Wherever Lucci walked, Asgardian warriors on both sides beat their chests and gave the highest military salute. The envoys present bowed deeply, not even daring to look directly at the young man destined to rule the Nine Worlds.
At the foot of the steps stood Thor, no longer his usual boisterous self, gripping the Stormbreaker with a serious expression. There was no jealousy in his eyes, only pure pride for his brother.
Loki stood among the crowd, impeccably dressed and smiling gracefully—every bit the elegant second prince he was known to be. Yet, no one noticed the cold madness and resentment hidden deep within his emerald eyes.
Lucci approached the throne, saluting Odin. Odin rose, ready to recite the coronation oath.
But at that very moment!
A voice transmitted directly through divine souls rang in both Odin's and Lucci's minds.
"Your Majesty! Your Highness! Something's wrong! I just saw the treasury about to be robbed!"
It was Heimdall's voice!
Odin immediately frowned, but maintained a calm expression, thinking quickly. "Heimdall, stabilize the situation. What's going on?"
"Your Majesty! I saw it through the power of time! In a few minutes, three Frost Giants will infiltrate Odin's vault through an unknown secret passage—they're after the Casket of Ancient Winters!"
Odin's single eye flashed with shock! Yet what surprised him was not the Frost Giant intrusion, but Heimdall's words!
"The power of time?"
Odin was full of doubt. "Heimdall, since when have you possessed the ability to see the future?"
He knew Heimdall's omniscience was limited to the present. Monitoring the future was impossible! That was a forbidden domain of the laws of time!
"Reporting to Your Majesty! It's not my ability... Prince Lucci granted it to me!"
"What?!"
Odin was thunderstruck! He stared at Lucci beneath the throne in disbelief. To directly... bestow the power of time itself upon another? This was no longer "powerful"—this was "authority!" A privilege only the supreme gods possessed!
"Father," Lucci's sacred thought cut through Odin's shock. "What matters now is the main issue. This isn't the time for discussion. I'll go check the vault."
"No!" Odin shook his head slightly, responding with a sacred thought. "Today is your coronation. You must remain here! The ceremony cannot be interrupted!"
This concerned the dignity of Asgard and the stability of the throne!
At this point, Thor noticed the strange atmosphere and stepped forward with his axe, asking in a low voice, "Father, what's wrong?"
Odin glanced at his reckless but powerful eldest son and made a swift decision. "Thor! Go to the treasury immediately! There may be intruders—stop them!"
"Yes!" Thor's eyes shone with excitement at the prospect of battle. He called his companions and rushed toward the vault with his axe.
But it was already too late.
Before Thor reached the treasury, the alarm sounded.
Bzzz—
A piercing siren echoed instantly throughout Asgard! In the grand hall of the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf, everyone's faces changed dramatically!
The alarm from Odin's vault?
Meanwhile, deep underground in the hidden vault, three tall Frost Giants with icy blue skin crept in through a secret passage. They made straight for the frost-covered treasure chest, their eyes alight with excitement!
…
"Damn it!"
Thor, racing toward the vault, heard the alarm and his face turned grim. Roaring in fury, he stopped caring about appearances, transforming into golden lightning with the Stormbreaker and Mjolnir in hand, dashing toward the vault at full speed. Lady Sif and the Warriors Three saw this and immediately followed.
But when they arrived, the sight before them made Thor's rage explode!
At the entrance, several asgardian warriors lay on the ground, encased in deadly ice. The pedestal where the "Casket of Ancient Winters" sat was now empty!
The Casket of Ancient Winters had been stolen!
"No!!" Thor howled in anger, terrifying thunder erupting from him, shaking the entire treasury. He couldn't accept it! In the heart of Asgard! Right under their noses! On his brother's coronation day! They'd been humiliated by mere thieves!
"Frost Giants!" Thor's eyes turned red with rage. "You will pay for this!!"
To him, this wasn't just theft—it was an open provocation by the Frost Giants against Asgard!
At that moment, a voice sounded from behind.
"Looks like we're all late," Loki sighed, walking up to Thor, his voice burning with apparent concern. "What a pity. Imagine how angry Father will be when he finds out."
