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Ethan was lost in thought when Odin spoke. "Done eyeing my force yet?"
Ethan's eyes widened slightly; Odin was the first to ever notice his adaptation process.
"You know us sorcerers—always a curious bunch," Ethan replied. Odin huffed.
It was surprisingly thoughtful of him to tell me about Ragnarök, Ethan thought. Was the great Odin really asking for my help with the survival of Asgard?
"I appreciate your candidness. Earth would be better prepared for it... but why isn't Thor here? Why only approach me?" Ethan asked.
"Before we speak further, a change in venue might be needed," Odin said, looking up as if expecting something.
"Are you expecting someone else?" Ethan asked, confused.
"The Bifrost," Odin answered with a frown.
Heimdall had just ruined his moment.
"Oh... that." Mahoraga had adapted to Heimdall's omnisight years ago. "Heimdall cannot see me or anything around me unless I let him. You must be within my radius. The better question is why I haven't been swarmed by thousands of Asgardians for taking their King offline."
"Midgardians... when did your kind learn all these tricks?" Odin grunted in surprise.
Ethan smiled and released the seal around him, allowing Heimdall to see them.
Soon, the Bifrost descended, engulfing them. Ethan's seals kept the energy at bay; he had adapted to forceful teleportation and the energy coursing through the Bifrost bridge. He queried where the Bifrost was taking them, then relented.
Clunk.
Mahoraga had begun adapting to teleportation via the Bifrost.
The destination was a random hillside. They were still on Asgard; he could make out the distant towers of the Royal Castle. Odin sat down near the edge of the cliff, looking out into the distance. Ethan could see every bit of age etched into his face.
"Frigga used to bring me here..." Odin spoke after sitting down.
"I am sorry about your wife. I never met her, but from what Thor told me, she seemed like a brave woman," Ethan added solemnly.
"Brave, aye, Kind too And no... I am the one who should apologize for how I acted," Odin spoke referring to their previous encounter.
A heavy pause followed, where only the rhythmic sound of the distant sea waves could be heard, until Odin spoke again. "How long do you think I have?"
"Four years," Ethan answered without hesitation. Beyond his general understanding of the Odinforce, he knew that Thor: Ragnarok took place in late 2017, and they were currently nearing the end of 2013.
"Five," Odin countered. Ethan took that less as a disagreement and more as a personal challenge Odin was placing upon his own fading vitality.
"What do you want to talk about?" Ethan asked, cutting to the chase.
"Hide this from my old friend. I think he might prefer not to have heard it," Odin requested, glancing toward the open sky.
Ethan did as asked, weaving a veil of privacy. The All-Father waited for a nod of confirmation before revealing the true purpose of this meeting.
"Heimdall is the one who told me about you after the Destroyer's attack on Midgard. He claimed you wield Cursed Energy like the Midgardians of old. He watched your battle against the Destroyer—though now I suspect he wasn't seeing it through your eyes, but through someone else's," Odin spoke at length. It made sense; Ethan hadn't truly applied his concealment seals to others yet, as it had been a low priority.
That was a variable that could change depending on how this conversation went.
Odin continued his explanation. "I don't have just two claimants to my throne. I have three," he said, pausing to expect a look of shock from Ethan. He didn't get it.
"Only three?" Ethan remarked. The Odinforce flared in response; it wasn't the kind of surprise the King had anticipated.
Clunk.
The Mahoraga wheel in Ethan's shadow spun once more.
Ethan reflected on the persona of Odin he had expected based on the records left by previous Sorcerer Supremes. "A barbarian subjugator putting on the facade of a wise king," Agamotto had written. While the views of subsequent Sorcerer Supremes had softened—becoming almost favorable—the notion that Odin was prejudiced against anyone not of Asgardian blood remained a constant thread.
There were no accounts of Odin meeting a Sorcerer Supreme in person since the twenty-first, but Kamar-Taj held vast archives regarding sorcerers who traveled off-world to study the mysteries of the outer universe.
Odin's era of conquest had technically ended during Agamotto's lifetime, but by its conclusion, a staggering portion of the observable universe was under his command. His empire spanned entire galactic systems; he had conquered so many worlds that ancient texts dubbed him the ruler of all sentient life.
Ethan had to admit his knowledge of the greater universe was limited to Kamar-Taj's archives, Earth's science, and his own meta-knowledge. Perhaps Odin's ancient wars were fueled by a need to purge the universe of a greater evil. Even if they weren't, he had maintained peace and fostered life across galaxies for millennia, ending the era of interplanetary wars.
Ethan understood the cold logic of the necessary sacrifice for the greater good. Perhaps this "Good King" deserved an olive branch—or perhaps Ethan was simply being biased, swayed by the meta-knowledge of the man Odin had become.
However, the conquest itself wasn't what bothered him most. What Ethan couldn't stomach was that the star systems, conquered in blood, were left to fend for themselves once the conflict ended.
Odin did nothing. Absolutely nothing. No, he did worse than nothing: he actively pulled all his frontline Asgardian troops back to the Golden City. All that blood, all those lives lost on both sides—just for him to abandon them.
This process didn't happen immediately; it unfolded over centuries. Odin grew indifferent to the conquered worlds, his focus narrowing over time.
The Asgardian Empire shrank, era by era, until only the Nine Realms and the Golden City remained.
Even most of the Nine Realms eventually forgot they were ever part of an empire. Odin looked only after his own people, and what he left behind for the rest was chaos and anarchy.
