Hela: ?
"That's it?"
Ryan tilted his head. "Didn't you tell me to keep it short?"
The veins on Hela's forehead throbbed. "But this is far too short! You haven't explained anything clearly. Why did they gang up on Odin? And how come I've never heard of some 'Cosmic Underworld' in the Universe?"
"Besides, back then, Odin was at his peak; he was practically invincible in the entire Universe. Even that fellow claiming to be God, who occupied your Midgard back then, was kicked out of the Nine Realms by Odin. Who could have defeated the Odin of that era?!"
Hearing this, Ryan shrugged. "So, you want to hear the detailed version?"
Hela took a deep breath, trying her best not to get angry, and nodded through gritted teeth. "Yes!"
Ryan nodded slowly. "Oh, you should have said so earlier. I asked you just now and you didn't say. If you'd said so, wouldn't I have given you the detailed version sooner? Why didn't you say so?"
"I... I-I-I-I!" Hela was so angry she couldn't even speak clearly.
If she weren't outmatched, Hela would have truly loved to strangle him and throw his corpse off the building to feed the zombies!
But therein lay the problem: she couldn't beat him!
Whether it was before she had her invincible divine power or after she lost it, she was no match for him!
So... she could only endure!
Hela gave a forced smile. "Then may I please ask you to tell me the detailed version now, alright?"
Seeing this, a smirk curled onto Ryan's lips.
This was exactly the effect he wanted.
Since he had decided to have Hela help him conquer this Universe, he had to fix her impatient temper.
When working under me, you can act extremely in the direction I give you, but you are not allowed to throw tantrums in front of me.
Otherwise, Uncle Bully will be very unhappy, and the consequences will be severe.
Seeing that his psychological conditioning was beginning to show results, Ryan finally continued his explanation unhurriedly:
"The cause of that incident was that your father Odin's massive campaign to conquer the Universe back then disrupted the cosmic balance, drawing a warning from the Celestials who created the Universe..."
"And as you should know well, Odin's temper back then wasn't any better than yours is now—it was even more explosive. Naturally, Odin ignored the Celestials' warning and continued to expand Asgard's territory, violently conquering the Universe!"
"Odin even specifically ordered the Dwarf King to forge a set of armor designed to counter the Celestials. He sought out all the gods and had them each bestow a blessing upon this armor, allowing Odin's power while wearing it to reach a truly terrifying level!"
"And the name of that armor was... the destroyer armor!"
"Afterward, your father's act of continuing to wage war across the Universe despite the risks naturally enraged the Celestials. Although your father, wearing the destroyer armor forged with the power of all the gods, successfully slew one member of the Celestials, the 'Celestials' is a group, as the name implies, not just a single individual..."
"So, after Odin killed one Celestial, he was faced with a whole group of them. In the end, he was overwhelmed by their numbers. The Celestials beat him so badly even his Mother wouldn't recognize him; they even knocked his divine soul right out of him!"
"Ultimately, it was your Mother, Queen Frigga, who stepped in. By imposing a self-restriction that Asgard would never again step outside the Nine Realms, she convinced the Celestials to give Asgard one last chance and spare your father's life!"
"After that, your father became the 'cowardly' old man you spoke of. Because of the Celestials' final warning, he had no choice but to recall you from the front lines and order the entire army back to Asgard, forbidding any further excursions beyond the Nine Realms."
"You know the rest well. You fell out with Odin over this and refused to listen to any of his explanations, because in your eyes, everything he said was just an excuse. Finally, to prevent all of Asgard from being destroyed by the Celestials, Odin had no choice but to send the Valkyrie Corps to suppress you, and then, dragging his heavily injured body, he sealed you away."
"But actually, even then, Odin hadn't completely given up on you. After he recovered from the severe injuries he received from the Celestials, he had the Dwarf King forge the Infinity Gauntlet for him. He attempted to collect the Infinity Stones, hoping to use the power of the six stones to seek revenge against the Celestials. As long as the Celestials were gone, he could naturally release you and conquer the Universe with you once more."
Speaking to this point, Ryan raised his left hand and pointed to the iron ring embedded with the Soul Stone, saying leisurely:
"Unfortunately, when he went to collect the Soul Stone, Odin discovered it had a very cruel rule: one must sacrifice the soul of their most beloved to obtain it."
"At that time, Odin's most beloved, aside from Queen Frigga, was only you, his daughter. Tell me, as a husband and a father, how was he supposed to choose?"
Facing this question, Hela—who had long since frozen in shock at Ryan's every word—muttered:
"He didn't choose either. He chose to give up on revenge to protect his wife, his daughter, and... all of Asgard. That was the real reason he backed down..."
"Correct. That is the complete sequence of events—the secret buried in the deepest part of his heart that you never let your father explain," Ryan said calmly.
At this moment, in Ryan's eyes, Hela's entire aura changed.
The deep-seated hatred within her emotions dissipated, replaced by a sense of closure.
After a long silence, Hela looked at Ryan with a complex gaze. "Are the Celestials really that invincible?"
Ryan remained composed. "Of course not. Like any other creatures in the Universe, they have the strong and the weak. The weak might be around your level, while the strong can even reach the multiversal-level, where destroying a Universe is just a thought away."
Hela fell into a deeper silence upon hearing this.
If even the weak ones were on her level, what was the difference between that and being invincible?
Hela suddenly thought of a question and asked Ryan, "Then you're still asking me to help you conquer the Universe in this Universe. If the Celestials in the other Universe cared about my father conquering it, there's no reason the Celestials in this Universe wouldn't care, right?"
Ryan shook his head, stood up from the edge, and looked up at the sky. "It's different. I can feel that this Universe has already begun to gradually collapse. Order no longer exists, and the Quantum Virus has already spread throughout the Universe. If the Celestials wanted to interfere, they would have done so long ago. I'm afraid even the Celestials have abandoned this broken Universe by now..."
"So, I want you to make use of this Universe's remaining value. Help me command this Universe's zombie army, lead them to mine various resources from every Planet for me, and acquire the remnant technologies of various cosmic empires..."
"And... in the worst-case scenario, even if the Celestials really do appear again to stop you from conquering the Universe for me, don't you still have me, a tall guy, standing behind you?"
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