Starlight as Covenant

Frigga's private garden was silent and serene. Only the Eternal Light, filtered through magical crystals, flowed down like soft golden gauze, bathing the strange flowers, grasses, and polished stone slabs in a gentle halo.

Xiao Han stood in the middle of a pillar of light with his eyes closed, sensing the subtle differences between Asgardian light and Earth's sunlight—richer, steadier, carrying an ancient, almost primordial aura. To him, it was indeed somewhat more novel than Malibu Beach.

The dark metal badge was pinned to the corner of his clothes, while the "Starlight Tear" necklace had been casually stuffed into his pocket.

The faint energy fields emitted by the two little trinkets were like tiny whirlpools, gently drawing in and purifying the surrounding light.

This gave the energy absorption efficiency a slight, nearly negligible yet undeniably real boost.

Even a mosquito leg was still meat. Xiao Han was fairly satisfied with that.

Frigga stood some distance away, watching the young man who was completely immersed in sensing the light, as though he had already forgotten she existed. Her feelings were complicated.

She had traded her most precious light-related treasures for a vague promise that depended entirely on his mood.

The deal seemed absurd, but as a prophet capable of glimpsing the threads of fate, she knew that before certain dark futures capable of tearing apart the Nine Realms, even a tiny variable beyond convention might be the only lifeline.

Just as the garden sank into a tranquil silence broken only by the soundless flow of light—

"Mother!"

A booming voice, unable to conceal its anxiety and anger, shattered the silence.

Thor strode into the garden, his golden armor gleaming beneath the light. His brows were tightly furrowed, and his face carried the expression of someone demanding an explanation.

The Warriors Three and Sif followed behind him, their faces all filled with dissatisfaction and confusion.

"Mother! The banquet hasn't officially ended yet, and the Allfather is still in the throne hall. How could you..." Thor stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.

He saw Xiao Han standing in the pillar of light, as well as the concern not yet fully concealed on his mother's face—and a trace of... relief?

Thor's expression darkened instantly. His sharp gaze swept over Xiao Han before turning to Frigga.

"Mother, why did you bring him here alone? Did he disrespect you?"

His grip on Mjolnir tightened unconsciously, and the muscles beneath his armor tensed. Though he had been reprimanded, protecting his mother was an unquestionable instinct for the prince of Asgard.

Volstagg and the others also looked wary, their hands moving to their weapons.

Frigga immediately regained the composure and dignity of Asgard's queen. She stepped forward, placing herself between Thor and Xiao Han, her voice gentle yet carrying unquestionable authority.

"Thor, do not be rude. I invited Mr. Xiao here to view some of my private collection and to ask him a few questions about light energy. Mr. Xiao is an honored guest of Asgard, not an enemy."

"Ask him? Him?" Thor clearly did not believe it, his voice rising. "A Midgardian who only knows how to throw punches..." He did not finish, but his meaning was obvious.

Xiao Han, standing in the pillar of light, finally lifted his eyelids lazily.

He did not look at Thor, nor did he look at the tense Asgardian warriors. Instead, he raised his head to examine the crystal gathering light at the top of the garden, as though assessing its optical structure.

"The light-focusing effect here," he said, his voice flat and calm yet clearly overpowering Thor's challenge, "is much better than that noisy hall downstairs. It's just..."

He paused, and his gaze finally fell lazily on Thor, inspecting his gleaming golden armor from top to bottom.

"...a little too reflective. It's blinding." His tone carried purely objective disdain. "Do all you Asgardians like turning yourselves into walking lanterns?"

"You!" Thor's face reddened with anger, and tiny arcs of electricity instantly crackled across Mjolnir! Fandral and Hogun immediately grabbed his shoulders.

"Thor! Calm down!" Sif said in a low voice, though her eyes remained fixed warily on Xiao Han.

Frigga sighed inwardly, knowing this scene had ultimately been unavoidable. Just as she was about to speak again to ease the tension, a sudden change occurred!

Bzzzz—!!!

A piercing shriek that did not come from the physical world, but directly struck the soul, swept through the entire garden without warning!

The sound was cold, viscous, and filled with endless resentment, venom, and greed, like a curse from the deepest abyss!

"Ah!" Frigga cried out sharply. Her face instantly went pale, her body swayed, and she clutched her forehead instinctively.

