In this moment, the cold winds of the North Pole seemed to stand still.
That massive shadow loomed over everything, casting down not darkness, but a chill that originated from the depths of the soul.
It looked down upon the tiny creatures on the ice field—a madman blinded by desire, and a fool blinded by hatred.
A low, sinister laughter echoed above the empty hall.
He laughed at Baron Zemo's lack of foresight and at Sin's lack of wit.
To think that lifting a hammer could grant power?
What a joke!
There were no winners in this scheming tug-of-war; the true winner was him alone—the God of Fear, the "Serpent," Cul!
Baron Zemo slumped on the ground, his broken ribs making every breath feel like a knife cut, but the physical agony was far less than the trembling of his soul.
He stared at the shadow in terror. What was that thing?
A god? Or... a demon?
Sin—no, at this moment she should be called Skadi, the "Breaker of Worlds."
She held the war hammer high, the ecstasy and ambition belonging to Cynthia Schmidt rapidly fading from her face, replaced by a hollow, inhuman divinity.
Her gaze swept over everyone present, including her once-loyal Sisters of Sin and the half-dead mad dog Baron Zemo on the ground.
In her hollow pupils, the fear, confusion, and despair on everyone's faces were clearly reflected.
Finally, she bared her teeth, a raspy voice emerging from her throat:
"Though they are but small appetizers, this fear... is truly a long-awaited delicacy!"
This voice was not Sinthea herself, but an ancient will that had existed in this World for tens of thousands of years—the God of Fear, Odin's older brother, Cul the "Serpent!"
Imprisoned in the deep seas of Earth for nearly ten thousand years, he had almost forgotten what fear tasted like!
"Boss?" A member of the Sisters of Sin sensed something was wrong and called out cautiously.
But the response she received was the whistling war hammer!
The wielder of the "Hammer of the Winter Goddess" swung the weapon in a wide arc, smashing it toward her former "subordinates."
Wherever the war hammer passed, time and space seemed to freeze instantly.
A visible deep-blue cold current erupted from the center of the war hammer, instantly sweeping through the entire area.
Fimbulwinter has arrived!
"Ah!"
Shrill screams rose and fell.
The members of the Sisters of Sin, female assassins who struck terror into the hearts of those in the Dark Dimension, were now like gnats trapped in amber, frozen one by one where they stood.
Ice covered them inch by inch, starting from their feet, moving so fast it surpassed their ability to think!
By the time they regained their senses, ice had covered their entire bodies, but strangely, their consciousness was not frozen.
Their eyes could still move, and they could clearly see the panic on each other's faces; they could feel the warmth being drained from their bodies bit by bit, their life force receding like a low tide.
The process of dying was stretched infinitely; every second was an ordeal.
And the purest, most intense fear and despair they produced during this process turned into strands of invisible energy, scrambling to pour into the hammer of skadi, and then through the hammer, into that imprisoned ancient soul.
"Heh... heh..." The shadow above the hall, the "God of Fear" Cul, let out a satisfied sigh.
This is the taste!
After thoroughly squeezing every bit of utility out of those subordinates and watching their lives vanish in a very short time,
Skadi slammed the war hammer down. An ice spear instantly pierced the thick walls of the steel fortress, tearing open a gap.
Looking at the gap, Skadi soared into the sky, flying straight in one direction—the Mariana Trench.
There lay Cul's place of sealing!
In the bottomless Mariana Trench, five ancient sea serpents, each as massive as a warship, were coiled there.
They were the Guardians left by Odin, fulfilling their duty for ten thousand years—
Ensuring the seal would not be broken by others, and ensuring the former King of Asgard would never make a comeback!
Hiss~
The sea serpents sensed danger and opened their massive vertical pupils in unison.
The sea serpents flicked their tongues and coiled their bodies, creating a terrifying underwater current.
But they clearly underestimated the power of Skadi, who had received the blessing of the Hammer of the Winter Goddess.
The undercurrent, strong enough to crush any giant ship, could not stop Skadi's arrival at all.
An ice-blue stream of light, carrying unrivaled power, broke through the ocean currents and smashed heavily onto the head of one sea serpent.
There was no Earth-shattering explosion; along with the frantic churning of the waves, the giant serpent's body quickly froze and quietly sank into the bottomless deep sea.
The death of their companion stimulated the remaining four sea serpents.
The sea serpents roared silently, attacking the Breaker of Worlds, Skadi, without fear of death.
But in the face of absolute power, their defeat was only a matter of time.
Finally, several hours later, all five sea serpents had perished, and the scarred Breaker of Worlds, Skadi, arrived before the giant stone gate inscribed with ancient seals.
After taking a deep breath, Skadi pressed the war hammer against the gap in the stone gate. Terrifying cold air seeped through the gap, invading and disrupting the flow of the magic circle.
With Skadi's frantic roar, the stone door finally burst open with a crash.
Endless darkness surged out, and when it dissipated, a hunched old man, who relied entirely on a massive scepter to barely support himself, had completely broken free from his bonds!
"I, Cul Borson, have returned!"
The "Serpent" Cul walked falteringly toward Skadi. As his finger touched Skadi's forehead, all the memories belonging to Cynthia Schmidt were read by him.
"Earth... Avengers... 'The Arbiter' Peter Parker."
"Peter Parker?"
Cul's will lingered on the name "Peter Parker" for a moment.
In Sin's memory, this man was powerful to an almost nonsensical degree, even possessing power comparable to a god.
"Hmph, just a brat from Midgard."
Cul snorted disdainfully.
He would not take such a lowly existence seriously at all.
But similarly, he was not blinded by his long-awaited freedom.
He could feel that his current power was not even a thousandth of what it was at his peak.
More importantly, that brother of his, the one who subverted his rule, stole his authority, and sealed him here—Odin—was not yet dead!
Although Odin's aura was likewise aged, he had occupied a high position for a long time and could draw divine power from Yggdrasil at any time.
While he himself had been imprisoned for thousands of years, his body was weaker than ever before!
Before having absolute certainty of making that damned younger brother pay the price, he must not act recklessly.
"In that case... let fear descend first!"
"My apostles, I command you to spread fear to every corner of this World!
"Offer up a song of praise for the King's return!"
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