After dealing with the Hell Dimension and Mephisto, Karl returned toward Earth alongside Odin. However, the moment they emerged from the dimensional layers, Odin did not continue the journey. Instead, he turned and returned directly to Asgard.
Karl could clearly sense Odin's divine power slowly dissipating.
The All-Father's aura was no longer as vast and stable as before. The power sustaining his long reign was fading rapidly. At this rate, Odin's remaining time might not even last a week.
Karl sighed quietly and opened a portal that led back to his manor.
Even though Odin was the ruler of Asgard and one of the most powerful beings in the Nine Realms, the end of his lifespan was inevitable. There was nothing Karl could do to change that.
When Karl returned to the manor, he found that Tony and the others were already waiting.
Ganata had even dragged a stool outside and sat in front of the house, as if preparing to intercept any enemies that might arrive at any moment.
The moment Tony and the others saw Karl appear through the portal, they immediately gathered around.
Thor and Loki quickly scanned behind him.
But when they realized Odin had not returned with Karl, a trace of unease flashed across their faces.
Karl naturally noticed their expressions.
"Odin has returned to Asgard," Karl said calmly.
"I don't know whether he already told you this, but his time is running out."
He then looked at Loki.
"You should go back and stay with him. Don't wait until you've truly lost him before you begin to regret it."
Loki froze slightly after hearing Karl's words.
Thor's expression darkened.
"Yes… Your Excellency Karl."
"Karl, we'll return immediately!"
Thor nodded firmly. Without hesitation, he grabbed Loki's arm and walked toward the manor gate.
"Heimdall!"
Moments later—
A rainbow-colored beam of light tore through the sky.
The Bifrost Bridge descended from the heavens, enveloping Thor and Loki in brilliant energy before shooting upward again and disappearing instantly.
The two Asgardian princes had returned to their home.
Karl then looked toward the others.
"The Lord of Hell, Mephisto, is dead."
He paused slightly.
"Did anything happen while I was away?"
However, when Karl glanced around and saw the manor standing perfectly intact, he already had a rough idea of the answer.
Tony stared at him in disbelief.
"Wait—hold on. You've become this powerful now?"
"You actually killed the Lord of Hell?"
Tony looked as if his brain had short-circuited.
"That's Mephisto we're talking about. The guy who rules an entire Hell dimension!"
Then Tony suddenly remembered something.
Odin had appeared earlier.
The King of the Asgardian Gods.
With that thought, Tony finally calmed down a little.
"Well, no one attacked," Tony continued.
"Some government officials came by earlier asking whether we needed help, but that's about it."
Standing nearby, Peggy Carter revealed a bitter smile.
Just earlier she had still been thinking about ways to restrain Karl.
But now—
Karl had already killed the legendary demon lord Mephisto.
If she had shown even the slightest hostility toward Karl or his companions, the Dark Phoenix might have sensed it immediately and read her mind.
If that had happened, whether she would even be allowed to leave the manor alive would be uncertain.
The Dark Phoenix might very well have torn her apart on the spot.
"Alright," Karl said.
"Tony, you guys should head back."
Then he looked at Tony with a faint smile.
"And you should prepare properly too. Don't forget to pick up Pepper."
"We're not providing accommodation tonight."
Tony rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. Stingy as always."
He called Pepper over, and soon Tony left with the other Avengers.
Of course, Black Widow stayed behind.
Karl then called Wanda and the others downstairs.
Once everyone had gathered, Karl opened the Shadow World and brought out the frozen woman.
The moment the ice-sealed figure appeared—
May, Raven, and the others hesitated.
The woman looked extremely familiar.
It was as if they had seen her somewhere before.
Only Wanda reacted immediately.
Her eyes flickered intensely.
She could clearly sense it.
The woman in front of them possessed the exact same power signature as her.
It was chaos magic.
The same source.
The same energy.
The only possibility—
That woman was another version of herself.
Perhaps even her future self.
"She is Wanda from another universe," Karl explained slowly.
"The adult Wanda."
"The timeline of her universe is different from ours."
He looked at Wanda and Pietro.
"In that universe, when you were children in Sokovia, you were not rescued by me."
"You were discovered much later and eventually taken away by HYDRA."
"There, experiments were conducted on you using the Mind Stone."
"Through those experiments, Wanda awakened her abilities."
Karl paused slightly before continuing.
"Later, seeking revenge against Tony Stark, Wanda used her powers to manipulate the Hulk."
"Hulk went berserk and rampaged through a city, causing enormous destruction."
"To stop him, Tony had to deploy the Hulkbuster Armor, and the battle devastated the entire area."
"Countless civilians were injured or killed."
Meanwhile—
"To continue their revenge against Tony, Wanda and Pietro unknowingly assisted in the creation of an artificial intelligence meant to 'protect the world.'"
"That intelligence eventually evolved out of control."
"Ultron."
Karl's voice became quieter.
"In the end, after realizing their mistake, the two of them chose to help the Avengers stop Ultron."
"But Pietro died during that battle."
"He sacrificed himself while saving Hawkeye and several civilians."
Karl finally looked back at Wanda.
"And later…"
"You fell in love with a being created from the Mind Stone."
"Vision."
"And he died as well."
"Your parents… your brother… your lover…"
"All gone."
Karl finished calmly.
"That is the fate you two were supposed to have."
The ice surrounding Great Wanda slowly shattered as Karl released the seal.
Wanda and Pietro stood frozen in disbelief.
So this—
Was their original destiny?
Karl had changed their fate.
Wanda's eyes filled with tears.
According to that fate—
Pietro would have died.
"Alright," Karl said lightly.
"You're awake now."
He looked directly at the newly freed Great Wanda.
"Do you still want to fight me?"
"Tell me why you came to this universe."
"And how you managed to get here."
May, Raven, Gwen, Helen Zhao, Yelena, and the others fell into deep thought.
If Karl had changed Wanda and Pietro's destiny—
Then what about their own original futures?
Had those been altered as well?
"Hmph."
Great Wanda snorted coldly.
"I came to this universe to prevent Pietro's death."
"And to teach Tony Stark a lesson."
She glanced at the younger Wanda.
"I arrived here by accident using Pym Particles."
"But it seems…"
"I can't go back anymore."
Little Wanda's voice trembled slightly.
"Is it true… what Karl said?"
"Was Pietro really going to die?"
Pietro scratched his head awkwardly.
He was also curious.
After all—
It was his own death they were talking about.
"Yes."
Great Wanda nodded slowly.
"Pietro died saving Hawkeye and several civilians."
She looked at the younger Wanda with complicated emotions.
"You're much luckier than I was."
"At least you have someone like him holding up the sky for you."
Her gaze shifted briefly toward Karl.
"Alright," Karl said with a faint smile.
"You don't have to think about it anymore."
"If you want to return to your original fate…"
"I can send you back."
He looked at the women who were still deep in thought.
A hint of amusement flashed across his eyes.
"How about it?"
...
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