Watching Hela and Frigga disappear deeper into the palace, Heisenberg shook his head thoughtfully.
Could Hela really set aside her obsession with the throne that easily?
Heh...
Give her some time. Let her make up her mind.
With that, Heisenberg left the palace and made his way into the city proper, drifting among the civilians who were busy sorting through rubble and rebuilding.
"His Majesty!"
"It's His Majesty!"
"Keep your voice down, you fool!"
"Should we bow?"
"I don't know. King Odin never used to walk around here!"
"Are you stupid? Don't mention Odin anywhere near His Majesty!"
The civilians around Heisenberg gradually noticed his presence. They called out greetings. They bowed.
But all Heisenberg could see was the fear in their eyes.
Did anyone think that fear would disappoint him?
No.
That was exactly the emotion he wanted.
Ruling with a personal touch might be one way for a sovereign to treat his subjects, but for any ruler, the moment your people stop fearing you, your troubles are only just beginning.
As a ruler, you have to master the image you project and the place you hold in your subjects' hearts. Their mindset toward you must be kept within three boundaries: reverence, fear, but never hatred.
Reverence. Deep fear. But never crossing into hatred.
That was the mentality Heisenberg required of his subordinates and subjects.
And so Heisenberg silently passed through the bowing civilians, making his way to the vicinity of the great library of Asgard, where Heimdall was personally overseeing emergency restoration efforts.
As the eternal gatekeeper of the palace, every generation of Heimdall throughout history had served Asgard with unquestionable loyalty.
But this generation's Heimdall...
From what the movies had shown, this Heimdall held a particular soft spot for common folk and was far too lenient with Thor.
So Heisenberg wanted to have a word with him. After all, the last thing he needed after restoring order to the palace was a string of messy problems involving Thor and Loki popping up every other day.
Spotting Heisenberg approaching, Heimdall set down the massive stone block on his shoulder with a puzzled look and gave a slight bow.
"Your Majesty."
"Hm."
Heisenberg nodded, then gestured casually at their surroundings.
"Why don't you introduce the city to me?"
"Of course, Your Majesty. This land is your domain. This city, even more so, is yours."
Heimdall nodded readily and moved to Heisenberg's side.
"The area beneath your feet belongs to the Asgardian War Academy. However, due to the long absence of large-scale war, Asgard has not recruited and trained young warriors from the civilian population for a very long time.
As a result, the academy was converted into the Grand Library.
The accumulated wisdom of Asgard, spanning over a million years, is buried here in its entirety."
"Then I must apologize. During my battle with Odin, we fought rather fiercely in this area."
"It is no great loss, Your Majesty. Our light-based information network can easily restore all the knowledge that has been lost.
And rest assured, Your Majesty, all of Asgard's knowledge is backed up within my mind."
"Your abilities truly are astonishing, Heimdall."
Heisenberg looked at the man before him. Who would have thought this golden-armored gatekeeper was also a keeper of Asgardian culture?
Hearing Heisenberg's words, Heimdall gave a slight shake of his head.
"That is not my power, but the power of the King of Gods, Your Majesty.
For now, you have only received the runic inheritance of the divine race. You have yet to go further and master the accumulated knowledge passed down through the Aesir.
I hope you will find the time to systematically study everything that a king must command.
Even if you possess limitless power, you still require a sufficiently wise mind to wield it."
At this, Heimdall cast a deep gaze at the Grand Library, still under repair.
"I will prioritize the reconstruction of the War Academy. I believe Your Majesty will soon have need of Asgard to begin recruiting soldiers again.
Perhaps within my lifetime, I may yet see the War Academy shine once more, and witness countless new gods rise endlessly from its halls and from war itself."
As he spoke, Heimdall lifted his eyes toward the distant sky above.
"I do not know what thoughts King Odin kept hidden in his heart, but over the past three thousand years, countless gods among us have gradually passed away.
And after their deaths, no new life ever rose to take their place.
Wind. Fire. Earth. War. Moon and Shadow. Plunder. Agriculture. Victory. All of them have lost their rightful heirs.
I am Heimdall, gatekeeper of the palace, eternal watcher of Asgard.
Yet to my sorrow, I have found that the things I can see are growing fewer and fewer."
Heimdall suddenly bowed deeply to Heisenberg. Then he straightened and asked in a low voice.
"Can you, Your Majesty, return this kingdom to its former glory?
Or rather, do you have any such intention?"
The look Heimdall fixed on Heisenberg in that moment was deadly serious.
Heisenberg paused. Now this was interesting.
A conversation between sovereign and subject, was it?
He nodded and spoke softly.
"If not, why would I have bothered fighting for this throne in the first place?"
"I hope you will keep those words, Your Majesty. Heimdall shall offer every last drop of his blood to you and to Asgard.
Let us begin with the method of using the Bifrost. With the Sorcerer Supreme of Midgard having refrained from using the Infinity Stones to obscure my sight, I overheard her conversation with you.
As the new King of the Nine Realms, the King of Asgard, you must of course personally master the use of the Bifrost.
Please, come with me. I will use this Hofund to teach you how to harness the Bifrost for transportation, whether the bridge itself stands intact or lies broken."
"Hofund?"
Heisenberg asked, his gaze dropping to the massive sword Heimdall perpetually held in hand or bore upon his back.
Noticing his gaze, Heimdall nodded gravely. He drew the greatsword from its sheath with ceremony.
Holding the blade in both hands, he knelt before Heisenberg and raised the sword high, offering it to his new king.
At the same time, he quietly explained.
