MCU- Mortal Considerations : Hela x Original Human Character

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories, you can read up to 15 chapters in advance per story on my Patreon page / patreon.com/Samael61.

Who doesn't love a power couple where two individuals bring their collective strengths together in harmony? If you do, check out my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.

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You have chosen and I have delivered. Enjoy, and please leave a like. As the first four chapters are about the time Jason spent in Hela's prison, it mostly includes conversations. The fifth chapter is the pilot chapter, polished a bit, and the sixth is where it picks up speed. I wanted to get the initial parts out of the way.

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???????

Jason woke up with a quiet groan, reaching for the glass of water that should have been on his night stand. He searched for it, eyes closed, but only touched cold stone. Speaking of stone, his bed felt like it as well.

He pushed himself up, sitting, bleary eyes opening to see what was happening.

He rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the mist. No matter how much he rubbed, it stayed, though.

"Shit, did I drink too much?" he asked himself. His hands and body were visible, as was his immediate area. Beyond it, however, everything was misty. He tried to think as to where he could be. It certainly wasn't anywhere near New York that he knew of.

He slapped on his pockets, finding his phone still on him. He turned it on, ready to call his friends or the emergency services.

No signal.

He took a deep breath to not panic. He was in a foreign place. There was no signal, no one in sight and no way to know where to go.

He raised his hands to the sides of his mouth. "Hello? Anyone there?" he called out. This wasn't a prank by his friends. They were as hammered as he was. He also wasn't important enough to be kidnapped. Much less abandoned in this place.

Something else was going on.

Now that he shouted, the silence in the air was very noticeable. He couldn't hear any kind of animal. The air appeared cold, but he felt nothing. Every direction looked the same, misty, so he just walked forward. He counted every step, searching for anything that might give him a clue.

He continued to walk, seeing nothing for hundreds of steps. He still kept counting to have a sense of direction. More than three thousand steps later, he saw green blobs ahead. They looked like sediment floating in stale water, but it was better than nothing.

"Excuse me? Is anyone there?" Jason asked. It was risky to make his position known when he had no idea what the hell was going on, but his options were extremely limited. There was no reply, so he continued on the path. It was the only difference among the endless mist, and it warranted investigation.

The closer he got, the more lifeless everything became.

He stopped, three steps away from the curtain of globs, searching for a way in without touching anything. He was curious, but he knew better than to just touch a random substance that was going against the laws of physics.

He marked the location he was in by leaving his phone there and walked around the curtain. It was circular, converging into a dome at the top, and he ended up where he began.

That was when the globs moved aside like a beaded curtain.

A figure, dressed in a dark, leathery full-body suit that was torn in places, came out. She had long, damp hair that was as dark as her clothing and green eyes with either really dark bags or concealer that had been ruined. Jason got the goosebumps from merely looking at her.

She inspected him like one might inspect a bug.

"You are not Aesir," she said, walking closer to him. Jason wanted to turn, to make an excuse and run, but he was rooted on the spot. He tried to slow his breath, but every gulp of air felt lacking.

"A-aesir?" Jason asked. His stutter brought a smile to her face.

"Here I thought someone from Asgard stumbled here by accident or on purpose, but it is a Midgardian of all people. How disappointing," she said. She flicked her hand, and a dark, metallic sword appeared out of nowhere. She began to circle him like a wolf, ready to pounce any second.

Jason flinched but still couldn't move. "You are from Asgard? Like Odin, Thor, Loki, Ragnarok and all that?" he asked. His mind raced at the implications.

What the hell had happened to land him in this place?!

Hela stopped. "Odin and Ragnarok, yes, not the other two," she said. "Though I am curious, how would a Midgardian know of Ragnarok?" They were living in mud huts; last time she had seen one. By this man's clothing, they had obviously advanced quite a bit.

He still should not know anything about Ragnarok.

"We have myths about Ragnarok and the gods. It describes how Asgard is destroyed and a new world is born from the ashes," Jason said.

"Do they have any about me?" she asked.

Jason looked at her again. A name came to his mind, but he wasn't certain. "Who are you?"

"I am Hela, Goddess of Death and rightful heir to Asgard's throne," she said.

He swallowed the saliva in his mouth, but it did not soothe his drying throat. "Uhh, they do, but apparently we got some things wrong."

"Do tell," she said, looking down at him. Now that she was closer, she was taller than him by a head.

Jason's throat bobbed. "The myths say you are the daughter of the trickster god Loki and the giantess Angrboda. You have siblings, Fenrir the giant wolf and Jormungandr the World Serpent."

"Fenris was my mount; I had never heard of any of the other names," Hela said.

"You were banished by Odin because prophecies foretold Loki's children would bring ruin to Asgard and the gods. One side of your face was healthy, while the other was that of a rotting corpse. When Ragnarok begins, you send your army of the dead to aid Loki," Jason continued.

"All wrong except the part being banished by Odin," she said, twirling her blades again. "Amusing, as expected, but worthless."

"I can figure it out," Jason said. "I am a clever guy. I just need time."

"Do tell me about Loki and the others. If I continue to find your tales amusing, I might just spare you," Hela said. The Midgardian wasn't worth the trouble of killing, but she did enjoy the smell of fear.

She also would keep him alive to see if whatever had landed him in her prison would do something similar again.

Jason nodded, playing along until he could figure out what to do.

—

The myths did amuse her. Especially the parts concerning Odin, Baldur and Thor's deaths and Loki giving birth to a horse.

"Last time I was in your realm, the Midgardians were walking over one another to prostrate before us. You don't seem particularly religious," Hela said. She had expected him to bow and beg for forgiveness in that amusingly pathetic way the primitives like his kind did.

The Midgardian was terrified but didn't even consider appeasing her to save his life.

"It's been centuries since anyone worshipped the Aesir. We consider you myths, tales created by humans to explain natural phenomena. We even have computer games about you," Jason said, adding the last part as a distraction.

"Games?" she asked, raising a single, sharp eyebrow.

"There is God of War: Ragnarok," Jason said. He had played the game, and perhaps Odin's fate in the game would amuse her more.

—

"Hmm," she said. "Sounds intriguing, but I know the Greeks. None of them can hope to defeat Odin." Still, it was amusing to hear that there was a human game where Odin had died in a humiliating, brutal manner and denied an afterlife to boot. She would look into it.

"As I said, it's just a game created for amusement and profit," Jason said. It had bought him time, and she was still in a light mood.

"Can I ask why you were banished?" he asked. He didn't know how long she was imprisoned here, but the chance to speak about it might give her a reason to not kill him.

"Because I tried to kill Odin and take Asgard's throne," Hela said. "I was Odin's weapon in his conquest to build Asgard's empire. I brought him countless victories, and one day, out of the blue, he decided to become a peaceful and benevolent god."

"You disagreed," Jason said. He was sure aliens existed. Just imagining humanity as the sole intelligent race in the entire galaxy, and the universe for that matter, sounded arrogant.

He had not expected the said aliens to be the Scandinavian gods.

"All I know is war and bloodshed because he made his executioner and general," Hela said. He saw

Jason wanted to say he was sorry, to relay his condolences, but thought better. Hela was prideful and dangerous. He might lose his head if she misunderstood his intention as pity.

"Not going to say anything?"

"What do I even know to comment on your circumstances?"

"Perhaps you are actually clever."

"Run me through your myths about Ragnarok again. Don't leave out anything," she said. His knowledge appeared useless, but in this prison, she had more time than she knew what to do with.

Even a sliver of knowledge could prove useful.

"Loki tricks the blind god Hödr to kill Baldr with mistletoe, the only thing capable of harming Baldr. Loki is then caught and bound in chains with the venom of a serpent dripping on his eyes, which, what the humans believed, caused earthquakes."

