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Peter stood still for a while, eyes locked on the spot where Odin and Thor had vanished into thin air.
"Huh? She's still not showing up?"
After waiting a bit longer and still seeing no one, Peter started to feel a little confused.
"How come, in all those web novels, the main characters who get isekai'd into the Marvel world always run into her almost instantly… but now that it's me, it's like she's avoiding me on purpose?"
It was weird, sure—but Peter didn't bother waiting any longer.
Instead, he picked up the shattered remains of Mjolnir from the ground and, under the awe-filled gazes of everyone around him, shot into the sky and vanished like a boss.
As Peter flew off, high atop a nearby rooftop, golden sparks—like sparks from a welding torch—slowly lit up in front of a figure in a yellow monk's robe.
The sparks danced in the air and quickly expanded into a glowing yellow portal about two meters wide.
The monk stepped forward into the light. A faint black rune shimmered briefly on their forehead—then disappeared as they passed through.
"Is it finally over…?"
Peter's departure seemed to signal the end of today's chaos.
But deep down, none of the bystanders could truly calm themselves.
First came a being like a living god—Superman.
Then two more self-proclaimed deities appeared.
The thunder god wasn't too bad—he didn't seem that strong, and human-level weapons could probably take him down.
But that old man who came after? His sheer presence was terrifying. Just standing there, he felt like he could crush a normal person's spirit in an instant.
This rapidly changing world was giving even Nick Fury a massive headache.
"Director, what do we do now?" Coulson asked, just as shaken. His entire worldview was cracking at the seams, and he could only look to his boss for answers.
"Send people to clean up the area. Contact the Damage Control Department and start disaster recovery."
Nick Fury issued the order calmly, then looked up at the sky and fell silent for a long moment.
"…Also, gather every energy expert we have—ours and from around the world. Tell them to begin Phase Two of the Tesseract research project immediately."
"Because the cosmic war has already begun… and we're almost out of time."
Staring into the void, a starlike glint flashed in Nick Fury's eyes.
"As for him…"
He turned to look at Captain America.
"Let's find somewhere for him to rest. I don't think he's ready to face such a drastically changed world just yet."
He'd just woken up—barely had time to take in this new world—and then got hit with this level of shock. Even someone as strong-willed as Cap was struggling to process it all.
Meanwhile, in Asgard—
A beam of light shot over from distant Earth. The Bifrost slowly came to a stop.
Two figures suddenly appeared in the center of the Bifrost device.
BOOM!
But right behind them, two red energy blasts followed.
They instantly pierced through the spherical core of the Bifrost.
"Prince Thor!"
Heimdall glanced at the damaged Bifrost but didn't have time to worry about it. He rushed over to Thor, who had just been tossed to the ground by Odin, and helped him up.
"Hmph. Who gave you permission to go to Midgard without orders? Have you already forgotten the command I gave?!"
Odin's expression darkened immediately as he looked at Thor. He was furious, but trying to keep it in check as he scolded him.
Everything that happened today… it all started because Thor went to Midgard on his own.
"Father… Mjolnir… it's shattered…"
Facing an enraged Odin, Thor just looked blank, like his soul had left his body, mumbling the words in a daze.
"Hmph. That human was right—you've forgotten your noble bloodline. You've forgotten that the blood of gods runs through your veins!"
Seeing Thor so crushed, still mourning the loss of his hammer, Odin's eyes filled with disappointment and frustration.
"Mjolnir was meant to help you better control your power—it wasn't supposed to define you! You were never meant to become the God of Hammers!"
Just thinking about that ridiculous title—God of Hammers—made Odin even angrier, though deep down, he knew his own leniency played a part in all this.
"Father… am I… could what he said be true?"
Hearing Odin's outburst, Thor's eyes finally lit up again. He remembered what that human had said—that he, Thor, was the true God of Thunder. And for the first time in a while, a flicker of hope sparked inside him.
"Hmph. As a prince of Asgard, you should face your failures head-on—and then work to wash away your disgrace with your own hands!"
"Not walk around like some hollow shell of yourself!"
Odin watched as Thor, who had been crushed earlier, finally started regaining a bit of confidence. His tone softened a little, but he was still strict as he continued to lecture him.
"But what happened today made me realize something — you're still not ready to lead all of Asgard..."
"All-Father..."
Heimdall, who was supporting Thor, saw that Odin seemed to have made up his mind and tried to speak up on Thor's behalf.
"No need to plead for him. This is the punishment he deserves."
Odin cut Heimdall off right away, raising the Eternal Spear and aiming it straight at Thor. A burst of golden divine energy shot out from it.
In the blink of an eye, Thor was blasted away by the godly force and disappeared completely.
"Let him reflect on his mistakes under the World Tree for now."
With Thor temporarily exiled from Asgard, Odin suddenly seemed older and wearier than ever.
Heimdall watched as Odin slowly walked back toward his palace. His back, once proud and straight, now seemed a little hunched with age.
"Oh, right — once he's learned to fully control his powers, take him to Nidavellir. Have the Dwarf King forge him a new weapon."
Odin gave the instruction without even turning around as he walked away.
On Earth, Peter had left the battlefield and arrived at the place that had drawn his attention earlier.
"Knew it — it was the artificial sun!"
What used to be a lab was now nothing but ruins, completely destroyed by the failed artificial sun experiment.
Peter's suspicions were confirmed.
"Artificial sun, huh..."
Even though it was man-made, the radiation it gave off seemed to power him up just like the real sun would.
Of course, it wasn't nearly as efficient as the real deal.
"But... if I could carry something like that around with me all the time, wouldn't I be constantly getting stronger?"
A wild idea suddenly popped into Peter's head.
He couldn't carry the actual sun around, obviously — but an artificial one? That might be possible.
"Artificial sun + nanotech suit... That could be a killer combo."
"Looks like I'll need to make some... special arrangements."
As the thought hit him, Peter vanished into the air, speeding toward the Antarctic lab.
He opened the hatch at the top of the fortress.
"Awesome. The time it takes for the nanotech suit to fully deploy has been cut down to five seconds."
"We finally did it!"
Peter walked slowly into the lab, hearing excited voices from inside.
"Mr. Superman! The nanotech suit you asked for is ready—"
Reed was visibly thrilled when he spotted Peter entering at just the right moment.
"Sorry, guys. I think you'll have to pull an all-nighter and tweak the suit design again..."
Peter, in that moment, fully embraced his inner heartless CEO.
"But hey, you might have two new teammates pretty soon."
"....."