Thor led the group, entering the ravaged palace with practiced ease.
The golden floor tiles beneath their feet shattered, revealing the dark foundation stones beneath. Several of the magnificent pillars, originally carved with the patterns of the World Tree, were broken, their remains scattered all over the ground.
A faint smell of burning lingered in the air, mixed with the odor of metal and rock being scorched by energy.
Before the throne, Odin stood upright, holding the Gungnir, his remaining divine majesty a stark contrast to the ruins.
Beside him, Frigga was gently holding the hand of the Classic Loki, while Thor and Jane Foster from the Prime Universe stood on the other side, their expressions different.
Odin's gaze passed over his two sons and landed first on the heroes from Earth.
His single eye only lingered briefly on ordinary people like Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Captain America before focusing on three specific individuals.
Bruce Banner.
This seemingly gentle scholar harbors a violent force capable of tearing a planet apart.
That primal rage, even through the human body, made Odin, the battle-hardened god-king, feel a slight chill.
The other one is Iron Fist Danny.
Odin recognized the golden aura emanating from him; it was the power of the immortal Shenron " Shou-Lao," a legacy of K'un-Lun. Thousands of years ago, he had a brief encounter with the previous Iron Fist.
The third is Wanda.
Odin looked at Wanda Maximoff and, sensing the immense power within her, frowned sharply. The host of Chaos Magic, a power capable of overturning the multiverse, was hidden within this ordinary woman.
These Earthlings were more dangerous than he had imagined.
Finally, Odin's gaze slowly and solemnly fell upon Thor.
It was a kind of scrutiny, an exploration, and even more so, an expectation that he himself was unaware of.
However, he did not speak to Thor first, but turned to the heroes of Earth and made a solemn and formulaic announcement.
"Warriors of Midgard, on behalf of Asgard, I thank you for your aid."
"In recognition of your bravery, you may ask for anything as a reward: wealth, knowledge, or the blessing of Asgard, whatever I can grant."
As soon as he finished speaking, Captain America Steve Rogers stepped forward, his posture upright and his expression solemn.
"Your Majesty, we have not come for rewards."
" Thor is our comrade-in-arms, and helping our comrades is our duty. We don't need any reward."
His words were righteous and resounding.
Odin nodded, unsurprised.
However, Thor stepped forward at that moment, breaking the solemn atmosphere.
"Father."
His voice echoed clearly in the dilapidated hall.
"I need a reward; I'm currently lacking a suitable weapon."
A flicker of surprise crossed Odin's single eye, but it quickly turned into understanding.
"Sure. You can choose any treasure from Asgard's treasury, or I can have the Nidavellir dwarf king reforge a Mjolnir for you."
This is already an extremely high promise.
Thor shook his head.
"No."
He looked directly at the God-King and spoke, word by word.
" Mjolnir can no longer bear my power."
"I need a King-level weapon, the Stormbreaker."
"Insolence!" Thor in the Prime Universe instinctively shouted, but then shut his mouth under Odin's imposing presence.
The air inside the hall seemed to freeze instantly.
Stormbreaker, the weapon prepared for the next monarch of Asgard, is one of the symbols of royal power.
Odin remained silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head.
"No. That was for my child... for Thor of this universe."
This decision is reasonable.
"Father," Thor said calmly, " the Thor of this universe values Mjolnir more than his own life. Even if you gave him Stormbreaker, he wouldn't use it."
His gaze shifted to his somewhat naive self in the Prime Universe.
"Rather than letting that divine weapon gather dust in the vault, entrust it to me. One day in the future, when Asgard of this universe faces another crisis, I, wielding the Stormbreaker, will be able to provide assistance far beyond your imagination."
These words were like a pebble thrown into Odin's calm lake, creating ripples all over it.
With such terrifying power, Thor and Loki are willing to become allies of Asgard in this universe...
This deal is a win-win situation no matter how you look at it.
Odin's fingers, which were tightly gripping the Gungnir, loosened slightly. He pondered for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh.
"Okay, I promise."
He looked at Captain America and the others again and asked, "You... really don't need anything else?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Very good." Odin nodded and instructed Thor in the Prime Universe, " Thor, take our guests to rest. In a few days, I will personally take you to Nidavellir."
Just as everyone was about to leave, Thor remembered something and said to Odin, "Father, while you're at it, forge a suitable magic staff for Loki as well. It feels strange that he's empty-handed; how can a mage function without a staff?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Frigga spoke up first, her voice full of doting and joy.
"Of course! My children, whatever you want, your mother will make it for you!"
She held Classic Loki's hand, her eyes filled with the joy of finding what she had lost, completely disregarding any talk of weapons.
"Come, Loki, tell your mother what you've been through all these years..."
Seeing the Classic Loki being pulled away by Frigga, his face showing a long-unseen, childlike helplessness, Thor smiled and didn't follow.
He turned around and followed Thor from the Prime Universe, leading everyone towards the arranged guest rooms.
Throughout the journey, both Jane Foster and Thor from the Prime Universe couldn't help but scrutinize him with intense curiosity.
Finally, Thor in the Prime Universe couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Um... how did your hammer disappear?"
Thor replied casually.
"Oh, it was shattered while fighting a huge number of monsters to stop Ragnarok."
Upon hearing this nonchalant reply, Thor in the Prime Universe subconsciously puffed out his chest, gripped Mjolnir at his waist, and spoke with a touch of youthful arrogance.
"I definitely won't let Mjolnir shatter like you did!"
Thor almost burst out laughing when he heard that.
Good heavens, I had to fight Surtur, Fenris Wolf, the Midgard Serpent, Hela, and countless armies all by myself to finally shatter the hammer.
You're lucky; your sister Hela will crush your precious hammer with just one hand someday.
That's so embarrassing, bro.
He can't even beat his own older sister, he's utterly useless!
That's an insult to the prestige of Thor!
Just then, Jane Foster, who was standing nearby, finally found an opportunity to interject. Like a scholar who had discovered a new continent, she excitedly threw out a series of questions.
"Hello, Thor... uh, another Thor. Does the multiverse really exist? Does it follow the eleven-dimensional supergravity model of M-theory? Do your universes and our universes have the same fundamental physical constants? Inter-universe travel..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" Thor quickly raised his hand to interrupt her. "You should ask Tony; he's an expert in this."
After saying that, he remembered something, glanced at the Mickey Mouse still jumping around on the ground, and shrugged.
"Okay, he probably can't explain your question now."
Thor then turned his gaze to Dr. Banner beside him.
" Banner, this is one of your strong suits. You know, I've always had a bit of a headache with all this fancy physics stuff."
Dr. Banner adjusted his glasses, shook his head with a wry smile.
"I only learned about the multiverse today... and my understanding of it is still quite limited."
Thor could only look helplessly at Jane Foster, who had a look of great curiosity on her face.
"Okay, what would you like to know?"
Jane Foster immediately posed a complex question about spacetime curvature and quantum foam.
Thor was completely bewildered. He was too lazy to think about these mind-bending things. His eyes darted around, and he suddenly looked at the Prime Universe Thor next to him, who was still immersed in the pride of "I will never let the hammer break".
He grinned at Jane Foster and immediately changed the subject.
"It's okay, his hammer will break eventually too."
He pointed to Thor in the Prime Universe, and then to Jane.
"Then you lifted it up and became Mighty Thor."