POV Rio
It takes Odin a few minutes to fully process what I did and what it truly meant for Asgard. And more importantly, what he could use it for as long as I answered one question.
"I apologize for my actions, but can you do that again?" Odin asks.
"I don't blame you; you were being controlled, and I wasn't harmed. And yes, I can do it again; as far as I know, there are no limits to what I can destroy as long as it is magical," I respond.
Odin mulls over my answer and nods.
"Come with me quickly," Odin orders, and I follow him.
What follows is me being taken throughout the treasury to absorb any and all artifacts that Odin wanted gone. It wasn't as much as I was hoping, just a dozen and a half, but I guess I couldn't complain. They were all immensely powerful, but each one had a limitation or drawback of some kind. Like one may be usable only by a specific species, or another would slowly make you increasingly cruel the longer you use it. Or drive you insane, drain your lifeforce. Odin never even considered using them himself, and most people wouldn't be strong enough to use them. But given how dangerous they were, he couldn't let them out of his control, nor could he return them lest they be used for ill, so he just kept them around hoping to find a permanent solution.
It was after destroying all of those artifacts that we came to a room containing two artifacts of immense power. One burning brightly and intensely, and the other with the chill of winter.
"This is the Eternal Fire. Now that I have seen how you destroyed the others, I am confident you can destroy it. But I still want your word that, as far as you know, you can destroy this," Odin says with a deathly serious tone.
"I solemnly swear upon my very soul and existence that, to my knowledge, I can destroy the Eternal Fire," I say firmly, causing a magic shudder at the truth of my words.
Odin stares me in the eyes for a few seconds before seeing what he wanted to see and gestures for me to begin.
POV Shift Surtur
I felt an instinctual dread and, dare I say, fear, but I couldn't find why I was feeling this dread. But as I was pondering this, I felt something snap, and my eyes widened in panic.
"No... Impossible. That can't be possible!" I say with growing fear that swiftly turns into a burning wrath.
My anger fuels my power and size, and I swiftly shatter my lair and soar into the burning skyline of Muspelheim, but I paid no heed to the swiftly fleeing minions or the cowards fleeing in terror. I was furious and sought the destruction of a certain old man, but seeing as he wasn't present in Muspelheim, I had to settle for pure destruction.
"ODINNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I scream.
POV Shift Rio
Once the Eternal Fire was destroyed, Odin seemed to freeze for a moment, as I could tell he was not here anymore, at least not mentally. Then after a minute or so, he started to smile and even chuckle a bit.
"Is there something on my face?" I ask.
"No, no, nothing of the sort. I was just amused by a certain Fire Demon's reaction to losing the Eternal Fire. And I am happy that the Twilight of the Gods has been avoided, or at least it has in the way the prophecy once stated," Odin says with a relieved smile.
"Oh, glad to hear it. Now, should I destroy this as well?" I ask while gesturing to the Casket of Eternal Winters.
Odin pauses and refocuses on me and the casket.
"No, as much as I would prefer, I cannot risk destroying it. Thor has caused much turmoil in Jotunheim, and we are on the brink of war with the Jotuns. If I destroy the Casket, I am certain that Laufey will stop at nothing to bring war to Asgard. And I cannot willingly cause my people to suffer through the horrors of war," Odin explains with regret clear in his voice.
"What about Surtur? Won't he bring war as well?" I ask.
"He will try, but Muspelheim is not like the Jotunheim. It has no united government, nor an army that Surtur can call upon to invade other worlds. Few can even survive for long outside of Muspelheim, and those that do are unlikely to be willing to leave Muspelheim. At best, he can kill anyone who travels to Muspelheim, but that is easy for me to work around. Laufey is more than capable of bringing war beyond Jotunheim, and if he does, then others may use the chance to cause chaos within the Nine Realms, so no, for now the Casket will remain within my care until I find a more opportune time. When that does happen, I hope I can call upon your aid once more," Odin says.
"Of course, I find no issue with that," I affirm.
