In the vast and boundless depths of the universe, at the head of the Nine Realms, Asgard.
The magnificent Asgard stood amidst endless light, like Eternity and indestructible miracle.
In a room at the highest point of the Asgard, the atmosphere was quite different from the splendor outside; it was rather quiet.
In the center of the room, a golden water mirror formed from divine power floats.
The image in the water mirror was very clear, showing exactly what had happened to Luca and the others just a few hours earlier.
Odin, the All-Father of Asgard and ruler of the Nine Realms, who is ostensibly in the Odinsleep and feigning death, is here.
At this moment, he stood quietly in front of the water mirror.
Beside him stood Frigga, the Queen of Asgard and also one of the most powerful sorcerers in the Nine Realms.
The image reflected in the water mirror is frozen on the moment when Luca is holding Loki by the ankle with one hand.
The scene is accompanied by the cracked ground, and at the end Luca casually remarks, "What a weak god."
The image in the water mirror slowly dissipated, turning into golden specks of light.
Silence fell over the room.
Odin rubbed his temples and then let out a long sigh.
" Frigga, did you see that?"
"This Midgardian suppressed Loki's magic and beat Loki so badly he couldn't even fight back."
"We all know that mortals in Midgard have short lifespans and fragile bodies."
Even if they develop a so-called Super-Soldier Serum, their limit would only be like that United States soldier with the shield—possessing superhuman physical abilities.
"But this Luca Stark... his power has already transcended this realm."
"Perhaps, the Midgard has truly changed."
Seeing Odin's helpless expression, Frigga smiled gently.
He then stepped forward and gently smoothed Odin's furrowed brow.
" Odin, the universe is vast, and there will always be variables that we cannot understand."
"I just used magic to carefully sense the fluctuations coming from here."
"It's like there's a miniature black hole hidden inside Luca's body."
" Loki's illusion magic was shattered by a force field the moment it made contact."
"And didn't you notice Thor's reaction?"
When Thor was mentioned, Odin's expression turned somewhat helpless, and he seemed disappointed in Thor.
"That idiot."
"He was completely fooled by Loki's clumsy lies!"
"If Luca hadn't exposed Loki's disguise, Thor would probably still be crying over the news of my death."
"But..."
Odin changed the subject, his tone becoming thoughtful.
" Luca has a good eye for people."
"Not only did he see through Loki's disguise at a glance, but his handling of the matter was also very... very skillful."
As a god-king who has lived for countless ages, what schemes and tricks hasn't Odin seen?
He had seen through Luca's true purpose in letting Loki go long ago.
"This person clearly had the ability to kill Loki outright, but he didn't."
Instead, he deliberately displayed his power in front of Thor, and then casually let Loki go.
At this point, Odin stroked his beard.
"So, this is a favor to Thor."
He first shattered Thor's pride, then naturally made Thor feel grateful and dependent on him.
"This young man's mind is more profound than that of the politicians in the Midgard."
"Getting to know Thor isn't about making friends; it's more like making a long-term investment. And the target of that investment is us, is Asgard."
Frigga nodded, not angry that Luca had schemed against her son.
On the contrary, her eyes were full of admiration as she smiled and said...
"That's precisely why I think Thor should stay in the Midgard."
" Thor is too proud and too naive."
"He only knows how to solve problems with a hammer, but he doesn't understand human nature or political maneuvering."
"And this Luca Stark possesses the mind of a businessman, the wisdom to see through everything, and the power to not fear the gods."
"Even if Thor were just a subordinate by his side, he would learn far more than he would have in a thousand years as a prince in Asgard."
Odin listened in silence for a moment, then finally nodded.
"You're right, Frigga."
" Thor definitely needs to be tempered. Letting him experience the life of a mortal, to feel what it's like to be controlled, will be the best trial for him."
"Let's go for a walk in the garden. Our old friend is coming."
Odin reached out and took Frigga's arm.
The two walked out of the room side by side and arrived at a beautiful garden behind the Asgard.
The sun shines brightly here, and a faint fragrance wafts in the air.
The two walked to a stone table and sat down.
The moment they sat down.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle..."
A circle of dazzling golden sparks suddenly lit up the open space in the center of the garden.
The sparks spun and expanded rapidly, tearing open a circular portal.
Then, a bald woman wearing a yellow robe and with a thin face walked out of the portal.
This is none other than the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One.
Odin and Frigga were not surprised by the sudden teleportation, and the patrolling guards around them did not even glance in their direction.
Clearly, the Ancient One was a frequent visitor here.
"You're late, the Ancient One. The tea's almost cold."
Odin pointed to a teacup that had been prepared on the other side of the table, his tone casual.
Ancient One smiled slightly, walked to the table, and sat down.
"I apologize, Your Majesty the God-King, Your Highness the Queen."
