After the Orange Lantern oath, which sounded like something worth complaining about, the two saw no orange battle suits appear. Instead, orange runic symbols slowly spread across their original clothes.
As they transformed into Orange Lanterns, the small snake in the Lantern Furnace grew excited.
Pulled by the two Orange Lantern Rings and the Lantern Furnace, the snake began to absorb the residual energy of the Stellar Forge.
It opened its little mouth, siphoning the stellar energy in gulps.
"Father! Mother! I'm still hungry!"
Dante lifted the Lantern Furnace close to his face. The small snake swam about inside, voice chirping in his ear with a cute, milky tone.
Dante smiled and glanced at Hela, who was studying the snake intently.
"She calls me Mother. And I… I feel a connection to her, one that runs deeper than blood or divinity."
Dante pursed his lips.
What she was saying was pure nonsense.
This wasn't just imprinting.
The snake swimming in the Orange Lantern Furnace was born from mammon's blood and Greed Orange Light, then fused with their blood, divinity, and desires. It had truly metamorphosed, evolving from a flesh-and-blood creation into a spectrum energy being.
In that sense, it really could be called their child.
After all, for divine power, the difference from genes wasn't much.
"Then, as her Mother, you should give her a name."
Dante handed the Orange Lantern Furnace to Hela.
Hela stared at the snake for a while, then gently stroked its head with her fingertips.
"Since I told Odin that I would become the Lord of Midgard, then my child will help guard Midgard. In Norse mythology, there is a serpent that encircles Midgard, biting its own tail. Its name is Jörmungandr. From today, she is Hela's eldest daughter, the World Serpent Jörmungandr."
Her voice rang loud, carrying the weight of a divine pronouncement, resolute and absolute.
Dante was surprised.
These weren't casual words. This was an oath sealed with divinity, the equivalent of signing one's name to Mephisto's parchment scroll.
But unlike Mephisto's contract, which could be broken if you killed that demonic slime, a divine oath was binding. Violation meant not only backlash from one's own divinity, but also rejection from the Universe itself.
And when that happened, the so-called "God" of this Universe would personally punish you.
The snake didn't care.
All she knew was that her Mother was pleased with her and had given her both power and a name.
From this moment, the Orange Lantern Beast was the World Serpent Jörmungandr.
The name might not have been perfect, but it sounded grand.
Dante and Hela then walked hand in hand out of the Stellar Forge.
At that moment, the Star Ring had stopped, forcibly shut down by Eitri, who looked grim.
Damn it. These two had nearly drained their Stellar Forge dry forging that Lantern Furnace and Ring.
Looking at the dimmed star, Eitri's heart ached.
Capturing such a star was no small feat. First, you needed luck. Second, you needed the help of an All Father-tier powerhouse.
The current Stellar Forge had been built with Odin's help after Nidavellir was conquered.
And now? Were they supposed to trouble the King of Gods again to capture another star to power their forge?
Even if Odin agreed, the Dwarves couldn't bring themselves to ask.
For now, the Nine Realms were peaceful, and aside from Dante and Hela's business, the Stellar Forge wasn't urgently needed.
Thor and Loki, who had watched the entire process, weren't just dumbfounded. They were completely astonished.
From the Furnace's first sparks, every step looked fantastical.
Especially the half-formed creature that, once ignited by the Eternal Flame, sublimated into another life form and even gained true self-awareness.
It was beyond comprehension.
But they were Asgardians. Their ability to accept the absurd was strong.
So when Dante and Hela approached, both of them, without discussion, knelt beside the Lantern Furnace to peer at their sister's and Dante's "child."
"This little snake is beautiful."
"Indeed, but Jörmungandr? Why do I feel like a creature with that name should be very close to me… No, just an illusion."
"Alright, you two, stop crowding. You'll have time to look later. Right now, your sister and I have business back in Asgard."
Dante pushed Thor and Loki forward, urging them aboard.
The Lantern Furnace was complete. It was time to leave Nidavellir.
After all, their relationship with the Dwarves wasn't close. No need for awkward pleasantries. More importantly…
Jörmungandr had devoured a frightening amount of stellar energy. If they didn't leave now, were they waiting for the Dwarves to ask for compensation?
Dante gave Eitri a polite nod and boarded the ship with the three Asgardians.
The Domain activated, locked onto the Bifrost Bridge, and vanished into superluminal space.
Eitri glared at the vanishing ship.
Damn it.
If not for his fear of Hela, he would have had a word with those Asgardian Gods.
The thought barely formed before he shivered and slapped himself.
Insanity. He'd lived in peace too long if he dared think of haggling with those killers from Asgard.
He'd seen what Hela and Odin had done, drowning worlds in blood and tears.