"I should kill him if he actually exists," Hela said.

"Then Fimbulvetr, a three-year-long winter, follows. It brings fierce blizzards, freezing winds and total darkness due to the fall of the sun. Society collapses and the human world falls into chaos as a result. Giant wolves Sköll and Hati, who chase the sun and moon, managed to catch and devour both, plunging the cosmos into darkness."

"Useless, but it is amusing what a wild imagination your ancestors had."

"Fenris and Jormungandr break free, as does Loki, who captains Naglfar, a ship built from the toenails of the dead and carries the legions of Hel into battle," Jason explained, followed by mentioning the three roosters that alert the giants, the Aesir and the dishonoured dead.

"Surtur marches the sons of Muspelheim across Bifrost, and it shatters beneath their weight."

"They all gather at the vast plain of Vígríðr. Heimdal sounds the Gjallarhorn to summon Odin, the Aesir and the Einherjar."

The rest was the duels. Odin was swallowed by Fenris, who was then killed by Víðarr. Thor kills Jormungandr but dies nine steps later due to the venom. Freyr and Surtr duel, but Freyr is slain as he gives up his sword for the love of giantess Gerðr. Heimdall and Loki kill each other, as do Tyr and Garmr.

Surtr flings fire across the Nine Realms and burns Yggdrasil. The blackened earth sinks beneath the chaotic ocean before its eventual rebirth.

—

"Did any of it sound useful?"

"Not one bit."

"As I said, we obviously got a lot of things wrong."

"How did you arrive here?" Hela asked.

"I have no idea. I went to sleep last night and woke up here."

"Your people still thought us mere myths, and you ended up in one of the two realms that receive no visitors with no idea as to how? I sense foul play," she said. She sensed no lies from the human, and he certainly did not have the power to travel between the realms.

Someone or something had sent this human to Hel.

"What were you doing before you slept?"

"It was Christmas, so I and my friends got together and got drunk. Then I went home, fell asleep and woke up here."

"Christmas?"

"It's a religious celebration that has become a global cultural event in most parts of the world. For the less religious people, it's a holiday to gather together, strengthen bonds and give gifts."

"Take me where you appeared," she said. If something could pierce through Odin's seals to depose this clueless man here, she might be able to use it to escape.

Jason nodded, not trusting his voice any longer. He walked back from where he had left his phone, counting the steps as he did.

—

"Should be somewhere around here. Everything looks the same, so I can't be certain about the exact location."

She pushed past him, holding her hand out like she was grasping something invisible to his eyes. Hela scanned the area, trying to sense anything that might have disturbed the seals.

She lowered her hand, walking back. "You are proving to be a waste of time so far," she said. There was nothing at all.

The seals were powered by Odin's life force. Had he, in his senility, sent this man here? A Midgardian mortal who had no idea what he had stepped into?

Unlikely.

But then how was he here?

"As I said, I can figure it out," Jason said. His life depended on it.

Hela turned her head halfway back, a coy smirk on her face. "Ragnarok is already averted. Odin slew Surtur long ago and took the source of his power."

"He did?" Jason said. His only bargaining chip seems to have gone down the proverbial drain.

"Yes. The Eternal Flame rests in Asgard's vault," Hela said.

"What does it do exactly?" Jason asked.

"It's a source of inextinguishable power. I mainly use it to resurrect the dead."

He blinked. "So it can resurrect anything?"

"Yes," Hela said with a dismissive note, tired of the questions.

"Including Surtur?" Jason asked.

Hela stopped, whirling on him with one sharp twist. "He is dead."

"Exactly," Jason said.

"What are you insinuating, mortal?" she asked, getting uncomfortably close to Jason's face.

"Does Surtur have any way of reaching Asgard?" Jason asked.

"Asgard's location is kept secret. Only by Bifrost can it be reached, and Surtur, who is dead, has no way of reaching Asgard."

"But what if the corpse is brought to Asgard?" Jason asked.

"Possible, but tell me, why would anyone do that?" she asked. Heimdall was not stupid enough to let Surtur's corpse in Bifrost, but there were ways to deceive his eyes.

"Loki might. He is a giant and is spiteful," Jason said.

She scoffed, almost like a wolf snarling against a threat. "Provided he is not merely a figment of your ancestors' imagination."

"How long have you been imprisoned here?" Jason asked.

"Fifteen hundred years, give or take."

"That's a long time for humans. Isn't it possible that he might have come into the picture while you were here?"

She wanted to say no but couldn't. Fifteen hundred years was a considerable amount of time. Anything could have happened. "Could be."

"Then there is a possible individual with the motive and the means to bring Surtr's corpse to Asgard. Any idea what your father did with the corpse?" Jason asked, cursing his loose tongue.

"Odin", Hela said with a hiss, "left it to rot in Muspelheim." Her sneer washed away as the implications settled in. What the human said was not certain but possible. Their myths had several names that she knew, even if the relations were all wrong.

The general in her heart, the one who had to consider every threat and act in accordance, could not dismiss this so easily. Not until she was out of her prison and had stepped foot in Asgard.

"What did you say your name was?" Hela asked. She would keep this human alive for now.

"Jason Venher," he said.

—
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In the next chapter:

Days passed in silence, and Hela was about to lose it. The Midgardian slept and kept playing with something. Isolation was dangerous to the mind. As creatures who required contact with their kin, lacking that stimulus should have had him hallucinating about the ghosts of his ancestors.

She had to learn how to ignore everything, even her own thoughts, to preserve her mind. But the mortal was somehow in good health.



Curious about the next chapter? Please consider supporting me on Patreon.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories, you can read up to 15 chapters in advance per story on my Patreon page / patreon.com/Samael61.

Who doesn't love a power couple where two individuals bring their collective strengths together in harmony? If you do, check out my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.

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Hel

"So, uh, I guess there is nothing to eat around here?" Jason asked offhandedly. Hela was silent for the last few hours after she led him back to the dome. He had managed to learn that they were currently in Hel. He was naturally weary about the place that should have been where the souls of the dead, neither honored nor dishonored, should have been.

According to Hela, it was a realm with a breathable atmosphere but no fauna, leaving it quite worthless except as a prison.

He praised himself for managing to not get killed. He hoped she was contemplating his words and it would keep her too busy to kill him.

"This dome keeps everything in it in a state of cellular suspension. You won't get hungry, thirsty, or tired," Hela said. Her lips twitched but she schooled her features.

"Very impressive," he said.

Her lips twitched again, this time more prominent. "I am aware."

"Any idea how to get out of here?" Jason asked. He was gauging her responses, trying to find the sweet spot of how much he could ask before it got too dangerous.

"When Odin dies, I shall be free. You will come with me to see if your knowledge is worth anything," Hela said. The mortal's words and hypothesis made too much sense to be ignored. The truth, though, awaited her at Asgard.

"Any idea when that's going to happen?"

"Not long, a few months at least," Hela said. She could feel Odin's life force fade each day. Soon, she would be set free.

"What is Asgard like?"

Jason saw the way the veins in her neck bulged for a moment, like fault lines ready to crack. "Unless it is a matter about Ragnarok, be quiet."

"Okay," Jason said. He pulled out his phone, checking the battery. For the last four hours, it was at forty percent and did not go down. Fortunately, he had uploaded some games that did not require an internet connection to play. He opened one of the pixel art RPG games he had. He could not do anything else with the phone anyway. If this dome kept the batter from going down, at least he wouldn't be bored out of his mind.

Hela was meditating to keep her mind empty to stave off the effects of isolation. She wouldn't lower herself to conversing with the Midgardian unless it concerned Ragnarok.

