Scrutiny Beyond the Rainbow Bridge

Inside the sealed chamber, the faintly glowing energy fluid, like a blue dream, slowly rose past Lin Xiu's chin.

Lin Xiu could clearly feel the cool liquid against his skin, and he lightly clenched his back teeth.

The Oracle System's prompt sounded with the steady precision of a finely calibrated instrument in his mind: "Residual thunder-element particles from Thor's battle have been extracted. Concentration: 0.03%. Under this world's rules, thunder-element particles possess a unique resonance mechanism with the Nanocore. Introducing them into the Nanocore requires enduring a 1,200-joule backlash, because when the Nanocore absorbs thunder-element particles, it triggers an instantaneous energy shock and restructuring." He stared at the red digits flickering across the console, their glow painfully glaring in his eyes.

His right thumb paused over the energy regulator—this was a small habit he had developed after crossing over. Whenever he had to make a crucial decision, he measured the risks with a mechanic's particular precision.

"Begin." His voice struck the sealed chamber walls with a crisp echo, stirring tiny ripples like those in his heart.

The pale blue energy fluid suddenly churned violently with a gurgling sound. Countless gleaming silver nanoparticles erupted from his spine and condensed over his chest into the core pattern of the Balder Armor.

Lin Xiu could clearly feel the familiar stabbing pain—the lingering resonance of Mjolnir was climbing along his neural pathways, like countless tiny arcs gnawing at his bones. A faint sizzling sounded between them.

His temples throbbed, the holographic projection in his vision began to double, and a buzzing noise seemed to fill his ears.

Yet he continued staring fixedly at the core area's compatibility figure: 27%, 28%, 29%...

"Ding—" The system prompt was sharper than usual, like lightning splitting a silent night sky.

Lin Xiu's eyes flew open. Quantum fragments floating in the energy fluid suddenly resonated with the armor's patterns, gleaming faintly.

He saw the pale blue lines across his breastplate extending at a visible speed, like living star trails. They traced the outlines of Asgardian runes across the surface of his skin, their faint blue glow seeming to tell an ancient tale.

The compatibility rate finally stopped at 31%. The Oracle System's voice carried a rare fluctuation: "Asgardian energy-field characteristics detected. Contact with a high-level energy source is recommended to complete deep adaptation."

"High-level energy source..." Lin Xiu murmured, unconsciously tapping the sealed chamber's glass with his fingertips, producing a crisp knocking sound.

He recalled his clash with Thor three days ago. When the golden-haired God of Thunder had raised his hammer and roared, "A Midgardian dares lay hands on the power of gods," the fine lines on Lin Xiu's breastplate had warmed for the first time, carrying a trace of scorching heat.

He had thought it a coincidence then. Now, it seemed the entanglement between the Nanocore and Asgardian energy ran far deeper than he had imagined.

A scraping sound suddenly came from the ventilation duct, harsh as an alarm.

Lin Xiu's pupils contracted sharply. Nanoparticles surged from every pore like a tide, forming a translucent defensive layer over his body, its faint silver light flickering.

His right hand pressed the emergency button on the console, but froze the instant it touched it—the sound was too regular, like some rhythmic tapping.

"Heimdall." He spoke the name under his breath, every hair on the back of his neck standing on end as though he felt an invisible pressure.

At the end of the Rainbow Bridge, Heimdall's golden armor glinted coldly within the divine palace.

His eyes were like twin golden moons as they watched the projection of Earth.

A map of energy flows throughout the Nine Realms revolved around him with a soft whirring sound. Around the blue point representing Earth was wound a familiar yet unfamiliar golden thread—the energy signature of the Balder Armor, yet mixed with a technological chill that did not belong to Asgard.

"Your Majesty." He dropped to one knee, his voice steady as a war drum. "Balder's aura has appeared in Midgard again, but it... seems to have fused with some unknown technology."

Odin sat upon his throne with his eyes closed, his white beard trembling faintly in the currents of air through the divine palace.

His right hand unconsciously rubbed the shaft of Gungnir, his knuckles whitening with force.

After a long time, so long that Heimdall thought he would not answer, an aged voice finally spoke slowly. "Continue watching."

Heimdall lowered his head. "As you command." As he rose, his golden armor clinked sharply. In the instant he turned, a trace of concern flashed in his eyes—Balder's flame should have died with the fall of the God of Light. Was this remaining spark a miracle, or the beginning of some greater conspiracy?

After Lin Xiu emerged from the sealed chamber, his mind was still caught up in the adaptation process.

He organized his thoughts, considering how he should deal with whatever might come next.

Before he realized it, the night wind had scattered his guesses, and he was standing atop a ruined building in Brooklyn.

Icarus Vaughn appeared without warning.

The man, always wrapped in dark purple mage robes, simply stood beneath the moonlight. The starlike patterns on his robes moved like living things, making a faint rustling sound.

He held a rune-covered bone flute in his left hand. The moment its music ceased, pain flared at the back of Lin Xiu's neck—the burning sensation of magical tracking.