Furious, Thor said, "Let's go to Jotunheim right now, take back the Casket of Ancient Winters, and chop off Laufey's head!"
"No, brother!" Loki quickly held him back, "With the Casket of Ancient Winters, Laufey's power is greatly enhanced. This isn't something you can handle!"
Sif and the Warriors Three nodded, agreeing with Loki's logic.
But Thor wasn't having any of it. Instead, his anger only flared higher. Swinging his Stormbreaker, he sneered, "He has the Casket of Ancient Winters, but I have the Stormbreaker. Who's afraid of whom?"
Ignoring further persuasion, Thor headed for the Bifrost, demanding Heimdall open it, and forced his way to Jotunheim.
…
Jotunheim, the Frost Giants' lair.
King Laufey sat on his throne of ancient ice, caressing the stolen Casket of Ancient Winters and feeling its mighty power surge within him. A smile of excitement and satisfaction spread across his face.
But his smile didn't last long. Suddenly, cracks of rainbow light split the sky. Thor and five companions descended onto Jotunheim like gods arriving on earth.
"Laufey! Return what isn't yours, or I'll smash this place to pieces!" Thor brandished both artifacts, crackling with lightning and storm.
Laufey stared at Thor, briefly stunned, then sneered. "Foolish son of Odin! You dare come here alone to die? Perfect! Today, I'll take your head and honor my fallen people."
With the Casket of Ancient Winters in hand, Laufey's power had grown tremendously—he didn't take Thor seriously at all.
Hearing this, Thor lost all patience! He roared and charged, the Stormbreaker cleaving through the air, colliding with the massive ice spear conjured by Laufey!
Boom!
A terrifying shockwave erupted. With the Casket of Ancient Winters, Laufey could actually fight Thor, who wielded both artifacts!
At the same time, thousands of Frost Giants surged in from all sides, surrounding Sif, Loki, and the Warriors Three, launching a frenzied assault!
The battle in Jotunheim was fierce from the start. Thor fought bravely with his twin artifacts, but Laufey, empowered by the land and the Casket of Ancient Winters, proved a formidable foe. The two clashed in the sky above the palace, ice and lightning flying, neither gaining the upper hand for the moment.
Meanwhile, Sif and the Warriors Three were in trouble. Though elite Asgardian warriors, they were quickly worn down by the sheer numbers of raging Frost Giants, their bodies starting to show wounds.
Loki, dagger in hand, darted nimbly among the combatants, looking as if he were fighting desperately, but in truth conserving his strength. He watched coldly as his companions struggled, his eyes glinting with icy calculation.
On the Bifrost, Heimdall watched all this intently with his all-seeing gaze. Seeing Fandral blown away by a Frost Beast while protecting Hogun, Heimdall knew he could wait no longer.
"Your Majesty! The situation is dire! Prince Thor and the others are surrounded!"
Heimdall immediately reported the battle to Odin in the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf.
At that moment, the coronation had just ended. Hearing Heimdall's report, Odin's eye burned with anger.
"Fool who knows not the height of the sky!" Odin roared, springing from the throne and slamming his eternal spear to the ground.
Boom!
A pillar of golden light brighter than the sun shot out, enveloping Thor and his companions in Jotunheim.
The next moment, the light vanished, and Thor, Loki, Sif, and the Warriors Three were forcibly teleported back to the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf.
Sif and the battered Warriors Three breathed sighs of relief. Thor, still in the throes of battle, saw his enemies vanish and, ungrateful, shouted at Odin with indignation.
"Father! Why did you stop me? I was about to win! I could have reclaimed the Casket of Ancient Winters and chopped off Laufey's head!"
Odin looked at his unrepentant son, disappointment in his heart extinguishing the last warmth like a cold tide.
"Win?" Odin's voice was cold as ancient ice. "Look at your companions! They were already wounded, dying in battle! And you—yet you only see your own foolish glory! Would you use everyone's lives to trade for your own achievements?"
"They started it!" Thor protested, unconvinced. "They stole our treasure during Lucci's coronation! It's an insult to us all! I just did what had to be done!"