—

Hours later by her internal count, the Midgardian still hadn't made a peep. She assumed it was out of fear but wondered how he intended to keep his sanity intact.

She cracked an eye open.

The Midgardian was lying face down, supported by his arms, looking at something she could not see. She saw the way his muscles tensed as his fingers worked. A sliver of curiosity crossed her mind, but she returned to her meditation.

The Midgardian's actions couldn't be important enough for her.

—

Days passed in silence, and Hela was about to lose it. The Midgardian slept and kept playing with something. Isolation was dangerous to the mind. As creatures who required contact with their kin, lacking that stimulus should have had him hallucinating about the ghosts of his ancestors.

She had to learn how to ignore everything, even her own thoughts, to preserve her mind. But the mortal was somehow in good health.

"What are you doing?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" Jason said, turning to her. He flinched, dropping his phone as he remembered who she was. He was able to put her presence to the back of his mind since she wasn't going to speak to him.

"I was playing a game," he said, snatching his phone off the ground. He got to his feet, feeling like a child caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

"A game?" Hela asked. What game would the insipid mortal be able to play here?

He showed her the phone, where the game was still running.

"What even is that device?" she asked. She had seen it before but had not bothered to ask.

"It's a mobile phone. They started as devices to communicate across long distances, but they can do a lot more these days," Jason said.

"Such as?"

"You can play games, listen to music, watch movies, and a million other things."

"Music?" she asked, her voice rising an octave.

"It needs to be connected to the internet, our network of communication. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll get a signal here," Jason said. He didn't download any either.

Hela looked at the screen. A crude image of a man, nothing more than colored blocks put together, was holding an equally blocky sword, one that wouldn't be able to cut a fruit, much less flesh.

Her body moved as if to walk forward, but she went stiff, putting an end to the motion before it could become a reality. She was not about to interact with the human, even if her curiosity was piqued.

She went back into her meditation. Ignoring her thoughts was suddenly more difficult, as if they were rebelling against her.

—

"How do you play this game?" Hela asked. After another week spent in silence, the prospect of doing anything sounded better than meditating, even if it meant she had to interact with the mortal.

Jason's mind overclocked at the question. Hela seemed to have an innate apathy for mortals. It was akin to seeing a fly that you didn't do anything about unless it bothered you. He understood it to a degree, even if it was humiliating. She was older than most countries on Earth. She was the general of a highly successful galactic war of conquest, according to her words at least, when humanity didn't even know if there was life outside their star system.

They were inconsequential to her.

Her interest probably stemmed from boredom rather than a desire to interact with him. Still, he could use the opportunity to earn some brownie points.

"Here," he said, handing the phone to her. She took it, careful not to apply too much strength and break the device. He instructed her on how to fight and explore the randomly generated dungeons, equipment, buffs, etcetera. She only needed to hear everything once, and in an hour, she was already playing better than he was.

—

"And you play these games for entertainment?" she asked. She had fought in countless battles, but she could no longer recall the exact number. This game did not give her any pleasure, but it was a way to kill time.

"Mostly. There are people who make a living from this too," he said.

"Is this the only one you have?"

"No, but the rest needs an internet connection."

She continued to play without a reply, and he continued to watch her.

—

She beat the game in six hours and started a new, harder mode.

"Can I ask something?" Jason asked. She had not shown any outward hostility while playing with his phone.

"Speak," she replied, eyes glued on the screen.

"You said Odin decided to become a benevolent king one day. Did he really give you no reason?" he asked.

Her finger hovered over the attack button. She waited with silence that eclipsed the nature of this planet.

"He simply said there must come a time when the weapons must be put down in favor of peace," she said.

"What will you do after you are free?"

She pressed the pause button, a sharp smirk on her face. "Why? Concerned for your realm?"

"Kind of," Jason said. He wondered why they hadn't conquered Earth in the first place. Was it because they were too backwards at the time and not worth the effort?

"I intend to finish what Odin was too weak to do. I will forge an empire even greater than his. If the rest of the Midgardians are as clever as you, they will surrender without a fight," Hela said. The Midgardians had advanced quite a bit while she was imprisoned. It would be wrong to assume anything about an entire race based on a single subject, but Midgard would be conquered one way or the other.

"Why do you want to create an empire, though? Glory, wealth, fame, power, or just for the sake of it?" Jason asked. The way to dissuade her was to understand her. Why did she want an empire?

"Because that is all I know," Hela said. Her earliest memories were training for war, learning how to rule an empire and to command armies. It was her entire life and purpose.

"Then why not learn something new?" Jason asked. Odin was an even more horrible parent than he assumed at first.

"Such as?" Hela asked.

"I don't know, and that is the best part. You'll live for thousands of years more. You have virtually limitless time to discover what you want to do with your life," he said. Maybe she could take up less aggressive hobbies, like painting or gardening.

"I want to conquer the cosmos," she said with a flat, no-nonsense tone.

"You hate Odin, but why do you insist on continuing to be the person he made you to be?" Jason asked. He was walking in a minefield. It didn't take him long to realize she wasn't going to kill him for the fun of the game. But pushing her in this manner, to make her confront her own issues?

That could get him killed.

"I hate Odin who decided to give up on everything we built, not the warrior who brought realm after realm to their knees," Hela said. The way Odin burned down entire armies with Odinforce was engraved on her mind.

"They are the same person. Somewhere along the line, he made a decision, and your paths diverged," Jason said. The air suddenly became thick with something he could not describe. He felt himself choke.

"Are you going to advise me, mortal," she sneered, her green eyes taking a venomous hue, "to give up fighting just as Odin did?"

"No. I can only ask you one thing: how do you know war and bloodshed are what you want if you never tried another path in life?" Jason asked, rubbing his throat to soothe the uncomfortable feeling.

She raised her, fingers spread like claws, ready to grab his face. The answer was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't utter it. She couldn't declare that it was fate, for she never believed it, or that it was her decision, because it was all she knew.

His words struck a chord she didn't know existed.

"The decision you made isn't to continue where Odin gave up. It is to continue living as you always had," he said.

"Enough!" she said, face contorting into a snarl. "Your pathetic words will not change anything. I made the realms tremble in fear before your ancestors were even a speck in the genetic pool. What do you know to ask me that question?!" The force of her voice shook the curtain of necro energy around them. The globes quivered, like egg yolks about to be split open.

Her face was livid, a volcano ready to cook him alive in the lava or a wolf that was about to tear him apart. He didn't avert his gaze. Hela respected strength, and if he backed down, she would dismiss everything he had said.

Or kill him, but it was a risk he had to take.

"I think what you want to do is to continue this path out of spite. I know that when you are out of here, Odin will be dead and gone. Unless you intend to resurrect him, he will suffer no consequences or see his legacy be burnt down to the ground," Jason said.

The reason behind Hela's desire to return to the old days was twofold: to hurt Odin and resist the change that had come.

"There is nothing you can do to hurt him," Jason said.

She lowered her hand. She didn't know which part was more deplorable. Being disseminated by a mortal or the truth of his words.

"And what if I am certain that is what I want?" she asked.

"Then it depends on why you want to be a conqueror. You are the Goddess of Death; I am sure you can conquer any planet you want. What about the aftermath?" he asked. "People, whose sons and fathers you killed, won't take kindly to your rule. They will resist, fight, and rebel."

"If I have to kill everyone to have my empire, then that is what I will do," Hela said. Those words lit a spark in her eyes, one that would consume an entire world.

"Everyone?" he asked.

"Every single person who gets in my way," she said. She had done it before. Odin's executioner was both the carrier of his will and the blade that severed the heads of his enemies. She had executed those who stood in the path of Asgard's ascension. She would do so again.