The two smiled and nodded slightly.
The Ancient One didn't stand on ceremony and took a small sip of tea.
"The timeline has been changing too rapidly lately, and I spent some time sorting out some messy cause-and-effect relationships. That's why I was delayed a bit."
The three of them have known each other for far longer than years.
For thousands of years, Asgard has served as the guardian of the Nine Realms, while Kamar-Taj has served as Earth's defensive line.
The two sides had long established a tacit understanding and friendship in their fight against the Dark Dimension and other threats.
Therefore, they naturally understood what the Ancient One meant.
"Analyze the timeline?"
Frigga smiled gently and personally added a little more hot tea to the Ancient One's cup.
"Is it because of those two young men from the Stark Family?"
Upon hearing this, the Ancient One put down her teacup.
"Yes. Tony Stark, and Luca Stark."
Their appearance shattered my predictions for the future.
As he spoke, the Ancient One looked at Odin.
"Your Majesty, you must have seen Luca Stark's performance just now, right?"
Odin stroked his beard and nodded.
"I saw it. He slammed Loki to the ground like a toy."
"To be honest, even the warriors of Asgard might not be able to do what he did."
But that's not all.
The Ancient One smiled gently and spoke slowly.
"This person not only possesses a powerful physique, but also a constitution capable of absorbing all energy."
"A while ago in Wakanda, he shattered an energy shield with a single punch. Furthermore, he absorbed Chaos Magic during the battle."
"But to be honest, that's Chaos Magic!"
"This is a force that even I find difficult to handle."
"But Luca assimilated it, making it a part of his body!"
Upon hearing the words "Chaos Magic," both Odin and Frigga's expressions changed.
They certainly knew what this meant.
"Able to devour the physical body of Chaos Magic..."
Odin couldn't help but sigh.
"This can no longer be called a mortal."
"Give him enough energy, and he could probably grow to the point where he can tear Dormammu apart with his bare hands."
The Ancient One nodded in agreement.
That's why I didn't stop him from doing anything.
Even though he stole Vibranium like a robber, even though he arrogantly humiliated the enemy, I didn't interfere.
"Because I know that Earth, and even the entire Nine Realms, will need unreasonable people like him in the future."
At this point, the Ancient One's eyes became somewhat worried.
"Although the timeline is chaotic, I can still see the approaching shadow."
"The demons hidden in the dimensional rifts are stirring. Earth will soon become a battlefield in the universe."
"We cannot win against these problems."
"Therefore, we need a guardian who is even more unscrupulous, more ruthless, and more powerful than them."
Odin and Frigga seemed to be deep in thought.
The Ancient One looked at Odin solemnly once more and spoke slowly.
"And Luca Stark is the best choice."
"This man owns his private property; if anyone dares to steal it, he will defeat them without hesitation."
After hearing this, Odin suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Well said!"
"This kid's temperament is just my type! Although he's incredibly arrogant, he's protective of his own and has a bottom line."
"In the New Mexico desert, he tried to pull out my Mjolnir."
"But the hammer bears my incantation. No one but a king can lift it."
"But this guy actually wants to use force to defy my rules!"
Odin picked up his teacup and took a big gulp.
"If he had persisted a little longer, or if he had had a little more internal energy, perhaps he could have actually lifted it."
"Using force to break the rules of magic—I've never seen anything like it in all my years."
Frigga, standing to the side, covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
"So, that's why you quickly reinforced the spell, making him give up?"
"Cough cough... that's not called reinforcement."
Odin blushed and quickly tried to make amends.
"I did that to protect him."
"If the collision of these two extreme forces were to trigger a spatial collapse, that desert would be gone."
Upon seeing this, even the Ancient One couldn't help but laugh.
" Luca Stark is indeed a monster that cannot be measured by normal standards."
"But the main reason I've come to see you two today is actually about his brother."
At this moment, the Ancient One's expression became extremely serious.
Tony Stark.
Upon hearing the name, Odin and Frigga's attention were also drawn.
"I heard he went to Kamar-Taj to study magic?" Odin raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. And his performance surprised me even more than Luca's."
The Ancient One sighed, a mixture of helplessness and joy in her voice.
"You two, do you know?"
"The sorcerers of Kamar-Taj attain enlightenment through years of meditation, comprehending the truths of the universe and then borrowing energy from other dimensions through their spiritual power."
"This is a rule we have adhered to for thousands of years."
The Ancient One gave a wry smile.
"But Tony Stark completely turned all of that upside down on his very first day at Kamar-Taj."
"He only glanced at the portal magic once, then created a mathematical model in his mind. He said it was nothing more than an algorithm for space folding."
"Immediately afterwards, after putting on the Sling Ring, he drew a portal to New York in one go. And his portal was more stable than anyone else's!"
Frigga's mouth opened slightly in surprise.