"So, you secretly led troops and dragged all of Asgard into the mire of war?" Odin strode down the steps, his voice thunderous. "You are a warrior, Thor! But you only know how to kill, not how to think!"
Odin's voice was full of disappointment. "I always hoped you would mature and understand responsibility! But I was wrong! You are unworthy of this power, or these artifacts!"
"I, arrogant? Vain?" Thor's chest was pierced by Odin's words. Gripping the twin artifacts, he roared, "Everything I do is for Asgard's glory! What am I doing wrong?!"
"You still don't understand!" Father and son began a heated argument in the hall, Odin's disappointment clashing with Thor's resentment, casting a heavy gloom over the atmosphere.
Loki lowered his head, but a satisfied smile of conspiracy played on his lips.
Lucci, meanwhile, stood quietly by the throne from beginning to end, watching Loki. He knew Loki had once again chosen the most foolish path—provoking war between Asgard and Jotunheim to seize power amidst the chaos. And Thor was still the reckless prince who needed to overcome hardship to grow.
Finally, Odin's patience snapped. Staring at the still stubborn Thor, he made his decision.
"Thor Odinson! You have utterly disappointed me!"
Odin's voice was filled with authority and coldness as he raised the eternal spear.
"I, Odin, Father of the Gods, hereby—strip you of all divine power!"
As his words fell, Odin slammed the spear, and supreme power instantly enveloped Thor! Thor felt the power of the Thunder God forcibly ripped from his body! His armor shattered into fragments, dissolving into points of light, leaving only mortal clothes. Even Mjolnir grew heavy and dim in his hand.
Odin spoke in a low voice to Lucci, "Lucci, confiscate his Stormbreaker."
Knowing Odin was furious and now wasn't the time to argue, Lucci reached out and took the Stormbreaker from Thor's hand.
Odin then seized Thor's hammer and intoned, "Whosoever holds this hammer, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor!"
Having done all this, Odin grabbed the weakened Thor with one hand, holding Mjolnir in the other, and flung him toward the Bifrost.
"Banish him to Midgard!"
A column of rainbow light flashed, and Thor and his hammer vanished from Asgard.
The hall sank into funereal silence.
Loki was secretly delighted that one more rival had been banished, though he wore a mask of concern and sadness for his brother.
Only Lucci watched the direction Thor disappeared, then looked back at Loki.
…
After Thor was banished by Odin's wrath, the news that the eldest prince had been stripped of his godly powers and cast into the mortal realm spread rapidly throughout the palace, causing an uproar. But for some, this chaos was good news.
Jotunheim.
Frost Giant King Laufey, upon learning this from Loki, grinned with glee on his blue, icy face.
Odin's reckless but powerful son Thor had been discarded! Moreover, Odin and Thor were at odds—Asgard would surely suffer a heavy blow. To Laufey, this was the perfect opportunity! With the added confidence granted by the Casket of Ancient Winters, a mad thought formed in his mind—kill Odin while he's weak!
"Assemble the army!" Laufey rose from his throne, roaring, "Odin is old! His oldest son is gone! Now is the time to wipe away shame and reclaim our glory! Attack! March on Asgard—total war!"
For a while, battle drums thundered across the frozen plains of Jotunheim. Countless Frost Giants and beasts awoke from the ice, forming an immense invasion force advancing on Asgard's borders!
On the Bifrost, Heimdall immediately noticed the development.
"Your Majesty! The Frost Giants have assembled their entire army and are marching on our borders through the roots of Yggdrasil!"
An urgent alarm once again reached the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf.
At this moment, Odin sat on the throne, instructing Lucci on the daily affairs of rule. The events with Thor had left him exhausted.
Upon hearing Heimdall's report, Odin's face changed drastically!
"That bastard!"
Odin stood up abruptly, divine power surging from him as he prepared to go to the battlefield himself.
But Lucci stopped him, a blade-less Path of Flame sword appearing in his hand.
He looked at Odin solemnly and said lightly, "Father, don't worry. It's just a horde of Frost Giants. Leave it to me."
…
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