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It wasn't the first time that Arthur had demonstrated that the Tesseract's energy could trigger a teleportation burst and send someone far away. Over time, he had begun to harness this power, though his control was still rudimentary and limited.
Without precise coordinates, however, the teleportation could end disastrously - possibly throwing him into the void of space. If that happened, returning home would require Heimdall's help using the Bifrost.
But to set foot in Asgard again? That would be a one-way trip for him - like a dumpling thrown into a pot, never to come out.
The endless back and forth was pointless, no matter how he looked at it.
Of course, if he wanted to be stubborn, he could avoid the Bifrost altogether, hijack a spaceship, and endure an extended journey through the cosmos to find his way home. But...
What if the Tesseract's teleportation stranded him on an inhospitable planet? If he landed on Muspelheim, he'd have no choice but to spend eternity with the fire giant Surtur.
Compared to that, Hela seemed much more pleasant - and certainly easier on the eyes.
Various scenarios played out in his mind, and Arthur finally decided, "Let's explore first.
Meeting Hela wasn't necessarily the only way to find out the secrets of this place. What if he stumbled upon some landmark, or even encountered other people? That might reveal a way out.
Although, deep down, Arthur doubted that Odin would leave such an obvious loophole in his plan.
Still, he spread his wings and took to the skies, soaring high above.
As he ascended, a thought occurred to him: "What if I just keep going up?
What if I break through?
With that thought, Arthur shot into the sky like a black bolt of lightning, the wings of the Raven God stretched to their limit.
Unbeknownst to him, a pair of cold, merciless eyes were silently watching his every move, filled with both murderous intent and a hint of curiosity.
---
Arthur remained oblivious to the scrutiny and focused on his ascent.
The further he flew, the more he noticed something strange: the distance to the sky didn't seem to change. At first, he shrugged it off. But after three minutes of furious flight, not only was the sky unchanged, but the air temperature and pressure remained eerily constant.
"This defies logic!" Arthur muttered, pausing in mid-air.
Looking down, he estimated his altitude: "About 3,000 meters?"
It hit him - he'd been flying for three minutes and had only gained 3,000 meters.
"So... is the spatial structure of this world screwed up?"
Arthur concentrated on activating the spatial energy he'd learned to control under Frigga's guidance. Although he hadn't mastered many new abilities, his knowledge of spatial mechanics had grown significantly.
In an instant, he saw through the anomaly.
"The space here... has been folded? That's why the vertical limit is capped at 3,000 meters."
Arthur stretched out his hands, ready to tear through the spatial barrier and break free.
The process began smoothly - he could feel himself touching the folded space. But just as he was about to step through, a furious bolt of lightning erupted from the rift and struck him mercilessly.
His entire body convulsed, blackened, and smoked as he fell back to the ground.
---
The eyes watching him flickered with mockery as Arthur crashed to the ground.
Just as the onlooker turned to leave, their brows furrowed in surprise.
Smoldering and burned, Arthur dragged himself out of the dirt with a somber expression - literally somber, as his face was thoroughly charred.
He opened his mouth and spat out a cloud of smoke. "What the hell was that?"
Ignoring his injuries, Arthur summoned the Eye of Horus. The golden eye hovered in the air, radiating a brilliant glow as his wounds began to heal at an astonishing rate.
"I was too naive. Far too naive!" Arthur muttered as he tended to himself.
Reflecting on his actions, he concluded, "That was reckless. If it were that easy to escape from this place, it wouldn't be called a prison. There's obviously a powerful restriction, or it wouldn't be able to hold anyone."
With his body mostly healed, Arthur gazed toward the horizon, determined to unravel the mysteries of this prison and find a way out - without killing himself in the process.
Turning over, Arthur let the golden light shine on his chest and stomach. Pressing a hand to his chest, he changed into a new outfit.
The earlier outfit had been rather plain, but this time he donned the battle armor Tony had made for him. "If I had worn this earlier, things wouldn't have gone so badly..."
But as he looked down at the armor, he sighed.
Since Tony had given it to him, it had seen him through countless battles. He'd fought the Nova Corps, Star-Lord and Yondu, the Kree, the Asgardians, and even the Chitauri. No matter how strong the armor, it couldn't remain unscathed.
Now, wearing it again, Arthur noticed how worn it had become. Many of its intricate components were broken, if not completely inoperable.
"Looks like I'll have to ask Tony to make me a new one when I get back..."
With his injuries mostly healed, Arthur stood up.
Flying upwards was clearly a dead end, so he decided to explore the room horizontally, hoping to find its edges.
But before taking off, he used the water from his Disassemble space to wash his face.
---
Arthur took flight and disappeared from sight.
A woman dressed in black, her long hair flowing behind her, slowly approached the spot where Arthur had fallen earlier.
She glanced at the crater in the ground, then in the direction Arthur had flown, her eyes narrowing slightly before her figure vanished into thin air.
---
Meanwhile, Arthur found himself staring at a vast mountain range, lost in thought.
"This is the edge of this world," He murmured to himself while sighing softly.
The spatial structure here was distorted and manipulated, preventing him from crossing the mountain range. Even if he tried to fly over it, he would inevitably find himself back at his starting point, as if the world were looping around itself.
"Figures..."
Arthur dropped to the ground, feeling resigned. "At this point, it's clear - the whole space is designed this way."
Both the sky above him and the terrain around him were restricted. So far, he hadn't encountered a single humanoid, nor any trace of civilization.
After sitting in frustration for a while, Arthur, refusing to give up, got back on his feet and searched the area again.
The result? Still nothing.
Finally, he sat down again and stared blankly into the distance.
"So my only option now is to go find Hela?"
Frankly, Arthur was reluctant to do so.
At this point, his reluctance had nothing to do with Hela herself. He simply didn't want to be forced into such a situation - no matter if it was Odin, the All-Father of Asgard, who had orchestrated it.
Even if Odin had treated him decently, that wasn't the point.
This is not how it should be.
(End of Chapter)