After hearing Odin's words, Karl spoke slowly.
In truth, he already understood Odin's situation.
Karl's own goals were simple—he intended to obtain both the Reality Stone and the Space Stone eventually. Naturally, he had no intention of revealing everything to Thor immediately.
Besides—
Karl already knew what would soon happen.
Frigga would die at the hands of a Cursed Dark Elf warrior.
Karl had already made plans regarding that outcome.
Once Frigga died, he intended to resurrect her. In exchange, he would obtain the Casket of Ancient Winters from Odin.
With that artifact, his freezing abilities would increase dramatically.
"I cannot remove it either."
Odin spoke slowly after understanding Karl's explanation.
"Go ask your mother."
"She might have a solution."
"But this matter… is beyond my ability."
If the thing inside Jane truly was the Reality Stone, even Odin could not safely remove it from a mortal body.
Thor immediately carried Jane toward Frigga's chambers.
Karl and the others had nothing more to discuss with Odin for the moment, so they followed.
Walking through the golden city of Asgard, Karl couldn't help but admire the scenery.
The realm truly lived up to its reputation as the home of the gods.
Inside the healing chambers, Frigga examined Jane carefully.
But after a moment, she slowly shook her head.
Jane had already regained consciousness, and there was nothing immediately life-threatening.
Seeing this, the others decided not to disturb her further and quietly stepped out of the medical chamber.
Karl glanced at Frigga beside him.
"Your Majesty…"
"You should know what this means."
"I believe you understand what I'm referring to."
Karl spoke calmly.
A woman who could recognize that future Thor had traveled back in time should certainly be capable of seeing her own fate.
Frigga looked slightly surprised.
"Yes… I do."
"But what surprises me is that you know as well."
She looked at Karl with curiosity.
"And another thing…"
"In the future I saw, you never appeared."
"Can you tell me… what your true purpose is?"
Karl smiled faintly.
"You only need to know one thing."
"I am a friend of Asgard."
"And also a friend of Thor."
He had no intention of revealing his deeper objectives.
Frigga nodded slowly.
"In that case… I thank you on Thor's behalf."
A faint sadness appeared in her eyes.
"Thor has always been reckless and impulsive."
"Between Loki and Thor…"
"I often feel more at ease with Loki."
"With his intelligence, he rarely places himself in danger."
"But Thor…"
She did not finish the sentence.
Perhaps she had already seen the future in which she would die at the hands of the Dark Elves' Cursed warrior.
And she had accepted that fate.
She made no attempt to change it.
Elsewhere in the palace hall—
Odin silently watched Karl.
He knew about Frigga's future.
He knew the choice she had made.
As a husband, Odin desperately wanted to change that fate.
But as the King of Asgard, he also understood the price.
For the sake of the future… and for Thor…
He had chosen to accept it.
But now—
Karl had appeared.
A man who did not exist in Frigga's vision of the future.
That meant one thing.
Karl might be capable of altering destiny itself.
If Karl had not come to Asgard this time, Odin might even have gone to Earth personally to seek him out.
After all—
Frigga was the only queen Odin had ever loved.
Unlike Zeus of Greek mythology, Odin was not a womanizer.
Throughout his life, he had only one queen.
Frigga.
After Frigga's death in the original timeline, Odin gradually lost the will to rule.
Knowing his life was nearing its end, he eventually left Asgard and went to Earth.
He might have been able to endure longer through the Odinsleep, but Frigga's death accelerated his decline.
…
Meanwhile—
The Dark Elves had already learned that the Aether was now inside Asgard.
Malekith immediately launched an invasion.
One of the Cursed warriors infiltrated the city and entered the Asgardian dungeons.
There he released several imprisoned Dark Elves.
He even paused to mock Loki, who was imprisoned nearby.
BOOM—!
BANG—!
Suddenly, black warships began emerging from spatial rifts above Asgard.
At the same time, the Cursed warrior sabotaged Asgard's defense systems, preventing the city's protective shield from activating.
The Dark Elf warships immediately began firing.
Their attacks struck directly into Asgard's buildings.
Odin instantly appeared high above the city.
Holding Gungnir, he began defending Asgard from the invading warships.
Around him, Asgardian soldiers launched counterattacks from their own flying vessels.
Thor quickly noticed the invasion.
Without hesitation, he raised Mjolnir and charged toward the Dark Elf fleet.
Chaos spread across the entire realm.
Asgardian soldiers and Dark Elves fought everywhere—even inside the dungeons.
During the battle, Loki's prison restraints were damaged.
Seeing this, Loki slowly stood up and smiled.
Then he calmly walked out of his cell.
Whoosh!
BOOM!
High above the battlefield—
Karl appeared in the sky wearing his Sagittarius Gold Cloth.
In his hands was the Sagittarius Golden Bow.
One golden arrow after another shot through the sky.
Each arrow pierced straight through a Dark Elf warship.
The Dark Elves immediately noticed him.
Several of them launched spatial annihilation grenades toward Karl.
But before the attacks could reach him—
They were completely disintegrated by a burst of crimson energy.
Because Black Phoenix hovered beside him.
With her there, Karl had no concern about incoming attacks.
Meanwhile, Juggernaut rampaged across the battlefield.
Wherever large groups of Dark Elves gathered, he charged straight into them.
Each impact sent dozens of Dark Elves flying.
Karl continued firing arrows.
Many Dark Elf warships were pierced and lost power, crashing into the ground.
Some were completely destroyed by the energy within the golden arrows.
Others froze solid midair.
Karl had even infused several arrows with his freezing abilities.
At the same time, Karl experimented with channeling the power of the Mandarin Rings into the arrows.
However, the results were not ideal.
Watching his fleet suffer heavy losses, Malekith finally gave the order to retreat.
If the battle continued, the Dark Elves might be wiped out before they even obtained the Aether.
He glared coldly at Karl in the golden armor.
Then he looked toward Juggernaut rampaging across the battlefield.
With clear hatred in his eyes, Malekith ordered his fleet back through the spatial rift.
Moments later—
The Dark Elf warships disappeared.
But the Cursed warrior had already reached Jane Foster.
Odin suddenly sensed something and immediately vanished from the sky.
However—
He was too late.
The Cursed warrior plunged his blade directly into Frigga's body.
And Odin arrived just in time to witness it.
BOOM—!
Odin raised Gungnir.
With a single strike, the Cursed warrior was completely obliterated.
At that moment—
Thor and Loki both rushed into the chamber.
Loki froze in place.
He stared at Frigga lying on the ground.
His beloved mother…
Had fallen.
Odin gently held Frigga in his arms.
Her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something.
But the words never came.
Her body went still.
Her life force had already vanished.
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