he wants to erase all traces of me in Asgard."

"He wants everyone to forget me, to forget everything I've done for this country."

"He wants to clear all obstacles for my foolish brother to take over."

Dressed in luxurious clothes, Hela leaned against the railing of the high platform, looking down at the Asgard civilians who were gradually gathering below.

Everyone's eyes were filled with fear and hatred towards her.

Because on the day Hela returned, they fought their way from the Bifrost to this square, leaving rivers of blood and the sky filled with gloom.

"Do you remember the Sorcerer Supreme Agamotto we met in Midgard?"

"The magic array he left behind gave these soldiers who were once loyal to me a chance to be resurrected."

"I resurrected them with the Eternal Fire ..." Hela's eyes were filled with sorrow.

"But they are still dead." Beckett exposed the illusion of resurrection.

Hela nodded silently.

She was ultimately just the Goddess of Death in Asgard, not the Goddess of Death in the universe.

She had no way to truly bring these soldiers, who had been dead for thousands of years, back to life.

Tragically, in Asgard, Hela could only trust these dead people.

Everyone who was alive wanted her dead.

This includes Frigga, her mother, Odin's wife, and the former Queen of the Gods of Asgard.

Is it worth it?

After a long silence, until the once sparsely populated square was now overflowing with Asgard people, Beckett finally spoke up and asked.

Is it worth expanding your territory for a country that everyone hates?

All the acquaintances from back then have been laid to rest, and everyone who is still alive hates you to the bone, yet you still pretend not to see it and become the queen who leads them forward.

Is it worth it?

"Certainly."

Hela closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and concealed the sorrow in her eyes.

"Right now, this is the only thing I can do. And only by doing this one thing can I feel that I am truly alive."

Asgard was the Mind Stone pillar that kept Hela from becoming a mindless zombie while she was sealed away.

"Beckett." The woman opened her eyes and turned around.

"What?" The man and woman looked at each other.

"Can you celebrate for me? In your own way." A gentle breeze brushed across Hela's brow, and her voice trembled almost imperceptibly.

"Why?" Beckett asked coldly, his arms crossed over his chest.

Because... you're the only person I can trust right now.

Hela pursed her lips, but then changed her tone as she spoke, "It's nothing, if it doesn't work out, then forget it."

Below the high platform, a vast crowd of Asgard had already prostrated themselves at Hela's feet, and the skeleton guards fired a salute to celebrate the birth of the new king.

A sky ablaze with dazzling fireworks, accompanied by ancient and profound prayers.

Dressed in magnificent robes, Hela stood atop the high platform, her arms outstretched as she received the worship of her people.

"Celebrate!"

"The birth of a new king!"

"This is Hela, the most benevolent and virtuous Queen of Asgard!"

"This is..."

At Beckett's signal, The Other, having removed their amplification devices, began an emergency chant, their loud and clear congratulatory words resounding in the ears of every Asgardians ...

"Women are such a hassle..." Beckett, standing right behind Hela, curled his lip in disdain.

Hela, who was standing right next to her, suddenly broke into a radiant smile.

Beckett, who was unfamiliar with coronation etiquette, had no intention of going down with The Other, nor did Hela try to force him to leave.

A man and a woman stood in the magnificent ancient square of Asgard, receiving the worship of the people amidst profound and solemn prayers.