As they approached, the broken silhouette of Asgard revealed itself cracked, scorched courtyards, and collapsed streets. The realm clearly bore the scars of recent battles, its once-glorious spires now little more than wounded monuments.
Thor and Valkyrie slowed, a heaviness settling over them.
This was their home…
Soren remained unreadable, his confidence an anchor amid the ruin.
By contrast, the Hulk cracked his knuckles, snorting as if the devastation were merely scenery.
"Hulk is fearless," He muttered, unbothered.
But then they heard footsteps.
Rhythmic and perfectly in sync.
Thor stiffened and Valkyrie drew her weapon as a formation marched out from Asgard's gates. At first glance, they were ordinary soldiers clad in immaculate, ornate armor.
Then the truth revealed itself.
Through the gaps in their helmets and the slits of their armor glimmered bleached bone. No flesh, only the eerie glow of pale green soul-fire flickering where eyes should have been.
Hela's Undead Legion, reborn.
Even Thor sucked in a sharp breath. These were not simply soldiers…
Then came another sound, thunderous impacts that made the ground tremble.
Hulk knew that sound.
It was the sound he made in the arena, only heavier… far heavier.
The source emerged a moment later.
A monstrous war-wolf stepped out from the shadows of the Golden City, its massive paws cracking stone beneath its weight.
Its fangs jutted and eyes burning with necrotic green fire. It towered over the battlefield.
"My brother… have you returned to attend my coronation?"
Hela's voice glided through the air. She emerged from the palace with the poise of royalty and the menace of a blade freshly drawn.
Up close, her presence was overwhelming… vicious and intoxicatingly dangerous. Soren finally understood why Odin had once feared her.
"Hela." Rage simmered beneath Thor's grief.
"I'm here to stop you, to stop Ragnarök. End this madness. Let go of your ambitions before everything is destroyed."
"Ragnarök?" Hela repeated, then laughed a cruel melody.
"When I march across every corner of the universe with my Undead Legion, you'll forget such childish myths."
"Destruction?" She sneered. "I call it conquest."
The war-wolf beside her howled, its cry scraping across the sky.
Hela's gaze then shifted as she finally acknowledged Soren.
"Soren," She said, her tone dropping to an icy warning, "Standing against me is dangerous. Standing on the wrong side…"
She leaned forward slightly, a predatory smile touching her lips. "Is fatal."
Soren merely smiled, unbothered by Hela's display of power.
She was undeniably the strongest opponent he had faced, but Soren was no longer who he once was. Her aura pressed against him and yet it didn't move him an inch.
He wasn't worried.
Before anyone could speak again, two figures streaked across the sky toward them.
Soren recognized them instantly, Freyja and Heimdall, returning from the ancestral lands.
"Soren!" Freyja called, relief flickering across her face as they landed.
Heimdall strode forward, his golden eyes sweeping over the undead army, the war-wolf, and Hela herself.
Then he faced Soren, his voice heavy with urgency.
"All civilians have been safely transported to Earth. Asgard is empty now… except for the traitors who chose to kneel."
Skurge stiffened at the word traitors, shame and fear battled in his eyes. He had followed Hela to survive, nothing more… but the label still burned.
Hela, however, laughed softly.
"So it was you, Heimdall," Venom dripped from every syllable. "Hand over the sword and I may forgive you."
"Your death doesn't have to be messy."
Heimdall spat at the ground, an insult sharper than any blade.
"You? A queen?" He scoffed. "A ruler's sword must carry mercy. You carry none."
The insult struck Hela, and her smile fell away.
"Odin's lapdog to the end," She hissed. "Even your voice sounds like his. I think I'll enjoy killing you."
Her divine power surged, black and violent, flooding the courtyard.
Soren stepped in front, and a wave of his own energy rose to meet hers.
The air split between them, crackling.
"Hela," He said calmly, "Do you truly believe you still have a path forward while I'm standing here?"
It was the first time he addressed her directly.
"I waited only to confirm the civilians were safe." He continued, "So our battle doesn't slaughter the innocent."
"Heimdall is right. Even if you ruled Asgard, you would never protect its people. You don't deserve the throne."
"You don't deserve this realm."
Hela's eyes widened, then narrowed into slits of pure hatred.
Her hair whipped wildly before gathering behind her head, twisting into razor-like spikes as her divine form intensified.
"You dare…" She whispered, trembling with fury. "You dare!"
Then she smiled, her terrible, murderous smile.
"Soren… don't worry," She said coldly. "I've prepared a suitable opponent for you."
Behind her, something massive shifted.
Blackened iron chains clattered as she dragged forward a colossal, horned head… severed and smoldering with dormant power. Even in death, the creature's very presence made the air thicken.
Thor's eyes went wide with horror. "Hela~no! Surtur? Stop!"
"Don't do this!"
But Hela ignored his cries.
With a flick of her wrist, she summoned a blazing sphere of emerald fire, the Eternal Flame and thrust it onto the skull.
The moment the flame touched bone… BOOM
A deep, hellish roar erupted, shaking Asgard to its foundations. The ground trembled as the undead legion faltered for the first time.
The fire spread unstoppably. Hela smiled, her silhouette framed in green inferno. "Come, Soren."
"Let's see if you can stop Ragnarok itself."