The battle ended within minutes.
Inside Daniel's mirrored dimension, although the fighting had been intense, it hadn't disturbed anyone in the real world.
At this moment, Kaecilius lay on the ground, his skin charred black like coal, his body rigid, paralyzed, eyes rolled back, and his consciousness nearly gone.
Daniel took a deep breath at the sight.
"You were too ruthless."
"Do you still care about the life and death of a traitor?"
Shazam raised an eyebrow. "Even if he's dead, can't you use magic to torture his soul?"
"That's one way to put it..."
Daniel waved it off.
He then dragged Kaecilius along, took Shazam with him, and returned to the New York Sanctum.
Back at the temple, Daniel raised his hand and cast a spell to awaken Kaecilius. The traitor's brain activity resumed, but his body was still severely injured. His energy faded quickly—he could barely open his eyes to glare weakly at Daniel.
"Daniel... you still don't understand. The Ancient One isn't as noble as you think."
Kaecilius seemed to know what Daniel was going to ask. He sneered, even through the pain.
"Her greatness is built on betraying the very principles of a sorcerer."
"Principles..."
Daniel shook his head.
"Whatever methods the Sorcerer Supreme uses, as long as she protects the world, she'll always remain the master of Kamar-Taj. But you, Kaecilius... you tried to summon Dormammu and doom the world."
"But I wasn't the first to contact Dormammu."
Kaecilius let out a hollow laugh.
"Do you really think the Ancient One enjoys being Earth's protector? She's the reason Dormammu has Earth's coordinates locked. Everything started with her. Now she's just trying to atone for her past sins... And she's still using power from the Dark Dimension. Otherwise, how do you think she's lived this long?"
Shazam, listening quietly, already knew what they were talking about.
In the original timeline, the Ancient One had indeed tapped into the power of the Dark Dimension to prolong her life and protect Earth—living for hundreds of years in secret.
But from Kaecilius's point of view, she was a hypocrite—violating her own teachings to extend her life, and inadvertently exposing Earth to Dormammu in the process.
Still, Shazam wasn't too interested in that logic. What really puzzled him was—
"You do know New York is Justice League territory, right? So why did you dare stay here so long?"
Kaecilius's answer caught him off guard.
More surprisingly, Kaecilius gave the answer without hesitation.
"Because Odin of Asgard is in New York."
"Odin?"
Shazam blinked.
Even Daniel Drumm looked shocked.
Odin?
The King of Asgard? Thor's father? The one who once conquered the Nine Realms? That Odin?
Though Daniel was a powerful sorcerer on Earth with high status, compared to Odin, he was still just a speck. When humanity was still crawling through caves and drinking from rivers, Odin was already ruling the gods.
Thousands of years later, he was still their king.
Of course, Daniel had no idea that Odin was dying of old age.
So he asked, honestly baffled—
"You dared approach Odin? Were you not afraid of dying?"
"Heh."
Kaecilius gave a strained laugh. Even in his broken state, there was a strange pride in his eyes—a pride that came from knowing things others didn't.
Just as he was about to speak—
Shazam cut him off.
"Odin is dying!"
Shazam's words stunned Daniel. His face went pale as he looked up in disbelief, eyes wide with shock.
"What are you talking about?"
"Odin is dying," Shazam repeated firmly, answering Daniel's question.
"Thor told us himself. Odin's life is nearing its end... Dormammu must have sensed it and focused on Odin—hoping to consume his divine power and expand the influence of the Dark Dimension."
"So that's it..."
Daniel hadn't fully recovered from the news, but he nodded subconsciously.
Meanwhile—
Anton received the memory of Shazam's clone.
Upon learning from Kaecilius that Odin was in New York, he immediately created another avatar—Wonder Woman.
He gave her one task: Find Odin.
Whoosh!
In the next moment, Wonder Woman burst through the window and landed on the bustling streets of New York. She closed her eyes slightly, releasing a surge of divine energy.
It was a tracking technique—only usable when specific conditions were met.
And Odin, a god whose divine presence grew more potent by the day, radiated so much supernatural energy that locating him was nearly effortless.
"Found you."
On a rooftop somewhere in New York, Odin sat calmly on a stone pier, quietly watching the towering city skyline with a trace of nostalgia.
"I'm curious. Why show yourself in New York?"
Wonder Woman stood behind him, staring at his old, hunched back.
"Is there something here that draws you in?"
"Yes," Odin said simply.
"You're here."
"..."
Wonder Woman frowned.
Of course, she didn't think Odin was romantically interested in her. That wasn't the point.
There was something deeper in his words.
"What are you trying to say?"
She grew a little impatient.
"If you were looking for me, why didn't you just come to me directly? Why wander New York for so long? Dormammu is watching you—and in your current state, I doubt you can stop him."
"You think I didn't want to find you?"
Odin sighed deeply.
"Do you know how hard it is to find someone who doesn't exist in this universe unless summoned?"
That caught Wonder Woman off guard.
"...Fair."
If Anton hadn't summoned her clone, then no one in the Marvel Universe—not even Odin—could have found her.
"Since you've found me now, just get to the point."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"Odin, what do you want from me? Thor says you ran away from home with dementia, but your mind seems a lot clearer than he thinks."
"The secrets of the multiverse. The chaotic timelines."
Odin looked up at the sky.
"I believe you already know about them."
"And?"
"So, I hope to request aid from the Justice League."
"The Justice League?"
Wonder Woman raised an eyebrow.
"You're here to ask us for help? The King of the Gods needs our help?"
"Ragnarök," Odin replied solemnly.
