With Deathstroke's eyesight, he could clearly make out what was flying at light speed. It was a gigantic snake, its immense body weaving through the storm clouds.
But was it the great serpent everyone had been waiting for? It was not.
This snake was the original "one meant to face the calamity" from the prophecy, while the other snake had copied the "crisis" and "curse" it represented.
"Odin's son shattered its head, but its venomous fangs pierced his arm as well. The brave god turned and walked nine steps before falling forever."
Deathstroke repeated the prophecy in his mind, and Hela, not far away, immediately understood as well.
This was not the snake they had been waiting for. This snake was Jörmungandr, the Midgard Serpent.
In Su Ming's previous life, when he had first started reading Marvel, he had not been able to tell the difference between "The Serpent" and "Jörmungandr." In the Norse mythology of that Earth, did they not both refer to the same snake?
But as he gained more experience, taught himself some half-baked English, and learned how to bypass firewalls, he came to understand the difference between the two in Marvel's setting.
Jörmungandr, also known as the Midgard Serpent, was actually Loki's son. Its mother was the famous old witch Angerboda.
The name might sound unfamiliar, but once one considered her relatives, her connection to Earth became apparent.
Angerboda's father was one of the indescribable Old Ones. Its name could not even be pronounced by human vocal organs, so it could only be called Vrcolac. Its common form had a wolf's head, an insect's body, and tens of thousands of legs.
Her mother was likewise an indescribable aberration, Echidna, the Mother of Monsters. Her body was made of eight serpents, and she had a scorpion tail.