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On a windswept cliff in Norway.
Hawk, looking sharp and broad-shouldered in a black suit picked out by Gwen, stood facing Odin. The former All-Father looked like a vagrant who had just lost his wife and his will to live.
Just by looking at their attire, one could deduce a simple, universal truth.
A man without a wife can barely manage the basics of daily survival.
But that wasn't the point of this meeting.
The temporal traps!
That was the crucial subject they were dissecting.
Odin's single, ancient eye regarded Hawk with a profound, weary calmness.
"A conclusion that has become the past... you can change the process that leads to it, but you can never alter the conclusion itself."
"The Sorcerer Supreme changed her process."
"But she no longer exists in this timeline."
"..."
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
It was true...
The Ancient One had seemingly survived, escaping the clutches of Time with his help.
But in reality, the Ancient One was dead.
Because the Ancient One no longer existed within the primary timeline of this universe. From a certain perspective, she had indeed perished.
Having delivered this sobering truth, Odin pulled his gaze away from Hawk. He turned back to the vast, endless ocean stretching out before them, and slowly began to speak.
Long, long ago, the cosmos of the World Tree was a brutal, barbaric place.
For Asgard, it was an era of blood and iron.
Odin began his reign as a conqueror. Alongside his firstborn, Hela, he forged the golden realm of Asgard through relentless, bloody wars of subjugation.
In those days, any realm that refused to bend the knee to Asgard faced absolute slaughter.
That was Hela's way.
And it was Odin's way, too.
After conquering the Nine Realms, Odin's ambition outgrew the World Tree cosmos. He wanted more. He wanted to carve out new territories for Asgard with his sword and the blood of his enemies.
He set his sights on the primary universe beyond the World Tree—the Marvel-616 universe.
But Odin encountered the exact same problem Hawk had faced before acquiring the Reality Stone.
His power was anchored to the World Tree cosmos—it did not belong to the primary universe. To project his might into this new reality, he needed a conduit. A beachhead.
So, Odin severed Midgard.
Earth fell from the World Tree, dropping into the primary universe, and through it, the power of Asgard could finally manifest in this new realm.
But Odin forgot one crucial rule.
'When you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.'
Before Midgard became Earth, Odin had looked into Time and seen his conquest of the Nine Realms. There was no danger in that.
While the World Tree cosmos possessed a God of Time, that deity was ultimately subordinate to Odin, the King of the Gods.
But when Odin stood upon Midgard—now Earth—and gazed into Time once more, he was no longer looking at his own subordinate. He was looking at Eternity.
And so...
Odin fell into Time's trap.
He saw the coming of Ragnarok.
He saw the gods of Asgard falling.
He saw the people of Asgard weeping in despair.
He saw the very land of Asgard shattering and burning.
——————————
"From the moment I realized I was trapped, I tried to change it."
"I laid down my spear and my sword."
"But..."
"My firstborn. Hela. I couldn't bring myself to destroy her. So, I imprisoned her."
"In the centuries that followed, I tried everything to delay the arrival of Ragnarok."
"I sought every possible way to stop it."
"But then... my wife. Frigga."
"That was Time's warning to me."
"..."
Hearing this, Hawk frowned as Odin turned back to face him, a deep, lingering sorrow flashing in his single eye.
"Frigga's death... Time did that?"
"My wife, Frigga... she was raised by witches."
Frigga, the Queen of Asgard, was no delicate flower.
She had been raised by powerful sorceresses.
To put it bluntly, No matter how off her game Frigga might have been, there was absolutely no way she should have been killed by a single stab wound from a mindless Kurse soldier created by Malekith.
Now, Odin was providing a far more logical explanation.
He had tried to fight his destined end, and Time had retaliated.
But—
Hawk thought back to the events of Thor 1 and Thor 2, piecing together Odin's actions during that period. He frowned deeper.
"What did you do?"
"I allowed Malekith the Accursed to invade. I intended to let the Dark Elves take Jane Foster and plunge the Nine Realms back into eternal darkness."
"..."
Hawk's pupils contracted slightly. Looking at Odin's calm expression, the pieces clicked into place. He instantly understood why Odin had done it.
Of course—
"If the Nine Realms were plunged back into the primordial dark, effectively rebooting, there would be no Ragnarok."
"And if that happened, the timeline of the World Tree wouldn't be consumed by the primary universe."
"But your plan failed, and Frigga died."
"...Yes. The Nine Realms were not rebooted, largely because of you."
"Hey!" Hawk bristled at the accusation. He glared at Odin. "Even if I hadn't been there, Thor and Jane would have stopped Malekith at the last second anyway."
Because that was how the movie went.
Just as the Convergence aligned and Malekith was about to unleash the Aether, Thor arrived in the nick of time and saved the day.
So...
Odin's scheme would have failed with or without him. Malekith would have been defeated, and Ragnarok would still be looming on the horizon.
Wait.
Hiss!
"It seems you understand."
