100 Chapters yay!
Random art
Dante couldn't be bothered to ask the Spirit about her relationship with Asgard or Odin. Whatever history existed between them could wait, or better yet, never be his problem.
He exhaled and pushed the excess mystical energy out of his system. It left him in a sharp gust of wind that swept through the forest.
Then he laughed, which was abruptly cut off by Death's whisper.
"Companion, you've reached your limit. It would be wise to disengage."
He ignored Death's warning, crossing his arms confidently. "What will you do now?"
The Spirit stared at him, flames dancing around her head. "You think I cannot travel between dimensions?"
Dante let the silence do the work. In the MCU, Robbie Reyes' Ghost Rider had the ability to travel dimensions. He was banking on the possibility that Natasha's Spirit was maybe bound by different rules.
The Spirit clenched her Hellfire chain and approached him. "While I'm here, I can't judge you. But I can still punish you for your arrogance."
"I'm stronger than you," he bluffed. "You can't beat me."
She paused her footsteps. "A cosmic entity's power is not a trivial thing. How long can you maintain that form? Perhaps for an hour at most."
"Do you think Death would choose such a useless vessel for her companion?"
The bluff made her pause in contemplation for a few moments. "That might be so, but every human has a limit to their stamina. You'll eventually hit a wall. I will never."
"Let's say we fight like hell here. Won't that bring Odin's attention?" He tilted his head to the glorious architecture in the distance. "He might not be able to kill you, but he can seal you with magic or split you from Natasha. Asgardian magic is pretty versatile."
Using Asgard gods to deter the Spirit of Vengeance was the real reason behind dragging her here. In the comics, Odin with Odinforce was just below the cosmic entity level, capable of multiversal-scale feats. Sometimes he was on Galactus level, sometimes he was weaker. And even in the MCU, he was powerful enough to defeat Surtur and Hela in his prime.
The Spirit's chain tightened around her fist. "You think I fear Odin."
"No," Dante said honestly. "I think you won't make unnecessary enemies over some corrupt souls. Besides, Odin might be aware of us already. He has great awareness across nine realms."
"Companion!" Death's voice sounded urgent. "Please, end this now. You'll make the backlash worse."
He shook his head. Only a few more minutes. "There is no point fighting anymore. Can you return Natasha so we can leave?"
The Spirit grabbed his throat with both skeletal hands. "You're infuriating me. I want to end you right here."
He gently grasped her hands and guided them down. "You'll only be sending me to my beloved's arms. That's a win for me."
That froze the Spirit. She was reminded again of his lack of fear toward Death because that was the entity bonded with him. Threatening him with death was like threatening a man with sleep.
She released her clenched fist. "I'd have gone all out to kill you… if I wasn't thirsting for revenge myself."
This wasn't her just way of trying to appear strong. She truly meant what she said.
"Who is it?"
She slung the Hellfire chain over her shoulder, letting it wrap around her. "A Hell Lord."
"A Hell Lord? Does his name start with M?"
He didn't say the name. Some beings hear their names across dimensions, and he had no interest in inviting that crazy demon's attention.
The Spirit chuckled. "Aren't you full of surprises?"
He shrugged. "Superficial knowledge."
She put her skeletal hands on his shoulder. "I'll propose an alliance. Between us. I let go of the prisoners and owe you a favor. In return, you aid me in killing that damned demon."
"No," he gave a plain answer. "You can have the prisoners. And the favor."
He would rather go back to his previous world than fight the sadistic Hell Lord. Mephisto would never fight fair. No, that demon would make the people around his target suffer, tormenting them until they broke down.
"That's unfortunate." The Spirit shook her head in disappointment and stepped back. "I'm giving control back to Romanoff. Come to me if you change your mind."
"Never."
She placed a hand on her hip, posing seductively despite the fact her figure was very much a skeleton. "You'll be surprised how much I can teach you about demonic magic."
He was quite curious about her background now. Her knowledge of demonic magic confirmed her race as a demon or something close to it. However, Natasha's Spirit wasn't Zarathos, the most famous Spirit of Vengeance. His sharpened senses through Death's link had told him about her gender. The Spirit was a female.
'A powerful female demon with grudges against Mephisto.'
Nothing clicked. Which meant the background was either not from his knowledge, or the universe had a female Zarathos.
