Loki wasn't the only one who felt that something was amiss.
Even Thor sensed that something was wrong.
For several days, he hadn't received any news about the Church of the Goddess of Death. In the past, Hela would regularly make her presence known. She and her followers were often active in different areas. Even without Heimdall's help, Thor could usually track their locations with the Earth's satellites.
But lately, Hela had been silent.
It was as if she weren't even on Earth anymore.
"No! Impossible!" Thor thought, given how well he knew Hela. He didn't believe that for a second.
"Heimdall, show me where Hela is."
"Let me see," Heimdall replied, starting to scan for Hela's location.
Thor, like Heimdall, had been keeping a close eye on both Hela and Loki. The matter was of the utmost importance, and it had become their highest priority.
But to their surprise, even Heimdall lost track of Hela.
This was unusual! Hela couldn't just vanish like this, unless there was a greater goal at play.
In other words, she must have come to Asgard!
Heimdall broke into a cold sweat at the realization.
Loki had learned from past mistakes. They had to be vigilant.
Heimdall immediately began searching Asgard, scanning every corner. Public areas, hidden places, and even the taboo spots that only Odin had temporarily authorized for exploration.
For example, the Land of the Dead!
After a thorough search, Heimdall grimaced and muttered, "Not good!"
When Odin received the news, he rushed to the place where the army that had followed Hela had been imprisoned and killed by him years ago. The corpses that should have remained there had disappeared.
Even Hela's mount, Fenrir, was nowhere to be found.
Odin was certain that these bodies had been in that room for thousands of years without ever being moved.
Now, with their disappearance, one thing was clear:
Hela had resurrected them and taken them!
Odin didn't dwell on how Hela had revived them after losing the Eternal Fire. His primary concern was: Where did Hela take her undead army?
Had she hidden them somewhere in Asgard? Or perhaps, had they been moved to another country in the Nine Realms, biding their time and preparing to strike Asgard?
Odin stared at the empty secret room in silence.
"The patrols have been stepped up recently. If you find any suspicious individuals, report to me immediately!" Odin ordered.
"Also, activate the Golden Hall shield and deploy all turrets. We must be ready for war at any moment."
"Hela and Loki must not be given the opportunity to invade."
"Yes, King Odin!" the soldiers responded in unison.
A tense atmosphere soon spread across the skies of Asgard.
To guard against a possible invasion, soldiers frequently patrolled the streets. Hundreds of magical airships hovered above, and various magical prohibitions were activated. In Asgard, the power of magic was pushed to its limit.
It could be said that if an army from any other nation dared to enter Asgard's domain without permission, it would immediately face a counterattack from countless magical mechanisms.
However, all these measures would ultimately prove futile.
While Odin and his forces were busy searching for Hela, she was riding Fenrir, spreading the magic net across a distant planet. She was working tirelessly to bring the magic net era to fruition.
"There are two new sources of planet magic, it seems Hela and Gamora are both putting in a lot of effort," Aaron noted. His perception of the magic power increased, and he grew more excited about the future.
Especially on Xandar, the number of people connected to the magic net was increasing exponentially. Over the past few days, tens of thousands of new magic net connectors were added almost simultaneously.
In a matter of days, this number had increased by a factor of one hundred, even one thousand!
Xandar had quickly surpassed the Frost Titans and Flame Titans in terms of magic net connectivity, and had even outpaced Vanaheim and Alfheim.
After all, the latter two realms, although belonging to the Aesir gods, had a relatively small population, and their magical transmission methods were still relatively primitive.
Xandar, on the other hand, was the most inclusive city in the galaxy, home to countless people from various civilizations. Its population was substantial, though its magic power supply still lagged behind.
Only a small fraction of Xandar's population provided a significant amount of energy in just a few days.
Aaron speculated that these people were likely members of the Nova Corps and some of the city's upper classes.
Every civilization and country had its upper class, its power structure, and Xandar was no different.
Due to the unique nature of the Xandar star, many civilizations were eager to form friendly relations with the city. Xandar had once served as the center of inter-civilizational exchanges.
When news spread that Xandar was connecting all its people to the magic net, more and more civilizations became aware of the existence of the God of Magic and the Weave. However, many were still skeptical about the authenticity of the reports.
Almost all of them were watching secretly.
After all, the magic net was being spread by Gamora and Nebula, whose identities were hard to accept. Many wondered if this was somehow related to Thanos or if it was yet another of the Mad Titan's sinister plots.
When Aaron heard this, he was amused, but he wasn't worried. He knew that it wouldn't be long before the misunderstandings were cleared up.
As Xandar demonstrated the immense power of the magic net, more civilizations would automatically fall under its sway. Through the efforts of Almighty City, Hela, and others, Aaron believed that the majority of civilizations in the galaxy would soon be connected.
Then, they would expand outward through the Milky Way, and eventually, Aaron could consider spreading to other universes.
Aaron was already planning to use his knowledge to create a "prince travel machine," which would allow him to travel to different universes. Alternatively, he could continue improving dimensional transmission, hoping to travel through parallel universes and even surpass the power of the DC universe.
But before all that, he needed to bolster his strength.
The speed at which the magic net was spreading had exceeded Aaron's original expectations, so plans had to be adjusted.
As the era of the magic net drew closer, Aaron realized that the pocket universe alone might not be able to contain such immense power. To deal with this, he needed to tap into more magic power to further enhance his strength.
At present, the highest levels of magic he had attained were Energy Absorption, Pocket Space, Atomic Reorganization, and Materialization Magic—each at LV8. Dimensional Transmission was at LV7.
Aaron decided to prioritize improving pocket space, followed by other types of magic. Once the magic net had spread further, there would be an opportunity to upgrade all of these abilities to LV10.
He calmly contemplated his next steps. Magic improvement required the consumption of magic power, and the magic net was central to his plans. With this key link almost complete, it was time to focus on strengthening himself further.
However, upgrading a single magic ability to LV10 would require an enormous amount of energy. Aaron knew he would only be able to think about that once the magic net had spread further, and once more people were working for him.
He was confident that day was coming soon.
Aaron eagerly anticipated what would happen when his magic reached LV10. He knew it would be extraordinary.
As Aaron entered a new phase of his progress, the world outside didn't stand still. New civilizations were still trying to connect to the magic net, while various forces carefully expanded it.
The Cree Empire, for instance, and even Thanos himself, were deeply impacted by the magic net's existence. They grew increasingly restless.
So were the Mephistas of the dimensional realms, who were still working on plans for their true universe.
Moto, Faith, and others, too, were devising one plan after another.
Meanwhile, on Earth, this little "broken ball" wasn't peaceful either…
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