This time, Ethan did not call anyone to accompany him and headed to Asgard alone.
Tony needed to train in magic, and since his parents had finally been resurrected and their active time each day was limited, he also wanted to spend more time with them, even if he never admitted it. Just seeing him constantly running to the underground laboratory to train magic and conduct various research revealed what he was truly thinking.
Ethan saw this but did not feel the need to point it out. He even specifically helped Tony keep track of time to avoid him getting stuck in deep meditation and missing the chance to chat when Howard and Maria were active.
After this period, Tony could also control his training time well on his own, so Ethan no longer needed to specifically remind him.
At the same time, as his magical strength steadily increased, he no longer needed Ethan by his side to watch out for accidents.
As for his companions from the ship, they were also busy with their own matters. With the new potions, they all needed time to digest the effects. Fortunately, this large mansion was not only spacious but also well-equipped with various facilities, including dedicated training rooms.
Everyone was busy, so Ethan did not want to disturb them. Besides, in Ethan's view, this incident was not a big deal. Even if they went along, they would just be watching the show.
When Ethan arrived in Asgard again, Thor was already waiting. To Ethan's surprise, not only were Thor and Loki present, but Hela was there too. This person was not killed?
Ethan's surprise was completely undisguised. This reaction caused Thor to misunderstand, thinking he was curious about Hela's identity, so he simply introduced her. "This is Hela, the Goddess of Death of Asgard, and my sister."
Thor seemed to be thinking about how to phrase it, but after thinking for a long time, he could not come up with a suitable introduction.
After obtaining Stormbreaker, he went to Earth with Ethan and the others. His purpose was to deal with the "trouble" that was Hela.
In the original plot, after Hela broke free from her seal, she directly crushed Thor's hammer Mjolnir into pieces. Then, while Loki was frantically summoning the Bifrost, she seized the opportunity to rush into the Bifrost and return to Asgard.
Of course, while inside the Bifrost, she also kicked both Thor and Loki out of the Bifrost's transport channel, causing Thor and Loki to fall onto the planet ruled by the Grandmaster.
From this very brief encounter, it was clear that Hela's combat power completely overwhelmed Thor and Loki. Moreover, after returning to Asgard, her strength would steadily increase.
However, in front of Thor, who had already awakened his Thor-force and obtained Stormbreaker, Hela's strength was no match. She was suppressed by Thor the moment they met.
Because Hela had just returned and had not caused any major casualties, and she was his own sister after all, with his own strength completely overpowering hers, Thor felt there was no need to kill her and simply brought her back to Asgard.
No one knew what Hela was thinking at the moment. At least for now, she was acting relatively obediently, without the domineering attitude from the original plot like: "Anyone who doesn't listen to me must die!"
Regarding Hela's return, Odin said nothing, only making a series of preparations afterwards.
Even without the Kree invasion this time, Thor was going to inform Ethan and his other friends to attend his coronation ceremony.
"So, you are going to inherit the position of Allfather?"
"Although I don't particularly care about this position, Father's body is quickly failing."
Odin's weakness was now impossible to conceal. While Queen Frigga's magic was powerful and had miraculous functions, it had a limit, and Odin's current condition had exceeded what she could do.
As things stood, Thor possessed all the necessary conditions to inherit the throne: high enough prestige in Asgard, personal strength that had advanced by leaps and bounds, and after obtaining Stormbreaker, he also had the power to defend Asgard. The current Thor would not be at a disadvantage even facing Thanos head-on.
Furthermore, Odin noticed that Thor had also brought back the Power Stone, and a brief observation was enough to tell that his son was learning to control this Infinity Stone.
He did not explicitly object to this, only reminding Thor: while the power of the Infinity Stones is great, it is ultimately external power and should not be overly relied upon.
As for whether having two Infinity Stones too close together would cause trouble, he could not be bothered to worry about it. He had worried for countless years. It was time to lay down these burdens and pass them on to the next generation.
He also had Frigga retrieve the Mind Stone and give it to Loki, who had been standing by. He likewise gave his younger son various kind reminders and told him to consult his mother more. While his magic was top-tier among the younger generation, much knowledge required long-term accumulation, and in this regard, he still lagged far behind his mother.
