Sakaar.
Indulgence, chaos, splendor, and danger are all intertwined together.
It is a place rife with decadence and hedonism, where those at the bottom live in constant fear, yet somehow lack the ambition to change their circumstances.
Sebastian sat atop a building near the Sakaar Arena. He had already released Fawkes, allowing him to roam freely on Sakaar. For Fawkes, any threat to his existence on Sakaar was essentially nonexistent, so there was no need for excessive caution on Sebastian's part.
Looking at the massive head sculptures surrounding the arena's tower, Sebastian knew they were all past victors of the Contest of Champions. His eyes lingered on the horse-faced creature wearing a battle helmet. Perhaps in some parallel universe, this horse-faced creature could become the new Thor, worthy of wielding the power of thunder.
(A/N: How many of you know the horse-faced creature? I would reveal the name in the next chapter.)
Raising his hand, Sebastian grasped the shattered fragments of Thor's hammer that he had collected.
As Hela departed Earth along the Rainbow Bridge, the shattered Thor's hammer had become Sebastian's possession. He had been careful to collect every piece.
Although Thor's hammer was completely shattered, its materials were genuine Uru metal. Even with Sebastian's current wealth and resources, the materials were extremely precious, and he would not discard them once he had them in his possession. However, after acquiring the superior branch from the World Tree, Sebastian abandoned the idea of forging Thor's hammer handle into a new wand. With something better available, he naturally would not use an inferior substitute. Moreover, Sebastian had a new idea for this particular item.
Why not reforge Thor's hammer entirely?
Using his magic, he could reforge the shattered hammer. The power contained within it was enough to grant an ordinary person unparalleled strength, equal to the power of the original Thor at his peak.
Although Odin gave Thor his hammer with the intention of channeling his true power and teaching him responsibility, this did not mean that Thor's hammer itself was worthless as an artifact. It was important to note that Thor's hammer still contained a significant amount of thunder power within its core. Despite its shattering, this power did not immediately dissipate into the void, but rather remained dormant within its fragments.
If Sebastian had not collected and preserved the fragments of Thor's hammer in time, he would have lost the opportunity to harness them for his own purposes. The shattered pieces still held immense potential, and Sebastian knew that with the right applications of magic and the Reality Stone, he could reshape them into something new. However, Sebastian was also aware that Mjolnir possessed a certain level of sentience—Odin had woven powerful enchantments into the hammer beyond the simple worthiness spell. These enchantments meant the hammer could potentially reform itself under the right circumstances, though Sebastian suspected such an event would require specific conditions he could not yet foresee. For now, he would make use of what he had collected.
Initially, Sebastian hesitated about whether to forge the fragments into a wand capable of harnessing thunder. However, after careful consideration, he abandoned that idea and decided to forge a new Thor instead. Perhaps this approach would offer greater utility in the long run.
Even at the very least, having another Thor-level warrior as a guardian at Hogwarts would not be a bad idea, would it?
Of course, reforging Thor's hammer would not be easy, at least not here on Sakaar. He would need to return to Hogwarts to harness the power of the Reality Stone and possibly the Time Stone. After returning the Eye of Agamotto, which contained the Time Stone, to the Ancient One, Sebastian would have to make the most of the limited time he had with it.
Retrieving the shattered Mjolnir fragments and placing them safely away, Sebastian leaped from the building. He vanished in a puff of black smoke as he fell, his body dispersing into shadow. He silently slipped into the Grandmaster's arena tower, the ruler of Sakaar's domain.
Under the influence of the Disillusionment Spell, Sebastian moved through the tower without drawing any attention from guards or sensors.
The defenses were completely useless against Sebastian, leaving the tower as vulnerable as if it were completely defenseless. Following Thor's presence through magical tracking, Sebastian quickly found him. Thor had already cut off his long hair, his distinctive locks now gone. Perhaps some restless barber, finally fed up with Thor's mop of hair, had lopped it off without ceremony. Speaking of that individual, Sebastian found it strange that he had not encountered him yet, and he did not know why their paths had not crossed.
Thor seemed to have come to terms with the destruction of Mjolnir. He showed no visible remorse or discouragement, but instead displayed a defiant spirit. He was speaking to a burly stone figure with a surprisingly gentle and polite voice, discussing revolution and change.
Seeing Thor's current state, Sebastian remained silent in the shadows. As long as he was certain Thor was not seriously ill or broken in spirit, there was no immediate need to intervene.
Leaving the supposedly gladiator's lounge—which was actually a prison cell in all but name—Sebastian continued toward the base of the tower. He faintly sensed an extremely powerful presence beneath the tower, a presence no less powerful than Thor in his prime or even the Hulk. Such a presence had never appeared in the original timeline, and this intrigued Sebastian greatly.
The further down he went, the tighter the defenses became, to the point where Sebastian had to reinforce his concealment spells.
In the end, all Sebastian encountered was a thick metal wall with no door in sight. The powerful life force he had sensed lay beyond this barrier.
After a moment's thought, Sebastian stepped forward again, his body shifting into his Phase Form. He vanished into nothingness as he passed through the metal wall, emerging into the dimly lit cell behind it.
Sebastian's body, now in its Animagus Phase Form, instantly gained enhanced night vision upon entering the dimly lit cell. He spotted the massive figure before him, bound by countless chains and high-tech restraining devices. The figure was kneeling on the ground with his head bowed low.
Just as Sebastian was about to investigate further and get a closer look, the restrained figure suddenly spoke without lifting his head.
"Who is it? You are not one of the Grandmaster's men, are you?"
Sebastian raised his eyebrows slightly, looking at the figure with interest and saying, "You can sense my presence even when I am concealed?"
"You have not restrained your aura completely, so I can sense it through the energy you emit. Your presence is so terrifying and powerful, I cannot ignore it even if I tried."
With some difficulty, the burly figure raised his head and looked towards the direction Sebastian's voice had come from. Sebastian immediately recognized him as one of the six champion statues outside the Arena Tower—the horse-faced creature on the upper left side.
Revealing his true form and dropping the concealment spell, Sebastian looked at the horse-faced creature and said, "If I am not mistaken, that statue outside should be you, right? Of course, if everyone in your family looks similar to one another, then forget what I said."
"I am the only one left of my tribe in this entire universe. You are right, that statue is indeed me. I was once the champion here."
Frowning slightly with sympathy, Sebastian nodded slowly and said, "I am sorry, I said the wrong thing just now. I did not mean to bring up painful memories."
Shaking his head with difficulty despite the restraints, the horse-faced creature said to Sebastian, "It is okay, these are the facts of my existence. There is nothing to be sorry about. But why are you here in this place?"
"I sensed your presence from above, so I came to see you and satisfy my curiosity. However, it seems that your condition does not seem to be too good right now. Are you interested in leaving with me and working for me? At least I will not lock you up here like this, treating you like a caged beast."
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