"You will be hated, and there will come a time where dying will sound better than living under your rule. At that point, you'll have an empire of corpses and, well, how is it going to be any better than this?" Jason asked, waving his hands around. "Even if you manage to sterilize the entire galaxy of life, you will only have another prison, one just far grander in scale."

"You presume too much," Hela said. Enough deaths and the survival instincts would win. She would simply cull the disobedient parts of the population.

Which were easier said than done.

"Does that mean it never happened?" Jason asked. Asgard would have to have one hell of a development program for the conquered planets to pacify the population.

If not, then they were going to spend more time putting down rebellions than conquering.

Hela was a warrior, a killer, an executioner, a general, a daughter, a princess, and many more things. What she was not was a liar. Deceiving the enemy for victory was acceptable. Deceiving one's own self because one did not wish to hear something only served to weaken.

Many planets had resisted Asgard. They had fallen, but the internal strife and hatred carried by the natives did not disappear. Rebellions, sabotages, and more were always prevalent. Executions and other methods to discourage the population from rising against Asgard had mixed success.

Odin had always acted cautious, never going too far in their attempts to quell the uprisings. They had to be feared, not hated. Otherwise, the enemy would never stop.

"Enough of this," she said. She gave Jason his phone back by slapping it on his chest. He let out an "omph," feeling the pain. She returned to her spot, legs crossed, eyes closed, cut off from the outer world.

He walked to the edge of the dome, laying on his arm to continue playing. As an outside observer, it was easy to realize where Hela's problems derived from. The difficult part was to make her realize and then accept that it was not healthy. He didn't know why he was on this planet, but what he knew was that if Hela was not stopped, the chaos that would follow would be unimaginable.

—
​

In the next chapter:

"Let us assume I truly think conquest is what I want. Tell me, mortal, how would you go about it in a way that wouldn't incite rebellion?" Hela asked.

She had been quiet for the last two weeks, and he didn't have the courage to disturb her. His only source of sanity, his mobile game, was getting repetitive and boring. Whatever was going on in her mind, she seemed ready to speak now and he welcomed it.

"Honestly, our leaders are horrible people. They are elected because there are enough voters who are dumb or simply hateful. If you came to Earth and said you were going to kill the pedophiles, the religious extremists, the fascists, and the like in charge, take over Earth to give us basic rights like housing, I wouldn't mind. I mean, back in my country, we are basically ruled by corporations, billionaires, and foreign lobbies who pay off our leaders and lawmakers. It would also get you a solid support base," Jason said. There were enough people suffering that the chance for a better life would be worth serving this alien invader.



Curious about the next chapter? Please consider supporting me on Patreon.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories, you can read up to 15 chapters in advance per story on my Patreon page / patreon.com/Samael61.

Who doesn't love a power couple where two individuals bring their collective strengths together in harmony? If you do, check out my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.

—
​

Hel

"Let us assume I truly think conquest is what I want. Tell me, mortal, how would you go about it in a way that wouldn't incite rebellion?" Hela asked.

She had been quiet for the last two weeks, and he didn't have the courage to disturb her. His only source of sanity, his mobile game, was getting repetitive and boring. Whatever was going on in her mind, she seemed ready to speak now and he welcomed it.

"Honestly, our leaders are horrible people. They are elected because there are enough voters who are dumb or simply hateful. If you came to Earth and said you were going to kill the pedophiles, the religious extremists, the fascists, and the like in charge, take over Earth to give us basic rights like housing, I wouldn't mind. I mean, back in my country, we are basically ruled by corporations, billionaires, and foreign lobbies who pay off our leaders and lawmakers. It would also get you a solid support base," Jason said. There were enough people suffering that the chance for a better life would be worth serving this alien invader.

"Across the entire realm or just in your country?" Hela asked. Midgard was just one world among countless others. Not every single one would be suffering and would accept the arrival of a conqueror to solve their issues. Not that she had any interest in being a savior.

"There are a hundred and ninety-seven countries. Females don't have proper rights in several. They are basically sex slaves in places like Afghanistan. The housing crisis affects three billion people, and the governments don't find a solution because it is not profitable. Wages aren't enough because the rich want to get richer, nature is being ruined in the name of progress, there is a global warming crisis that will devastate the planet and…"

Hela raised a hand, stopping his tirade that was getting heated. "Enough. I suddenly don't want to have anything to do with your realm," she said. Midgard was obviously on a self-destructive path. There was no sense in conquering it.

"Didn't you have any plans for pacifying the local populations? Developmental projects and all that?" Jason asked.

"No. Everything was done for Asgard's glory and wealth. Those realms did not matter," Hela said. In retrospect, she realized it wasn't a good idea. A more logical approach would have included developmental projects as the Midgardians asked.

"You would have to give them a better life than the previous one. Living under your rule would have to be attractive, which would involve work. A lot of it," Jason said. If the only thing Asgard did was to exploit the worlds they conquered, perhaps Odin had given up because he had grown tired of the constant rebellions.

Hela went back to her meditation.

—

The mortal's words had substance behind them. It had been a month since she found the human, and she had come to realize that, for a man with not even a tenth of her life experience, he was surprisingly insightful.

She never considered the idea of giving the natives of the conquered realms a better life because they did not matter. They paid their tithe, and their dead became just another number in her horde, to be released on the next realm to terrorize the population and thin the ranks of the enemy soldiers.

Odin had kept them in control. She analyzed her memories, coming to the conclusion that Odin had indeed struck a balance. He was more feared than he was hated. As long as the populations stayed like that, the uprisings at large never materialized.

She was left to deal with the few disobedient natives who had lost too much.

She could find that balance as well, but it was not what occupied her mind. For the first time in her life, someone had asked her if the path of war, bloodshed, and glory was what she wanted.

Something Odin had not done.

When her control over the dead manifested itself, Odin had seen a weapon. Asgard's population could not match that of the other realms. Every dead Einherjar was a blow they could not recover from so easily. But with the Eternal Flame and Goddess of Death to guide the resurrected dead, quantity was not an issue.

Her opinion had never been a matter of consideration.

The mortal's words plagued her mind like a virulent disease. It gnawed at her thoughts every unoccupied second. The question was always there; she had simply never acknowledged its existence. Now that she had, doubt began to creep into her resolve like drops from a leaky ceiling.

She couldn't cause any pain to Odin, only spit at his legacy. Would that bring her satisfaction, though?

What even brought her satisfaction in the first place? Fighting?

She shook her head.

Most enemies she killed weren't worthy warriors. The source of her strength was Asgard. Only Odin could stop him. Everyone else would just die tired.

Killing?

It served a purpose, but it wasn't the purpose itself. She killed because Odin demanded it. She fought because Odin desired it.

When was the last time she had done something for herself?

Even her attempt to take Asgard's throne was to continue doing what Odin had taught her. Could it truly be described as her desire?

—

"Before you found yourself here, what was your purpose in life?" Hela asked. She had spent the last week in an attempt to find an answer. She had come up empty-handed. If the Midgardian was so insightful about one's purpose in life, what was his?

"To have fun and be helpful. A life well lived is a life well spent. That's what I believe. I enjoy playing games and taking walks in nature while listening to music and learning obscure facts about myths and history, which is where what I know comes from. I work, of course, since nothing's free, but I make sure to have time for my life too," Jason said.

The thought of being so idle was foreign to her. "You are satisfied with so little?" It could be tied to the difference in lifespan, but she couldn't live without motion.

"It is little to you, not to me," Jason said. A century was a lifetime to him, but not even a tenth of the time she was imprisoned so far. The disparity was not something either could see through the eye of the other and understand.