"Companion, don't panic," Death whispered, and suddenly, a blanket of darkness fell over them and lifted them in the sky. He felt a solid platform under his feet.
The spot gave a great view of Asgard. The city of gods was truly breathtaking.
[Resonance Link severed due to an external factor.]
The notification flashed across his mind a moment before the pain hit. It made him want to pass out right there. Strangely, he didn't feel exhausted enough to pass out like the previous times he overused Death's powers. His entire body was wrecked with pain more than it was with exhaustion.
He swayed on his feet but didn't fall as arms wrapped around his waist. Natasha's first action after regaining control wasn't to demand answers or freak out over floating in the air. It was to catch him.
"I got you," Natasha whispered, a hint of concern in her voice. "You pushed yourself too hard."
He let his head drop on her shoulder. "I wouldn't have, if someone didn't start rampaging."
Natasha chuckled bitterly. "It's my bad. Contracts always screw us over, don't they?"
"All's well that ends well, right?" He forced a smile. "Besides… I could happily die right now."
If he'd told his past self that one day Natasha Romanoff would be holding him like this, past-Dante would grow jealous to the point of committing war crimes.
"You—" She paused abruptly and pushed him away. Hooking his arm over her shoulder properly, she took more of his weight. Then she looked down. "Look there. Who are these people?"
He followed her line of sight. In the exact spot where he'd been standing with the Spirit, an old man in ornate bronze-golden armor knelt beside a patch of grass scorched black by hellfire.
The one-eyed Skyfather, Odin.
Behind him stood two younger men.
A tale and broad-shouldered young man, handsome in an universal way, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore silver armor, a red cape falling behind him.
Thor Odinson.
The other was slimmer, paler. His long black hair fell over the green cape attached to his silver armor.
Loki Odinson.
Dante and Natasha floated roughly ten meters above them, yet the father and sons weren't aware of them.
"This is my veil," Death said, reassuring him. "It will keep you concealed from their senses."
He nodded gratefully. Below, Odin stood slowly, crushing a handful of burnt grass in his fist. He let the ashes drift away on the wind, showing a grim expression.
"Father," Thor said respectfully with his hands clasped behind his back. "Is there a reason we're here to observe nature?"
"Oh, brother. What do you mean?" Loki smiled warmly. "Nature is worthy of reverence. The All-Mother herself teaches that even gods must respect the balance of life. To ignore nature is to ignore the foundation upon which even Asgard rests."
Thor gave Loki a sideways nudge with his elbow, signaling toward the grim look etched on Odin's face. "Father, did you notice something… troubling?"
Odin stared at the scorched grass and the empty spot next to it, where Dante's death aura had touched. "Hellfire and sorcerer energy. Our realm was invaded."
"Invaders?" Thor's brows lifted. His hand instinctively moved toward where Mjolnir would be if he'd brought it. "Why did Bifrost not inform us?"
"Someone's power had blocked our perceptions," Odin replied grimly and tapped the ground with his Gungnir. The earth responded as a massive chunk of forest floor ripped from the ground and floated, surrounded by a shimmering magical bubble. "Return to the palace. I have an important business to handle."
Thor and Loki exchanged a glance, but neither questioned him.
With another tap of Gungnir against the ground, Odin vanished in a flash of golden light, along with the floating piece of forest land.
Dante winced at a sudden pulse in his skull. "Shit."
"Don't use Biokinesis." Death appeared directly in front of him, gazing at him with a concerned frown. "You still haven't recovered from its excessive use from yesterday."
Natasha almost lost her footing at Death's sudden manifestation. "Who?"
"Death," she replied with a nod. "Natasha Romanoff, I know what you want to ask. The answer will disappoint you. I can't teleport you back."
"Why not? What's holding a cosmic entity back?"
"Odin will notice instantly the moment I use my powers. Then he will hunt you down."
Natasha furrowed her brows. "How long will I be stuck here then?"
"Until Dante can recover his ability to use mystical energy." Death's hand rose and gently cupped Dante's face, a thumb brushing his cheek. "His astral body is injured from absorbing a lot of mystical energy at once. The pain he feels is… comparable to torture."
The journey to Asgard made him exceed the capacity of his astral body. He thought he could bypass that in his Death resonance form, but that had been his wishful thinking. His astral body stayed the same regardless of Death's resonance.
