Time passed, and three hundred years had gone by since the selection of the Bifrost guardian. Asgard was as peaceful as usual, but the same could not be said for the Nine Realms.
The Dark Elves had a new king in Malekith, whereas the old king, Kraw the Uncontrollable, had died mysteriously. Although everyone knew it was likely Malekith's doing, no one in the Dark Elf race stood up for the old king; after all, Kraw the Uncontrollable had been a cruel person himself.
Inside a golden palace in Asgard, Sigurd was looking over a defense weapon plan made by the dwarven king. The plan detailed how all of Asgard was to be built upon a foundation laced with a massive, interconnected network of Vibranium.
This network extended deep into the ground and up through major structures, designed to absorb any impact or energy attack, from orbital bombardment to ground assaults. The more energy it absorbed, the stronger the potential output for the city's active defenses.
Meanwhile, a spire of Uru metal rose from the Cosmic Hearth at the center of Asgard, acting as the primary conduit for channeling magical energy. Uru metal had its own uniqueness, allowing it to store and channel magical power, which would be beneficial against certain attacks.
Then Sigurd examined his work on runic magic, where he had inscribed space runes to create a link between the interconnected Vibranium network throughout the city and the Uru metal spire.
Sigurd looked over the finished defense system, which would increase Asgard's safety. Although it couldn't allow Asgard to fight back against very powerful beings like Celestials, it would at least be a great counter-attack against those of his own level when Asgard had no other option, or it might help in a surprise attack against unprepared enemies.
"Although the weapon has been constructed, I must consider what could be corrected to increase its power capacity."
Just as he was about to look for weak points in the defense, he heard footsteps.
Odin looked at his brother, who had been obsessed with runic magic for hundreds of years. Odin himself had learned runic magic by sacrificing an eye, and although it was powerful, it took time to control.
"Brother, what do you think of my new runic magic, Stjörnurúnir? With this runic magic, the defensive power of the weapons created by the dwarven king will hold Asgard strong, even if we aren't there in dire situations."
Sigurd looked at his brother like a proud person who had just learned a few things.
"Okay, I know your magic is getting stronger, but don't be too proud. Still, I am ahead of you in the case of runic magic. I came here to give you the weapon you wanted, which King Eitri sent personally."
Odin looked at his brother's behavior, then took out a large box containing a weapon and placed it on the table. He then looked at his brother.
"Brother, you should prepare yourself. War might be coming to our doorstep. According to our spies, the Frost Giants and Dark Elves have joined forces to deal with Asgard, and they are still trying to get Surtur to join them."
Sigurd's expression turned serious. According to this information, Malekith's first target might be the Light Elves' queen. She was definitely strong, but not enough to handle a cunning man like Malekith.
"Brother, what is the situation with the Light Elves? If our allies are going to be attacked, the first will be the Light Elves. After all, they are a peace-loving race and don't have warriors more powerful than Asgard's."
Odin looked at his brother, then considered his analysis.
"But if what you said is the enemies' plan, then what do you think they will do?"
Sigurd then considered the situation where Surtur might emerge from Muspelheim. Thinking of this, he knew there was a big conspiracy ahead.
"Brother, I think Surtur will come out of hiding. If I am not wrong, they will send both of us in different directions and corner our father as well."
Odin heard his brother's words. He didn't know what to say, but thought it was still possible. But how would they do it?
"Then how do you think they will do it? If we have a counter-attack ready, it might be a great help to us."
Sigurd thought of every possibility. Although the comics depicted attacks, the timeline was different, and he didn't see anything relating to that comic timeline now.
In the comics, the million-year timeline was sparsely written and didn't mention everything. So how did Bor and Odin banish Malekith from the Nine Realms? How was the Reality Stone lost? But now, this was his reality.
"Brother, I think they will separate our manpower. They know they can't win head-on, but if you are chasing Surtur and I am fighting Malekith in the Light Elves' territory or some other allied area, then Father will be left alone to fight the Frost Giants and other armies. This would give them a certain advantage."
Odin heard the words and knew there was a certain truth to what Sigurd said.
"Sigurd, do you think Father will fall to someone so easily? Then the Frost Giants might be making a big mistake by underestimating him. Although he doesn't fight often, his power is at its peak. You know he can handle the Frost Giants without any problem."
Then Sigurd thought of the way Bor died in the comics. According to the comic, Bor was trapped in snow by Loki, who traveled from the future. But he didn't know if the future Loki of this timeline would appear or not.
"Brother, I don't underestimate Father, but I want to have a foolproof plan to handle everything, so it doesn't bring disaster to us."
Odin looked at his brother, but he understood these would be very tough times for everyone.
"So what's the plan? Will you stay with Father, or shall I stay with him?"
Sigurd shook his head.
"The preparation for war has already been done. I think our allies have already been provided with defensive weapons to avoid tragedy in the future war. But why wait for the enemy to strike? We should find the reason and attack first."
Then Sigurd looked toward Odin.
"If we start the war, it will be under our control. We can monitor every player's movement. But if they take the initiative, we will have to observe them to learn their pattern. Why wait? It's better to attack."