"He succeeded on his first try? He didn't undergo any mental training?"
No. Absolutely not.
The Ancient One shook her head.
"Not only that, he hasn't gone to the library to look at magic books in the past two days."
"Because he scanned all the Kamar-Taj magic diagrams into the artificial intelligence system."
He treated magic like code, analyzing it!
An unusual light flickered in the Ancient One's eyes.
"Just before I arrived here, he excitedly told me that he had cracked the spatial positioning logic of the Sling Ring."
"He's trying to use scientific methods to imprint this logic onto his armor!"
He said that if successful, the armored vehicles could perform space jumps anytime, anywhere, and could also store their armory directly in a folded spatial pocket, allowing them to ambush the enemy during combat.
Even Odin was stunned by these words.
"Turning magic into science and technology?!"
Odin took a deep breath, feeling his worldview being shaken.
"Although Asgard is also a combination of technology and magic, we rely on the natural properties of Uru metal to contain magic."
"And he wants to use magic combined with scientific calculations to replicate the power of the gods?!"
"Yes."
The Ancient One nodded.
" Tony Stark's brain is a treasure bestowed upon Earth by the universe."
"This person has no reverence for magic; they only believe in data and logic."
"But it is precisely this rationality that allows him to break free from conventional thinking."
After hesitating for a moment, the Ancient One finally revealed the true purpose of her visit to Asgard.
"Your Majesty, this is also the reason I've come to see you today."
Tony Stark's research has hit a bottleneck.
"Earth's metals cannot withstand high-intensity magical energy for extended periods. In each experiment, those materials melt due to energy overload."
As she spoke, the Ancient One bowed slightly.
"I've heard that Uru metal is not only indestructible, but also the best medium for carrying magical runes."
"To protect the future of Earth, and to enable Tony Stark to create a truly god-like suit of armor."
"I hope Asgard can provide some Uru metal as support for Earth."
As the words of the Ancient One faded away...
A brief silence fell over the garden.
Uru metal is a valuable strategic resource in Asgard.
Only royal weapons, such as Mjolnir and the Gungnir, are qualified to be forged from this metal.
Therefore, Odin did not answer immediately, but lowered his head and fell into deep thought.
Frigga didn't say anything, but her eyes were full of encouragement.
A while later...
Odin then slowly raised his head and looked at the Ancient One.
" The Ancient One, you should know the value of Uru metal. It is a symbol of Asgard's power."
"But..."
Odin suddenly laughed heartily.
"Just as you said, the future universe is full of unknown threats."
Asgard cannot be the protector forever; Earth also needs the power to protect itself.
" The Stark brothers really surprised me."
Odin stood up and waved his hand.
"A madman who breaks the rules with violence, a genius who deconstructs magic with science."
"Since these two Midgardian have potential and ambition, I don't mind placing a bet on them!"
The Ancient One paused for a moment, then Odin continued.
"Go back and tell Tony Stark that Asgard will provide him with a batch of Uru metal ore."
"However, these metals didn't come for free."
"Since they are businessmen, then we will follow their rules."
"This shipment of Uru metal is considered Asgard's investment in Stark Industries."
"The condition is that once Tony Stark develops a new type of armor that combines technology and magic, he must provide Asgard's army with technology upgrades free of charge!"
"And..."
Odin pointed to the spot where the water mirror had just disappeared.
"Let that bastard Luca take good care of my stupid son."
When the Ancient One heard Odin's conditions, he couldn't help but laugh.
Odin, as expected, was not one to suffer a loss.
This deal is a win-win situation no matter how you look at it.
Tony obtained the materials he had been dreaming of, and Odin achieved his goal.
"It's a deal, Your Majesty the God-King."
The Ancient One stood up and nodded slightly to Odin and Frigga.
"I will relay your words to Tony Stark verbatim."
"Believe me, with the addition of Uru metal, Tony's next creation will definitely make the entire Nine Realms tremble."
The Ancient One clasped her hands together, and the portal opened behind her once more.
"Well then, I won't disturb your peace any longer. There are still many messes on Earth waiting for me to clean up."
After speaking, the Ancient One turned and stepped into the portal.
The golden sparks dissipated, and the garden returned to its tranquility.
Odin sat back down at the stone table, picked up his teacup, and gazed at the distant snow-capped mountains.
" Frigga."
"I'm here, darling," Frigga replied gently.
"It seems the era of the Midgard is truly about to begin."
Odin felt a mix of emotions, including anticipation.
"With the Stark brothers around, even if one day I truly fall into eternal slumber, or Asgard faces the crisis of Ragnarok..."
Odin smiled.
"Perhaps, out of consideration for Thor, they will become our last hope."
Frigga gently took Odin's hand.
"They will. I believe in the Ancient One."
Their eyes met, and everything was understood without a word.