"Prince Hela, I've heard much about you for a long time, never thought I would meet you here. I wonder if I could have the honor to chat with you?"
Clad in formal attire, Stark held up a wine glass towards Hela and asked with a smile.
Hela didn't hesitate to scrutinize Stark from head to toe with her gaze, which was rather offensive to a man trying to strike up a conversation. It was her way of telling him not to take her for an easily approachable social butterfly, as only those accustomed to being under scrutiny would habitually scrutinize others in such a manner.
When Hela's gaze fell upon his brown eyes, she paused briefly and said his name in a raspy voice, "Stark...".
It was not a particularly famous name, but was known within a small circle, which of course included Asgard. Once Hela spoke his name, Stark understood that Hela's presence here was Loki's plan, and they were probably in contact all this time.
The inference was indeed reasonable—Hela and Odin were on such bad terms that they seemed to dislike each other as much as natural enemies. There were conflicts of interest between Hela and Thor as both were once potential successors to Odin.
However, there seemed to be virtually no conflict between Hela and Loki—rather, the two empathized with each other.
Hela was even unluckier, burdened with an inexperienced and ill-tempered father. Neither of them had any experience in upbringing nor learning, leading to mutual grievance. The ultimate negative consequence, however, fell entirely on Hela.
Considering this, it was possible for Hela and Loki to collaborate. Perhaps now, even a reconciliation between Hela and Thor could be possible. The Asgard God Clan had a deeply ingrained admiration for strength. It was Thor's strength that provided space for other members of the royal family to survive.
Stark quickly processed this information, which gave him more confidence for the upcoming conversation. He nodded and said calmly, "Yes, it's me. I'm surprised that you've actually heard of me."
"Iron Demon God...", Hela raised her eyelids slightly and asked, "I sensed an unusual aura when you first ascended to the ranks. What's on your mind?"
Stark was taken aback by Hela's bluntness but quickly composed himself. Everyone said that Hela and Odin were remarkably alike; as representatives of the impulsive Asgardians, Odin disliked beating around the bush and went straight to the point.
"Indeed, there are some things I wish to consult Prince Hela about, but..." Stark paused and said, "I hope the contents of our conversation today won't be revealed to others, including your siblings of the same bloodline, or the ruler of Asgard."
Hela frowned slightly, but soon looked into Stark's eyes and asked, "Before you ask me, I've a question for you. Have you ever fought Thor?"
Stark widened his eyes. He didn't expect Hela to ask him that. So he replied, "We're friends, so, of course, we haven't."
"Who's stronger between you two?"
Start opened his mouth, then quickly shut it again. He sighed through his nose, thinking to himself that luckily Loki wasn't Odin's biological son. The Father of All Gods and his family were truly of one kind, always thinking about dueling.
"We've never compared our strength; in fact, we don't need to."
"Then I can't promise not to reveal our conversation to Thor. I might not be able to beat him, and if you can't prove that you can, then I can't conceal it for you."
Stark paused his drinking and sighed inwardly. Hela truly resembled Odin. They seemed rough on the surface and disregarded the minutiae, yet their candidness wasn't offensive.
"Alright, how about this, you can't tell Loki about our conversation today."
"Are you saying that Thor is stupid?"
Stark let out an exasperated sigh.
"But that's okay, I think so too." Hela shook her head and said, "He's not good at understanding these complex hints, unlike Loki who is just the opposite. Maybe having these two handle different aspects is the real way out for Asgard. It's a pity that it took Odin thousands of years to realize this."
Stark wasn't sure if he should agree with Hela and mock the Father of All Gods' way of parenting.
The astonishing aspect of Odin's parenting failure was that his three children represented three different directions of failure, perfectly excluding the correct path—an utter and diverse failure.
"Without the interference of external forces, the tragedy of Asgard was inevitable." Hela's tone was calm as if she was discussing an foregone conclusion. She lowered her eyelids and spoke softly, "His biggest mistake was underestimating Loki, thinking his frail little prince, who wasn't part of the Aesir and had been feeble since childhood, wouldn't cause any major upheaval."
"Although I don't know who reversed the situation in Asgard, I'm sure that if it wasn't for this unknown benefactor, Odin would have fallen because of Loki sooner or later."
Stark couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, looking at Hela with a new level of appreciation. He didn't expect the imprisoned Crown Princess of the Realm of Death to have such strategic insight.
However, if you thought of her as a female version of Odin, it made sense. Hela wasn't a loser; the bottom line was that Odin's power back then was too formidable.
