Several kilometers away, the battlefield unfolded in everyone's minds.
Thor led dozens of warriors in a swift chase after the Frost Giants.
The Asgardian army was mobilizing fast, ready to provide support at any moment.
Malrick watched Thor's movements closely.
All eyes followed as the Thunder God swung Mjolnir and launched himself upward.
He advanced alone, leaving his warriors behind.
"He's confronting the Frost Giants by himself? That's reckless—he could make things worse," Tony muttered, folding his arms, watching Thor's bold charge.
Quietly to Malrick, Tony added, "No wonder old Captain America predicted Thor will one day be exiled to Earth—he seems to stir up chaos."
Malrick chuckled softly. "Tony, you're the last one who should accuse others of causing trouble."
Tony bristled. "What, you're saying I stir up trouble too?"
Malrick gestured with open hands. "Isn't it obvious? I think many would agree."
"Gentlemen..." Odin's voice cut through their banter. "If you don't mind, perhaps we should focus on Thor and Loki's future rather than arguing."
Tony and Malrick exchanged glances. Malrick nodded to Tony.
"All right… I don't know the full Asgardian history. But it might begin with Thor's exile…" Tony lowered his voice, the subject treacherous. He had never shared what he saw of the future with anyone else. If Pepper ever learned that one day he would sacrifice himself for the world, he couldn't imagine the fallout.
---
On the battlefield, Thor—unaware Odin had orchestrated much of what was happening—finally caught up to the Frost Giants. They were lowering their spaceship toward a spatial portal.
Without warning, Thor dove from the heavens, summoning lightning to pierce the spacecraft. As it crashed, a casket—the Casket of Ancient Winters—spilled out waves of frigid air, freezing the mountain around them.
More than a dozen Frost Giants gathered, striving to resist him. But they struggled to control the casket's raw power.
Thor and Mjolnir struck. In rapid exchanges, three Giants fell. The leading one realized escape was futile. He rushed toward the hidden cave entrance of the portal, clutching the casket.
Even then, he could only barely hamper Thor's attacks. Using one hand to hold the casket, he pushed a tribesman aside with the other.
"Go! Return to Jotunheim—tell the King we seized the casket! Hurry and send reinforcements!" he shouted, before fleeing backward through the portal's cover.
Thor paid him no mind. He had made his choice: reclaim the casket, then march on Jotunheim. He smashed ice blades with hammer blow after hammer blow. Though the cold air from the casket slowed his movements, he was confident in handling the remaining Giants.
One by one they fell. Only the Giant holding the casket remained, leaning heavily on his strength. Thor, breathing hard and smelling faintly of drink, tossed Mjolnir in hand.
"Your strength is impressive. You can't wield the casket well yet, but you fight valiantly. I'm sorry, but I must finish this—then I'll lead my forces to Jotunheim."
In Asgardian lore, Jotunheim's Frost Giants were terrifying creatures born to frighten children. Thor did not hesitate. He swung Mjolnir in a blur, hurling it toward the Giant.
In desperation, the Giant unleashed the power of the casket. Layer after layer of ice walls materialized around him—but Mjolnir shattered them all, pressing forward with unstoppable force.
It struck the Giant's chest like a meteor. The Frost Giant flew back, and the casket was flung far away. Thor extended his hand and caught Mjolnir as it returned.
"It's over!" he proclaimed with a hearty laugh.
After a few moments of rest, he gazed toward the heart of the Divine Realm. The Asgardian reinforcements—piloting numerous small ships—were still a third of the way away.
"They're slow," Thor murmured. "My strength hasn't waned. It's just that the mages from Kamar-Taj are… exceptional."
He recalled the top three mages who had arrived—they were on par with him. And beyond them, there was an even stronger Sorcerer Supreme. Thor began to doubt himself, but the Frost Giants he faced reminded him of what he could still do.
He steadied himself. "Good. Once Vandal and the others arrive, we'll head to Jotunheim together." Thor meant to use the spatial portal just as the Frost Giants had. He did not yet think of the Bifrost Bridge—an easier method of travel.
Turning to collect his spoils, he stopped.
Where the icy, barren terrain had been, now stood forty to fifty robust Frost Giants behind the one who held the casket. Before that Giant lay more than a dozen dead bodies. He knelt, closing each fallen warrior's eyes.
Thor froze.
In an instant, more Frost Giants poured through the spatial portal and arrived in Asgard. They had even gathered their dead. Thor's heart pounded.
"Laufey?" he said, voice unsteady. Something deep in him warned that the situation had grown more complex.
The Giant didn't respond to the name but slowly rose. His eyes, previously downcast, lifted—ferocious, scarred by death and war.
"Asgardian, are you ready to face death?" Laufey's voice rumbled, as if borne from an ancient furnace. The moment he spoke, the casket unleashed a wave of cold so intense that molecules froze in midair.
Thor didn't hesitate. He swung Mjolnir.
"I am Thor Odinson! Frost Giants—your invasion will cost you dearly!"
With Mjolnir in hand, he hurled himself forward, tearing through the ice toward Laufey. But the next instant, Thor was encased in solid ice—frozen like a statue. Even Mjolnir, fallen from his grasp, was frozen in place.
"We've killed him!" some Frost Giants cried and advanced. But Laufey halted them.
"Stop! He is Odin's son. Our war is not about death, but about breaking Asgard's hold over us."
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