"Attention please! Attention please! This is the Cosmic Broadcast Channel of the Sanctuary of the Nine Realms, we have an important breaking news!"
"Dear members and friends, the following you will hear is a real-time war report brought to you by the Sanctuary of the Nine Realms. It has been reported that three cosmic hours ago, a disturbance occurred in the Realm of Death, one of the Nine Realms. Hela, the Lord of the Underworld, has left her domain and started a war with a mysterious being located at the core of the World Tree..."
"At the moment, the forces of death and life have spread beyond the Nine Realms. The affected areas are the six subsidiary dimensions between R23 and R29. We will soon broadcast the names of the affected areas in a form information that the life in the cosmos can understand..."
The so-called R23 to R29 subsidiary dimensions are names given by the Holy Sanctuary after categorising the dimensions around the Nine Realms.
Generally speaking, the names of the dimensions within the Nine Realms mainly follow the Asgardians' convention. However, the Asgardians rarely categorize this information systematically, so their understanding of the surrounding dimensions is largely based on word of mouth.
However, since the Holy Sanctuary started running, the inconsistencies in naming and subdividing dimensions quickly became an issue. Therefore, mages from Kamar-Taj recently visited all the dimensions around the Nine Realms, assigned them numbers, and compiled a map.
Of course, since they are known as "dimensional domains," it implies that they don't exist within three-dimensional space. The maps need to be converted before they can be read by three-dimensional races like humans. Up till now, those in charge of cosmic broadcasting have largely been mages from Kamar-Taj.
The R23 to R29 dimensions mentioned in the broadcast were two fragmented dimensions closest to the Land of Death, which are uninhabited. At present, this broadcast hasn't attracted the attention of cosmic beings, as such events are commonplace in the cosmos. Friction between Cosmic Sorcerers often occurs, sometimes resulting in hundreds or even thousands of wars in a single day.
In the shattered dimensions near the Realm of Death, Hela, clad in dark green armor, stands in a desolate, dark cosmic center. Her body is surrounded by surging death energy from which countless bizarre monsters emerge, forming a circular domain around her.
The center of the domain is guarded by two massive bone dragons, followed by the skeletons of giant wolves and serpents. Aside from these, there are countless ghosts, like surging waves, constantly emitting ear-piercing screams.
Hela's banner waves along with her hair, and opposite to her stands a powerful god clan member clad in silver armor, enveloped in a strong white light. A giant tree's image vaguely appears behind him, a renewed force from the Life Tree.
The black and white energies fiercely clash in the cosmos; Hela's energy acts like a sharp sword, while Baldur's energy behind him resembles a sturdy shield. As both sides begin testing each other, their front lines create severe energy storms.
The initial point of conflict was tiny, so the energy storms only tore apart some minor asteroid belts, causing limited damage. But soon, the situation escalated.
Hela's aggression was too fierce. Baldur, who just woke from slumber, was at a disadvantage. Although he was backed by the almost limitless energy of the World Tree, he struggled to defend against Hela's assaults.
Just then, at the edge of the dark cosmos, an extremely bright flash of light appeared instantaneously. The majestic voice of the Father of All Gods echoed in cosmic space, heard clearly by all cosmic beings.
"Cease fire."
Odin's tone allowed no room for negotiation. Along with the roaring of thunder, the energy storm at the battleground was torn into pieces. Golden lightning rapidly spread outwards, thrusting into the center of the forces of light and dark.
Upon seeing Odin's figure in the sky, Baldur touched his shoulder and bowed his head, "Father of All Gods."
Hearing Baldur's voice, Odin sighed. He turned to look at Hela, who completely ignored him and continued to command her energy, relentlessly assaulting Baldur.
Odin stood motionless in the cosmos, feeling a severe headache. The grievances between Hela and Baldur were difficult to explain in a few sentences. But fact is, it was hard for Odin to dissuade them. In the end, Baldur's decline and Hela's betrayal were the result of his negligence.
Baldur came back to the World Tree, and Hela was sealed by him. Then Thor was born who was very like him; he thought everything would get better. But now, Thor became arrogant and he exiled him to Earth. Even Loki, who was originally obedient, caused a great deal of trouble. It seemed that nothing had changed.
But he still clenched the bolt of lightning in his hand, preparing to take action, when the voice of a familiar figure rang out. "Things are pretty lively here, what's going on with your family? Are you having a gathering?"
Just then, a heavier dark energy appeared behind Hela, accompanied by intense Hell Fire. Mephisto's figure appeared on the battlefield.
