Right after that, Heimdall's eyes grew wide with shock! That expression… it wasn't fear, nor worry. Instead, it was as if he was witnessing the end of the world, the collapse of the universe, and the overturning of reality itself… The ultimate numbness and overwhelming awe!
"Heimdall?" Odin, seeing this scene, felt a chill in his heart and asked uneasily, "What's wrong? Why did you stop?"
"Did something happen to Lucci?" Thor grew more anxious, his eyes reddening with worry, thunder crackling around Mjolnir in his grip.
"Did that bastard Malekith hurt Lucci? I'll tear him apart!"
"No… No, that's not what happened…" Under Odin and Thor's relentless questioning, Heimdall finally regained his senses with great effort. He turned and met the anxious gazes of Odin and Thor, his own expression extremely peculiar—a mix of shock, disbelief, and complicated emotions.
"No… All Father, Thor…" Heimdall swallowed, as if trying to force the words out against his will. "Prince Lucci… He's fine."
"He… He's incredibly powerful."
"Fine?" Odin and Thor were momentarily stunned, the tension in their hearts easing slightly, only for suspicion to quickly intensify.
"If he's fine, then why did you stop? Why aren't you sending us over?" Odin pressed. "That's the Dark Elves' army! Even if Lucci is safe now, he can't last long!"
Heimdall took a deep breath and spoke softly, as if in a dream. "You don't need to go, All Father."
"Because… there are no more enemies."
"King Malekith of the Dark Elves… the cursed warriors… and the entire dark fleet that covered the sky…"
"They're all… gone."
"Gone?" Thor's eyes widened, dumbly repeating, "What do you mean, gone? Did they escape—did Lucci scare them off?"
"No… they didn't escape." Heimdall shook his head, the shock in his eyes growing ever stronger. "If they were retreating, I would have seen the path of their escape."
"But this… this is complete disappearance."
"How should I put it… it's as if they never existed at all."
As he spoke, Heimdall seemed to be grasping a scene that words could not describe. Suddenly recalling something, he activated his all-seeing eyes.
"All Father, Prince Thor, please look."
"This is an image after I rewound time using the power granted by Prince Lucci."
Buzz—
With Heimdall's divine power, a gigantic, exceedingly clear holographic projection appeared in the air! The image shone within a curtain of light—the sky above the abandoned industrial district of London.
Odin and Thor instantly held their breath, staring at the image.
The first thing they saw was the immense, tombstone-like Dark Elf mothership, surrounded by dense swarms of soldiers.
Odin's breathing stopped, feeling a suffocating pressure through the very screen.
"This is… this is the true essence of the Dark Elves…" Odin muttered. "Truly terrifying…"
But his words trailed off. In the image, a black-haired man stood tall, back to the screen, gazing up at the sky.
The next instant.
Everything changed.
There was no warning, no magic circle, no beam cannon. The black warship—symbolizing the pinnacle of cosmic technology and magic—simply… turned into a riot of colored lights! And then exploded, not just the mothership, but tens of thousands of smaller ships around it!
But these were not flames of destruction, but—
"Smoke… Fireworks?" Thor's mouth fell open, his blue eyes filled with disbelief.
The sky was filled with color—golden willows and purple blossoms blooming over London.
The scene was beautiful, but deep in their souls, Odin and Thor felt only bewilderment.
"Is this… is this an illusion?" Thor muttered.
"No… it's not an illusion." Odin's voice was painfully dry, gripping Gungnir so tightly his knuckles went white. "Heimdall's all-seeing eyes pierce all illusions. If it were a trick, the image would reveal its true form. But now…"
"There are only fireworks in the image."
"In other words… on a practical level, those warships were literally turned into fireworks."
"Reconfiguring matter? Reality alteration?" Odin gasped. "Is this… the power of the Aether? But… how is this possible? What kind of mastery over the Aether would it take to change such massive constructs in an instant?"
But this was only the beginning.
The next image truly made their scalps tingle.
The projection zoomed in.