Hela crossed her arms, unable to imagine herself playing purposeless games and taking walks for leisure. Every action she had taken was for a purpose. Otherwise, what was the point?

"Is there nothing you enjoyed other than war?" Jason asked. Each conversation made him more aware just how deep Odin's horrible parenting had gone.

He waited for her answer with a bated breath.

"Hunting," she said after a stretched-out, uncomfortable silence. It was the first and the only answer that came to her mind. "Whenever there was a lull in the campaign and I found time from my duties, Fenris and I used to travel the realms in search of prey."

He was relieved but did not dare show it.

"What did you enjoy about it?" he asked. This was an angle he could work through.

"I am not certain," she said. They were good times, she realized now. Her actions still had a purpose then. The hunt served to keep their skills sharp and fill their bellies with fresh game.

"You said Fenris was your mount, right?" he asked. He was not going to question how Earth had gotten it all so wrong. What mattered was for Hela to work through her emotions.

"A wolf, large enough to swallow a man whole. I raised him from a cub, and he has been by my side for as long as I can remember," Hela said. Not counting the dead she had raised to serve her, Fenris was the only one truly loyal to her.

"You care about him," Jason said. It meant Hela had at least one being she showed affection to.

"Of course I do," she replied.

"Did you care about anyone else like Fenris before you were sent here?" he asked.

"No," she said curtly. No name came to her mind.

"Not even him?" Jason asked at the risk of earning her ire.

The place where her upper lips connected to the sides of her nose rose in hatred. "He was more my king than my father."

"Is it possible that you enjoyed hunting with Fenris because it made the one being you cared about so closely happy?" Jason asked. It was obvious to him but obviously not to her.

Hela's eyes fluttered at the question. "Yes," she said with an inflectionless tone, her mind too occupied with the understanding dawning on her. Fenris wasn't some mindless animal that she rode into battle. He was… family, in a way Odin never was.

"What was your occupation on Midgard?" Hela asked. Was he a mental healer? Someone meant to ask the questions that people were too uncaring to ask?

"I am, or rather was, a community outreach worker. I dealt with people from all kinds of backgrounds," Jason said. He did it to help people who had come from rough backgrounds, like him.

"Is that where your philosophical conundrums come from?" she asked. She had learned philosophy to a degree, but the bulk of her education was to learn how to rule, lead, and kill.

"That's from me being an orphan. I struggled with who I was until adulthood. Finding an answer hasn't been easy," Jason said. He was fine with sharing his past with her. It would make it easier for her to speak about what bothered her.

"Did you?" she asked.

"I am just a guy trying to enjoy his life. I didn't have any grander aspirations than helping people like me before I found myself here," Jason said.

She chuckled, but it was an empty sound. "And now you aspire to prevent me from doing what I was made to do."

"Just trying to help you figure out who you are," Jason said.

"While hoping it will stop me," she said.

"Yes," he replied with a shrug.

"Tell me more about your world. Even if it is too rotten to conquer, I want to know what kind of an environment created you," she ordered, sitting down again, her hair covering half of her face.

"Uhh, sure," he said, sitting across her.

—

Jason wondered how much of what Hela was telling was the truth. She wasn't necessarily an evil figure in the myths, simply the ruler of the dead, neither honored nor dishonored. There was no torture for the wicked, and she did not take pleasure in battle. At least, as much as the myths went.

She had no reason to bother lying to him, perhaps out of a sick amusement of deceiving someone. Even that was a stretch because she meditated more than she talked to him.

He had seen media where the mythological gods were in truth aliens. But how much of that applied here?

He went to sleep, wondering what he would have to do next time when she deigned to speak to him.

—

"The educational system of your country seems inefficient. Why did they even teach you what your kind considered myths when they didn't teach you how to pay your taxes?" Hela asked.

A self-reported tax system where the government makes you calculate and file your own taxes, often using information it already has, and then penalizes you if you get the calculation wrong was not only inefficient but also foolish. In addition, most of the nation did not even properly teach how to pay the taxes.

She wondered how the Midgardians did not destroy themselves yet.

"They didn't teach myths either. One of the people I spoke to on a regular basis during my sessions was a young man. He was obsessed with myths and fantasy. To keep his attention, I gave him time to speak about what he liked, and in return, he listened to me. After a lot of repetition, I became a somewhat expert," Jason said.

Hela said nothing, taking her meditative pose again. After every session, she seemed more agitated, constantly squirming during her meditations.

"Is it not helping?" Jason asked.

"No. Thanks to you," Hela said. The Midgardian was… clever. She would not have considered listening to his words otherwise.

In the short time that passed since he intruded on her prison, he had somehow proven himself to be too useful to kill. Whether it would stay that way once they were out, she would wait and see.

"Is there anything I can do to be of service?" Jason asked. He wanted to help her, but wording it that way would invite trouble.

Hela opened her eyes. "Do you know how to fight?"

"I don't," he said. At least, not like her. "But if it helps, why don't you show me?"

"You want me to teach you how to fight?" she asked. The thought brought a smile to her face. Not the teaching part but the chance to swing her blade against a live opponent.

The mortal was not an opponent, but it was infinitely better than nothing.

"What do you have to lose? Time?" Jason asked. He was not going to get tired, and he trusted the thousands of years old goddess of death to not maim him by accident.

She tilted her head to the left, rising with the grace of a feline. Two blades flashed into her hands, and she held one out. Her lop-sided grin sent shivers down his spine.

She looked like a cat ready to play with a mouse.

This had been a mistake, he realized. Letting her teach him something was a great way to help her open up more. When the other side was in charge, they felt more at ease, and it made them more proactive.

Whether it would work on the person who clearly had the upper hand in all conceivable parts of their acquaintance remained to be seen.

He took the sword, holding it at a forty-five-degree incline. He wrapped his fingers around the handle tight enough his knuckles whitened.

The handle was black and had a spiral that shrunk towards the end, connecting to a tail fin-shaped pommel. A hand above where the grayish blade met the handle, two upwards protrusions with sharp tips acted as the guard. The metal narrowed until it reached a section with a starry hole in the middle and narrowed even further before it connected to a spearhead-like tip.

"Don't hold it so tightly," Hela said. "You will not tire here, but outside the dome, your arm will be useless in quick order."

Jason slacked his grip until she nodded. She proceeded to instruct him in basic stances and how to properly swing a sword. He could see that she took joy in knocking him around, but if it kept her frustrations from bottling up, he was fine with it.

—
​

In the next chapter:

"Enough for now," Hela said. The mortal would have to rest to internalize his training before she considered continuing. "I have a question: how does one find their purpose in life?"

"By living," Jason said.

Hela's look was drier than the bucket of activities to do on Hel. "That better not be the extent of your answer," she said.



Curious about the next chapter? Please consider supporting me on Patreon.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories, you can read up to 15 chapters in advance per story on my Patreon page / patreon.com/Samael61.

Who doesn't love a power couple where two individuals bring their collective strengths together in harmony? If you do, check out my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.

—
​

Hel

"You are hopeless in this," Hela said, looking down at the Midgardian lying on the ground. A week and he had barely shown any improvement. She had thought his intellect would have eased the process, but it had not.

"I am still willing to go," Jason said. Hela was a strict instructor, and since he would not tire physically, she had pushed him as far as his mental health could handle. She had knocked him around like he was a toddler trying to learn how to walk and failing miserably due to neurological issues.

"Tenacious at least," Hela muttered. Training the mortal was only a single level above complete boredom. There were still a few months left until Odin perished and there were no signs of any breaches in the prison. The phenomenon that had brought the mortal to her prison had not repeated itself, and she had not seen anything that would indicate he was responsible.