Chaos and anarchy on a universal scale.
The momentary burst of anger from Odin regarding the perceived insult told Ethan everything he needed to know. The conqueror within the All-Father had never truly left; it had merely been diluted over time.
The frown on Ethan's face deepened. Truly, kings were vain and prideful creatures.
"Must you provoke me, Sorcerer? I am many things, but I am no Olympian," Odin added firmly, as if being an Olympian were somehow worse than being a genocidal dictator.
With a wave of his hand, Odin transmuted a container—the very same vessel that Tora had used to house the Aether.
"Thor believes you should keep this; he claims it will be safer in your hands," Odin added, looking directly at Ethan. Then, he turned his gaze back to the waves crashing against the distant, sunlit horizon.
"I have also heard about the theft of the scepter containing the Mind Stone on Midgard. I have a theory. Would you like to hear it?"
"Throw it at me," Ethan added casually. He partially summoned his shikigami, the Gravity Sheep Aeries, manifesting only its fluffy wool to create a makeshift beanbag.
There was no other place to sit, as Odin occupied the only rock available.
"My son Loki... before he was transported from Midgard after the Chitauri Invasion, someone was impersonating him on the other side of the city, using his known power to change his appearance as a cover. Now, this individual has managed to steal the Mind Stone scepter. Not only that, but in one stroke, they managed to rid Midgard of a potential weapon of mass destruction, which in the wrong hands could be catastrophic." Odin spoke at length, and Ethan listened patiently; there was no need to rush.
"But I suspect this person was playing a much deeper game," Odin added, a faint, knowing smile playing on his lips. "I know it was you..." He fixed Ethan with a piercing gaze, clearly expecting a reaction. Shock, perhaps? Or even a flash of righteous outrage?
All he received in return was a hollow, blank stare.
"Your guardian currently holds the Time Stone. You yourself possess the Mind Stone, and you have been in the immediate vicinity of both the Space and Reality Stones," Odin quipped, his tone shifting to one of weary gravitas. "Do you realize how rare that is? Even in my exceptionally long lifetime, I have never encountered so many of the Stones in such proximity."
He paused, the levity vanishing. "It is a grim premonition that a great war is coming—an Infinity War. I cannot say when it will arrive, nor can I say exactly whom you will be fighting. But make no mistake: it is coming."
"Yes, I took Loki's Scepter," Ethan spoke firmly, his voice cutting through the heavy air. "But I did not do so because I wish to hoard that power for myself, as you do within the gilded walls of your vaults. I have specific plans for it. And once those plans are fulfilled, I intend to destroy it. To leave it intact would be nothing more than a temptation for future generations."
"Plans, he says..." Odin echoed, his voice echoing with the cynicism of a thousand years. "Every one of us has plans, Sorcerer. Fate simply favors you more than most. But make no mistake: being a target of Fate is never a good thing... and it is rarely so powerless as to need help fulfilling its designs."
"What are you getting at?" Ethan asked.
"I will give them to you... the Reality and Space Stones," Odin said after a pause. "But you must make a Binding Vow."
"I will not provide an indefinite servitude," Ethan added immediately.
"I am not asking for a servant... A savior, perhaps? Yes... a savior will do just fine," Odin mused, tasting the word on his tongue. "As long as I draw breath, my first daughter, Hela, will remain sealed in Hel. But upon my death, that seal breaks."
With his meta-knowledge, Ethan knew Hela had been imprisoned by Odin for thousands of years. She was locked away following a failed coup and her unchecked warmongering, her containment sustained entirely by Odin's life force.
"What exactly are you asking of me? " Ethan questioned "All-Father" Ethan couldn't help but quip. And what a father he was—banishing two of his children and imprisoning two others, with Hela falling into both categories.
"Will you make me speak of it?" Odin spoke in a solemn voice.
"Of course. If you want a Binding Vow, the terms of the agreement should be very clear," Ethan replied.
"Convince her to leave behind her warmongering days... if you can. Or neutralize her if you must," Odin commanded, looking directly into Ethan's eyes. "In exchange, the Space Stone and the Reality Stone will be yours. I do not know what you intend to do with them, but you lifted Mjolnir without breaking my magic... so, in a sense, you are worthy."
Ethan reflected on his contingencies regarding the infamous Goddess of Death. Based on his knowledge from the films, Hela was a formidable adversary, but she lacked the definitive, "one-shot" kill capability required to bypass Mahoraga's adaptation.
Furthermore, he understood that if she successfully enacted her plans to conquer Asgard, she wouldn't stop there. Hela's ambition will not be satiated from Asguard alone; she would inevitably descend upon Earth.
Therefore, even if he hadn't entered into this Binding Vow, there was a high probability he would have been forced to fight her at some point in the future. The conflict was effectively a predetermined outcome.
But now, he was being compensated with two Infinity Stones for a confrontation he was going to pursue regardless. It was a strategic steal—he was being paid to secure his own future.
Odin rose slowly from the stone he had been occupying. Ethan mirrored the movement, canceling Aries's summon and watching as the gravity-wielding Shikigami dissolved into his shadow.
The two stood in a heavy, silent stalemate, studying one another until Odin finally extended his hand. Ethan reached out and shook it. As their palms met, the air rippled with the weight of a Binding Vow setting in. The pact was sealed.
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A/N: So how was the chapter?.