Hela, firmly bound to the throne, stared at Richard holding Gungnir with vacant eyes and remained silent.
More accurately, she no longer possessed the energy to scream.
It was remarkable she hadn't completely broken down mentally yet.
After glancing at Hela, Richard pierced her head with the Eternal Spear, then withdrew the weapon.
As Gungnir was removed, Hela's head returned to its original condition.
The next second, the Eternal Spear pierced her skull again.
The cycle repeated endlessly. Compared to the previous two sessions, Hela now resembled a mute, making no sounds whatsoever.
No screams, no pleas for mercy, no curses, no threats!
If not for the agonized expression on her face and her body's unconscious struggling due to penetrating pain, she would have appeared like a lifeless doll.
This time, after torturing Hela for only three days in the Tsukuyomi world, Richard ended the technique.
It wasn't that he couldn't continue—he'd discovered Hela's spirit was on the verge of complete collapse.
Continuing further would likely result in her complete mental destruction.
He hadn't come here simply to kill Hela.
When Richard ceased Tsukuyomi, Hela's spirit returned to her body in the real world.
Superficially, Hela appeared completely unharmed now.
However, just observing her expression revealed her current state was extraordinarily poor.
Richard, standing more than ten meters from Hela, used his perception abilities to sense her current life signature.
Perhaps it was excessive?
Richard frowned slightly.
Hela's life energy had dropped to levels only marginally stronger than ordinary humans.
For someone possessing Asgardian god-king bloodlines and holding the title Goddess of Death, having her life force reduced to this level was equivalent to standing at death's threshold.
Without effective treatment, Hela's life would soon end.
Without hesitation, Richard immediately deactivated the Mangekyō Sharingan, approached Hela, and mobilized his internal magical power.
He then guided magical energy into Hela's body.
When magic with energy levels comparable to divine power entered her system, Hela's life signature began surging at visibly rapid rates.
Within one minute, Hela's vital energy had returned to ordinary Asgardian levels.
Richard didn't waste additional magical power on Hela and ceased the energy transfer.
"Stop lying there—get up. You are the Goddess of Death, after all. Continuing to lie down damages your image," Richard told Hela.
Though Hela hadn't fully recovered yet, she could stand without difficulty.
Hearing Richard's words, Hela first looked up at him, then rose to her feet.
After standing, Hela unconsciously stepped backward several paces, lowered her head, and avoided looking at Richard.
Though she didn't understand that Tsukuyomi required eye contact to function, after being subjected to the technique three consecutive times and endured seventy to eighty days of torture in the Tsukuyomi world, she'd developed genuine fear of Richard.
She didn't fear death, but the torment within Tsukuyomi's realm was more unbearable than death itself.
With death, you only had to endure severe pain once.
In the Tsukuyomi world, potentially fatal agony occurred repeatedly, endlessly.
Richard observed Hela, and after confirming she'd been conquered—or tortured into submission—he said calmly, "Compose yourself. I'm taking you back to Asgard."
Back to Asgard?
Hearing Richard's words, Hela unconsciously raised her head with an incredulous expression.
"You want to take me back to Asgard?" Hela asked slowly.
"More precisely, Odin asked me to bring you back to Asgard," Richard replied.
Though Odin hadn't explicitly requested Hela's return, his subtext clearly implied this intention.
Otherwise, Odin wouldn't have specifically asked him to convince Hela to acknowledge defeat.
Hela remained silent for several seconds, then mobilized death power within her body to restore her damaged clothing to original condition.
Simultaneously, her disheveled black hair was restored to smooth, lustrous state under death power's influence.
When Hela completed these preparations, Richard retrieved the Cosmic Cube from his system space.
Though he didn't know Hel's specific location, he understood the realm existed within the universe as one of the Nine Realms.
The reason Hela couldn't leave Hel and travel to other planets through her own power was simple: Odin's seal.
Without Odin's containment, Hel wouldn't be able to trap Hela at all.
After withdrawing the Cosmic Cube, Richard immediately created a spatial gateway returning to Asgard's royal study.
Within seconds, the portal seemingly surrounded by thunderclouds formed completely.
"Let's go," Richard told Hela.
Hela nodded and walked toward the spatial gateway.
However, after taking several steps, she stopped and picked up the hourglass from the ground.
"Can you give me this hourglass?" Hela asked Richard politely.
"Sure," Richard replied.
Hearing his response, green death power light shone in Hela's hand.
The next second, the hourglass in her grasp vanished.
After completing this action, she walked through the spatial gateway.
When Hela entered the portal, Richard also stepped through.
Asgard Golden Palace - Royal Study
After emerging from the spatial gateway, Hela immediately saw Odin wearing golden armor and wielding Gungnir.
Though sealed for over two millennia, Odin's appearance remained unchanged, exactly matching her memories.
"Father, I've returned," Hela approached Odin, knelt on one knee, and addressed him.
Seeing no anger on Hela's face and her willingness to greet him respectfully, Odin felt like he was dreaming.
"Rise," Odin extended his right hand, patted Hela's shoulder, and spoke kindly.
Though he didn't know what Richard had done to Hela, he was certain of one thing: Hela had indeed been subdued by Richard.
Hearing Odin's words, Hela stood slowly and remained silently in place.
Odin observed Hela, then addressed Richard. "The Aether is yours. These are the coordinates to its location."
As he finished speaking, a peanut-sized golden light particle flew from Odin's hand.
Richard nodded and caught the approaching golden particle.
The moment he grasped it, detailed spatial coordinates appeared in his mind.
"I've completed what you asked of me, so I won't disturb your father-daughter reunion," Richard said, then used teleportation to leave the royal study and return to his guest quarters.
As he departed, Odin told Hela, "I'll take you to see Frigga."
