Sam stood up slowly.
Hela was sleeping peacefully on the cold, grey ground. Her face was finally relaxed.
Frigga walked over, looking at her oldest daughter with tearful eyes.
"She looks just like she did when she was a little girl,"
Frigga whispered.
"Before the endless wars. Before all the blood. Tell me more about this... PTSD, Sam."
Sam turned to the Queen.
"When a soldier fights for a long time, their brain changes to help them survive,"
Sam explained softly.
"They see too much death and pain. Even when the war ends and they come home, their mind does not believe it is safe. Their brain is still trapped on the battlefield. That fear turns into anger. They become violent, they shout, and they lash out because they think they are still fighting for their lives."
Frigga's eyes widened.
A look of deep, painful realization crossed her beautiful face.
"By the Norns,"
Frigga gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.
"We have so many old soldiers like that in Asgard. We just call them warmongers. We call them berserkers. When they cause trouble or pick fights in the taverns, Odin just throws them into the deep dungeons."
Frigga looked down at Hela with a broken heart.
"We thought it was just their violent nature,"
Frigga cried softly.
"But they were not evil. They were just sick."
"Yes,"
Sam nodded gently.
"A broken mind hurts just as much as a broken bone. They just need the right medicine, not a dark cage."
Frigga wiped her tears and looked at Sam with absolute hope.
"Do you have a way to help them, Sam?"
Frigga asked desperately.
"Can you heal my daughter? Can you heal our soldiers?"
"I can,"
Sam answered simply.
"I need to concoct a special medicine called the Cleansing Mind Pill. It will wash away the dark trauma and bring peace back to their souls."
"Is it hard to make?"
Frigga asked.
Sam smiled and shook his head.
"It is actually quite easy for me,"
Sam told her.
"It is a level below the Longevity Pill I made for a friend. And the best part is, I already have all the ingredients. I will use the rare herbs you gave me from across the Nine Realms."
Frigga took his hands and squeezed them tightly.
"I will make a deal with you right now, Cultivator,"
Frigga said formally.
"Provide Asgard with these Cleansing Mind Pills, and I will open the royal vaults. I will pay you in chests of pure Asgardian gold."
"It is a deal, my Queen,"
Sam smiled warmly.
"I will make sure Hela and your soldiers find their peace."
Sam carried the sleeping Hela back through the portal.
Frigga quickly prepared a quiet, comfortable room in the palace for her daughter to rest safely until the pills were ready.
Before it was time to leave, Sam went back to the royal healing room.
Tony was sitting in a chair, waiting patiently with his silver briefcase.
Thor and Jane were sitting together on the edge of the bed.
"Are you ready to learn?"
Sam asked, walking up to them.
Jane nodded eagerly.
"I am ready."
Sam sat down in front of them. For the next hour, he spoke in a calm, clear voice.
He taught them the ancient breathing techniques of the Cultivation path.
He showed Jane how to clear her mind, feel the natural energy in the air, and pull it directly into her body.
"Thor,"
Sam instructed, looking at the God of Thunder.
"Your body is already full of massive, divine energy. When you two practice Dual Cultivation, you must be gentle. Guide your warm energy into her pathways. It will slowly wash away her mortal weakness. She will never get sick, and she will never age."
Thor held Jane's hands. He looked at her with pure, endless love.
"I understand,"
Thor promised sincerely.
"I will protect her life with my own."
"Good,"
Sam smiled, standing up and brushing off his clothes.
"Alright, magic class is over,"
Tony clapped his hands, standing up with a big grin.
"We defeated the dark elves, saved the brilliant doctor, and made a lot of gold. I call that a very successful business trip."
Sam laughed.
He waved goodbye to Thor, Jane, and Queen Frigga.
With a bright flash of rainbow light from the Bifrost, Sam and Tony left the golden halls of Asgard and traveled back to Earth.
A few days later, Sam returned to Asgard.
He brought a beautiful wooden box filled with the freshly made Cleansing Mind Pills.
He gave the first batch to Queen Frigga right away, long before Hela was ready to wake up.
Frigga had carefully fed one of the soft, glowing pills to her sleeping daughter.
Now, Sam and Frigga were standing in the quiet, comfortable royal bedroom, talking softly while they waited.
"The healers gave the pills to the old soldiers in the dungeons,"
Frigga smiled, her eyes full of deep relief.
"It was like a miracle, Sam. They stopped shouting. They are sleeping peacefully for the first time in centuries."
"Good,"
Sam nodded calmly.
"The medicine will wash away the nightmares. When they wake up, they will remember who they really are."
Suddenly, a soft rustling sound came from the large bed.
Hela slowly opened her eyes.
She blinked at the bright, golden ceiling.
She didn't jump out of bed.
She didn't summon her dark, jagged swords. She just lay there, perfectly still.
For the first time in thousands of years, she felt completely calm.
The heavy, burning anger in her chest was completely gone.
The endless, screaming voices in her head—the ones that constantly demanded blood, war, and revenge—were entirely silent.
It was so quiet. It felt incredibly refreshing, like drinking cold water after walking through a hot desert for a lifetime.
She slowly sat up and looked across the room.
Her mother was standing there, looking at her with tears of hope.
