"Sorry, my friend, for showing you such a farce. As for Thor and Loki, those two rascals…I really need to teach them properly!"
Under Heimdall's astonished gaze, Odin coughed and sighed, addressing Aaron.
Aaron said nothing in response.
You? Teaching kids properly? If you'd had even the slightest knack for it, you wouldn't have walked straight into Ragnarok. Odin's power is inversely proportional to his parenting skills.
His whole family is a mess: Hela wanting to overthrow her father, Thor acting like he's always number three in the universe behind Heaven and Earth, and Loki—always trying to prove himself, watching musicals about messing up Asgard but in fact deeply attached to both Asgard and Thor. Ugh, there's no saving them!
"Father of the Gods!"
Heimdall bowed to Odin, casting a sidelong glance at Aaron…and Loki.
"This here is my brother, the son of my father Bor, who was lost outside our realm—Aaron, endowed with the authority of the All-Father!"
Odin gave Heimdall a serious nod. "From now on, treat him as you would treat me. If I'm ever absent, ask him first should anything arise."
Heimdall blinked in surprise, then nodded.
Truth be told, when Aaron displayed power on a Skyfather scale—manipulating the Destroyer armor directly, even remotely controlling the Bifrost—Heimdall had been stunned. He couldn't fathom how an outsider could freely manipulate so many Asgardian relics.
Yet Odin's explanation made all too much sense. Heimdall's wary attitude toward Aaron subsided considerably…though his eyes still glinted with guardedness whenever they landed on Loki.
Aaron waved his arms in protest: "Stop! That's enough! I didn't agree to anything, didn't say a word! I'm not interested in tying myself to you people—no playing at 'long-lost relatives'!"
Odin just smiled benignly, showing no anger.
Everyone else understood—except Loki, who pursed his lips. Being recognized as an Asgardian is demeaning to him, huh? This is Asgard, the greatest place in the world! Wait, Thor's still busy grinning foolishly, while Loki was preoccupied by more pressing concerns.
If Odin were to accept Aaron as Bor's child, a genuine Asgardian royal by blood, then he outranked both Thor and Loki in claiming the throne—so young, so powerful, even displaying powers only Odin was supposed to have…plus a mind nearly as sharp as Loki's own. A sudden sense of crisis welled up inside Loki as he glanced at his dim-witted brother. I'm still not done sorting out Thor, and now here's someone even tougher to outshine. Proving himself was so hard. Life wasn't fair—Loki sighed inwardly.
"Loki, do you have something to say?"
Ignoring Aaron's refusal, Odin turned abruptly on Loki. The way Loki had acted this time clearly went too far…though Odin seemed in a decent enough mood, probably because Loki's meddling had led him to "discover" Aaron, this "long-lost brother."
"N-nothing!" Loki shook his head hastily. But under Heimdall's cold stare, he couldn't help adding, "Father, when you were asleep, Heimdall, Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun refused to listen to my orders. Even though the Frost Giants of Jotunheim are about to invade, they paid no heed to mobilizing our defenses. Instead, they just went off whenever they wanted, without permission. It's like they don't even care about Asgard's safety!"
Loki, however, purposely didn't mention Sif. He had noticed a subtle expression in Sif's eyes whenever she looked at Aaron—and he knew Aaron rather well. Best not to bring her up.
Odin simply said, "Enough. Don't speak of it further. Heimdall's actions were done on my orders."
"Huh…?" Loki wanted to say, Weren't you supposed to be in the Odin-Sleep? But he hesitated and went pale. Could it be that Odin, this wily old codger, had been controlling everything from the shadows all along? Damn it. I thought I was on the fifth level, but in reality I'm on the first, and you're in the outer atmosphere!
Loki fell silent. Odin ignored him, intending to deal with Thor and Loki later. The two gave him heart palpitations. He felt a bit afraid of dying—not that he feared death itself, but what trouble Thor and Loki might cause in his absence. It wouldn't do for Asgard to fall right after Odin was gone. He'd have to die all over again just to come back and put out the fires.
"Fandral, you three go help the queen prepare a banquet of celebration! We shall hold a grand feast in honor of Asgard's missing royal line returning!"
"Yes!"