Even though his current combat power far surpassed Frigga's, it did not mean his understanding and grasp of magic had surpassed his mother's. He still had much to learn.
To perfectly control the power of the Infinity Stones, this learning was essential.
With both sons wielding Infinity Stones, Odin no longer worried about Hela causing any trouble. This was Thor's decision. Since he wanted to give his sister a chance to "turn over a new leaf," whatever the final outcome, it would be Thor's concern.
After arranging everything, Odin quietly waited for the day of the ceremony. Unexpectedly, the Kree suddenly showed up at this time, almost as if deliberately causing trouble.
As for why Thor called Ethan? Because before they parted, Ethan had mentioned a Kree under Thanos named Ronan, a very radical lunatic whose pursuit of power and war was endless.
This Kree was also sent by Thanos to find the Power Stone. Since they had taken the Power Stone in advance, Ronan was very likely to track them down, and he would not care about Asgard's reputation. He would madly charge straight in.
If this situation occurred, Ethan had stated that as long as he was in this universe, Thor must notify him.
Although Thor was willing to help Ethan resolve this trouble, since Ethan had specifically and seriously instructed him, it was better to notify him.
Ethan's thinking was, "I stirred up this trouble, I'll deal with it myself. Don't burden others."
Thor's thinking was, "Since the Power Stone is here with me and allows me to use its power to protect my home, then I have the responsibility and obligation to share or directly bear this trouble."
Loki was well aware of both their thoughts. After muttering "So dramatic," he found a corner and pretended not to exist. Since you two are willing to take on this trouble, I'll just quietly watch the show.
"Are you sure it's that person named Ronan?"
"Asgard has its own intelligence sources. We have confirmed the identity of the other party."
Not only had they confirmed his identity, Asgard had also engaged in direct dialogue with the Kree. Although the Kree were war fanatics, their attitude towards Asgard was completely different from their attitude towards Xandar. The Xandarians would only protest and would not do anything crazy.
Asgard was different. If the Kree did not explain things clearly, Asgard would interpret it as all Kree declaring war on Asgard, and then they would very decisively start fighting. Even directly attacking the Kree homeworld was not something they would not do.
So the Kree Empire explicitly stated: this was Ronan's personal action, and Asgard could deal with him however they saw fit.
While Thor had gone through a lot and was no longer the war-monger he once was, it did not mean he feared war. When it was time to fight, he was more enthusiastic than anyone.
He felt that defeating the invading Kree before inheriting the throne seemed like a good way to celebrate.
"You might be disappointed, because this Kree named Ronan... his strength is just so-so."
If it were the old Thor, he might have to fight Ronan for a few rounds. But now... could Ronan even withstand one axe blow?
If Thor, out of caution, directly used the Power Stone when he struck, it would be interesting. His entire flagship and countless subordinates would probably turn to dust under Thor's single blow.
The actual situation... was actually quite similar.
After Ronan had traveled for who knows how long, finally located the Power Stone and arrived at Asgard, demanding that Asgard hand over the Orb, otherwise he would launch an attack, Thor very decisively gave the order to attack.
The Asgardian army had not even made a move yet when Ethan seized the opportunity to test the power of the newly forged Gold Cloth.
The Gemini Gold Cloth was a set Ethan had focused on crafting, as its attributes perfectly aligned with the spatial attribute he currently used the most.
Combined with the Space Stone in his hand, this set of Cloth could unleash combat power far exceeding his expectations.
The technique he had wanted to research for a long time was the Gemini's ultimate move. After a long period of training using the Reality Stone, which brought about improvements, he finally unleashed a perfect "Galaxian Explosion."
It was no longer the kind of blue planets that looked like cheap special effects. This time, the planets condensed from energy looked indistinguishable from real planets in appearance.
Not just in appearance, this state also meant that Ethan's control over energy had reached a new level. There would absolutely not be a repeat of the previous instance where energy was not controlled properly and some energy went astray. This was equivalent to the terrifying power generated by countless exploding planets, all directed at Ronan's warship.
And then... there was no "and then"...
(To be continued.)