Hela turned, beginning to explore other parts of the vault. But she stopped and looked back.
"Vidar… how do you know so much about these Gems? Odin's memories can't be that detailed. And you talk about them as if…" she paused, "as if you had already seen them in use. As if you knew exactly what they can do."
Vidar felt his stomach tighten. This was the question he had been expecting.
"Let's say," he said carefully, "that I have access to… knowledge that goes beyond Odin's memories. The Vidarforce is not just power. It is a connection to the balance of the universe. And balance shows me possibilities. Potential futures. Paths that could be taken."
It wasn't a lie. It was just… a very carefully constructed truth.
Hela studied him for a long moment. Vidar could see that she wasn't completely convinced, but for now, she seemed willing to accept the explanation.
"You are an enigma, little brother," she finally said. "But I suppose that makes our alliance more interesting."
She turned fully, moving away from the Tesseract toward other pedestals.
"Come. Show me what else the old bastard was hiding down here."
During the next hour, they explored the rest of the vault. Hela recognized many artifacts—weapons she herself had helped to "acquire" during her conquests.
"The Crown of Surtur," she said, pointing at an ornate helmet of frozen flames. "We took it after the last war with Muspelheim. Odin always said that as long as we had it, Surtur would never be able to reach his true power."
Vidar observed the crown with interest. In the canon, Surtur would eventually recover his power and destroy Asgard during Ragnarok. But that was a problem for another day.
"The Casket of Ancient Winters," Hela continued, passing by a blue ice box that emanated cold. "From Jotunheim. With this, the Frost Giants could freeze entire worlds."
Vidar remembered this as well. Loki would try to use the Bifrost to destroy Jotunheim with this power. Another event that he could eventually change.
But what truly caught his attention was a golden gauntlet on a raised pedestal. It was large, ornate, with spaces for six gems.
The Infinity Gauntlet.
Well, the fake one. The real one was with the dwarves of Nidavellir and Thanos would eventually obtain it. But this one…
"What is that?" Hela asked, noticing his gaze.
"A reminder," Vidar said softly. "Of Odin's ambition. At one point, he also thought about gathering the Infinity Stones. He had that gauntlet made for that purpose."
"But he never did it," Hela observed.
"No. Eventually he realized that some powers are too great even for gods."
Vidar stepped away from the false gauntlet. It wasn't worth mentioning that there was a real one somewhere.
As they continued exploring, Vidar noticed something he didn't remember from the movies. An area of the vault that was even more sealed than the rest. The runes here were different—older, more complex.
"What's in there?" he asked, pointing at the sealed section.
Hela frowned.
"I don't know. I never saw that section before. It must be something Odin added after my imprisonment."
They approached together. The seals here weren't only Odin's—there were multiple layers, as if different beings had contributed to keeping something imprisoned.
"These seals…" Hela murmured, studying them, "some are Asgardian, yes. But others… I don't recognize. This one bears the signature of elven magic. This other one… is Vanir. And this…" she touched a rune that glowed with green light, "is not from any realm I know."
Vidar extended his hand, letting the Vidarforce flow toward the seals. Immediately, he felt resistance. These seals weren't only physical—they were conceptual. Designed to keep something imprisoned not just in space, but across multiple levels of reality.
And then he felt something else. A presence behind the seals. Something… ancient. Powerful. And definitely not part of the Marvel canon he knew.
"There's something in there," Hela said, her warrior instincts on alert. "Something alive. I can feel it."
Vidar moved forward slowly. This was new. Something that wasn't in the movies. A divergence from the canon he knew.
"Should we open it?" Hela asked, and there was excitement in her voice—the kind of excitement that comes from discovering an unknown challenge.
Vidar considered the question carefully. On one hand, his nature as a reincarnated being told him that investigating the unknown was risky. On the other, the Vidarforce within him—the power of balance—urged him to discover what had been sealed here.
"No," he finally said. "Not today. First I need to study these seals more closely. Understand why Odin, and apparently others, considered it necessary to imprison this so completely."
Hela looked disappointed but nodded.
"Always the careful one," she said with a touch of mockery. "But I suppose that's why you have the Vidarforce and I only have Asgard."
She stepped back from the seals.
"Very well. So, what do we do with all of this?" she gestured to encompass the entire vault. "We have artifacts of immense power, including an Infinity Stone. We have something mysterious sealed that even you don't dare to release yet. And we have a realm to govern."
Vidar looked around the vault, his mind working quickly.
"First, we strengthen the seals on the Tesseract. If someone comes looking for it, I want it to be as difficult as possible to take."
"Second, I catalog everything here. I need to know exactly what resources we have."
"Third…" he looked toward the sealed section, "I investigate what Odin was hiding there. Because if it was important enough for multiple realms to contribute to imprisoning it, then I need to know what it is before it becomes a problem."
Hela nodded slowly.
"A solid plan. Boring, but solid."
She began walking toward the exit of the vault.
"While you do that, I'll begin reorganizing Asgard. The guards need renewed training. The defenses must be updated. And I need to establish my authority as ruler."
She stopped at the doorway and looked back.
"And Vidar… thank you."
Vidar looked at her, surprised.
"Why?"
"For not treating me the way Odin did. For giving me this opportunity. For…" she paused, searching for the right words, "for seeing me as something more than a problem that needs to be solved."
Vidar nodded slowly.
"Everyone deserves the chance to be more than what others decide they should be."
Hela smiled—a genuine smile, not the predatory one she usually wore.
"I will make Asgard something we can both be proud of, brother. I promise you."
And with that, she left the vault.
Vidar remained alone among the artifacts. He walked back toward the Tesseract, watching as the Space Stone pulsed within the cube.
In his previous life, he had seen this Stone cause so much destruction. He had seen Loki use it to bring an alien invasion to Earth. He had seen Thanos crush the Tesseract with his bare hand and take the Stone.
But now, with the Vidarforce, with his knowledge of the future, he had the opportunity to change all of that.
"Thanos," he murmured softly. "There are still years, maybe decades, before you begin your search. But when you do…"
His eyes shone with determination.
"You will find a universe very different from the one you expected. Because this time, someone knows you're coming. And they will be ready."
He turned toward the sealed section they had discovered, where something ancient waited behind multiple layers of seals.
"But first… I need to uncover what other secrets Odin was keeping. Because if there's one thing I've learned, it's that the universe always has surprises. And not all of them are in the movies I watched."
With one last glance at the Tesseract, Vidar left the vault.
He had work to do.
A universe to prepare.
And a destiny to change.
END OF THE CHAPTER