Fandral and the others left, all casting bewildered glances at Aaron—who was rolling his eyes. Their heads were still spinning: they had only come out looking for Thor, and now all of a sudden they had an uncle?
At that moment, Aaron realized something. Odin had prepared for this before coming to Earth. He was making decisions without further proof, which seemed out of character. Unless he had another motive!
Just as Aaron was piecing it together, Odin stretched out his hand to Loki.
Loki was perplexed.
"Hand everything over," Odin commanded.
"What things?"
"Loki!"
"O-okay, I remember now!"
Loki opened the Destroyer armor, handed back the Gungnir, then retrieved the Frost Giants' sacred relic, the Casket of Ancient Winters, from his little personal stash. He also pulled out a massive gauntlet, with six gems inlaid.
Aaron: ???
He got the point of the Casket of Ancient Winters, but what was this obviously fake bejeweled glove? A decorative piece? Smash people with it?
Aaron recognized it as being made of Uru metal, the same sort of "Infinity Gauntlet" prop once seen in Odin's vault—just an empty shell with mock Infinity Stones. Possibly Odin had toyed with the notion of collecting all six Infinity Stones, but for whatever reason—like the Soul Stone—he'd ultimately stashed the gauntlet away and left the real Stones scattered. Odin cast a weird look at Loki, coughed twice, and discreetly hid the gauntlet.
"This thing's just for show. Apart from the Giants, nobody in Asgard can really wield it," he said, offhand.
But Aaron then eyed the now unoccupied Destroyer armor—at least eight feet tall. As if that were sized for normal people? Odin hurriedly grabbed the Gungnir, sighing inwardly. The Destroyer armor, as though sentient, backed away.
"You like that thing?" he asked, noticing Aaron's gaze. "If so, you can study it sometime. Actually, it's nothing too important."
Thor, Loki: ???!
They're your actual (foster) sons, and you've never been this generous with them! Thor only got Mjölnir from the vault, and now it's gone. Loki…never got anything that truly fit him. (That said, the Casket was never a wise item to give him.)
Aaron didn't hesitate. "When I have time, sure."
Odin nodded and swung the Casket of Ancient Winters around, reminiscing:
"This artifact is Jotunheim's treasure. In ancient times, the Frost Giants invaded Earth. I fought them off in what is now your region, wresting this casket from Laufey to maintain peace for a millennium. It holds tremendous power—unleashed, it could turn an entire realm into an icy wasteland in moments!"
Even so, Odin handed it directly to Aaron. "Would you like a look?"
Aaron took the relic, mystified. Odin had just proclaimed how dangerous it was yet handed it over casually, zero guard. He grew more certain the old man was scheming. Even if he truly were Odin's half-brother, the real Odin would never be this carefree. Look at Thor, Loki, or Hela and see how he'd treated them. "Benevolent father figure" wasn't exactly accurate. So either Odin was losing his mind or he was planning something.
Remembering how cunning Odin could be, Aaron took the Casket anyway, not bothering to hide his suspicion. Who dares call Odin foolish? Loki? That trickster might be the one getting played. Meanwhile, Thor and Loki looked on with envy. They'd never gotten perks like that. Where's the justice?
Odin went on: "Sif, Aaron is here in Asgard for the first time. He probably isn't familiar with it. Go and show him around."
Loki reflexively raised a hand. "Father, I absolutely know Asgard inside and out. I can show this…uncle around the realm he should have inhabited—the finest homeland ever!"
Odin shot him a furious glare. "Enough, stop talking nonsense. You're coming with me! And you, Thor—join us."
Odin gave Aaron a small nod, then led Thor and Loki away.
Sif shrugged. "All right, you get it—Loki's messed up badly this time, and Thor's not much better. Until they realize their errors, they might not be joining your welcome banquet."
Aaron cast a long look at Odin's retreating figure, then a curious glance at Sif. He had a feeling things weren't so simple. But he didn't really care, so long as he got actual benefits out of it.
With a flip of his right hand, the Casket of Ancient Winters vanished.
Sif stared. "You know space-folding magic?"
"That's pretty simple, no?" Aaron said offhandedly.
Simple?? Are you sure? Sif rolled her eyes. She'd tried learning magic before—no easy feat. Even as a Vanir-born, she'd ended up as a warrior. But if Aaron truly carried royal blood, well, that explained everything. It was the most precious lineage in all Nine Realms.