"You have been marked by the Magic Council." Icarus's voice was like shattered ice. "Stop imitating divine power, or even The Ancient One's tolerance has its limits."

Lin Xiu tilted his head. Nanoparticles condensed at his fingertips into miniature blades that flashed coldly.

He could see the faint magical circuits beneath Icarus's robes. The patterns glowing with eerie blue light pulsed at a specific frequency—this was the preparation stage for a binding spell.

"Imitating?" He sneered as the blue glow from the armor core crawled up through his veins and into his eye sockets, making his eyes gleam blue.

"I was merely conducting an experiment, using data to verify a hypothesis. Mythology? That's just an excuse you people use to avoid doing the work."

Icarus's pupils narrowed into slits.

He swept out his arm, and countless golden chains burst from the bone flute. The runes at their tips blazed with dazzling light, while the air filled with the scorched stench of ozone and the howl of whistling chains.

But Lin Xiu smiled just as the chains were about to touch him—the Oracle System's prompt exploded in his mind, and nanoparticles fell from his body like black rain, weaving in midair into a reverse circuit completely opposed to the chains' runes.

"Analysis complete." The system's electronic voice carried a trace of mechanical delight. "Countermeasure program generated."

The instant the golden chains collided with the black circuit, blinding white light erupted in the air, accompanied by a deafening boom.

Icarus staggered backward. His robes were lifted by the shockwave, exposing the dagger at his waist engraved with the emblem of Vishanti.

He watched his masterpiece disintegrate into fine motes of light in the air, his Adam's apple bobbing. "You..."

"Time to say goodbye." Lin Xiu's voice came from above him.

Icarus looked up just in time to see the young man leap from a broken wall amid the ruins. The nanotech armor shone with cold silver light beneath the moon, like a mechanical hawk ready to tear into its prey. The wind from his leap whistled past Icarus's ears.

When he looked up again, only shattered bricks and lingering magical scorch marks remained on the rooftop.

"He's stronger than we imagined," Icarus murmured to the empty night.

He took out a communication crystal. The Ancient One's phantom appeared on its surface. "Do we need to send more people?"

"No need." The Ancient One's voice carried the resonance of a morning bell. "The purer the variable, the more clearly it reveals the truth."

After escaping his conflict with Icarus, Lin Xiu walked toward his hideout while considering his current situation.

He knew his experiments had already drawn attention from all sides, while the truth seemed to lie hidden somewhere deeper.

When the encrypted terminal in the hideout lit up, Lin Xiu had just pulled off his dust-covered coat.

His fingers hovered over the terminal for three seconds—the sender address of this new email was garbled text, and the subject line contained only two words: "The Truth."

The email opened automatically. Golden Old Norse characters appeared against a black background.

Lin Xiu's pupils contracted sharply—he recognized the script. He had seen it three days ago in the Oracle System's Asgardian archives. It was the Royal Court Cipher used only by Asgard's royal family.

"Do you wish to know the truth? Come to the Helheim Ruins."

The signature at the bottom resembled a dancing flame, yet it was so clear that Lin Xiu's blood froze—it was Odin's royal seal, identical in every detail to the marks of Asgard's successive monarchs in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database.

The terminal's cold light fell across his face, dividing his expression into light and shadow.

Lin Xiu slowly clenched his fist. Blue light from the armor core seeped through his fingers, casting scattered flecks across the tabletop.

He stared at the address on the screen, his Adam's apple moving as his voice became as soft as a sigh. "Finally..."

Outside the window, the moonlight was suddenly swallowed by dark clouds.

When Lin Xiu looked up, he saw a streak of golden light flash across the horizon—the trace of the Rainbow Bridge.

He lowered his gaze to the terminal. At some point, a line of small text had appeared at the end of the email, written in modern English: "Don't keep me waiting too long, Quantum Vanguard."

Nanoparticles flowed across the back of his hand, tracing the patterns of the Balder Armor over his skin.

Lin Xiu stood and walked toward the tactical case in the corner. His fingertips passed over the neatly arranged energy fragments inside—ones from the Tesseract, the Mind Stone, and even a small shard of Vibranium.

When his fingers stopped over that pale blue fragment of Thor's energy, the system prompt sounded once more: "High-level energy source location detected. Initiate navigation?"

"Initiate." Something scorching surged in Lin Xiu's voice. "This time, I'll uncover every answer myself."

As he turned, the tactical case's metal clasp clicked crisply.

The clouds outside gradually dispersed, and moonlight once again fell over the patterns of his armor core. The pale blue lines glowed faintly with his heartbeat, like a summons across dimensions.

Deep within Asgard's divine palace, Gungnir suddenly hummed.

Odin opened his eyes. His gaze pierced the mist of the Nine Realms and settled upon a figure on Earth packing for departure, a faint smile curling at the corner of his lips.

"Balder's flame..." he said softly. "Is it finally about to burn again?"