Frigga, sitting at the table, looked at the Ancient One lying stiffly on the ground. The gentle smile on her face vanished instantly, replaced by genuine worry as she looked at Thor and spoke softly:
" Thor, is the Ancient One... really alright?"
Upon hearing this, Thor rolled his eyes dramatically, steadied the goblet that Odin had nearly knocked over, and then glanced at the "corpse" on the ground, his tone full of nonchalant sarcasm:
"Don't worry, Mother, that old bald woman just wants to die. I've been wandering the multiverse for so long, and I've never seen Sorcerer Supreme's better at finding excuses to log off than her."
He pulled up a chair and sat down, tapping his fingertips on the table as he began to list things out for Frigga:
"If she finds a reliable successor in the multiverse, she can come up with a hundred creative ways to get you offline and head straight for Eternity."
"The choking to death while eating is just the norm here. I also know of people who have fallen to their deaths down stairs or choked to death on herbal tea."
There were even cases of people being accidentally killed by a novice disciple's magic spell; she'd probably experienced every imaginable way to die in the multiverse by now."
It's not surprising that the Ancient One was in such a hurry to leave work; everyone's a regular office worker, who doesn't look forward to getting off work every day?
What's more, she's an old woman who's been doing this job for hundreds of years.
Every day is spent either borrowing money or on the way to fight the dimensional demon.
He figured that the Ancient One still owed a mountain of debts to dimensional demons.
Poor dimensional demons, not only did they not get back what they lent out, but now the debtor has run away.
Among those dimensional demons, there are only a handful who can rival Eternity. We can't very well fight Eternity over such a trivial matter.
They're simply stuck with this situation and have no choice but to suffer in silence.
Frigga was slightly taken aback, then shook her head helplessly, and most of the worry in her eyes dissipated.
Having lived for thousands of years, she naturally knew of the existence of Eternity, the cosmic deity, and understood the weariness of the Ancient One protecting Earth for hundreds of years.
It's truly unexpected that the Sorcerer Supreme, whose fame resounds throughout the multiverse, would depart in such an unconventional way.
As Thor spoke, he got up and walked to the Ancient One's side, bent down and reached out, easily straightening the person who was lying stiffly on the ground.
He looked at the Ancient One's still calm and expressionless face, his lips twitched, and he reached out to her chest. With a slight force, he ripped off the Eye of Agamotto, which was inlaid with the Time Stone.
The cool, metallic touch landed in his palm. Thor weighed the Sorcerer Supreme's keepsake in his hand, then couldn't help but look down at the "corpse" on the ground and mutter to himself:
"You old bald man, of all times to die, of all times to choke to death while eating Asgard cuisine? What, are you afraid I'll eat your Kamar-Taj bankrupt?"
He clicked his tongue and muttered to himself, his tone full of speechlessness:
"Before he died, he didn't personally hand over this legacy of the Sorcerer Supreme to Wanda, but insisted on making me deliver it through this long and complicated process."
"You're so cunning, it's almost hitting me in the face! Do you really think I can't see through your little scheme?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a familiar spark suddenly appeared in the void beneath Thor's feet, and an orange-red portal opened abruptly without warning.
A bottomless magical void lay beneath his feet, as if it would swallow him whole at any moment.
Thor's feet seemed nailed to the air; he didn't even flinch, let alone fall.
He didn't even lower his head, but merely glanced down at the still-closed the Ancient One on the ground and sneered:
"What? You old bald guy, you think I wasn't on guard? You've been fooled once, do you think I'll fall for it again?"
The moment he finished speaking, a semi-transparent Soul Stone slowly floated out from the Ancient One's physical body.
He was still wearing his signature yellow robe, had a bald head, and wore a gentle and composed smile. Looking at Thor's mocking expression, he showed no embarrassment at being exposed, but rather a sense of matter-of-fact composure.
The Ancient One floated to Thor, raised a finger, and gently tapped Thor's chest. A flash of magical light from her fingertip disappeared, leaving only a soft utterance, carrying endless expectation and relief:
" Thor, Earth, it's all up to you now."
Before she finished speaking, her Soul Stone transformed into a thin stream of orange-red magical light, vanishing completely from the tea room with a "whoosh," leaving not a trace behind.
Thor looked at the empty air, then looked down at the Eye of Agamotto in his hand, and couldn't help but roll his eyes again.
Well, that old bald guy has completely run away after get off work, leaving all the blame on his head.
He casually toyed with the Eye of Agamotto in his palm, the metal casing spinning gracefully between his fingertips, then turned to Odin at the table, raising an eyebrow and asking:
"Old Deng, I've taken over the mess that the Ancient One made, but what about you? What are you planning to do with Hela? You can't just wait for her to break free and tear your precious Asgard to shreds, can you?"
Upon hearing this, Odin put down his wine cup, a mysterious yet resolute smile appearing on his aged face. He slowly shook his head. "I intend to entrust Hela's matter to my child, to Thor of our universe."
He looked at Thor, his eyes filled with a father's deepest expectations for his son, his tone steady:
"This is a trial he was destined to endure, a hurdle he had to overcome to become the true king of Asgard. I cannot go in his place, and neither can you."
Thor looked at the determination in Odin's eyes, remained silent for a moment, and then shrugged indifferently.
He understood this feeling all too well. Back then, before he awakened his past life's wisdom, it was through countless life-and-death trials that he transformed from a reckless prince who only knew how to swing a hammer into a capable King of Asgard.
"Alright, since you've said so, I won't interfere anymore." Thor didn't say anything more.
Anyway, with the current lineup in the Prime Universe, Wanda has mastered Chaos Magic, and the Eternals are on Earth's side.
Let alone Hela, even if Thanos dared to come without collecting Infinity Stones, he would only get beaten to a pulp and wouldn't be able to cause any trouble.
As soon as he finished speaking, Thor flashed lightning at his fingertips, casually drew a circle in front of him, and orange-red sparks exploded instantly, creating a portal that led directly to the Avengers headquarters.
He waved to Odin and Frigga, took a step forward, and the scene before him instantly shifted from the fragrant tea room of Kamar-Taj to the bustling lobby of the Avengers headquarters.