Though Frigga was Asgard's queen, she wasn't Hela's biological mother.
Hela's mother had been the previous queen, and Frigga was merely her stepmother.
"Yes," Hela nodded.
After returning to his quarters, Richard immediately used the Cosmic Cube to create a spatial gateway to the Reality Stone's sealed location according to Odin's provided coordinates.
Soon, the portal took shape.
Without hesitation, he stepped through without looking back.
Emerging from the gateway, the scene before him matched his memories perfectly.
Under dim skies and a dilapidated palace, a square pillar over ten meters high stood divided into upper and lower sections.
The lower square pillar was less than two meters tall, while the upper section measured eight to nine meters high.
The upper and lower pillars weren't stacked tightly together but separated by approximately ten centimeters.
Strange dark red light emanated from the gap.
On the ground beneath the pillar lay a circular pattern resembling magical circles left after Bifrost teleportation.
Richard immediately approached the pillar and peered through the gap.
Within the opening, he observed a Reality Stone constantly flowing like liquid while producing strange sounds.
Before he could act, the Reality Stone inside the pillar rushed toward him like a hungry serpent.
However, just as the Reality Stone was about to strike him, blue-white light suddenly shone before Richard.
The seemingly soft blue-white luminescence blocked the incoming Reality Stone.
Though the Reality Stone was an Infinity Stone, its attacks weren't particularly powerful without a user.
The Stone's current aggression stemmed from Richard being the nearest life form, not from any specific objection to him.
After using magical power to block the Reality Stone, Richard gradually lured it from the square pillar.
When the Reality Stone was completely extracted, the upper pillar immediately fell onto the lower section under gravity's influence, stacking together perfectly.
In the movies, the Reality Stone directly entered Dr. Jane Foster's body and remained like a parasite.
Though he needed the Reality Stone, Richard wouldn't allow it to enter his body.
Under his control, blue-white magic materialized into a cube identical in size to the Cosmic Cube.
The constantly flowing, liquid-like Reality Stone was contained within the cube.
Due to the Reality Stone's presence, Richard's magically created cube glowed with dark red light.
After grasping the crystalline cube and admiring it briefly, Richard displayed a satisfied expression.
I've also obtained the Reality Stone—only the Soul Stone remains!
After this reflection, he placed the cube in his system space, then turned and entered the still-open spatial gateway, returning to his Asgard quarters.
Upon return, Richard first closed the spatial portal, then sat on the sofa.
He knew where the Soul Stone was located and what was required to obtain it, but he had no method of acquiring it.
Compared to the other five Infinity Stones, the Soul Stone was quite unique.
To obtain it, one must sacrifice someone beloved.
According to Red Skull—the "paternity tester"—the Soul Stone demanded this to ensure whoever acquired it understood its power and preciousness.
Though Richard had many women in this world, strictly speaking, none represented his true love.
However, even if he possessed true love in this reality, he wouldn't sacrifice that person to obtain the Soul Stone.
Rather than sacrificing his beloved personally, he'd prefer letting others sacrifice their loved ones and then seizing the Soul Stone from them.
For example, stealing the Soul Stone from Thanos after he sacrificed Gamora.
The Space Stone, Power Stone, and Reality Stone from this universe were all in his possession.
The Time Stone remained with the Ancient One.
The Mind Stone scepter should still be in Thanos's hands.
If Thanos wanted to complete his insane plan, he'd first need to acquire the Soul Stone and Time Stone.
Only then would Thanos qualify to fight him on equal terms.
Otherwise, Richard wouldn't need alternative methods—he could pin Thanos down and beat him mercilessly using only the Space Stone, Power Stone, and Reality Stone.
After consideration, Richard decided not to worry about the Soul Stone currently.
After Thanos sacrificed Gamora to obtain the Soul Stone, he could then consider stealing it.
Before that, he could first use the Infinity Stones he already possessed to perfect the Divine Realm.
Though the Soul Stone was missing, five Infinity Stones could still perfect the Divine Realm considerably.
After making this decision, Richard used teleportation to leave his quarters and return to the royal library.
Since he had free time anyway, he'd continue learning Asgardian magical knowledge.
Time passed gradually.
Thirty minutes later, Thor and Loki entered the royal library together and approached him directly.
"What's the situation with Hela?" Thor asked immediately.
"I don't quite understand what you mean," Richard turned his head toward Thor and replied slowly.
"Hela—the Hela you brought back—how could she be my sister!" Thor exclaimed excitedly.
"You shouldn't ask me this question—you should ask Odin," Richard replied calmly.
"It's because Father refuses to tell me much that I came to you," Thor continued.
"Since His Majesty is unwilling to elaborate, there's no point asking me. This is your family matter."
"By the way, since Hela has returned, you don't need to worry about succession order. Though she's your sister, Odin will never let her inherit the throne—you can rest assured."
Richard could understand Thor's excitement.
If he were Thor, he couldn't remain calm either.
It would be strange if Thor could immediately accept having a sister appear from nowhere—especially one known as the Goddess of Death.
"I'm not concerned about succession order, but about what she represents. From childhood to adulthood, I've never heard of her existence," Thor said with a frown.
"This is normal, because Odin doesn't want you to know of her existence, nor does he want Asgardians to remember her," Richard replied slowly.
Though Hela had been imprisoned for over two thousand years, average Asgardian lifespans reached five thousand years.
In other words, not all Asgardians who knew about Hela's existence had died.
For others, making Asgardians completely forget Hela's existence would be extremely difficult.
For Odin, the All-Father, this wasn't a challenging task.
"If there's nothing else, I'll continue reading. By the way, if you really want to know, I suggest asking Queen Frigga—she might be willing to explain the situation."
After speaking, Richard ignored Thor and Loki, returning to the magical text before him.