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The silence in the throne room was so dense it seemed to have weight of its own. All eyes were fixed on Hela, waiting for her response to Vidar's terms.
The Goddess of Death remained motionless for what felt like an eternity. Her green eyes studied Vidar with an intensity that would have made most beings step back. The black swords floating around her slowly rotated, reflecting their mistress's inner deliberation.
Finally, a smile—small, controlled, but genuine—appeared on her lips.
"Interesting," she said softly, taking a step toward Vidar. "Very interesting."
The swords began to dissolve into black smoke, disappearing one by one.
"When Odin imprisoned me, I had no younger brothers. I was the sole heir, the firstborn, his perfect weapon. And now…" her gaze shifted between Vidar, Thor, and Loki, "now I discover that I have three brothers I didn't even know existed."
There was a trace of bitterness in her voice.
"Odin built a new family while I rotted in Hel. He had more children. He taught them, raised them, gave them everything he took from me."
Her eyes returned to Vidar, studying him with renewed interest.
"But you…" she tilted her head slightly, "you are different from what I expected. You're not like the arrogant blond with his hammer, so similar to the young Odin. Nor like the thin, clever one who reeks of magic and deceit."
She took another step toward Vidar.
"You have something neither of them possesses. Something I recognize because I once had it too, before Odin crushed it: true power. Not power borrowed from a hammer or illusionist tricks. Real power—raw, absolute."
She crossed her arms, her posture relaxing slightly even as her gaze remained intense.
"I accept your terms, Vidar," she declared, her voice echoing through the hall. "I will rule Asgard under the restrictions you have imposed. No more conquests without cause. Liberation of subjugated realms. Governance without tyranny."
She inclined her head slightly, a gesture that was neither complete submission nor outright defiance.
"But make no mistake…" her eyes flashed with a dangerous glint, "I accept because I see wisdom in your words, not because I fear your power. Although…" a wider smile, almost admiring, "I must admit, you are the first member of this family in centuries who truly impresses me."
Thor exploded.
"Are you insane?!" he roared, stepping forward with Mjolnir raised. Lightning crackled across his body, illuminating the hall with blue flashes. "Vidar, you don't even know her! Hela was imprisoned for a reason! And you just hand Asgard to her as if it were a gift!"
His voice trembled with a mix of fury and disbelief.
"This is treason! Treason against everything Asgard stands for! First you defeat Father, take the Odinforce—sorry, your 'Vidarforce'—and now you form an alliance with a sister none of us knows, who tried to conquer the Nine Realms with blood and fire before we were even born!"
Thor looked at Vidar with eyes shining with pain.
"What's next, brother? Invite the Frost Giants to a family dinner? Give Surtur a key to the city?"
Loki, who had remained notably silent throughout all this, finally spoke.
"Actually, Thor," he said in his characteristic tone of false lightness, "from a purely logical perspective, Vidar's move makes sense."
Thor turned to him, incredulous. "What?"
Loki shrugged, his green eyes moving between Vidar and Hela with calculated interest.
"Think about it. Hela draws her power from Asgard itself. The longer she stays here, the stronger she becomes. It's literally impossible to keep her imprisoned now that Odin has fallen. So what do you do with an enemy you can't permanently defeat?"
He raised a finger, as if delivering a lesson.
"Option one: you fight constantly, destroying Asgard in the process. Option two: you turn her into an ally under terms that limit her destructive potential while giving her what she wants—recognition and power."
He looked at Vidar with something that almost resembled respect.
"It's masterful manipulation, really. Hela gets her throne, but under supervision. Vidar retains real control through the Vidarforce while appearing to yield power. Both get what they want, and Asgard doesn't become an eternal battlefield."
He crossed his arms, a smile playing on his lips.
"Though I can't help but wonder…" his eyes narrowed slightly, "is it really that simple? Or is there something more to this… alliance?"
Vidar watched his brothers in silence for a moment. The Vidarforce pulsed softly within him, a constant presence humming with balanced power.
"Thor," he began, his voice calm but firm, "your loyalty to Odin's vision is admirable. But it blinds you. For millennia, Asgard has operated under one principle: the power of the strongest dictates order. Odin conquered, dominated, and called that peace."
He gestured toward where the guards had taken Odin.
"But true peace is not built on subjugation. It's built on balance. And balance requires that all elements—even dangerous ones—find their proper place."
He turned slightly toward Hela.
"Hela is powerful, yes. Dangerous, absolutely. But she is also our sister, the firstborn of Asgard who was betrayed by the very father you revere. I don't know her personally, that's true. But I can see what Odin did to her. And she deserves the chance to prove she can be more than what Odin decided she had to be."
He turned his gaze back to Thor.
"And if she fails, if she breaks the terms I've set, then yes… I myself will correct that imbalance. But not before giving her the opportunity."
Thor opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. He looked between Vidar and Hela, his face a mask of inner conflict. Finally, he lowered Mjolnir, though lightning still crackled faintly around him.
"I can't… I can't accept this," he said quietly. "I can't remain in Asgard while this happens."
He looked at Vidar with eyes glistening with restrained tears.
"You were my brother. You still are. But this…" he shook his head, "this is too much."
Without waiting for a response, Thor turned and walked toward the exit of the hall, his footsteps echoing against the cracked marble. He stopped at the threshold, without turning back.
"When you return to being the Vidar I knew, the brother I respected, then I'll return," he said softly. "Until then… Asgard is yours."
And with that, he disappeared down the corridor.
Loki watched Thor's dramatic exit with an unreadable expression. Then he looked at Vidar and Hela, his calculating eyes processing everything.
