Kamar-Taj. The Library.
"Hm? What is all that commotion outside?"
Wong, the Keeper of the Books, lifted his head from an ancient tome, looking toward the window in confusion.
Faint cries of shock and awe drifted in from the courtyard. It sounded like the entire order was in an uproar.
Seeing that he had reached the end of his chapter anyway, Wong shook his head, stood up, and casually traced a golden circle in the air. A sparking portal opened.
Guard duty was dull work. He deserved a break. Driven by curiosity, Wong stepped through to see what had the novices so excited.
His foot had barely touched the stone of the training grounds when he froze.
Hovering above the courtyard was a colossal screen. It displayed a frozen image of space.
But in the bottom right corner, a picture-in-picture feed showed a bizarre white room containing four men.
The most conspicuous figure was a man in familiar novice robes... holding a spear of blinding gold in his right hand.
With his encyclopedic knowledge of mystic artifacts, Wong recognized it instantly.
Gungnir. The Eternal Spear. The weapon of Odin Allfather.
And the man holding it? That was Stephen Strange, the arrogant former surgeon who had come to borrow books just the other day!
"What... what in the Vishanti's name is happening?"
Wong's jaw dropped. His eyes widened in utter disbelief.
How did a novice who barely knows the basics get his hands on the strongest artifact in the Nine Realms?
And more importantly, he's been here for what, a week? How can he possibly wield a Skyfather's weapon without being incinerated?
As Wong stared, the scrolling text at the bottom of the screen caught his eye.
[CHAT STREAM LIVE]
[Thor Odinson: You! Strange, or whatever your name is! Return Gungnir immediately! That is not a toy for mortals!]
[Baron Mordo: Hah! Thor, on what grounds do you make demands? Stephen won that spear fair and square with his own skill. Why should he return it?]
Mordo was a man of rigid principles. He could be inflexible, yes, but he respected the law.
In his eyes, Strange had answered the System's question correctly. The System had awarded him the prize. Therefore, by the laws of this contest, the spear belonged to Strange.
Not even an Asgardian god had the right to rob him.
However, remembering the legendary wrath of Odin, Mordo felt a twinge of anxiety. He glanced back at the Ancient One.
The Sorcerer Supreme noticed his questioning look. Her face remained impassive, but she did not silence him.
Mordo took this as tacit approval. His confidence surged.
With the Ancient One backing him and the disciples watching, he couldn't let Kamar-Taj look weak!
[Baron Mordo: Thor, if you want the spear back so badly, you are welcome to come to Kamar-Taj and try to take it. (￣▽￣)]
[Thor Odinson: You bastard! What is a 'Kamar-Taj'?! (╬ Ò ‸ Ó) Just you wait! I will flatten your little club!]
Asgard.
Watching the text scroll by, Odin's brow furrowed.
Kamar-Taj. The sanctuary of the Sorcerer Supreme.
Does this mean the wielder of Gungnir is a disciple of the Ancient One?
This complicated things.
The Ancient One was the Guardian of Earth. She had repelled dimensional threats that even Asgard hesitated to engage—including Dormammu of the Dark Dimension.
In terms of raw power, she was Odin's equal. Taking the spear back by force would not be simple.
Suddenly, the frozen image on the main screen shifted.
[VIDEO RESUMING]
[Hearing Loki's cold refusal, Thanos's expression hardens. He raises his left hand, pressing the glowing Power Stone against Thor's temple.]
["ARGHHHH!"]
[Thor screams. The Power Stone burns with violet energy, agonizingly crushing the God of Thunder's skull. It is a sound of pure, unfiltered torture.]
"Thor!"
Queen Frigga gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as she watched her son suffer.
On the throne, the veins in Odin's forehead pulsed dangerously. The fire in his heart roared into an inferno.
Thanos.
You are dead.
There is nowhere in this universe you can hide.
I, Odin, swear it!
[The video continues.]
[Loki watches Thor writhe in agony. He tries to maintain his mask of indifference, but the muscles in his jaw twitch. His resolve crumbles.]
[Finally, he breaks. "ALRIGHT! STOP!"]
[Thanos pulls the Power Stone back. Thor slumps forward, gasping for air, blood dripping from his face.]
[Thor croaks out a warning: "We don't have the Tesseract. It was destroyed on Asgard!"]
...What?
The sentence struck the Great Hall like a physical blow.
"It was destroyed on Asgard."
The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating. You could hear a pin drop.
Thousands of Asgardians stood frozen, a collective shiver running down their spines.
Frigga's face lost all color. She stumbled back, clutching her chest.
Odin closed his single eye.
Before, seeing Thor tortured was shocking. But this? This was terror.
Thor's words confirmed their deepest, darkest nightmare.
In the future, Asgard is gone. Destroyed.
And they... all of them standing here... are likely dead.
Fear.
Horror.
A coldness seeped into their bones, freezing their very souls. Even the Warriors Three, veterans of a hundred campaigns, looked at each other with trembling eyes. Some of the civilians began to weep; others collapsed, their legs giving way beneath the weight of the revelation.
"King Odin! What do we do?"
"Allfather, save us!"
Panic began to rise, a tide of desperate voices crying out for salvation.
Odin rose from his throne. His voice boomed, cutting through the fear.
"HEIMDALL!"
From outside the hall, a deep, steady voice responded instantly.
"My King. I have scoured the surface of Titan. Thanos is not there."
"To find his ship in the vastness of the cosmos... the scope is too wide. It will take time."
Heimdall, the Guardian, could see all souls in the Nine Realms. But searching the infinite void for one specific warlord was a daunting task, even for him.
Odin's white eyebrows twitched. Surprisingly, the news calmed him.
His resolve hardened into cold steel.
The moment Heimdall located Thanos, Odin would lead the Einherjar personally. He would strike with the fury of a thousand storms and execute the Titan before he could ever threaten the Nine Realms.
It was the only way.
With the "Doomsday Future" now public knowledge, only a display of overwhelming, brutal power could restore the faith of his people.
He had to stabilize his rule. He had to prove Asgard was eternal.
But beside him, Queen Frigga remained silent. Her eyes darted to Odin's empty right hand.
The King's greatest weapon... Gungnir... is gone.
Lost in a mysterious game.
It feels... like an ill omen.