By all means, she should have killed him.

She could not do it, not until she had answers to the questions his prodding had caused. Even then, she did not discard useful servants without a valid cause.

Asking questions that she did not like was not a good reason to kill him. Treachery and disobeying orders were not the only things, but the mortal appeared to possess enough self-preservation instincts to know better.

She was also his sole way out of this accursed rock.

Jason got to his feet. He would never defeat her, but the struggle kept her entertained, even if barely.

"Enough for now," Hela said. The mortal would have to rest to internalize his training before she considered continuing. "I have a question: how does one find their purpose in life?"

"By living," Jason said.

Hela's look was drier than the bucket of activities to do on Hel. "That better not be the extent of your answer," she said.

He raised his hands. "Life is full of opportunities. You get up in the morning and take a walk. You see a random flyer offering you the chance to climb a mountain. It intrigues you, and the next thing you know, you decide to spend your life doing extreme sports," he said. You can't know what life will throw at you if you never bother to look. "Or you just read poetry in an old book. It sticks with you, and you decide to write one yourself."

Hela frowned. The answers felt lacking to her.

"You can't know what you want to do with your life without living it first. It usually happens before most humans reach adulthood, but we only live for a century at most if we are lucky. You have thousands of years to travel the universe. I refuse to believe there won't be something that draws your attention. Something that you can devote yourself to," Jason added.

"Just as how you devote yourself to your pointless hobbies and your nauseatingly altruistic job," she said, visibly recoiling. Just imagining herself helping someone in that manner caused her empty stomach to protest.

"Yes, like that," Jason said. The differences in their lives were on a scale he could not measure. The fundamentals remained the same, though.

"I never truly have lived, have I? "she asked. A life where the choices were made for her wasn't a life she lived. Odin's weapon, Asgard's tool in conquest, but never just Hela.

"Not for yourself," Jason said.

She let out a dry chuckle devoid of humor. "Only for Odin and Asgard."

How pathetic was that?

"I wonder, should I just let Ragnarok happen? Destroy Odin's legacy and let him be forgotten by all?" she asked, more to herself.

"Won't that put you at risk?" Jason asked. Hela had opened up about Asgard, bit by bit. It was a planetoid connected to the Yggdrassil, which was a source of cosmic energy. Odin and Hela drew their powers straight from the core of Asgard.

"It will weaken me. As long as I leave Asgard before Surtur destroys it, I will live," she said. Maybe she could conquer another world while letting Asgard burn.

She didn't know what she wanted to do at all.

"Or you can show the people what a horrid father he is. Make him be remembered as a coward who was so ashamed of how he built his empire that he decided to imprison you here," Jason suggested.

"I will decide once I take what is rightfully mine," she said. At the least, she could sit on the throne and see what she felt.

"Is it easy? Being queen, I mean?" Jason asked. It could not be, of course, but Hela's answer wouldn't be to him but to herself.

"Of course not. It is a task that never has an end."

"Why do you want to do it then?" he asked, attacking her with all the strength he could muster. She had taught him to take advantage of every opportunity.

She didn't even bother looking at him as she deflected his swings.

He might as well have been an insect buzzing around her.

"Because it is what I am owed. I built the empire, as much as Odin had. It is mine," Hela said. A particularly nasty swing sent Jason stumbling back, weapon barely staying in his hands.

"But what if you decide you don't want to be a conqueror anymore? What will being the Queen of Asgard mean to you then?" Jason asked.

"I will have what Odin denied me," Hela said, twisting her blade. Jason's sword flew out of his hands, clanging on the stone floor. "Which is not going to affect him at all since he'll be dead," she said, realizing that once again, it was pointless.

What she wanted was to make Odin pay for everything he had done, but he would already be dead. Even if she resurrected him, which was debatable, she doubted her ability to exert any control over him.

"Offer me some wisdom, clever mortal. What should I do?" she asked.

There was a void in her gaze. She was out of options, he realized. It was a dangerous prospect. A person without anything to lose would burn the world if it meant there was something to be gained. Hela was already a master at killing.

She would put the entire Asgard to sword just to search for a purpose in the sea of blood.

"The pain and hatred you carry won't vanish because I gave you advice. You can only heal from it once you begin to live for yourself," Jason said. If only they were out of this place, perhaps he could show her a glimpse of it. There was only so much words could do.

"Here I am, the Goddess of Death with no idea how to live," Hela said. "I detest Odin, but his words before he banished me to this realm were right."

"What did he say?" Jason asked.

"No god should have dominion over death, who has so little appreciation for life," she said. The context Odin said the words in was different, but she saw them in a new light. Odin wanted her to stop killing, but once more, he had never told her to live.

"I mean, even a broken clock is right twice a day," Jason said.

Insulting Odin was a good way to get Hela to smile. It was the barest traces of a smile on her lips, but better than nothing.

"How about I take you on a trip on Earth? Show you the sights, the foods, and the activities. I don't know where your taste in literature leans, but I can show you some of my favorites. You might find them amusing too," Jason said.

"I suppose your kind would have moved on from writing prayers for gods from the time I last visited," she said. The change in subject was welcome.

"Enough with training," she said, and both swords vanished into nothingness. "Since you are good with words, prove yourself a good orator as well. Let us see how much your kind has advanced in arts."

—

He tried his best to narrate his favorite comics, books, and games. There were parts he was obviously lacking, but she had at least listened. Telling someone about comics rather than showing did not have the same effect, of course.

In return, she told him about Asgard a bit.

Owing to their long lives and space-faring capabilities, what was fiction to humans was reality for them. The Aesir could and had traveled across the Milkyway. They had done deeds that would be fictional legends for humanity.

Dragons and monsters slain for sport, deeds done for glory, fame, and necessity, and more. It was immortalized in Asgard's culture as plays, paintings, poetry, stories, and every other art form imaginable.

Hela was particularly fond of the murals on the ceiling of the throne room of the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf. It depicted the war that she had been so proud of.

Weeks passed as he kept her entertained with all the famous media from Earth.

As Odin's demise approached, Hela was more curious about Ragnarok and Midgard's myths. She wanted to go over the details repeatedly in the hopes they would discover something overlooked.

—

"Sleipnir is from a line of steeds specifically bred for the royal house, not a result of a debaucherous god mating with a horse," Hela said. It would be for Odin to send someone else to resolve a task he could not be bothered to.

Of course he wouldn't fall into such a disadvantageous position like that in the first place.

"Yeah, I got that much," Jason said.

"Still, it is amusing. If Loki exists, I will most certainly ask him if he has interest in horses in that manner," Hela said.

"In hindsight, it was probably because someone was high while making these up," Jason said. Mix in some magical mushrooms with medicinal plants in ale, and you have yourself a drink that will have you playing chess with God.

"High?" Hela asked.

"Under the influence of hallucinogenic mushrooms and plants," Jason clarified.

"Or the Midgardians have weird fantasies," Hela said.

"Depends on the person, but yes, definitely."

"And Thor has Mjolnir, my weapon, correct?" Hela asked.

Jason blinked twice, making sure he heard her correctly. "It was yours?"

"Yes, surprised?" Hela asked.

"I mean no offense, but you are like a wolf, precise and agile, not a brute. Wouldn't a sword be more useful?" Jason asked. It was like handing a DnD Rogue a warhammer, who did not have any proficiency in heavy weapons whatsoever.

"I am proficient in all manner of weaponry. Mjolnir is an old weapon as well. It was always carried by the next ruler of Asgard. Odin held it when he was a prince, and so did I as his heir," Hela said. Mjolnir was more of a focus to control her powers than a weapon she used actively.