"Well," he said with an exaggerated sigh, "that was touching. Very heroic of Thor, really. Though personally…" a crooked smile appeared on his face, "I find this new dynamic absolutely fascinating."
He stepped a little closer, his hands behind his back in a casual posture that contrasted with the intensity of his gaze.
"So here we are. A new era for Asgard. The brother of balance with absolute power, and the elder sister none of us knew, with a realm to rule. And me…" he pointed to himself with a theatrical gesture, "where do I fit into this new order?"
It wasn't a threatening question. It was genuine curiosity, mixed with Loki's constant need to know where he stood in any power hierarchy.
Vidar looked at him with an expression that was hard to read.
"Loki, you have always been the most adaptable of us. You will always find your place, no matter how things change."
It wasn't a direct answer, but Loki seemed to understand it. He nodded slowly, an enigmatic smile playing on his lips.
"I suppose so," he murmured. "I suppose so."
He glanced between Vidar and Hela once more, then shrugged.
"Very well. I'll leave you two to… get to know each other and discuss the details of your alliance. I have matters to attend to. Matters that, I'm sure, have become much more complicated in the last hour."
With one last gesture of his hand—half greeting, half warning—Loki also left the hall, leaving Vidar and Hela alone amid the ruins of the shattered throne.
The silence that fell was different from before. Heavier. More intimate.
Hela slowly walked toward what remained of Odin's throne. She ran her fingers over the golden fragments, an unreadable expression on her face.
"The last time I was in this hall," she said softly, almost to herself, "I was Odin's right hand. His weapon. His conqueror. And he…" her voice hardened, "he looked at me with pride."
She turned to look at Vidar.
"And then, when I dared to question his methods, when I became too powerful for his comfort, that pride turned into fear. And fear turned into betrayal."
Hela walked toward Vidar.
"I spent millennia imprisoned, knowing nothing of the outside world. Not knowing Odin had more children. Not knowing he had built a new family to replace me."
Her green eyes locked onto Vidar's golden ones.
"So tell me, younger brother I never knew…" there was a trace of genuine curiosity in her voice, "why? Why do you help me? Why do you offer me Asgard when we don't even know each other? You can't tell me it's just for balance. There's something more."
Vidar watched her in silence for a long moment.
The truth was complicated. He knew about Hela. He knew her story, her destiny, what was supposed to happen. In another timeline, she would have destroyed the Einherjar, killed the Warriors Three, conquered Asgard, and finally perished in Ragnarok. He knew her pain, her betrayal, her tragic fate.
But he couldn't tell her that. Not yet.
"You're right," he finally admitted. "We don't know each other. Odin made sure your name was erased from history, that neither Thor nor I knew we had an older sister."
He took a step toward her.
"But when I finally learned the truth, when I saw the memories of what Odin did to you…" his eyes shone with something that might have been understanding or perhaps contained anger, "I saw a pattern. A pattern of a father who uses his children as tools, and when those tools develop a will of their own, he discards or controls them."
He stopped in front of her, choosing his words carefully.
"And I also saw… possibilities. I don't know you personally, Hela. But I can see what you could become if someone gave you the chance. Not as a weapon. Not as a threat to be contained. But as what you truly are—the rightful heir of Asgard."
It wasn't a lie. It was just… incomplete. He knew Hela could be more than the villain of a story. He knew her potential, her power, and also her pain. And maybe, just maybe, he could change her fate.
As they walked through the corridors toward the vaults, Vidar allowed his thoughts to flow.
Hela. The firstborn. The Goddess of Death.
In his previous life, he had watched Thor: Ragnarok. He had seen how Hela shattered Mjolnir with one hand, how she massacred Asgard's warriors, how she was finally defeated only by the complete destruction of her source of power.
But he had also seen something else—a betrayed woman. Used. Discarded when she was no longer convenient.
The MCU had painted her as a villain, but he had seen the nuances. He had seen someone who deserved more.
And now, with the power of Balance and the Vidarforce, he had the chance to change that narrative. To give Hela what she never had in canon: a true opportunity.
Of course, it was a risk. Hela was dangerous, unpredictable, and her hunger for power was real. But he had advantages others did not. He knew her story. He knew what motivated her. And most importantly, he had the power to keep her in check if necessary.
This alliance was not charity. It was strategy. It was balance.
And maybe, just maybe, it was also redemption.
"What secrets was the old bastard hiding? What else is buried in the depths of this palace that I should know?"
Vidar considered the question carefully. He knew a lot. Too much. The Tesseract was in the vaults—the Space Stone. The fake Infinity Gauntlet. Possibly other artifacts Odin had "taken" from various worlds during his conquests.
And beyond that, he knew secrets that weren't even in the vaults. He knew Loki was not truly Odin's son. He knew about Surtur and the prophecy of Ragnarok. He knew about Thanos and his quest for the Infinity Stones.
But revealing all of that now would be… complicated.
"There is much that Odin hid," he finally said, choosing his words carefully. "Some secrets to protect Asgard. Others… to protect his own image."
He looked back at Hela.
"The vaults contain artifacts of immense power. Some that Odin 'recovered' from other worlds. Others he deemed too dangerous for anyone to use."
He paused, deciding how much to reveal.
"There is something in particular… an artifact of cosmic power. Odin kept it because he knew others would seek it. That they would come for it. And when they did…" the Vidarforce pulsed, "the balance of the entire universe could be at stake."
He did not mention the Tesseract by name. Not yet. But he planted the seed.
Because Vidar knew what was coming. He knew Thanos would eventually seek the Stones. And when he did, he would need to be ready.
This alliance with Hela was not only about Asgard. It was about preparing for far greater threats.
And he was the only one who knew those threats were coming.