Before the two representatives of justice could speak up, Hela was the first to break the silent. "Mephisto, you finally decided to crawl out of your little hellhole?"
With her sword in hand, Hela continued, "...but it would be best if you didn't try to interfere in my affairs."
With that, she directed her own energy towards the Hell Fire surrounding Mephisto. Baldur's eyes widened; during the time when he was still the crown prince of Asgard, the terrifying reputation of the Master of Hell was well known in the cosmos. Grasping his long spear, he said, "Has Hela gone mad??"
"She's blinded by hatred." A calm female voice echoed. The Ancient One, dressed in yellow robes, slowly descended. Bright magic energy swirled around her. Odin squinted at the Ancient One and said, "It's been a while, and you've grown stronger, Ancient One."
"It's as lively as ever at your place, Odin." The Ancient One glanced at the two streams of energy clashing in the distance, then Odin paused for a moment before suggesting, "Help me stop them, if they start fighting here, it won't bode well for either of us."
He then looked into the distance, asking puzzledly, "Why would Mephisto come here?"
"Indeed, if they start battling near the Nine Major Kingdoms, it might pose a threat to both Earth and Asgard, but..."
Turning to face Odin, The Ancient One said, looking straight into his eyes, "Let's find a place to discuss this."
Looking bemused, Odin asked, "Is this the time for a sit-down chat?" Without any doubt, the moment he would leave, it would descend into chaos.
In the meantime, a rumbling sound resounded as a giant shadow descended upon the cosmos. It was an entity that Baldur despised, and he couldn't help but name it out, saying, "Dormammu..."
Odin noticed too and realized that something was amiss. Hela and Baldur's clash shouldn't have attracted so much attention aside from his own, being their father.
With The Ancient One giving him signals, Odin hesitated before retracting his thrown lightning weapon. He left a crow in his place and went off with The Ancient One.
No sooner had Odin left than Baldur was lost. But before he could react, chaos ensued. Mephisto, furious at Hela's provocations, spread endless Hellfire across the cosmos.
The Dimensional Demon Gods, who often battled with The Ancient One, also appeared on the battlefield. Their intentions clear - they came for a fight. In a matter of minutes, the battleground had turned into a complete mess.
Inside the Holy Sanctuary, it was in a similar state of chaos. A female Mage gestured, and the phone flew into her hand, as she started walking and talking rapidly, "Yes, we haven't figured out the whole situation. But they have indeed started fighting...Is that so? But I cannot confirm. I'll let you know as soon as the war spreads there..."
A man in a suit and tie stood up from his workstation and asked his colleague, "Did you get in touch with those from the Shattered Dimension?"
The colleague retorted, "Forget them; we have more important clients here. Let them take care of themselves. We have a stack of high-level members to attend to. The Shattered Dimension? I'm better off if those poor fellows are dead..."
"Up next is the latest news. The battleground has expanded to the area beyond R40 and is nearing the inhabited R50 dimension. We repeat; the battlefield has shifted. All members in dimensions numbered R50 and beyond should evacuate immediately..."
"... Wait! We have an update from our field correspondent! The situation on the battlefield has taken a new turn. Let's connect with our frontline correspondent, Eddie Brock, and hear his views on the current circumstances..."
After a few seconds of dial tones, a magic screen appeared on the sanctum's wall and the persona of Venom appeared. Standing on a satellite similar to the moon, he was backed by the cosmic starry sky.
Although he appeared as Venom, Eddie's voice spoke, "Greetings, this is Eddie Brock bringing you the latest from the R43 region."
No sooner had his words ended, a massive explosion occurred in the cosmos right behind him. Venom had to conjure a protective shield of black slime to defend against the impact, followed by a meteor streaking across the stars, signaling another planet's destruction.
"As you can see, the battle is intensifying, the central battlefield is continuously shifting, and the number of combatants is increasing... Oh, dear God! A star..."
Far behind him, a small point of light expanded into a massive fireball.
"Alright, that's it for the live coverage here. This star is about to go supernova, and I have to evacuate, goodbye."
The last sentence was spoken in Venom's deep, raspy voice. Strange looked at the screen, which grew increasingly bright, and hesitatingly asked, "Is the reporter alright?"
"Don't worry, he didn't go alone," replied an agent.
"Not alone, then who's with him?"
"His fellow symbiotes."
Meanwhile, on a rather desolate satellite, Venom shook his head and sneered at his companion, the Blue Spirit, saying, "Is this all you've got? Your magic shield is flimsier than paper."
The other symbiotes appeared a bit distressed due to the immense heat caused by the explosion. If not for Blue Spirit's magic abilities, they would've been roasted by then.