Odin nods and then does something that shocks me. He bows.
"I thank you for your help. Countless lives have been saved thanks to your actions. Asgard and I as a whole owe you more than we could ever repay. As such, with the power invested in me, I hereby offer you an official treaty of alliance. Should you need help with anything, no matter how small or large, Asgard will help. And you and your kin will always be welcome within my halls," Odin says with a respectful bow.
I was stunned to say the least, but I quickly reacted and thanked him for the offer.
"I thank you for your offer, but I feel that might be a bit much. I was only going to ask for access to Asgard's libraries and perhaps some Uru if you had any to spare," I answer honestly.
"I will give you all that and more, but I ask you to accept my offer," Odin says firmly.
"Very well, I humbly accept," I say with an internal sigh, as I knew it would be rude to refuse further.
Odin nods with a smile but then pauses, and I can tell he wants to say something, or rather ask for something, but it seems to be hesitating. I easily tell what he wants to say but can't due to his position.
"I will keep Thor safe while he remains on Midgard," I offer.
"Sigh. Thank you," Odin says with a sigh of relief.
He couldn't ask, as Thor was officially disowned and banished; thus, Odin cannot be seen asking for his protection no matter how much he may want to do so.
"But I can't guarantee he will be safe. I can't be there all the time," I warn.
"Of course, I understand everyone has limitations. I am more than accepting of any protection he can get, however minor it may become. But given your character, I feel he will be as safe as he can be given the circumstances. I don't wish to coddle him," Odin responds.
I nod, and we start to discuss what amount of Uru I can get and what libraries I could gain access to. Odin laughed and told me that I would be given free access to the entire palace and all the knowledge of Asgard. As for Uru, he said that he would try to give me any amount I asked for, but that there wasn't much in storage currently, as much was recently sold to the Ancient One when she was still alive. Once that was settled, I returned to Earth, which was the official name of the world as per Odin's first proclamation; it was a small but meaningful gesture meant to show that we were equals. And that he respects Earth's ability to name itself rather than the term they used and enforced with their strength.
It was this proclamation that was the last thing Odin did before falling into Odinsleep, though I would only find that out a bit later. As for me, I was busy setting up some basic safeguards for Thor, as I really wasn't sure how long he would remain on Earth. That and I had a few issues I needed to get done, such as all the messages Pepper left me.
POV Shift Tony Stark
Knock Knock Knock
"Huh? Why would anyone knock on the lab doors?" I ask myself as I snap out of the work I was doing.
I wait for a moment to see if I was hallucinating before going right back to my work.
Knock Knock Knock
The knocking comes back, but I choose to ignore it, as it could be caused by my experiment. Yeah, that was the reason, and not because I had a gut feeling I shouldn't open the door.
Knock Knock Knock
I was starting to get nervous as the knocking was much louder and perhaps angrier this time. I left my experiment and approached the door.
Knock! Knock!! KNOCK!!!
Gulp
I swallow a lump in my throat and open the door. It slides open, and I see a very angry Pepper staring at me. I do the only thing that seems to have a chance of saving me. I press the button and the door slides shut.
'What is she doing on the Watchtower!!!'
I panic and try to find a good excuse or way out of this, but that option gets removed when the doors open without my involvement, and I see Pepper with a smile that promises me doom.
"O-Oh, hey Pepper! I was just going to open the door; I just needed to freshen up a bit. Yeah, freshen up!" I say nervously.
She just keeps that scary smile on her face as I start sweating bullets.
'Think, Tony, think! Why is she mad at me?!'
I rack my brain, trying to think about what I did wrong, when I spot the date and grimace.
'Oh... Yeah, that would do it.'
"Three. Weeks. Three. WEEKS! ANTHONY EDWARD STARK!" Pepper says angrily.
I wince as she uses my full name and know that I am 100% undeniably, certifiably screwed.
'I had a good run.'
(AN: RIP Tony Stark; he may have been arrogant, a playboy, and a scoundrel...)