"If Thor has it, then it means Odin made him the heir," Jason said. If Gungnir was the weapon of the king, it made sense for the heir to have a magical weapon to make his position clear.

"There is only so much power to be drawn from Asgard. Unless Odin passes it to Thor, there is no way he can hope to contend with me," Hela said. Between the two of them, they drew most of the energy. Her connection was blocked but not severed, still allowing her to sense the cosmic energies.

What remained for anyone else would be a pittance.

"And if he has?" Jason asked. What if Thor was stronger than Hela?

"Then perhaps I will start Ragnarok rather than let someone else have the throne," she said, her eyes alight with the fires of war. She might be wavering on the idea of conquest and taking the throne, but she didn't want Odin's legacy to continue either.

"Possible, but everything we talked about is just assumptions," Jason said. They needed to see the situation outside. Otherwise, Ragnarok might result in worse consequences.

"Not much time left now. Odin is almost gone. A couple more days at most," Hela said. Her heart, so used to the monotone life of her prison, felt heavy with anticipation. It felt as if her arteries were blocked and her heart was beating harder to compensate.

It was beautiful.

—

In a spiteful show of will, Odin had lived for another two weeks. With each day that passed, Hela became like a storm gathering in this distance, threatening to wreck the world in her fury.

He was trying his best, but neither the sole game on his phone nor his tales and way with the words was a solution. The day it happened, though, all the tension had washed out of Hela like a sudden rainfall.

—

She dispersed the dome without a word.

"Finally!" she said, hands squeezed hard enough that he was surprised she did not bleed. "Finally, I will be free."

Odin's life force was fading rapidly. Moments were left between her and freedom.

"What will you do now?" Jason asked. How much he could affect a goddess thousands of years old with his words, he didn't know. He had survived, certainly, and she was doubting many things concerning her life.

Where would it take her?

"See Asgard first and then decide. Depending on how it proceeds, you will be my advisor," Hela said.

"Me?" Jason asked, eyes bulging. His throat felt drier than barbecue charcoal. What could he advise her about besides what he already had?

"Yes. You called yourself clever, and you proved it when it comes to your words. Your short lifespan and occupation give you a perspective that I do not have. I am certain you will continue to prove yourself useful," she said with a smirk. The prospect made Jason nervous, which was a look she had not seen on his face in weeks.

It felt good.

"As you wish, Your Highness," Jason said. He wanted to say it with a more sarcastic tone, but he didn't want to push his luck.

"See? You are already learning," Hela said.

He had seen magic at her hands, and every time she did something, it amazed him. When a green tear—a portal—began to form in front of them, his jaw fell. It was the coolest thing he had seen. It was like a wound torn open in reality. It was far greater than seeing Hela create swords or the dome that kept him from dying.

His musings were cut short as Hela dragged him through.

—

Earth

Norway

Jason felt sick.

The fresh air and the sunlight were no cure to him. His body felt hot and cold at the same time. His stomach churned like the sea around them. He was hungry and ready to puke at the same time.

Obviously because his body was basically frozen in time for the last six months.

He raised his head, seeing two figures before them. A tense standoff took place, but he was too occupied with controlling his stomach to care.

—
​

In the next chapter:

Thor watched with an empty look as his father passed away, turning to a golden wave of energy, before disappearing to the skies.

"So, he is dead."

Both siblings turned around to face the owner of the female voice, most likely the person Odin had just warned them about.

A figure in glossy, dark, form-fitting garb with green accents and damage in several places stood there, hair dark as night, radiating a feeling of dread and death.



Curious about the next chapter? Please consider supporting me on Patreon.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories, you can read up to 15 chapters in advance per story on my Patreon page / patreon.com/Samael61.

Who doesn't love a power couple where two individuals bring their collective strengths together in harmony? If you do, check out my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.

—
​

Norway

Thor watched with an empty look as his father passed away, turning to a golden wave of energy, before disappearing to the skies.

"So, he is dead."

Both siblings turned around to face the owner of the female voice, most likely the person Odin had just warned them about.

A figure in glossy, dark, form-fitting garb with green accents and damage in several places stood there, hair dark as night, radiating a feeling of dread and death.

This person was dangerous, extremely so, and Thor was on edge. "Who are you?" he demanded, Mjolnir held tight in his hand, ready to strike should she prove to be hostile.

She merely grinned, reaching behind to pull someone out of the gate, and introduced herself, "Hela, the firstborn of Odin, the rightful heir of Asgard, and so on. I assume you are Thor, and you, Loki."

Thor blinked, hand wavering for a second as the implications settled in.

A sister?

"You know us?" Loki realized that she was imprisoned before Thor was born, as the knowledge that they had a sister was a recent one for both.

"Yes, I have been informed of your existence, though the exact nature of your connection to Odin was not clear," their sister smirked, pulling up her companion from the ground, who groaned in discomfort.

From his garb, he was most likely a Midgardian, though how or why he would be with Hela was a mystery.

"We are his sons," Thor was still wary, but his sister—and it felt truly unsettling to say that—had not taken any hostile actions.

He would give her the benefit of the doubt, for now.

"Adopted," Loki was quick to correct, and Hela's smirk widened.

"Would you happen to be a Jotun?"

Loki's finger twitched, and he hesitated. Even after everything that had happened, the number of people who knew he was a Jotun was just Thor and himself, so, "Yes, how did you…?"

"At least you weren't entirely wrong," She tapped the Midgardian on his temple with her knuckles, though the mortal was too weak to speak more than a sentence.

"There definitely is a discrepancy between the myths and the facts," the Midgardian grunted.

"What now?" So far, his father's worries over Hela seemed to be, while not entirely unfounded, not meeting the severity of his warning.

"I honestly don't know." Hela summoned a seat of black metal to sit down. "I had intended to kill anyone in my path and take Asgard's throne, but I am not sure if I even want it anymore."

At the least, they would not come to blows over the throne, though there was another matter to solve: "That is relieving to hear, but who is he?"

"My advisor, I suppose," She waved her hand, looking at the horizon where Odin had disappeared in a breeze of light.

"Hey," the mortal advisor waved his hand, pale as a corpse.

There was an awkward silence between the siblings, since neither knew what to do or say now.

Hela started by asking how Asgard was doing, scoffing upon hearing how peaceful and prosperous it was under the benevolent rule of the late King Odin.

When she explained that her siblings did not know Odin as she had, the mighty conqueror of the nine realms, both Thor and Loki found it hard to believe that their peace-loving father could be a bloodthirsty warlord.

He had gone as far as to banish his perfect son for almost starting a war with Jotunheim and always strived for peaceful solutions to the quarrels across the Nine Realms.

It had turned into a shouting match between Thor and Hela, and the Goddess of Death was getting angry, which did not bode well for her little brother.

"If I may," the mortal intervened as the gods were about to exchange blows, and interestingly enough, Hela held her blades back.

"Continue."

"Rather than standing here to discuss and then come to blows over who knew Daddy best," the mortal raised an index finger, pointing one to Thor and the other to Hela, "or who the favorite child was, why don't both of you prove your claims?"

Hela smirked in that unsettling and dread-inspiring way she did, "He is correct. What do you say, little brother? Shall I prove what a liar Odin was?"

"Very well."

---

Asgard

The second Jason came out of the rainbow bridge, he bent down, feeling his stomach do the entire range of movements a gymnastics champion would, but thankfully, he did not puke all over the pristine floors and embarrass himself.

"Thor, you have returned! Where is King Odin?" A fat, ginger Asgardian greeted them, brandishing a large, double-sided axe in his hands, while the siblings watched as Hela repaired her attire, looking as if she was overwhelmed by something.

