The Comprehensive Evolution of American Comics

“It's all over.”

Thor released Loki, whom he had been restraining. Just now, during their struggle, the Tesseract, which had been pinned down by Mjolnir, suddenly shattered into two halves, the significance of which was self-evident.

At the same time as the Tesseract shattered, Loki ceased resisting. Thor had just checked him; his breathing was steady, and there were no obvious external injuries. He was probably just unconscious.

Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that he had suffered mental trauma due to magic. All of this would require further examination in Asgard to draw a conclusion.

Most of the magic Thor knew was related to combat; a small portion was just for healing basic injuries. He couldn't be as comprehensive as his mother, Frigga.

It was better to leave professional matters to professionals. Thor only cast a spell to stabilize Loki's mind and didn't do anything extra.

Picking up Loki, Thor was about to call Heimdall to teleport them back to Asgard, but he received a communication from him first.

“Prince.”

“Heimdall?” Thor sensed something was wrong from the address. Heimdall rarely used such a formal title to address him.

“I was just about to contact you. I've resolved things here. Teleport me and Loki back.”

“I was just about to do that, Prince,” Heimdall said solemnly. “Rather, no matter what you're doing now, you must return immediately.”

Thor's eyebrows, which had risen because the war was over, fell again at this moment. Although Heimdall didn't say anything, he seemed to have said everything.

“I understand,” Thor nodded. “Teleport us, Heimdall.”

After a burst of colorful light, Thor returned to Asgard. Heimdall, several generals, and some handmaidens were already waiting for him.

Without hesitation, Thor handed Loki over to a handmaiden and, led by several generals, went to the back garden of the palace. When he reached his destination, Thor realized that he was probably the last to arrive.

Balder, Vidar, Heimdall—every brother was present. After they noticed Thor's arrival, they voluntarily made way, revealing the person they were surrounding.

Their father, Odin, was sitting in a chair, and their mother, Frigga, was kneeling beside him, accompanying him.

Thor immediately saw the wound on Odin's waist. Frigga's right hand was flashing with a soft green light, and she was holding a ball of leaves pressed against Odin's wound, but purple blood was still flowing from the leaves.

Clearly, this was a potent poison, the kind that couldn't be healed with magic.

“Father…”

“Come here, Thor.”

Thor had just opened his mouth when Odin interrupted him. The latter's full-bodied voice even made the former wonder if the wound he was seeing was an illusion.

Thor didn't disobey his father at this time. He strode towards Odin and stopped when he got close.

“I'm dying,” Odin said without wasting words, stating the most important information. Although Thor was prepared, he couldn't help but clench his fists.

“The Serpent is no ordinary opponent. From the beginning, he intended to perish with me. Even if I was careful, I still fell for his trick.”

“Isn't there any way to cure it?” Thor asked unwillingly.

“The Serpent's poison is spreading too quickly,” Frigga, who had been maintaining the magic, shook her head. “By the time your father came back, the poison had already penetrated deep into his bones. If it weren't for the World Tree's leaves, he probably wouldn't have been able to wait for you to return.”

In other words, there was no way.

Thor didn't dare to look at his mother's expression at this time. His other half was leaving before him, which was a very cruel thing for any loving couple.

“It's nothing, just death,” Odin didn't seem to care about his own life or death. “Now there are more important things.”

“Thor Odinson!”

Odin suddenly increased his voice, looking like he was having a final burst of energy.

Thor reflexively knelt down. When he looked up again, Odin was already standing in front of him, holding a luxurious sword in his hand.

“The Crown Prince of Asgard, I now bestow the throne of Asgard upon you. You will become the leader of Asgard, the new guardian of the Nine Realms!”

Odin slammed the tip of the sword in his hand heavily on the ground, and a large amount of golden energy poured into the ground along the tip of the sword, turning into golden ripples that surged in all directions.

But soon these surging golden tides returned with more colors, but this time their target was not Odin, who was releasing energy, but Thor, who was kneeling on the ground.

Thor didn't know what was happening, when he heard Odin say from the side.

“Get up, the King of Asgard does not need to kneel to anyone!”

At this time, the returning energy also came to Thor's side, and the next second, this energy lifted Thor up, forcing him to stand up.

A powerful energy continuously poured into Thor's body, and these energies were comprehensively enhancing him. The energy that he would have taken thousands of years to accumulate now only took a few seconds to achieve.

I don't know how long it has passed, a second? Or a year? In short, when Thor absorbed the energy and came back to his senses, Odin had changed from a strong middle-aged man with a full voice to a skinny old man.

If it weren't for Frigga supporting him, Odin might not have been able to stand still, and the luxurious sword in his hand was even more of a burden. Not only could it not support Odin's body, but it would also make his body sway back and forth.

“This is the Odin Sword…”

With Frigga's help, Odin finally managed to lift the Odin Sword. Seeing this, Thor quickly reached out and took the divine sword.

In the process of taking the divine sword, Thor accidentally swept across Frigga's face. He couldn't describe that expression, but he knew that today would become his mother's eternal knot.

“I've never been so tired…” Odin chuckled, as if he wasn't an old man about to die, but a naughty old child who was asking for candy.

“Now you are the new King of Asgard, come here child, I have a few words to say to you.”

Such an intimate title, but it tied a big stone in the hearts of everyone present. Thor opened his mouth several times but couldn't say a word, so he could only honestly walk up to Odin.

Odin pulled Thor close to him, held his hand and said: “As the King of Asgard, you must not only love your people, but the weak in the Nine Realms should also be protected by you. You must do your best to maintain the safety of the Nine Realms, of course, the most important point.”

“Don't forget your family, they are the most important.”