They saw Malekith kneeling on the ground, face twisted in silent agony, with a gigantic cursed warrior beside him.
Lucci stood quietly, an indifferent expression on his face, as if looking at two insignificant specks of dust.
Then—
He raised his hand.
A gentle snap of his fingers.
Snap.
And then, a terrifying scene unfolded.
Malekith and the cursed warrior's bodies began to disappear.
There was no burning to ash, no charring from lightning—just… erased, as if wiped away with an eraser! First the feet, then the legs, the torso, and finally the head… piece by piece, they faded into the air.
Not a drop of blood or even a ripple of energy remained.
It was so clean, so thorough… They were gone.
The curtain of light faded.
In the control chamber of the Bifrost, a deathly silence fell, even longer than before.
Even the thundering energy core sounded now like a frightened heartbeat.
Gulp.
Someone swallowed hard.
Thor's hammer slipped from his hand, slamming onto the floor with a loud bang, painfully striking his toes—but he didn't react. He simply stared blankly at where the curtain had vanished, his eyes vacant.
"Father… All-Father…" Thor's voice trembled, tinged with existential doubt.
"So… that's Lucci's power now?"
"I thought it would be a hard battle… even if he won, he'd be wounded… but I never imagined…"
"The war hasn't even started… and it's just… over?"
Odin didn't answer.
The All-Father, who had ruled the Nine Realms for millennia, weathering every storm, now looked genuinely at a loss.
He gripped his eternal spear for support, barely restraining his emotions.
But the shock in his eyes ran even deeper than Thor's.
For as a true powerhouse, as a king who had touched the mysteries of the Infinity Stones, he understood better than anyone what that scene really meant.
This wasn't simply a fight.
Nor was it a simple killing.
It was… eradication.
It was erasure on a "conceptual" level—the highest form of negation.
"Is this… the true power of a fully-controlled Infinity Stone? Not even in King Bor's records have I seen it used so terrifyingly…" Odin muttered to himself, gazing at the image of his son with unprecedented emotion.
It was… shock, incomparable shock.
Odin took a deep breath, calming his wildly pounding heart.
He glanced at the thousands of equally stunned Asgardian soldiers behind him, suddenly feeling his own posture a bit ridiculous.
Before Lucci's "Creator"-level methods, this so-called army, this so-called decisive battle, seemed as silly as children playing house.
"All-Father, so… do we still go?" Heimdall asked bitterly.
Odin was silent for a long while.
Suddenly, the tension in his face eased, replaced by a complicated, slightly self-deprecating but deeply relieved smile. He waved his hand, and the Eternal Spear, held high, slowly lowered.
"Go? What else can we do?"
"Perhaps help clean up the debris in the sky?" Odin looked at the blank-faced soldiers behind him and spoke in a voice tinged with relief.
"These old bones were prepared to fight to the death for my son… but it seems that task was pointless after all."
Though he called it "pointless," the relief and pride in Odin's eyes were unmistakable.
As a father, what could be more joyful than seeing your child stand on his own, even surpass you?
He turned and looked at the Asgardian warriors, their dazed eyes, and raised his eternal spear.
"Dismissed, warriors!"
Odin's voice boomed, echoing across the Bifrost.
"The crisis is over. Your crown prince, Lucci, has wiped out the threat of the Dark Elves single-handedly."
"Though no blood was shed today, your loyalty and courage will be remembered in Asgard forever.
Now, go home, doff your armor, and drink some fine wine!"
At the sound of Lucci's name, the soldiers' blank faces lit up with smiles and awe, and after a brief commotion, they dispersed.
After disbanding the army, Odin still burned with curiosity.
He had to see with his own eyes how Lucci had tamed the Aether, the very force that once made even King Bor helpless.
"Heimdall, take me to Midgard."
"Yes, All-Father."
Heimdall accepted the command respectfully, gripping his guardian sword and adding a sliver of power.
The Bifrost opened!
….
London, abandoned factory district.
The sun shone gently, the breeze was light and dry.
The smell of fireworks had faded, replaced by a fresh, earthy calm.
