During the endless fall, Adrian's War Star Spirit power had long since dissipated.
That divine power could only be maintained for one hour each day.
Now that hour had passed.
What remained was only his mortal body.
Yet he had survived falling from an immeasurable height.
Not through strength—
But through sheer will.
His title [Unyielding Spear] allowed Adrian to reject the call of death itself. His spirit refused to surrender, forcibly maintaining the integrity of his shattered body even as bones cracked and muscles tore during the descent.
However, that willpower could only prevent death.
It could not heal him.
Adrian's body was riddled with fractures. Every breath was painful, his ribs grinding against broken bone.
So when a strange female voice suddenly echoed through the darkness—
He could not even respond.
"Oh?"
"What a pitiful mortal… unable even to speak."
From the depths of the darkness, a slender figure approached.
Her steps were calm, elegant, and filled with quiet authority.
She crouched beside Adrian and placed a pale hand on his head.
A strange power flowed into his body.
Part of his shattered bones immediately began to mend.
The pain eased.
His breathing stabilized.
"Alright," the woman said lightly.
"Can you speak now?"
"Answer my question."
"What exactly did you do?"
"Why would Odin personally seal a mortal like you into this place?"
The woman stood again and returned to the lone throne within the endless darkness.
She sat lazily, yet radiated a terrifying sense of authority.
Her cold eyes never left Adrian.
She was the ruler of this sealed realm—
Hela, Goddess of Death.
Once the executioner of Asgard.
Now its prisoner.
Adrian slowly pushed himself up from the ground.
He exhaled a thin stream of black mist.
Then he stared coldly into the endless darkness before him.
"Didn't you already know?"
The power that had just "healed" him—
Was death itself.
Hela's power was not meant to save the living.
It was meant to claim them.
If Adrian had not possessed the ability to reject the call of the realm of the dead, he would already have been transformed into one of the countless undead soldiers within Hela's eternal army.
Hela narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Immortality?"
She leaned back on her throne, resting her chin on one hand.
"That alone would not make Odin intervene personally."
"You must have done something else."
Adrian spoke calmly.
"I killed 1,024 warriors who claimed to be gods."
"Oh, that's acceptable."
Hela raised an eyebrow and nodded casually.
"Anything else?"
"I beat Odin's son and threw him off the Bifrost Bridge."
"If Heimdall hadn't arrived in time…"
"…Odin might have lost his heir."
"Well done."
Hela's lips curled into a wild smile.
"What other heroic deeds have you performed?"
Hearing that Odin had been humiliated—and that the brother she had never even met had been beaten so badly—clearly amused her greatly.
Adrian continued calmly.
"Odin threw me into the depths beneath Asgard."
"There I killed a giant wolf… and countless skeletons."
Hela's smile froze.
She slowly turned her head.
"What did you say?"
"I sensed a familiar killing intent."
Adrian took a slow breath and forced himself to stand despite his heavily injured body.
"I should thank that old man."
"He sent me an immortal toy."
"One that helped me pass the time in this boring seal."
Hela slowly rose from her throne.
Her hands clenched slightly.
Dark energy gathered in her palms.
Two swords formed instantly—
Blades forged from pure darkness and death.
The weapons of the Goddess of Death.
"I'm tired of this endless fighting…"
Her voice was calm.
"But I will not run away."
At that moment—
A beam of starlight pierced the sealed realm.
The celestial light cut through the darkness and descended upon Adrian.
The power of the War Star Spirit returned.
His shattered body instantly healed.
Strength surged back into his limbs.
Hela watched the transformation with fascination rather than fear.
"So this is your true power?"
"Interesting."
She raised her twin swords.
"Come."
"Entertain your queen."
Instead of waiting for Adrian to attack—
Hela charged first.
The battle erupted instantly.
Within the sealed realm, the powers of death and war collided.
Darkness and starlight tore through the void.
Time lost its meaning inside the prison.
Adrian's Star Spirit power lasted only one hour.
But his indomitable will allowed him to survive until the next awakening.
It was that same will that had allowed a mortal to carve his scars into the history of Asgard.
As for Hela—
After endless ages of isolation, she had long desired a battle where she could release her anger freely.
Neither of them had any intention of stopping.
Until finally—
The battle ended.
On a boundless grassland, two figures lay side by side.
They stared up at the sky.
"So this place wasn't completely dark after all?"
Adrian inhaled deeply, feeling sunlight on his face for the first time in what felt like forever.
He squinted slightly.
After fighting for an unknown length of time, even Hela felt tired.
So she simply stopped.
The dark green aura surrounding her—symbolizing death itself—slowly returned to her body.
Only then did the illusion of darkness fade.
And the true scenery appeared.
"This is the Central Courtyard."
Hela spoke with a mocking tone.
"Your homeland."
"And you didn't even recognize it?"
"Atrium…"
Adrian pondered for a moment.
"The Central Courtyard… isn't that just Midgard?"
So after all this—
He had come full circle.
Thinking this, Adrian slowly stood and looked around.
"Stop looking."
"That old man sealed the entire area."
"No living being can enter or leave."
Hela assumed Adrian was searching for a way to break the prison and reminded him lazily.
"As the goddess of death…"
"Are you considered a living being?"
Adrian asked casually.
Hela paused briefly.
"…Give up."
"Unless Odin dies, this seal cannot be broken."
"What if the one who breaks the seal possesses power equal to Odin's?"
"Who?"
"There's someone like that in Midgard?"
Hela frowned slightly.
"I don't know how much time has passed."
"But the future looks promising."
Adrian looked up at the sky.
If he had truly returned to Earth—
Then the Sorcerer Supreme must have sensed it.
Ancient One.
When Odin had taken him from Earth years ago, she had only just inherited the title of Sorcerer Supreme.
She had confronted Odin once—
And lost.
Because of that defeat, Adrian and the other mortals taken by Asgard had been unable to return.
But before they were separated—
Ancient One had made him a promise.
If he ever returned to Earth…
He could come to her if he encountered any difficulties.