CHAPTER 226: CHAPTER 227: A CLASH OF IDEALS, WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

"The wind’s picking up?"

Rocket squinted suspiciously at the starlit sky over Asgard. He blinked. Not a single breeze brushed against his fur.

"Where’s the wind coming from?"

"What wind?"

"The wind of Asgard, of course, little rabbit."

That irksome nickname, Rabbit, once again made Rocket’s fur bristle with irritation. From atop the rooftop, Thor leapt down, clutching a bottle, his steps unsteady as he meandered back toward his room.

Father. Mother. Hela.

What really happened with you all?

Now, I should finally be able to see the truth clearly.

Without giving Rocket a moment to probe, Thor locked his door and laid back stiffly on the bed. Closing his eyes, he drifted into sleep.

Unraveling the truth behind the chaos that shook Asgard two thousand years ago, that was the key to Thor finally stepping out from his self-imposed exile.

Otherwise, what, was the game not fun enough? Was the beer not cold enough?

Why else would he go as far as meddling with time?

He had never truly understood why the sister who seemingly never existed could harbor such a deep hatred toward their father Odin, and even toward their mother Frigga.

Nor could he comprehend why Odin would go so far as to erase all traces of his own daughter’s life in Asgard.

"Princess Hela was a remarkable leader, you know. She conquered lands for Asgard, achieved great victories."

"Her temper wasn’t the best, sure, but I believe she was the one who could’ve led Asgard into its next golden age."

The words Thor had heard whispered in taverns since his time travel, accounts about his long-lost sister Hela, played over and over in his mind, accompanying him into slumber.

...

At dawn, as a pale glow crept over the horizon, Hela sat in her bedchamber. Everything was in place. She traced the final rune onto the magical circle beneath her feet, chanting softly under her breath.

Whoosh!

A surge of multicolored light flared to life. The wind howled violently, sending her hair flying.

When the light faded, Lothar appeared before her, red tail curled at his waist, hand gripping the Scepter of the Mind.

"You really don’t look like someone under confinement," Hela said coolly. Lothar’s expression was untroubled, not a hint of fatigue or strain.

"My twenty reflections."

Lothar didn’t bother with pleasantries. He held out his hand expectantly.

"My assistant only managed to write nineteen of them overnight. The last one, I’ll get it to you after I’m back."

Writing a single self-reflection that could fool Thanos wasn’t an easy task. Let alone twenty. But Lothar, ever the opportunist, had made sure to get as many as possible while the price was high.

"Timeline?"

Lothar glanced at the papers and, after confirming their authenticity, casually tossed the Mind Scepter to Hela.

"As soon as the day after tomorrow. Maybe later."

Even with the aid of the Mind Stone, launching a full-scale assault on Jotunheim was no trivial matter. According to Odin, Laufey had once tapped into the power of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. That made him no small threat.

"You’re not worried your father might really see you as a traitor?"

That, Lothar found genuinely curious.

From an outsider’s perspective, Hela’s actions could be seen as outright rebellion. And with Odin standing unchallenged as the supreme ruler of the Nine Realms, how could he interpret this?

"Do you remember what I told you on Svartalfheim?" Hela replied without directly answering the question.

"That your father would never turn his blade against his own army?"

Drawn back to that distant conversation, Lothar recalled those very words spoken in the dim stillness of a war room.

"My father is the King of the Nine Realms. He can see the truth behind my actions. So spare me your ’concerned bystander’ routine."

Hela knew exactly what Lothar was thinking. He just wanted to see her fall flat on her face.

"We’ll see."

Lothar tucked the nineteen reflections into his bracelet, stepped back into the magic circle, and gestured for her to send him back.

"You’ll need to wait a bit. It’s not that easy to sneak through a breach in the Bifrost."

Suppressing her desire to immediately seize the Mind Stone, Hela turned away, her tone calm.

Finding a loophole in the Bifrost’s defenses wasn’t simple. Especially when it had to be done right under Heimdall’s watchful eyes.

Lothar said nothing, simply watched her in silence, long enough that Hela began to avert her gaze without meaning to.

"What are you staring at?"

"Nothing. Just wondering why you’d risk being branded a traitor by Odin to go through with this."

This was what Lothar never understood.

Hela was still young, Odin was in his prime, and she was already destined to inherit the throne of Asgard.

She didn’t have to do any of this. And yet she chose to act on some abstract vision of peace, directly opposing her father. That would surely embed a thorn in Odin’s heart. One that could never be removed.

"Is it worth it?"

"Of course it is." Hela didn’t hesitate for a second.

"Lothar, do you have an ideal?"

"What?"

Once again caught off guard, Lothar narrowed his eyes, trying to read her intentions.

"My ideal is for Asgard to rule the Nine Realms, and even the entire cosmos. And for that, I’d give everything." She spread her arms, as though embracing the universe.

"To become the strongest warrior in the cosmos and kill Frieza. And to help my father realize his ideal," Lothar replied honestly.

Back on Midgard, due to their soul-link, Hela had already glimpsed his memories. Frieza was no secret to her.

"Then what if the two come into conflict?"

"Huh?" Lothar’s eyes sharpened.

"What if becoming the strongest warrior in the universe and helping your father realize his dream contradict each other? What then?"

"Just like me, I found that my ideal diverged from my father’s. And so I chose to rebel. To correct him."

"What about you?"

"If your ideal clashes with your father’s... would you do what I did?"

"Or would you sacrifice yourself to fulfill his dream?"

Hela’s words came like rapid-fire, pressing down with the weight of inevitability.

They struck Lothar’s heart like a hammer.

What would I do...?

He had never asked himself that question before.

"No. My father and I... we’ll never be in conflict." His thoughts reeled, but Lothar steadied himself. His eyes shone with determination.

Hela shrugged as if it didn’t matter. With a wave of her hand, the Bifrost shimmered to life once more, and Lothar vanished without a trace.

"People change."

"My father... he’s grown senile. That’s the proof."

Clutching the scepter, Hela stepped out of the palace. She gazed over the vast, majestic lands of Asgard.

Even one as mighty as Odin... was not immune to change.

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