Chapter 108: Asgard Destroyed! RagnaröK!
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After Gwen left, Lorien lay back with his hands behind his head, feeling refreshed. Last night had been amazing. Gwen had even shown a side of herself like Tifa, with a shyness that included blushing and biting her lip—who could resist that?
It was like Lorien had just bought a pair of [Berserker Gaiters]. You know the buff, right? [Attack Speed +35%]? At first, Lorien thought it wasn't possible, so he added [Guinsoo's Rageblade]. No need to discuss the stats—just know that the faster the item works, the faster A's attack speed becomes.
After resting for a while, Lorien finally got up and took a hot shower. But when he returned, something seemed off.
"Where's Hela?" he wondered aloud. It was the second day, and there was still no sign of Hela in the living room.
"Has she kicked her internet addiction?" he mused, though he knew it was impossible. Lorien made his way toward the bedroom where Hela had been asleep the day before. He pushed open the door and found little Hela still sleeping.
"?" Lorien frowned, sensing that something wasn't right.
Hela was the goddess of death. Even as a little version of herself, she shouldn't need this much sleep. Sleep was a form of recovery, but it wouldn't increase her divine power. So, why was Hela still asleep like this?
Hela had originally stayed close to Lorien, so there hadn't been any issues. But now, something was clearly wrong with her divine power.
"Where does Hela's power come from?" Lorien thought. "It must be Asgard."
Yes, it was Asgard. Hela had mentioned countless times her desire to reclaim Asgard and kill Odin, but she had never said she wanted to destroy Asgard. Her divine power was connected to the realm. As long as Asgard existed, her power would slowly replenish on its own. A powerful Hela wouldn't be this lethargic.
So, had something happened?
Lorien walked over to Hela's side. He didn't wake her, knowing it would be useless in her current state. Instead, he placed his hand on her head and used a bit of Phoenix Force to sense what was wrong.
As the Phoenix Force worked, Lorien realized the problem.
"She's really drained. So something's happened to Asgard—Ragnarök?"
It seemed entirely possible.
To help Hela wake up, Lorien injected a bit of energy into her. As expected, Hela's eyes fluttered open the next moment. Her first words were, "Something's wrong with Asgard, Kuk!"
Lorien smiled. "Just as I thought. Perfect prediction."
Without saying much, Lorien, still in his bathrobe, sat by the bed and gestured for Hela to continue.
"Tell me what you think."
Hela first checked her divine power. Noticing it had replenished enough to last a few days without sleep, she sighed in relief. Then, she started recounting the events to Lorien.
"When you left yesterday, I suddenly felt a strange unease. Then, halfway through a game, I realized my divine power was rapidly draining. Soon after, it was gone completely! It happened so fast I didn't know what was going on. I felt so sleepy and ended up crashing here until now."
After hearing Hela's explanation, Lorien was certain something had happened in Asgard. If he had to guess, Ragnarök had begun.
Lorien was about to ask how Hela felt about it all—after all, her home was likely gone. But before he could, Hela suddenly leaped up on the bed in frustration.
"Yesterday, I was so tired that I fell asleep, and I ended up abandoning my teammates!" she exclaimed in remorse.
Lorien: "0.0?"
"You're worried about abandoning your teammates?" Lorien asked in disbelief. "Your entire home is gone!"
This wasn't just any home—it was her real home. And not just the home—her father might be gone too!
But Hela's remorse was genuine, just not for the reasons Lorien expected.
"We fought side by side, killed loads of orcs and Zerg, and nearly conquered the galaxy together! Now she must think I'm a complete idiot..."
Lorien listened to Hela's words carefully. It seemed she had been playing Warhammer 40k, but that wasn't the point.
"Do you really not care about your family? Aren't you even a bit curious?" Lorien asked.
"How could I not care? That's the source of my divine power!" Hela groaned, but then her voice softened with a note of defeat. "But with things like this, my divine power is probably never coming back."
She sighed deeply, her tone growing more despondent. "Besides, in my current state, I have no idea how long it will take to accumulate enough power to even make one trip to Asgard. What can I do?"
Lorien understood. Hela's current power had been reduced to its lowest point. She wasn't like Thor, who had some inherent energy. Hela's divine power came from her role as the goddess of death, tied to Asgard's cycle of life and death. And now that Asgard was gone, her source of power had vanished too.
It was as if her level had been reset to zero. She would need to re-level, and in her current state, she didn't even have the strength to use a portal. She had to be much stronger for that.
It was a miserable situation.
Lorien sighed, resigned, as he stood up and started walking out of the room. "Put on your shoes. I'll get dressed, and then we'll go to Asgard."
After saying this, Lorien went back to the bedroom to change. Meanwhile, little Hela sat on the bed in a stunned silence.
After a long moment, she sniffled, wiped her eyes, and went to put on her shoes.
Not long after, Lorien emerged, fully dressed, to find Hela waiting for him. She was wearing the most beautiful dress he had bought her.
To be honest, Lorien had bought her a lot of clothes that day—mostly small skirts, big skirts, and Lolita dresses, which made up more than 80% of the purchase. Among them, the Lolita dresses had been the most expensive but also the best-looking.
At first, little Hela had refused to wear them. She had even yelled in the street, "You beast! I, Hela, will not wear these to please you!"
But eventually, she had given in and wore the dress.
"Not bad, very sincere," Lorien said with a smile, nodding in approval.
"Hmph," little Hela pouted. "I just think it looks good... I didn't wear it for you."
"That's fine," Lorien said calmly. "I'll see it regardless."
It was like the saying: sometimes, it doesn't matter if someone loves you back. You can still love them for your own reasons.
Once both of them were ready, Lorien snapped his fingers.
*Snap!*
In the next moment, they traveled through the Nine Realms and appeared in Asgard. But the moment they arrived, both Lorien and Hela were confronted with devastation.
It was a ruin—an actual ruin. There wasn't a single building standing, just shattered stones of various sizes. Asgard, which once floated proudly in the sky, was gone, reduced to the wreckage that lay before them.
The entire space was filled with debris.
The once-magnificent golden palace could barely be recognized among the fragments. The beautiful Bifrost, which had spanned the realms, was now broken into pieces.
Nothing remained.
"No..." Hela whispered, unable to bear the sight. She turned and buried her face into Lorien's abdomen, wrapping her arms tightly around him.
Even though she had anticipated this, facing the reality of it was overwhelming. It's like losing a loved one—you might not cry when you hear the news, but seeing the mementos they left behind can be unbearable. Unless you have no feelings at all, such moments are hard to endure.
Hela had fought on this land for countless years, and now there was nothing left—not even a trace of the fallen leaves that had once graced Asgard's soil.
Gradually, Lorien felt tears soaking through his shirt as Hela wept. He reached down, stroking her green hair gently, his voice soft as he said, "So, you can cry too."