"As one of the twelve chief gods of the Aesir, I serve as the God of Dawn within the sequence of light, and the gatekeeper god of Asgard.
This sword was forged one million, four hundred and twenty thousand years ago by the first Heimdall and the first God-King together. Nidhogg's fang served as the raw material. Surtur provided the quenching fire. Dwarves forged the blade. Elves ground the runes. The divine races of the Nine Realms joined in blessing it. This is the Guardian Sword, Hofund.
Its meaning is the strongest gate of the Nine Realms.
Please, grasp Hofund's hilt with your own hands, Your Majesty. Feel the omnipresent, all-powerful force of the Bifrost. It will carry you to any corner you wish to reach, and it will deny entry into the lands of the Nine Realms to any you do not wish to admit, Your Majesty."
Looking at Heimdall, who now truly acknowledged him as king, Heisenberg nodded. He accepted Hofund from Heimdall's hands.
Heimdall immediately rose, preparing to instruct Heisenberg on mastering the power of the Bifrost.
But Heisenberg suddenly returned Hofund to Heimdall's grasp.
"Mastering the Bifrost is indeed important, but not right now.
I fear I still have one more fight ahead of me. After that is settled, I will return to learn from you."
"You speak of Lady Hela?"
Heimdall turned his head, gazing toward the distant palace.
Heisenberg looked in the same direction, his eyes crossing the War Academy to settle upon the great hall of the palace. Battered now, yet its majesty undiminished.
"Naturally. She won't surrender the throne easily. It's her obsession.
And I promised her. First, I would bring her home. Then, I would give her the right to challenge me. Heh."
"The throne was her rightful duty. More than that, it was the only thing her heart could hold onto during her long imprisonment.
Your Majesty, I earnestly beg you not to be too harsh with this reckless princess.
No one loves this land more than she does. A land that once cast her out, but has now welcomed her back.
It is only that her way of loving it differs from most."
"Hm, certainly. But you seem confident I will win?"
"Yes."
Heimdall nodded without hesitation.
"Lady Hela is powerful, true. Yet five thousand years ago, she was still no match for King Odin.
You have defeated King Odin, who had built up his strength over five millennia. How could you possibly fail to defeat Lady Hela, who was imprisoned by King Odin for those very same five thousand years?"
"That is a fair point."
At this, Heisenberg smiled. Then his feet stirred, and his entire body began to float into the air.
And from that distant great hall, a sound suddenly rang out.
The sound of a weapon striking the floor.
...
Not long before.
Frigga had pulled Hela along, arriving at the ruined throne room.
Looking around at the shattered splendor that still gleamed through its wounds, then at the unfamiliar murals and decorations that surrounded them...
Hela abruptly snapped out of her reminiscence. Once again, she pulled her hand free from Frigga's grasp.
"Judging by your expression, this hall has changed quite a bit since you last saw it?"
Frigga asked gently. Hela responded with a contemptuous sneer.
Still sneering, she walked until she stood beneath the damaged ceiling mural.
She looked up at the painting of Odin and Frigga nestled together, and at Thor and Loki beside them.
Especially at the golden halos painted behind their heads, representing their divine power.
Hela curled her lip in disgust.
"In my era, what hung up there was not the warmth and sweetness of your little family. Heh."
As she spoke, Hela suddenly raised both hands. Dozens of hiltless black blades burst forth, embedding themselves into the edges of the mural.
Moments later, the painting shattered and fell crashing from the ceiling.
And the somewhat restrained expression Frigga had worn slowly eased as the image of her and Odin crumbled.
"Lies. Tsk. What fills the palace these days is no longer the iron blood and honor of my time, but his shameless lies."
As Hela spoke, the original mural hidden beneath slowly revealed to the world what Asgard once looked like.
Where the painting had once glowed gold, giving off a feeling of light and justice, it now blazed crimson.
Countless streaks of red symbolized the blood of innumerable enemies, trampled beneath the hooves of Odin and Hela, who rode upon winged steeds.
The Asgardian warriors in this mural no longer stood in place, holding guard poses.
Here, they were all locked in battle, their blades plunging savagely into the bodies of every foe.
Looking at the ceiling that was finally familiar once more, Hela nodded in satisfaction. She turned to the contemplative Frigga.
"This is the real Odin. This is the true Asgard. A great kingdom forged by blood and fire. The Aesir, renowned for conquest and invasion.
And this, this is what I have always pursued. These are the warriors and subjects I am destined to lead."
Here, Hela clenched her jaw and cast a glance toward the city beyond the palace walls.
Heisenberg's divine power blazed there like the sun itself.
Shrugging off the pressure of that overwhelming presence, Hela strode forward and came to a halt before the throne.
Staring at the seat that stood within arm's reach, Hela let out a long sigh.
"Odin and I came to a disagreement. He was no longer the king for whom I fought. He became a common fool preaching love and justice.
I was imprisoned for over five thousand years. I still do not fully know what Asgard has endured during that time.
But I can see. I can see that Asgard now has almost no gods of renown. Even less does it possess the unstoppable military might it commanded five thousand years ago.
Even the throne of the God-King was torn from Odin's hands by an outsider.
You see? His mercy and his justice cost him everything. So he was wrong.
And everything he lost through his mistakes, I will reclaim by my own methods and return to the hands of the Aesir.
The Aesir fear no challenge. We fear death in the face of a challenge even less.
Because life can be lost. Honor cannot."
Her words fell. Hela seated herself resolutely upon the throne.
/-\
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters!
~ +20 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon! (+1 Chapter daily)
https://p-atreon.com/Its_Zack
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access Patreon normally)