Next to Frigga was the man who had shattered her cage and defeated her.
Sam leaned casually against the wall, crossed his arms, and gave Hela a small, confident smirk.
Hela narrowed her dark eyes. She felt a little annoyed by his smug face.
He had beaten her fair and square in Hel, and she had never lost a fight before.
She waited for the familiar, blinding rage to boil up.
She waited for the dark voices in her mind to scream at her to kill him.
But nothing happened. Her mind remained perfectly clear and peaceful.
It was all quiet... strange.
"What did you do to me?"
Hela asked.
Her voice wasn't a sharp, bitter hiss anymore. It was just a normal, quiet voice.
"I gave you some medicine,"
Sam answered simply.
"I fixed the broken parts of your mind."
"The voices are gone,"
Hela whispered, touching her forehead with a shaking hand.
"It is so quiet here. I... I can actually think clearly."
Frigga slowly walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.
She reached out and gently took Hela's hand.
Hela flinched for a split second out of habit, but she didn't pull away.
"You were sick, my beautiful daughter,"
Frigga said softly, tears of pure joy falling down her cheeks.
"The wars broke your spirit. But you are safe now. You are home."
Hela looked at her mother's warm, crying eyes. Then, she looked back at Sam.
"You could have killed me in that cage,"
Hela said, studying his peaceful face.
"I tried to cut your head off. Why did you help me instead?"
Sam shrugged his shoulders.
"Because killing you wouldn't fix the real problem,"
Sam smiled gently.
"And besides, a Goddess of Death with a clear mind is much more fun to talk to. How do you feel, Hela?"
Hela looked down at her bare hands.
The absolute urge to destroy everything was completely washed away.
"I feel..."
Hela took a deep, clean breath.
"...tired. I feel like I have been fighting a terrible war for a million years, and the battle finally ended."
"It did end,"
Sam told her, his voice full of deep, comforting warmth.
"Welcome back to the living, Hela."
Hela looked around the beautiful, bright room.
Even though her mind was finally peaceful, her dark eyes slowly turned cold.
"The sickness in my head is gone,"
Hela said softly, looking down at her hands.
"But that does not mean I forgive him. The memories are still completely real."
Frigga lowered her head.
She knew exactly who her daughter was talking about.
"Odin made me this way,"
Hela said, her voice completely steady but carrying a heavy, deep hurt.
"He was my father. He taught me how to kill. He used me as his ultimate weapon to build his golden empire. But the moment he got tired of war... the moment he wanted to be a peaceful king, he looked at me like I was a monster."
Hela clenched her fists tightly.
"He did not try to heal me. He just threw me in the dark to rot,"
She whispered.
She took a deep breath and looked up at Sam.
Her eyes were sharp, clear, and very determined.
"I refuse to stay in this place,"
Hela declared firmly.
"I will not live under Odin's roof. I want to go to Midgard. And I am going with you."
Sam blinked in surprise. He shook his head and held his hands up.
"Hold on a minute,"
Sam said calmly.
"I came here to give you medicine, not to take you home with me. I already have a very busy life on Earth."
"You do not have a choice,"
Hela replied. She stood up from the bed, standing tall and proud like a true warrior.
"You came into Hel. You shattered my cage. You fought me, and you defeated me in single combat."
She walked slowly toward him, stopping just a few inches away.
"By the oldest laws of Asgard,"
Hela stated proudly,
"I am your spoil of war. You conquered me, Cultivator. Therefore, my life belongs to you."
"I don't claim people as trophies, Hela,"
Sam argued immediately.
"I am a Cultivator, not a warlord. You are free to do whatever you want."
Before Sam could argue any further, Frigga gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"She is right, Sam,"
Frigga said softly.
Sam looked at the Queen in pure disbelief.
"You cannot be serious. You are letting her leave?"
"It is the ancient way of our people,"
Frigga explained, her voice full of absolute respect for the old laws.
"When a warrior is bested in true combat, they can choose to follow their conqueror. It is a bond of deep honor. Because Hela has decided to give herself to you, no one can interfere. Not even Odin. The All-Father cannot stop her from leaving Asgard with you."
Sam let out a long, heavy sigh.
He rubbed the back of his neck. He had come to Asgard to drop off some medicine, and now he was going home with the Goddess of Death.
Hela looked at his tired expression.
A sharp, beautiful smirk appeared on her pale face.
The crazy madness was completely gone, but her fierce pride had fully returned.
"There is no time to regret it now, Cultivator,"
Hela teased him.
"You seem very happy for someone who just lost a fight,"
Sam pointed out, raising an eyebrow.
"I am not happy that I lost,"
Hela corrected him quickly. She stepped even closer, looking up into his deep, peaceful eyes.
"But for thousands of years, I have been searching for someone who was actually worthy. Someone who would not break under my power."
She reached out and lightly rested her hand against his chest.
She could feel the massive, endless ocean of Qi humming inside him.
"You are the only man in the entire Nine Realms who could defeat me,"
Hela said, her voice dropping to a low, respectful whisper.
"I am a weapon. And a weapon only belongs in the hands of the absolute strongest master. Take me to Midgard, My dear consort."
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