What was Valkyrie's deepest wish? Revenge? Not exactly. Despite the battle against Hela, her grudge was not primarily with Asgard's former executioner. Hela had struck back when attacked, but Valkyrie's anger had always been directed at Odin. What truly shattered her was the loss of her sisters, the near-total annihilation of the Valkyrie army, and Odin's subsequent cover-up of everything related to Hela.
Simply reconciling with Hela wouldn't have been enough to sway her. But the chance to redeem her fallen sisters? That was another story.
After a moment, she responded, "If you're telling the truth, I'll consider serving Asgard again—when you inherit the throne. But don't expect me to get involved in the royal family's power struggles."
Thor nodded. "Fair enough. I'm in no rush; it'll be at least ten more years."
Nearby, the Grandmaster's face flickered with concern. He was worried that Thor, his new star gladiator, might just take Valkyrie and leave. Their relationship was purely cooperative, so there wasn't much he could do to stop him. But if Thor planned to stick around for a while, he could relax. Even the most popular gladiators eventually lost their novelty.
Thor settled into life on Sakaar, fighting about once every two weeks. In truth, strong opponents were rare, even across the universe. The "Tyrant Lizard" from his first match was among the best, and most subsequent opponents didn't pose much of a challenge—even Nebula could handle them easily. But Thor still gave them a chance to showcase their skills, adding some theatrical flair to his battles.
The Grandmaster was thrilled. A gladiator who could both fight and entertain was his ideal warrior.
Under Thor's suggestion, the Grandmaster introduced a new rule: any prisoner or slave who won 30 consecutive matches would earn their freedom, along with wealth, respect, and power. This rule led to a massive spike in ticket sales whenever a fighter reached their 30th match. And Thor was always their final opponent.
Nebula, too, began to adjust to life on Sakaar. When she had time, she'd enter the arena to show off her skills. To keep up appearances, the Grandmaster enforced a rule forbidding slaves from killing free gladiators; their neck restraints could be activated at any time to ensure compliance.
Meanwhile, back in Asgard, Thor's disappearance did not go unnoticed.
Loki took every opportunity to gloat about his absence, especially to the Warriors Three. Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun despised his attitude but couldn't do anything about it.
Loki would smirk and say, "I do so enjoy when you want to hit me but know you can't."
Sif and Maya Hansen had been deeply concerned at first, and they even sought reassurance from Queen Frigga. Though Frigga told them not to worry, they remained uneasy until they finally received a message from Thor. After that, Sif was able to relax; for someone of her long lifespan, these separations were just brief interludes, as long as they kept in touch. And Maya, often caught up in her research, was used to going months without hearing from Thor.
Odin sensed that Thor's life was not in danger and saw no need for alarm.
Let the boy get his fill of "life lessons" from the universe…
The year is now 2005.
Odin had long since awakened from the Odin Sleep, but neither he nor Frigga mentioned Thor's absence.
On Earth, Mjolnir still lay untouched in its crater, waiting for the one worthy to wield it. Tony Stark continued his playboy lifestyle, unaware that a traitorous snake was growing ever more dangerous within his circle. General Ross's super-soldier program was stalling, and his patience was wearing thin. His daughter, Betty Ross, was about to graduate and join his military research team.
On the surface, everything seemed peaceful.
But no one could foresee that this was Earth's last moment of tranquility.
A new era was dawning.
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