Odin said that Hela was initially blinded by her desire for destruction, losing her sanity, but history is also written by the victors. No one knows the true extent of what happened between the father and daughter back then.
Stark became more certain, so he stated directly: "That's right, I wanted to deceive Loki because he's too smart. I don't want anyone to become aware of my current intentions, as it might inadvertently tip off others."
"What exactly do you want to do?" Hela frowned at Stark, for her, the people she couldn't see through were quite rare, and Stark before her was one such person.
"No matter what you want to do, I have no interest in being involved." Hela pursed her lips, turned her head aside, showing a resistant attitude. She said, "If Loki hadn't insisted I come, I would not have shown up here. I am no longer interested in Asgard's future."
"Are you not interested in the golden twilight of the gods as well?"
Hela's fingers stiffened slightly. Stark took a step closer, narrowing the distance between them. He stared into Hela's eyes, "Now your only concern is the golden twilight of the gods. In the prophecy, you were the harbinger of Asgard's destruction. But looking at the situation now, you may not be able to defeat Thor. That's why you feel lost."
"Does the golden twilight of the gods really need to come? Is your existence really meaningful? Should you follow the prophecy or defy it?"
"Stop talking." Hela's tone contained a hint of annoyance. She tilted her head further away and said, "Just tell me straight, what do you want to do?"
"I just wanted to ask about the origin of the Aesir. I know Loki isn't an Aesir, and Thor doesn't seem to know about this issue either... To be more specific... I want to know about the World Tree."
Hela narrowed her eyes and turned her gaze back to Stark and said, "Human, do you truly know what you're speaking of?"
"Even if the golden twilight of the gods is destined to happen and the Aesir are to meet their end, the human race won't be able to profit from the World Tree. Don't be too greedy."
"You misunderstand, that's not what I meant." Stark shook his head and said, "I'm not waiting for the gods to die so I can seize their resources. Humans haven't evolved to that point yet. If we must admit it, we'd rather the golden twilight of the gods never comes."
"But I've heard that the human race has been developing rapidly in recent years..." Hela said hesitantly. Loki had told her all of this, but she hadn't seen it with her own eyes. She thought Stark was eyeing the energy of the World Tree.
All civilizations experience a period when they're desperately short of energy resources in the course of their development. Hela assumed humanity had reached this point and wanted to plunder the World Tree's energy after the golden twilight of the gods.
"So what exactly do you want to know?" Hela asked again.
"I want to know, if the World Tree were indeed a tree, who planted it? What does it use to grow? How does it support the Nine Major Kingdoms? When does it sprout? When does it wither? Does it possess any unique properties?"
Stark's series of questions left Hela taken aback. This Crown Princess was uncharacteristically silent for a long time before saying:
"I think I might know what you wish to ask, but I'm afraid I don't know the answers. All knowledge about the World Tree among Asgardians seems more like legends, not true knowledge of the truth."
"Even though your power comes from the World Tree?"
Hela nodded and said, "Divine power is our natural talent. The God Clan are creatures of intuition. We wield this power but don't delve into its origins. We hope for greater power, more efficient use, and all our technology develops around this point."
"As for tracing the origins and studying history... Do you think that bunch of Asgardian warriors look like historians? We don't care about the past. We only desire a stronger future."
As he listened to Hela, Stark furrowed his brow. He truly could not imagine a race that would neglect to study such an enormous secret literally at their doorstep.
"However..." Hela suddenly changed her tone and, lost in thought, began to speak: "During my years in the Realm of Death, I have pondered this question too. I mainly thought about the prophecy of the golden twilight of the gods. No one knows where Odin got this prophecy, nor why he was convinced its truth."
"But I know him well. I think it's likely this was a signal the World Tree sent to him. But the World Tree lacks wisdom, so how did Odin intuit the prophecy from it?"
"I think, perhaps he came to realize some clues through observing the World Tree or sensing their connection. This prophecy may not have had a concrete inscription but was rather a discovery Odin himself made."
Stark's expression turned serious, while Hela revealed a smile nearly resembling a sneer. She looked at Stark and said, "You want to uncover the truth about the World Tree? Why?"
Stark hid his mouth behind his wine glass, then raised his eyebrows, looking up at Hela from under his lashes and said, "I wish to do much more than that. And it's obvious, my Prince, that you are somewhat interested in that as well."
Hela remained expressionless, merely using a hand to brush aside her long hair revealing her ear. She looked at Stark and said, "So, are you asking me to dance?"
"Would I have such an honor, my Prince?"
"Of course, Iron Demon God."