"Alright. Pass my order. All free Dwarves are to find ways to replenish the Forge's energy."
Then a thought struck him.
That Midgard God, Dante, already wielded red and green Rings before forging the orange.
Would other colors be next?
Would their Forge have to endure this torment again and again?
…
The Asgardian Domain was fast, and the Bifrost Bridge was a hyperspace highway. In the time it took to roast a skewer, they arrived.
Even Heimdall, guardian of the Bifrost, was baffled.
"When Odin came to Nidavellir to forge Mjolnir from uru, it took three days and three nights. And for a divine artifact, that was considered fast," Heimdall said, looking at the Domain parked beside the Airbus. "But you… you returned so soon."
"In terms of difficulty, the Orange Lantern Furnace is far simpler than Mjolnir," Dante replied.
He had a good impression of Heimdall. The God of Dawn and Gatekeeper of the Bifrost was almost too upright.
Hela, however, wasn't impressed.
"Hmph, Dante, have you forgotten we have business? Why waste time chatting with the gatekeeper?"
She turned coldly. Jörmungandr, coiled on her shoulder, peered curiously.
Dante quickly nodded to Heimdall and caught up.
Wait… she had just called him by his name instead of "Queen."
Had he done something wrong?
With that uneasy thought, he followed Hela and her brothers back into Asgard.
After several twists and turns, they reached Asgard's vault.
The guards, seeing Hela with the key and two princes in tow, immediately let them pass.
Led by Hela, they didn't stop at any display. Instead, they walked to the deepest corner, where no treasures lay, only an odd empty space.
Hela raised her Nightsword, shaping it with Greed Orange Light into a massive war hammer.
With a clang, she smashed it against the floor of Odin's Vault.
It shattered.
Several more blows opened a massive dark hole, from which a desolate aura rose.
Hela turned to her brothers with a smile.
"Do you want to witness true power?"
Then she grabbed Dante's hand, leaned back, and jumped in.
Thor and Loki exchanged looks.
Had their sister caught Dante's Riddler disease? Was this habit contagious by divine contact?
"Jump or not?"
"Nonsense. Of course I'll jump."
"Oh, fine."
Loki shoved Thor down, then, ignoring Thor's middle finger as he fell, ran a hand through his hair and leapt gracefully.
"Ha. Perfect superhero landing."
When Loki hit bottom, Thor was already there, having adjusted midair into a one-knee, fist-to-ground landing.
Though he hadn't spent much time on Earth, Thor had mastered the superhero pose.
"Loki! Next time you ambush me, I'll pin you and beat you down!"
Thor glared, but the lack of anger in his eyes betrayed him.
If this had been before, Loki wouldn't have just shoved him. He would have stabbed him.
Now, Thor could see his brother was kinder.
"Shh. Big oaf, shut it," Loki muttered, frowning as he looked around.
Thor stiffened at his serious tone and studied the surroundings.
A tomb.
A circular burial chamber, with a massive rune of Death in the center.
Asgardian soldiers in armor lay in neat rows.
And among them was the corpse of a giant beast.
A massive wolf, its fangs still terrifying even in death.
Dante and Hela stood beside it.
Hela stroked its head.
"My dear Fenris, how long have you been here? You must have been lonely."
Dante stayed silent.
Her eyes shone with memory.
Once, she was the fierce Goddess of Death, adored her father, led armies to expand Asgard…
Now, sealed for two thousand years, almost no one remembered her. Odin's eldest daughter. Once heir to the throne.
Those who did were either dead on battlefields like these soldiers, or killed by her hand, like the Valkyries who had once fought beside her.
When she struck them down, her heart had broken.
They had been her most loyal sisters, yet they died by her blade.
"Was I really wrong back then?"
Hela turned to Dante.
"My dear, there is no inherent right or wrong in this world. You weren't wrong. Odin wasn't wrong. Fenris and the Valkyries weren't wrong. It was only a matter of position."
Dante took her hand.
The Asgard mess had been massive.
Odin faced a dilemma. If the war continued, Asgard risked annihilation by the Celestials, Ragnarok arriving early.
To stop it, he had to sacrifice his war-driven eldest daughter.
Between Asgard and his daughter, Odin chose Asgard.
He was King of Gods first, father second.
"Of course, I'm not asking you to forgive him," Dante added. "But let's deal with family business later."
"You're right."
Hela nodded and led him to the rune.
She rubbed Jörmungandr's head. The snake opened her mouth, releasing the Eternal Flame.
Hela caught it, pressed it onto the rune, and unleashed her divinity and the Greed Orange Light.
The Eternal Flame shattered, spreading into a blazing ring that engulfed the tomb and the remains within.
"Accompanied by the Eternal Flame, you shall be reborn at this moment."
(To be continued.)
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