Odin watched as Hawk drew in a sharp breath. "I tried to change the process, and I did. But the conclusion remains fixed. If Thor hadn't stopped Malekith, you would have. The universe ensures the outcome."
Hawk scowled, staring at the old king.
"You could have told Thor."
"No. I couldn't."
"Why not? You and the Ancient One told me."
"You possess the ability to collapse your own timeline. Thor does not. The moment I told him the truth, I would have dragged him into the temporal trap with me. Time would never have let him go."
"Eternity?"
"Time is Time. Eternity is Eternity."
Odin shook his head. "Eternity is merely the abstract manifestation of the primary multiverse's timeline. Eternity is Time, but Time is not Eternity."
Hawk raised an eyebrow at the distinction.
Hawk processed Odin's words, then looked back at him.
"You couldn't tell Hela the truth, and she wouldn't listen to reason. So you chose to imprison her instead of executing her."
"She is my daughter."
"Even though the Ragnarok I originally foresaw was triggered by my firstborn..."
"That is merely the process, not the conclusion."
"Ragnarok—the consumption of the World Tree cosmos by the primary universe—that is the conclusion. Hela triggering it is just one possible process."
"Even if I executed Hela, it wouldn't change the ultimate conclusion of Ragnarok."
"I could only delay it. But I couldn't tell her why."
"So I sealed her away, hoping that while I bought us time, I would find a way to truly break the cycle."
"Unfortunately... I failed."
"And now, Hela..."
Odin's voice remained calm, resigned. "I cannot hold her for much longer. Since Midgard fully plunged into the temporal current of this universe, my power has been draining at an incredible rate. My time is almost up."
He was the Chief God of the World Tree cosmos.
But Odin hadn't created the World Tree.
Simply put:
The World Tree created Odin, not the other way around. Therefore, Odin's power was inextricably bound to the World Tree itself.
They shared the same glory, and they shared the same decay.
He wasn't like Hawk!
Hawk created.
So, the moment Midgard fully merged with the primary timeline, its connection to the World Tree was completely severed.
Before, Earth had dropped from the World Tree, but its fundamental essence still belonged to it.
But now, having lost Earth entirely, the World Tree cosmos was like a balloon with a massive hole punctured in it.
The primary universe was accelerating its consumption of the World Tree.
And naturally, Odin, as the Chief God of that decaying cosmos, bore the brunt of the collapse.
So... Yes.
Odin was about to make his final exit.
Hawk fell silent. He looked at the weary old god standing before him. After a long moment, he offered a single word. "I'm sorry."
What else could he say?
'Hey buddy, cheer up, I can fix this.'
Yeah, right.
How much did he have to drink to be that delusional?
The only thing Hawk could do was offer his condolences and tell Odin he was sorry for his loss.
As for anything else? He was powerless to help.
Hearing Hawk's simple apology, a faint, peaceful smile touched Odin's weathered face. He changed the subject.
"You are here for 'Life'?"
"Yes." Hawk nodded.
Just as he was about to elaborate, Odin began to speak again, slowly sharing the profound insights into the essence of 'Life' that he had accumulated over millennia.
But Odin's understanding was fundamentally different from Ego's.
If Ego's comprehension of Life was entirely self-centered—focused on his own biological expansion and dominance—Odin's understanding was rooted in utilization.
It made sense.
Ego's life force originated from within himself—his focus was entirely internal.
But Odin... he drew his power from the World Tree. His mastery of life was about channeling and utilizing an external, cosmic force.
So...
For Hawk, Odin's teachings opened up a completely new, uncharted territory of understanding.
'Take notes. Memorize every word.'
Hawk's expression was deadly serious. He listened intently to every syllable Odin spoke regarding the manipulation and essence of life energy.
After all, Odin was about to die. If Hawk missed this opportunity, he would never get another one.
Hawk absorbed the knowledge like a sponge.
Odin spoke in great detail, holding nothing back, offering his ancient wisdom freely and completely.
Time slipped away.
In the blink of an eye.
The sun began to set, casting long shadows across the cliffs.
Hawk opened his eyes, ensuring every piece of information was permanently etched into his memory, ready to be meditated upon when he returned home. He looked at Odin.
"Thank you for your guidance. Tell me... what can I do for you in return?"
"Heh."
"I am about to take my final bow. There is nothing I need to do, and nothing I need you to do for me."
Odin looked at Hawk's serious expression and let out a hearty laugh. He shook his head, then fixed his gaze on the younger god.
"If you are willing... keep an eye on Thor for me."
"I will." Hawk agreed without a second's hesitation. He looked at the old king, offered a respectful nod, and turned to leave.
Just as he was about to step away.
Odin called out one last time.
"Phoenix!"
"God King Odin." Hawk stopped and looked back over his shoulder.
Odin's single eye bored into him, intense and warning.
"Remember. The traps of Time are omnipresent. It will not easily allow anyone else to slip its grasp."
"..."
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