Her powerful mental strength bore the brunt of it, sensing within that shriek an ultimate malice aimed at life and light!

Thor, Sif, and the others also stiffened all over, as though icy venomous snakes had wrapped around their necks. Even the light on their armor dimmed for an instant! The divine power within them surged instinctively, resisting the mental corruption!

The Eternal Light throughout Asgard seemed to tremble under that evil shriek, dimming slightly!

"What is that?!" Thor cried out in shock and fury. He abruptly looked around, Mjolnir erupting with dazzling lightning, yet he could not find the source of the attack!

Only Xiao Han.

He remained where he was, without even changing his posture.

When the evil shriek that directly attacked the soul touched the invisible barrier around him, it was like crashing into an absolutely smooth mirror. It failed to stir even the slightest ripple before being completely reflected and annihilated.

He even had the leisure to extend a finger and lightly flick it toward the source of the invisible evil fluctuation in the air.

The gesture was as casual as flicking away a fly.

Pfft.

A faint, nearly imperceptible sound.

The evil soul-shriek sweeping through the garden stopped abruptly, like a duck whose throat had been squeezed shut! It was as though it had never existed!

The garden returned to silence, filled only with everyone's heavy breathing and Frigga's faintly pained groan.

Thor and the others looked around in alarm and uncertainty, then turned toward Xiao Han, whose expression was calm as though nothing had happened.

"Wh-what was that just now?" Sif's voice carried lingering fear.

Frigga endured the discomfort in her mind and spoke with a pale face, her voice heavy with gravity. "Darkness... darkness from the depths of the universe, or perhaps... beyond the Nine Realms... It was searching... marking..."

Her gaze turned involuntarily toward Xiao Han, her eyes filled with unprecedented shock and a trace of understanding.

The core malice and greed within that evil shriek had not been directed at Asgard, nor at her or Thor...

It was more like the impatient marking and... coveting of something that had discovered the finest delicacy imaginable! And its target was unmistakably this seemingly lazy and harmless Midgardian before them!

And with a casual flick, he had annihilated that evil soul attack which had made even her, Asgard's queen, tremble with fear?!

Xiao Han dusted off his hands, as though he had truly flicked away a speck of dust. He glanced at the pale Frigga, then swept his eyes over Thor and the others, who were braced for battle. His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"Asgard's soundproofing," he commented, his tone clearly displeased, "doesn't seem all that great either. Any random garbage can sneak in and make noise."

Thor was left speechless by those words. That terrifying soul attack truly had been horrifying, while the other man had dealt with it far too... easily.

Frigga took a deep breath and suppressed the storm raging in her heart. She looked at Xiao Han, and the uncertainty brought by their previous deal was now replaced by a cold, crushing certainty.

The fragments of fate she had seen had not been wrong. The storm to come was far beyond imagination, and the man before her might be the only one at its center who could... refuse to follow the script.

She looked at Xiao Han again. The plea in her eyes deepened, even gaining a trace of barely perceptible reverence.

"Mr. Xiao... you saw it as well. Some darkness... cannot be faced by Asgard alone. It seems... to have already been drawn here..."

Xiao Han interrupted her. His gaze returned to the crystal gathering light, as though he had completely lost interest in the recent interruption.

"I took the items." He shook the "Starlight Tear" in his pocket, his tone still indifferent.

"If your lantern son gets tangled up with that level of 'noise' again, then for the sake of this light, I might casually snuff out the source of the noise."

He paused and added, as though laying down his final boundary, "But that's all. Don't expect me to guard Asgard's gates for you."

After saying that, he ignored everyone and closed his eyes again, continuing to enjoy the purified "Eternal Light," which was far more comfortable than the banquet hall downstairs.

As though that brief, terrifying soul assault had been nothing more than an insignificant bit of static in Asgard's background noise.

Thor, Sif, and the others exchanged looks. They looked at the figure who had once again entered a state of "rest," then at their mother, whose expression was complicated but who had clearly relaxed. For a moment, they did not know how to react.

Asgard's golden light continued to flow, yet it seemed to carry a hint of cold weight. Frigga knew that the covenant had been made, and the price had been paid.

The storm of the future might be unavoidable, but at least she had left Thor—and perhaps Asgard as well—with an inscrutable... gray variable.

And that variable was currently annoyed because Asgard's prince... was too dazzling.