"You recognize it?"
"Thor, you recognize the writing on this stele?" As a highly trained senior agent, Natasha's hearing was far more acute than an ordinary person's. Thor's murmur and the fleeting look of shock on his face instantly put the thorny rose on high alert.
Ancient Egyptian civilization was millennia old. How could Thor possibly recognize it? Was there a connection between ancient Egyptian civilization and Norse mythology? Natasha and Coulson exchanged glances, both seeing confusion and bewilderment in the other's eyes.
"This is ancient Asgardian script. It's rarely used even on Asgard now," Thor said, taking a deep breath. He didn't spare another glance for the towering statues. He walked over to the ancient stele and brushed away the dust obscuring the writing. This should have been an act of vandalism, but neither Coulson nor Natasha made any move to stop him.
"What does the stele say?"
Natasha was the first to approach Thor. Her hands, hidden behind her back, subtly gestured to Coulson, who understood and activated his button camera.
"It must be... some events that occurred on this land back then."
The ancient Asgardian script, weathered by time, was not blurred but perfectly preserved, recording the ancient Egyptian people's reverence for their two saviors.
"When darkness from another dimension buried the sun, the golden-haired, green-eyed warriors would stand upon the earth..."
"Their fists could tear through the sky, their feet could shatter the earth..."
"They are the guardians of Egyptian civilization, the saviors of humanity, the only two true gods in this world..."
The extravagant words of praise left Coulson and Natasha exchanging bewildered glances. What did this mean? Didn't Odin say this Lothar was a demon?
"Then who's the woman?"
Putting aside what might have happened back then, Natasha's gaze immediately turned to the female statue nearby. "The only two true gods in this world"—this description wasn't something just any cat or dog could deserve.
"If the contents of this stele are true..." Thor's eyes were filled with disbelief. "She should be... my sister..."
What absurdity!
Thor shook his head, pressing his hand to his forehead, closing his eyes to sort through his chaotic thoughts.
When did he get a sister? Why was there no trace of this sister's existence in Asgardian history at all? Neither in history textbooks nor in folk legends. This didn't make sense. Thor looked up, the luster of his flowing golden hair seeming to dim slightly.
"What?"
"Your sister?"
Natasha and Coulson looked at each other, then turned their gaze to the statues behind them. "The beautiful Daughter of Odin, that's what the stele says."
"Another question, Coulson, who is Menes?" Thor, forcing himself to calm down, focused his gaze on the inscription's signature. The name "Menes" was unfamiliar to him; he was sure he'd never heard it before.
"The king who unified all of ancient Egypt, the founder of the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt, and the first known Pharaoh," Coulson, who had done his homework before coming to Egypt, recited without hesitation.
"This inscription was written by him."
After revealing the inscription's author, the distraught Thor walked directly to the Hela statue. He looked up, as if to engrave Hela's lifelike face into his mind.
"I understand."
"I'll have someone look into ancient texts about ancient Egyptian civilization and Pharaoh Menes immediately." Coulson nodded. After another glance at the world wonders before them, he turned and left.
"Thor, how much do you know about this Hela?" After Coulson left, Natasha Romanoff was the only S.H.I.E.L.D. agent left in the pyramid.
"I don't know."
"My father and mother never told me they had another daughter before me."
Thor shook his head, stepped back several paces, and his perspective suddenly broadened.
"The inscription says Lothar and your sister were saviors. Why did your father say this man was a demon?"
"I don't know. Perhaps I'll only know the truth when I take what my father wants back to him." Thor shook his head, then turned to Natasha, his expression serious.
"The Tesseract is of great importance. Even if Nick Fury is the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he won't be able to retrieve it right away."
"You know, not everyone believes your father's words." Lying without batting an eye was an essential skill for Natasha Romanoff as an agent.
To make Nick Fury willingly hand over the Tesseract he'd obtained, even Odin's personal message delivered by Thor wouldn't be enough. Only if Odin himself attacked S.H.I.E.L.D. would the King of Spies, with more schemes than he knew what to do with, hand over the Tesseract.
Bringing Thor to this pyramid ruin was Nick Fury's delaying tactic. And to Nick Fury's surprise, Thor had actually translated the text on the stele.
"You don't believe me?"
Thor, no longer a simpleton, caught the underlying meaning.
"No, believe me, Thor, I certainly believe you, but... there are still many people in this world who haven't witnessed your power."
"They won't just agree to hand over the Tesseract."
Natasha, responsible for keeping Thor's emotions in check, spoke with a hint of melancholy. Humans were, after all, incredibly complex emotional beings. She, as a former Soviet agent, felt this deeply.
"Wait, what do you mean?"
"Do they want to sit by and watch Earth be destroyed?"
"Or do they think their so-called missile weapons can threaten Lothar, a person even my father treats with such caution?"
Thor thought those people were truly insane.
"Calm down, Thor, calm down, okay?" Natasha, who had anticipated Thor's reaction, held up her palm, signaling Thor to compose himself. "I believe you, I believe everything you say, but Earth isn't ancient times anymore, right?"
"We still have Tony Stark, S.H.I.E.L.D., we still have the Hulk."
"We—"
"Nick Fury doesn't want to hand over the Tesseract, does he?" Thor said, his face cold, cutting off the beautiful agent who was counting on her fingers.
"No, of course he does. He believes you, just like me." Of course, Natasha couldn't admit to that.
"Tell your Director I want the Tesseract now, immediately."
"For Nick Fury to drag this out is simply a foolish act of slow suicide."
"Tony Stark? I can smash his tin suit flat with one hammer swing. S.H.I.E.L.D.? Not a single person in your S.H.I.E.L.D. can stop my father."
"And that 'Hulk,' believe me, Natasha, he wouldn't last a single move against my father."
"Tell Nick Fury not to let his foolish ideas blind him."
"A figure my father himself fears is not someone you mere humans can contend with." Thor was genuinely amused by the foolishness of these people. Could they please stop being so overconfident?
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Menes is previously spelled as Menis. I didn't realize this character was based in real history.
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