Natasha gave him a complicated gaze, probably blaming herself for this, then she turned back to Death. "Who were those three? Why are you avoiding them?"
"Asgardian gods. They hold a bit of a grudge against me from the past," Death patiently replied to Natasha's question. "Help me take care of my Companion until he recovers."
"Wait, why is Odin holding a grudge against you? What did you do to him?"
Death drew close and pecked his cheek. "Focus on resting properly for now."
It was clear she was trying to reduce his stress by withholding information.
"Okay. Fine."
Death smiled softly. "Natasha, your answer?"
"I don't mind taking care of him." Natasha tightened her grip on his wrist. "But Norman—he's the problem. It'll be hard to stop him with both of us stuck here."
They were two of the hardest hitters keeping Norman in check. Without them, Norman's symbiote army might decimate a city.
Unless the X-Men decided to show up.
***
Hela Odinsdottir paced the dead realm. Hel wasn't cold like winter, but cold like the warmth never existed here. Fortunately, as a Goddess of Death, she never required warmth to exist.
She had traveled the barren landscape with stone and ash enough times to memorize every detail. Even the sparse clouds in the dark, sunless sky were etched into her mind.
She stopped beside a massive boulder and sat down with her back against it.
Her eyes lifted to the dead sky.
"Damn you, Odin," she muttered in a poisonous voice. "Damn you and your righteous cowardice."
Then her gaze sharpened, turning more vicious.
"And damn you, Death." Her clenched fist trembled in fury. "Backstabber."
The air suddenly shimmered. Her head snapped toward the disturbance.
Odin appeared from nowhere. He stood tall despite his age, with Gungnir planted firmly in the ground.
Hela's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Well, well. The dear father finally misses his firstborn. How touching."
Odin's expression remained the same stoic. "You and I both know it was your bloodlust that led to this."
Hela laughed scornfully. "My bloodlust?"
She stood slowly, brushing ash from her dark dress-armor.
"You dress it up as a flaw in me to cope with reality." Her sharp gaze landed on Odin's face. "I was your Executioner. Say what you will, but it won't change that millions died because you gave the order."
Her "bloodlust" was to conquer the entire universe for her father. Maybe not entirely for him as the crown would have been passed down to her one day. It didn't change the fact that Odin was the man who set her on this path.
He showed her the thrill of conquest and then abandoned her.
Odin closed his eyes, and once again, he averted his gaze from reality. "Believe what you will."
He tapped Gungnir. A rift opened, and a piece of land floated through, wrapped in protective magic. Odin lowered it before Hela, then dismissed the protection.
Fresh scent hit the dead air. Fresh soil and living greenery—the scent of life.
"Pleasant." She moved her hands through her hair, inhaling deeply, savoring it like a drug she had been denied for centuries. Suddenly, her eyes snapped wide open, burning with fury. "This scent belongs to her."
"It seemed my suspicion was right." Odin turned towards the distant ruined landscapes of Hel, gripping Gungir in his aging hands. "She has chosen a new apostle."
"Odin," Hela spoke in a voice colder than Jotunheim's deepest frost. "Release me. NOW."
Odin stayed quiet.
"I will slay her apostle." Hela stepped closer and looked at Odin from the side. "No, that would be too easy a death for one serving that treacherous entity. We must torture them for as long as we can."
Odin shook his head. "You will stay here as long as I breathe."
"Then don't kill him." Hela's smile turned vicious. "Cast them into Hel with me. Let me sever her Apostle's head with my own hands."
Odin simply turned his back on her. "I only came here to confirm my suspicions."
Before he used Gungnir to return, Hela spoke, "Father."
Odin stopped, giving her a chance to speak her mind.
"You're aging. There will be a day your life reaches end," she said softly, voice filled with affection, but her words couldn't be crueler. "And that will be the day I conquer the nine rulers, starting from Asgard."
Odin tapped Gungnir without a word and vanished.
Hela stood alone again, surrounded by unbroken silence. She stared at the patch of grass Odin had left behind. She walked over to it and stomped on it. Her boot crushed the green beneath until nothing remained but pulp.
"Death, Odin, my Necroswords will bathe in your blood one day."
***
You can read 20 more chapters on my Patreon!
Patreon.com/Lordheaven