"My death will trigger the Twilight of the Gods. Asgard will fall. But with the timeline now unstable, alternate futures are possible. I want the Justice League's help to prevent Asgard's destruction and ensure Thor becomes King."
"Sounds like you've seen quite a bit of the future," Wonder Woman said, eyes narrowing.
"And haven't you?" Odin replied with a faint smile.
"The Justice League doesn't belong to this universe, do you?"
She didn't answer—but her silence was answer enough.
"I'm curious," she said at last, "how do you know all this?"
"Because of Loki," Odin answered.
"A Loki from another universe found me. He revealed the secrets of the multiverse, the collapse of the Sacred Timeline... And through the memories he shared, I saw other worlds—worlds with superhero cartoons, films, and stories… some even called 'Justice League.'"
Wonder Woman wasn't exactly surprised.
Odin's words aligned perfectly with Anton's original theory, and only confirmed what Daniel had recently learned: the timeline chaos was, indeed, linked to Loki.
"Although I didn't take the Justice League seriously at first," Odin said slowly, "once the League truly appeared on Earth, I realized that the chaos of the timeline didn't just bring the unknown or a changed future—it brought a completely different trajectory for this world…"
He paused, his gaze distant.
"In fact, I've come to believe you weren't meant to exist in this world at all."
World?
Wonder Woman understood that the "world" Odin referred to wasn't just the Marvel multiverse—it was something deeper, perhaps a convergence of universes.
"Yet I must admit," Odin continued, "your appearance has set this world on a better path… a path I could never have achieved. I don't have the power to do what you've done."
He let out a slow sigh, the age in his voice evident.
"The root of Ragnarök lies with me. As long as I live, the Twilight of the Gods will not occur. But all life has its end. In this universe, nothing is truly eternal—not even gods. The universe itself has limits…"
Odin turned and looked directly at Wonder Woman.
"But once I die, Asgard in its current state cannot survive the bloodshed to come. My daughter, Hela, has inherited not just my strength—but my past madness. No, she's worse. More ruthless. More dangerous. Only one being stands a chance of stopping her."
"Superman."
Wonder Woman narrowed her eyes and spoke the name quietly.
"Yes, Superman," Odin confirmed with a nod.
"This is our chance to alter fate. The timeline's chaos has caused many problems, but it has also brought unprecedented opportunities… This is a chance to build a better Asgard."
Wonder Woman nodded.
"Very well. On behalf of the Justice League, I accept your request."
It wasn't purely out of respect for Odin.
After all, preventing the Twilight of the Gods was already on Anton's to-do list.
To unlock Batman's ultimate armor, he needed 100 million Justice Points. And lately, his total had surged to a staggering 70 million.
That number had been racked up through a series of major incidents:
The Ultron Crisis — After Tony Stark successfully eliminated Ultron, the system awarded Anton 10 million Justice Points. The Kaecilius Incident — Bringing him down netted another 3 million. The Sakaar Events — Where Anton killed three of the four Black Order generals (excluding Ebony Maw), as well as The Grandmaster, who got caught in the crossfire—earned him another 4 million.
Those last rewards surprised him a little. Ultron and Kaecilius were obvious villains, sure.
But the Sakaar event? Why did that count?
Anton could only assume the system was recognizing those characters as significant antagonists—possibly part of the buildup to Thanos's invasion.
Even so, the 4 million from Sakaar felt like pocket change to someone sitting on a 70 million-point war chest.
Still, completing the Twilight of the Gods storyline would likely push him even closer to his ultimate goal.
With or without Odin's request, Anton had no intention of missing this opportunity.
"As a gesture of gratitude..."
Odin smiled and looked at Wonder Woman. "I will transfer my remaining divine power to you—to strengthen your abilities..."
"This is my final gift."
After speaking, he looked up toward the sky.
Wonder Woman knew he was gazing in the direction of Asgard.
Boom!!
Suddenly, dark clouds gathered above, and a colorful light tore through the sky, condensing into a beam that descended rapidly toward Odin and Wonder Woman.
It was the Rainbow Bridge.
There was no doubt about it—the person arriving through that beam could only be the prince of Asgard, Thor, the God of Thunder.
"Father, no!!"
Thor's anguished cry echoed across all of New York.
Rumble!!
Thunder roared as the entire city trembled. Countless people turned their eyes skyward in shock.
They recognized Thor.
Thanks to widespread coverage by the Daily bugle News and other major media outlets, information about Asgard was no longer a mystery to the people of Earth.
But they didn't understand why Thor cried out in such grief.
"Father?"
Did that mean Odin, the King of the Gods?
What was happening?
While people speculated in confusion, Thor landed heavily on the rooftop where Odin and Wonder Woman stood.
At that moment, Odin rose to his feet. His hunched back straightened. The deep wrinkles on his face seemed to fade, his pallid hair turned to radiant gold, and his once-thin frame filled out with strength.
"Father..."
Thor's voice was soft, choked with emotion. Tears welled in his eyes.
He understood.
This was Odin's final blaze of glory—the last miracle his father would ever perform.
"My son, I leave everything to you now..."
Odin said slowly. "You are the new King of Asgard. The King of the Gods."
Then, he turned to Wonder Woman.
"Diana, receive my gift."
Boom!
As his voice fell, Odin's body burst into a radiant storm of divine light. The overwhelming power surged out—not with terror or destruction—but with peace. It brought a quiet serenity, like the blissful ignorance of childhood.
The divine light swirled around Thor and Wonder Woman, finally pouring into their bodies.
"This is—"
Meanwhile, in a quiet office somewhere in Manhattan, within the DC headquarters...
Anton's eyes flew open, wide with shock and excitement.
…
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