Boom—
A rainbow column of light fell from the sky, landing precisely a few meters in front of Lucci.
As the light faded, Odin's majestic figure appeared.
His golden eyepatch gleamed in the sun, Gungnir in his hand pulsed with divine power, and his ornate golden armor proclaimed his lofty status as the All-Father.
Lucci was a bit surprised at the scene.
"Father? Why come in person?"
As soon as he spoke, the three people beside him felt as if thunder had crashed to earth!
Jane Foster, Darcy, and Dr. Selvig all stood frozen, mouths agape, eyes wide.
Father?
Lucci had called this golden-armored old man… Father?
So if Lucci was the crown prince of Asgard, then his father must be… the supreme being of the Asgardian gods?
The All-Father—Odin?
"Oh… my god…"
Dr. Selvig felt his legs and stomach twitch, awe at seeing a living Odin etched into his bones.
Jane grew even more nervous, sweating profusely. She stared at the majestic old man before her, feeling not just awe.
This was Lucci's father?
That dominating aura was almost too overwhelming to look at.
But Odin ignored the three mortals.
His entire focus was on Lucci and this space, freshly baptized by a "miracle."
Though nothing seemed out of place, Odin's divine sight still spotted the lingering aftermath of violently distorted laws of reality.
The oppressive aura of forcibly erasing matter and altering reality still haunted the air, chilling even Odin.
"Lucci."
Odin's gaze was filled with disbelief. "Through Heimdall's all-seeing eyes, I saw everything."
"The fireworks in the sky, the Dark Elf fleet that vanished in an instant…"
"Tell me—how did you do it? That's the Aether! The most unstable, uncontrollable of all the Infinity Stones!"
Faced with Odin's questioning, Lucci simply extended his right hand.
In his palm, the real Infinity Stone radiated a captivating red glow.
"It's actually not that complicated, Father," Lucci smiled.
"It's just a matter of using idealism and the laws of reality."
"As long as my will is firm enough, and I refuse to acknowledge their existence, under the working of reality's rules, they simply disappear.
This is… the transformation of lower-dimensional matter from a higher-dimensional perspective."
Lucci spoke lightly, but Odin was electrified by the explanation.
"Manipulating laws… higher-dimensional perspective…" Odin smiled wryly, shaking his head as shock in his gaze turned to deep emotion.
"It seems I really am old. I thought that even with talent, it would take centuries to reach the level of a Supreme God.
But… I was wrong."
He looked at Lucci, proud and unreserved.
"Your power, your path, has completely surpassed my imagination."
"In fact… you've surpassed all the previous kings of Asgard."
"With you, Asgard's future can stand at the peak of the cosmos!"
Lucci listened to Odin's words, a warm feeling rising in his heart.
He knew Odin had come so quickly because he cared about his safety. That was family.
"Thank you, Father," Lucci said sincerely. "Thank you for being ready to help just now."
"Silly child." Odin waved his hand, his imposing aura vanishing, replaced by the tone of a loving father.
"You are Asgard's future king. If I won't help you, who will?"
Then, as if recalling something, Odin's voice softened.
"But now that this matter is resolved, please stop running off all the time. Earth is interesting, but Asgard is your home.
If you have time, visit your mother Frigga. She talks about you all day since you left."
Hearing Frigga's name, Lucci remembered his kind, noble mother who had always treated him as her own, and guilt surfaced in his heart.
"I understand, Father. After I tie up a few loose ends, I'll return to the God Realm and visit the Queen Mother."
"That's good." Odin nodded in satisfaction.
"But since you're already here on Earth, Father, why not stop by to see Loki?"
Lucci added playfully, "He's now attending Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters."
"Loki?" At just the name, Odin's face darkened.
"Hmph! That traitor!"
"If you hadn't dealt with the last chaos he caused, who knows how bad it would have gotten!"
Odin grew more irate as he spoke, Gungnir trembling in his grip.
"But fine!" Odin gritted his teeth, a dangerous glint of "discipline" in his eyes. "Let's see how he explains himself to the team this time!"
…