[You Have Unlocked]
[Frost Control (Enhanced): Detected a similar ability, now fused. Your frost power grows stronger; fully unleashed, it could freeze an entire star!]
[Frost Form: You can transform your body into living ice, granting immunity to telepathy and to other ice-based powers.]
[Absolute Zero: You can freeze a localized "bubble" of spacetime, although this consumes massive energy. Use with caution.]
Aaron smiled in satisfaction. Immunity to mental manipulation was minor. He already suspected he was beyond mind control anyway; after all, the Primordial Furnace was essentially "him." Who could control the furnace? If someone could, they might as well break the fourth wall and terrorize the entire narrative layer. He was much more intrigued by Absolute Zero—akin to Esdeath's "Mahapadma" from Akame ga Kill.
She could only use it once a day, but in theory, as long as Aaron's energy was sufficient, he could do it many times. Probably that was the core essence of the Casket's power; for it to stand on par with the Eternal Flame, it had to be that formidable. Even freezing a small area of spacetime could accomplish a lot.
Next, Aaron toured various places with Sif. Initially, after learning Aaron was Odin's "blood brother," Sif behaved rather stiffly. But seeing how casual Aaron was in conversation, she relaxed, only retaining her curiosity—about Aaron's power and his past. She asked how he'd spent his twenty-two years before now, presumably so miserable.
Aaron pressed a hand to his forehead with a sigh, prompting Sif to get flustered. "All right, I won't pry. Maybe those weren't the happiest years…"
"What else was there but studying?" Aaron muttered.
Was it happy? If you consider nine years of compulsory education plus high school and college… Then wham, he ended up in the Marvel universe, so clearly those two decades weren't especially magical. He shook his head and glanced up at a group of grand buildings levitating in midair.
The design and style were majestic.
"You have large-scale anti-gravity technology here?"
Sif answered matter-of-factly, "We've had anti-gravity for over ten thousand years. That's basic tech, right?"
Aaron raised an eyebrow, pointing to a particular floating building.
"What's that?"
"In Midgardian terms, you'd call it a hospital." Sif replied.
Aaron's eyes lit up. He remembered: even though Asgard fought with swords and spears, they'd developed quantum tech ages ago. They might not have produced anything akin to Pym Particles, but that didn't mean they were behind Dr. Pym. Thanos, after all, once he got hold of the Pym Particles, mass-produced them quickly. So if Asgard had made quantum mechanics a common technology, it was hardly an issue for them.
"I should harvest everything I can from here." A notion sparked in Aaron's mind, impossible to stifle. Apart from a few advanced prototypes, Earth's best might still be child's play in Asgard. For him, Asgard was a treasure trove waiting to be plundered. Lost or hidden tech could be fused by his Primordial Furnace.
"I'd like to look inside," he proposed.
"Of course," Sif agreed. "That's your right." Under Odin's orders, aside from Frigga's bedchamber and Odin's vault, Aaron was free to go wherever he pleased. Did Aaron not realize how huge the words "He's my brother—see him as you see me" were?
"By the way, do you have a warp-drive engine or lightspeed engine or anything like that?" Aaron suddenly thought of the FTL engine from Captain Marvel.
Sif shook her head. "We have the Bifrost—why would we need that? If you want to play with spaceships, the Royal Museum might still have a few from other kingdoms, captured thousands of years ago. They should still work—Thor once tried flying them. He found them incredibly awkward."
"…" Aaron couldn't argue. No spaceship could outpace the Bifrost, especially with Heimdall's abilities. They could presumably travel anywhere in the cosmos—maybe beyond. "All right, take me there if we get a chance," he said, eager to rummage in the "junkyard." Who knew what treasure he might find?
As they walked, Aaron glimpsed some "black tech" in the hospital:
Lifelike 3D holograms, tools that detected ailments and treated them, even a "soul-healing furnace." He took advantage of illusions, discreetly absorbing one device after another into the Primordial Furnace. Nobody noticed.
[Gravity Control Detected: You have mastered the power of gravity—you can create a gravitational field at will, negating or amplifying gravity around you!]
[Healing: You have acquired the power of healing, able to channel energy to instantly cure most diseases or negative conditions.]
[…]
~~~
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