Frigga looked away, her eyes full of deep worry.
She stood silently for a long time.
She knew how incredibly dangerous Hela was. Hela was not like Loki.
She was a pure weapon of war.
But then, Frigga looked at the glowing red sword floating perfectly beside Sam.
She remembered how easily he had destroyed the Dark Elves.
"Odin tried to control her,"
Frigga whispered softly, almost talking to herself.
"When he couldn't, he locked her away in the dark. He thought there was no other way. But you... you are stronger than my husband. You might be the only person in the universe who can actually do something to help her."
Frigga took a deep breath and nodded.
"Alright, Sam,"
Frigga agreed.
"I will take you to her. But Thor, you must stay here with Jane. This is a secret you are not ready to see yet."
Thor didn't like it, but he trusted his mother and he trusted Sam.
He nodded and stayed by Jane's side.
Frigga raised her hands. She chanted an ancient, secret spell that only the King and Queen of Asgard knew.
A dark, swirling portal opened in the middle of the balcony.
"Follow me,"
Frigga said, stepping into the dark magic.
Sam walked right in after her.
They stepped out into a cold, empty world.
The sky was grey, and the ground was made of dead, black rock.
This was Hel, the prison dimension where Odin had banished his firstborn child.
In the center of the dark rocks stood a tall woman with long, messy black hair.
She wore torn green and black armor.
It was Hela.
She was pacing back and forth like a wild, angry wolf trapped in a cage.
She was muttering to herself, her hands twitching as if she was holding invisible swords.
When she heard footsteps, Hela snapped her head up.
Her eyes were wild and full of pure, burning hatred.
"Has the old fool finally sent someone to kill me?"
Hela hissed, her voice sharp and bitter.
"Did Odin finally find the courage to do it himself? Or did he send his wife to do his dirty work?"
Frigga looked at Hela with a mix of fear and deep sadness.
"Odin did not send us, Hela,"
Frigga said quietly.
Hela laughed. It was a loud, crazy, and broken sound.
"Lies!"
Hela screamed, pointing a shaking finger at them.
"He just wants to erase me! I built his empire! I drowned entire planets in blood for him! And what did I get? A cage! Blood! More blood!"
Sam did not pull out his sword. He stood perfectly still.
He looked closely at Hela.
Because he had the Mind Stone sitting in the center of his soul, his mental senses were incredibly sharp.
He could see past her angry words.
He could see right into her mind.
What he saw was a complete mess.
Her mind was trapped in an endless loop of fire, death, and war.
She wasn't seeing the grey rocks of Hel. In her head, she was still fighting on a burning battlefield thousands of years ago.
Sam turned to look at Frigga.
"My Queen,"
Sam said softly, his voice full of pity.
"There is something deeply wrong with her mind."
"She is a monster, Sam,"
Frigga sighed sadly.
"Her heart turned evil. She fell into madness."
"It isn't madness, and she wasn't born evil,"
Sam explained gently, shaking his head.
"Asgard has amazing magic. You can heal broken bones and cure physical sickness. But your people know absolutely nothing about mental illness."
Frigga looked at him, completely confused.
"Mental illness?"
Frigga asked.
"Yes,"
Sam nodded, looking back at the shouting, angry goddess.
"She fought Odin's bloody wars for centuries. She was forced to kill thousands of people every single day. A mind is not meant to carry that much death. She clearly has PTSD."
"PTSD?"
Frigga repeated the strange human word.
"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,"
Sam told her.
"Her mind is broken from the trauma of endless war. She feels betrayed by her father, and her brain is stuck in survival mode. She only knows how to fight because she thinks the war never ends."
Sam took a slow step forward, keeping his hands open and empty to show he wasn't a threat.
"She doesn't need a cage,"
Sam said, keeping his eyes locked on Hela.
"She needs a doctor."
Hela stopped shouting for a second.
She glared at the man walking toward her.
He was completely calm.
He carried a deep, quiet peace that felt like still, clear water.
It was the exact opposite of the burning, chaotic fire inside her own heart.
"Stop,"
Frigga warned, gently grabbing Sam's arm to hold him back.
"You cannot reach her, Sam. The invisible seal around this space is absolute. Even if I wanted to open it, I couldn't. The magic is directly tied to Odin's life force. As long as the All-Father breathes, the cage remains closed."
"Odin's magic is very strong,"
Sam agreed, looking at the invisible wall separating them from Hela.
"But it is only magic. I have something better."
