Chapter Seventy-Nine: Loki’s Conspiracy

The next day, the once-in-a-millennium astronomical event—the alignment of nine stars—occurred. With the doctor's help, Arthur calculated the locations on Earth where spatial distortions would take place. He called Steve Rogers and asked him to send people to cordon off those areas in advance, so that unsuspecting individuals wouldn't wander in and end up trapped in another world, unable to return.

When the nine stars aligned, people in London looked up to see eight gigantic circular portals in the sky, through which other worlds could be glimpsed. Many recorded this astonishing spectacle on their phones and shared the footage on the Heroes Network.

To calm the populace, the government claimed it was a mirage caused by the rare astronomical event and urged everyone not to panic. As quickly as the nine-star alignment appeared, it disappeared—within two hours, the vision in the sky faded away. By evening, all spatial anomalies had vanished, and the Avengers breathed a collective sigh of relief—no major incidents had occurred.

Thor, however, took his leave, preparing to return to Asgard and report to his father. Having committed treason, he felt he must face the consequences, even though he believed he had done the right thing.

Heimdall summoned the Rainbow Bridge, and Thor returned to Asgard, arriving at the palace hall to meet his father, Odin.

“You once said there was no wiser king than I, but you were mistaken! The uniting of the Nine Realms and thwarting the Dark Elves’ conspiracy—it was you who achieved this! How should Asgard reward its new king?” Odin, standing beside the now-restored throne, asked Thor.

“I wish to live my own life, Father. I cannot be king! I will devote my life to defending the peace of the Nine Realms, but I cannot do so from the throne. Loki had his flaws, yet he understood truths I may never learn. The cruelty and sacrifice that come with the throne change a person. I would rather be a good man than a great king!” Thor replied sincerely.

“Is this my son’s will, or the will of the woman he loves?” Odin looked at Thor and asked.

“I never thought Mother would sway your decisions, Father,” Thor answered.

“One son desires the throne too much, and the other casts it aside! Is this what I taught you?” Odin sighed.

“Loki is gone, and I am doing my best—is that not enough?” Thor asked.

Odin nodded, agreeing to his son's request. Thor took Mjolnir, intending to return it to his father.

“As long as you are worthy, it will always be yours,” Odin said, allowing Thor to keep the hammer.

“I will do my best!” Thor promised.

“I cannot bless you, nor wish you luck,” Odin said, shaking his head.

“I understand,” Thor replied.

“Though I am proud of the man you are today, I cannot say it aloud. But I will hold you in my heart! Go now, live the life you wish for, my son!” Odin smiled at Thor.

“Thank you, Father.”

Thor gave his father a long, meaningful look, then turned and left. At last, he could return to Earth and live his own life.

After Thor departed, a green light shimmered over Odin’s form—and he transformed into Loki.

It was Loki who, through magic, had taken control of Odin and exiled him to a nursing home on Earth. Now, with complete power over Asgard, he was perfectly content to see Thor leave for Earth. At last, Loki had become the true king of Asgard.

…

Arthur returned to New York, enriched by his journey to Asgard. He had not only forged new armor and upgraded his trident, but, most importantly, obtained the Reality Stone.

Only now did he finally feel capable of facing Thanos and surviving. It was a pity he hadn’t managed to sneak away with the Tesseract as well, but there would be opportunities for that next time.

He had been away from home for just over a week, and both Wanda and Pietro were surprised by his swift return.

Upon arriving home, Arthur’s first order of business was to release Venom. Ever since Arthur acquired the Reality Stone, Venom had refused to remain within him. The occasional energy emitted by the two Infinity Stones Arthur now possessed left Venom in constant terror, so it had hidden itself in a jar, which Arthur stored within the space of his armor.

Worried Venom would starve, Arthur quickly let it out and offered it some chocolate. This arrangement could not continue; Venom needed a new host.

Arthur had adopted a pure white American Shorthair kitten as Venom’s new host. Venom was far from pleased but dared not defy Arthur’s decision and reluctantly settled into the cat’s body.

Arthur named the kitten Venom and explained the situation to Wanda and Pietro, asking Wanda to keep an eye on it. With her Chaos Magic, Wanda could easily control Venom if it caused trouble.

Venom could only sulk in silence, curled up in its cat bed.

“Don’t be upset,” Arthur told Venom. “Do you know how fierce the cats on this planet are? Nick Fury once had a cat—a truly formidable one—people said it was a Flerken. Too bad it ran away; otherwise, I’d introduce you.”

“What? A Flerken! There’s a Flerken on Earth?” Venom had heard of the terrifying Flerken—one of the most fearsome creatures in the universe—but had never seen one.

“Fine, I’ll make do with this host for now,” the American Shorthair said in a human voice.

“Don’t worry. As long as you behave and don’t attack anyone, you’ll have all the food you want,” Arthur promised.

“All right,” Venom replied, listlessly curling up for a nap.

After editing the videos he’d shot in Asgard, Arthur uploaded them to the Heroes Network. Within five minutes, the video had garnered countless comments and reactions.

“Whoa! Where is this divine place? Oh, it’s the Realm Eternal—never mind…”

“So that’s why the uploader disappeared for so long—he was in the legendary Realm Eternal! Awesome!”

“Asgard is beautiful! Thor is so handsome! Wait, that Jane girl is his girlfriend? I object to this match!”

“Asgard even has markets—so many things I’ve never seen before!”

“Aquaman is awesome! Please make more videos like this—I love them!”

This video, titled “A Day Tour of Asgard,” instantly went viral, was shared across countries, and reached over a hundred million views in a single day—even television stations reported on it.

People on Earth finally gained real insight into the legendary Asgardians, saw their ordinary lives, and felt reassured—not all aliens were bent on invasion, after all.

Thor gained a massive following; everyone adored this handsome, reliable, and kind-hearted god, as well as the peace-loving Asgardians. Public opinion about Thor and Jane Foster was polarized: most supported their relationship and sent blessings, but some female fans felt Jane was unworthy of Thor, insisting they were better suited, and vehemently opposed their romance. In any case, the online drama was intense, and Thor and Jane quickly experienced the wild world of “fandom culture.”

Thor even called Arthur to express his gratitude, glad that people now liked Asgard. Arthur told Thor to spend less time with Jane and more time helping the Avengers—Hydra was still at large on Earth, after all, and nothing would get done if he spent all his time with Jane!

Arthur was, of course, jealous—a classic single man’s reaction.