Sam raised his right hand.
His main flying sword appeared, glowing with the deep, fluid red light of the Reality Stone.
He didn't hesitate. He did something completely outrageous.
Sam swung the glowing red blade forward in a wide, powerful arc.
He didn't hit a physical wall. He simply slashed the empty air.
*CRACK!*
A loud sound echoed through the dead world.
Sam used the Aether to bend reality itself, ripping a massive hole right through Odin's unbreakable magic.
The invisible cage shattered into tiny pieces of fading light.
Hela was finally free.
But the Goddess of Death did not say thank you.
She did not hesitate for even a single second.
The moment the invisible wall fell, Hela summoned a long, jagged black blade into her bare hand.
She lunged forward with blinding speed.
She was a pure weapon of war, and she attacked the first target standing in front of her.
"Die!"
Hela screamed, swinging her dark sword directly at Sam's neck.
*Slash!*
The heavy black blade hit its target perfectly.
But there was no blood. There was no sound of metal hitting bone.
Hela's eyes widened in pure shock.
Her sword passed right through him.
Instead of falling down dead, Sam's body suddenly broke apart.
With a soft, gentle breeze, his physical form instantly turned into millions of soft, pink peach blossom petals.
The beautiful petals floated peacefully in the cold, grey air, dancing around Hela's dark blade, completely untouchable.
Millions of soft pink petals swirled around Hela.
They floated a few feet away and instantly reformed back into Sam's solid body.
He looked at the angry Goddess of Death.
He knew that talking to her right now was completely useless.
Her mind was burning too hot with rage and confusion.
She was like a wild animal caught in a trap.
He knew he had to calm her down first. And to calm her down, he had to defeat her.
"You cannot hide from me!"
Hela screamed, her voice echoing in the dead world.
She threw her hands forward.
Dozens of sharp, black blades shot out of the ground, flying straight at Sam like deadly arrows.
Sam didn't even draw his sword again.
He just stepped forward, moving smoothly like flowing water.
Hela was incredibly strong. Every single strike she made was meant to kill.
She had thousands of years of battle experience.
But her anger made her movements messy and predictable.
Sam was much faster, and his mind was perfectly calm. He was simply much stronger than her.
He easily dodged her heavy attacks.
He blocked her black swords with his bare hands, covering his skin in thick, glowing pink Qi.
The dark blades shattered against his energy like cheap glass.
"Fight me!"
Hela roared, swinging wildly at his chest.
"I am the true heir of Asgard! I am the Goddess of Death! I will destroy you!"
"You are too tired, you need rest."
Sam said softly, his voice cutting through her loud screams.
With a quick, smooth burst of speed, Sam stepped right inside her guard.
He grabbed both of her wrists with a firm grip.
He pushed his heavy, massive Qi directly into her arms.
The weight of his power was overwhelming. It was like a mountain falling on her shoulders.
Hela's dark swords instantly turned into dust, and her knees buckled.
Sam easily pushed her down to the ground. He used his pure energy to pin her in place.
She was completely trapped against the cold, black rocks.
Hela struggled violently. She kicked and pulled, but she could not break free from his grip.
She screamed and cursed at him with pure hatred.
"I will kill you!"
Hela spat, her eyes wild and furious.
"I will rip your soul apart! I will tear this cage down and burn everything Odin loves to ashes!"
"No, you won't,"
Sam replied gently.
He slowly reached out his hand, extending just his index finger.
Hela glared at him, still cursing loudly.
Sam gently poked her right in the center of her forehead.
Instantly, a warm, brilliant golden light flashed from his fingertip.
He pushed the pure, endless power of the Mind Stone directly into her broken thoughts.
The golden energy washed over her mind.
It was like pouring a cool, peaceful river over a roaring forest fire.
The chaos, the noise of war, and the burning anger inside her head were instantly washed away.
"Go to sleep, Hela,"
Sam whispered, his voice deep and incredibly soothing.
"The war is over. It is finally time to rest."
Hela gasped softly.
The wild, angry fire in her eyes suddenly melted away, replaced by pure, heavy exhaustion.
Her violent struggles completely stopped. Her breathing slowed down.
Her eyelids fluttered, suddenly looking too heavy to keep open.
"Sleep..."
Hela muttered, her sharp voice dropping to a tiny, broken whisper.
Her head fell back against the dark stone.
Her eyes closed completely, and her body went totally limp.
The fierce Goddess of Death was fast asleep.
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