Loki quickly figured out that their sister was drawing power from Asgard, something only Odin could do until now.

She truly was his firstborn and heir.

"My father is dead," Thor's voice lacked any of the usual joviality, and his friends stopped, still as the statues adorning Asgard's palace.

"Are you proud of yourself, Loki, for killing your own father?" The fat one gritted his teeth, raising his axe to the deceiver's neck, and his blonde companion wasn't far back, raising his sword to match.

Loki raised his hands in surrender, but Hela could see that he had already switched himself with an illusion, "I am not to blame this time."

"He is correct. It was simply my father's time," Thor smacked the back of the illusion's head, dispelling it.

"Where is Heimdall? Don't tell me he has passed away too." How amusing that would be, to hear that Odin's faithful watcher was dead as well.

"Thor, who is your friend? And more importantly, why haven't you introduced us?" the blonde, suave Aesir gave a light bow with a very charming smile, but the knife at his neck chilled him to the core.

"I am Hela, the Goddess of Death, and if you speak to me in that manner again, I'll tear your tongue off."

Thor raised both hands, stopping the oversized Aesir from attempting anything, and gave Hela a very pointed stare, "Peace, sister, Fandral is harmless."

---

Learning that Heimdall, the faithful watcher of Odin, turned fugitive because he was accused of treason by Loki while impersonating the king was certainly an amusing turn of events.

"You wanted proof of Odin's past? Here you have it," Hela grinned, launching her summoned swords to the ceiling. Jason was quick to backtrack to avoid the falling pieces from the top, and beneath the glimmering murals of tea parties and treaties, a far more horrific truth was revealed.

Hela and Odin slaughtering their way through multiple battlefields, leading the mighty armies of Asgard to bloody victories.

Workers, possibly slaves, were whipped by Einherjar to build something, while a gigantic black wolf watched over them all.

In the middle of it, Odin, holding his spear, Gugnir, with the black thorns of Hela's helmet behind his golden one, showing just how much he valued his daughter as a weapon.

Once, long, long ago.

"That's not possible," Thor turned around on the spot, feeling his head spin as he saw Odin.

"How little you know," Hela chuckled, feeling immense pleasure from breaking her naive little brother's view of Odin, "I was his weapon in the conquest that built Asgard's empire. One by one, the realms became ours. But then, simply because my ambition outgrew his, he banished me, caged me, and locked me away like an animal."

"Odin, so proud to have it, ashamed of how he got it."

---

The revelation shook Thor, and the God of Thunder was sitting on the steps of the throne, unnaturally quiet and still, looking at the throne as if it was a monument to thousands of years of blood and lies. The blood that was shed for it must be astronomical, and it made him sick.

"What now? Odin is dead, but Asgard needs a ruler," the God of Mischief, however, seemed to be more concerned about the succession crisis.

"Not you," Hela shut down her adopted brother before he could make his bid.

She had nothing against his status, only against his personality.

"Why? Because I am a jotun?" the boy's tone was bitter, and his smile did not reach his eyes.

"Because you, from what I heard, are too much like Odin, only you are a terrible liar, while he was the greatest of them all," Hela opened her arms wide, gesturing to the rubble covering the floor of the throne room, the remains of Odin's lies.

"That can't be entirely accurate." Of all the times he had been compared to Odin, lies had never been a subject of it.

"She is right," the mortal advisor intervened, much to Loki's irritation. "I mean, even the myths of Earth tell that you are a liar and a deceiver, but Odin's lies were only revealed after his death, and there is not a thing anyone can do to him now."

"When you say it like that, I can't disagree. Will you take the throne then, sister?" Loki conceded quickly, for the sole fact that Hela was not like Odin.

One mistake, and he had no doubt she would kill him on the spot.

It was best to reconsider his approach.

Hela ran her finger across the armrest of the throne, her face blank like an empty canvas, "Once, I would have killed you both for even thinking of sitting on it, but now? Now I don't truly care."

One year, and the human had done what neither Odin nor centuries of imprisonment could.

Made her reconsider her life choices.

"Thor doesn't want it either," Loki glanced at Thor to see if his brother would refute, but the God of Thunder just shook his head, "No, I don't."

Hela left the throne, looking down at her mortal advisor, "Since you are my advisor, do your job. Advise me on how to solve this conundrum."

"Well, we have a claimant that wants it, but the people would revolt if he ascended as king." Jason gestured at Loki, already having an idea formed in his head due to just how people treated him, "another that the people would love, but does not want the throne," Thor was still looking at the murals. "And then there is you, the one people don't know at all."

"And?"

"And I believe you should take the throne, at least for a while, to see if you actually want it or not. If you decide that you don't, then it is no longer your problem, and you can spend the rest of your possibly immortal life discovering what you want to do."

It was the entire basis of their discussions in Helheim, that Hela had only one life, and did she truly want to spend it conquering the galaxy because she was still stuck in the past as Odin's general and executioner.

"You would take the advice of a mortal?" Loki asked. On such an important matter as the future of Asgard, no less.

Loki found the sharp edge of a sword at his neck, and his throat bobbed, feeling the cold metal touch his skin.

It was too fast for him to reach, but fortunately Hela put down her sword after Loki raised his hands in surrender, "A mortal that is the sole reason you are not dead or kneeling before me."

"So be it," Hela took a step, passing near Thor on purpose, who merely glanced at his sister. "I shall take the throne," she decided, finally seating herself.

"Great. Now if I may ask, Your Highness, can I get clothes to change into? I've been wearing the same attire for who knows how long, and they are about to fuse with my skin."

Hela rolled his eyes, instructing Loki to summon servants to see to her advisor's needs.

---

Once Jason had taken a bath and changed into the only available clothes, which were silk robes and garments, he was brought back to the throne room, where the siblings were sitting in silence.

"Tell me, Midgardian, how did you find yourself with our sister?" As the revelations regarding their father's past and newfound older sister settled, Thor had one more question in his mind.

Jason shrugged. He had already explained it to Hela and still didn't have an answer. "I don't know. I fell asleep after arriving at my home and woke up in Hel."

"Could it be because of the Convergence?" Loki knew that several humans had disappeared due to the anomalous effects of the Convergence, and this human could be one of the unfortunate ones.

Jason did not know what Loki referred to, but the literal meaning of the word did not inspire anything nice: "The what now?"

Thor and Loki shared a look. "Right, you would not know the exact cause. It was an event where the Nine Realms aligned, and your world was affected as well. In fact, one of your cities, London, I believe, suffered several anomalies and damage as a result of the battle between me and Malekith." Unless the mortal was living under a rock, he should have been aware of the events caused by the Convergence.

"I am sure I would remember if something like that happened. What year was it anyway?" Jason would certainly remember magical bullshit causing anomalies across London, one of the most important cities in the world.

Meaning it must have happened after he had somehow arrived in Helheim.

"I believe the year 2013 by the Midgardian calendar, four years ago," Thor explained, taking a couple of seconds to remember the dates in Earth's time.

Now it was Jason's turn to look at Thor and Loki as if they had suddenly turned green. "That can't be possible. It was the tail end of 2025 when I went to sleep and woke up in Helheim."

His words confused the brothers, but there was a possible explanation for it as well.

"Could you be from the future?" Time travel wasn't something Loki had dabbled in, but perhaps whatever or whoever meddled in the mortal's life might be

Jason sat down, hands tangled through his curly brown hair, a sign that he was frustrated. "I don't know."

Even if he had time traveled to the past for some unknown reason, that did not explain the whole about this Convergence.

"What of the Avengers? Surely, you must know them?" The mention of the heroes had Loki twitch in his seated position, as the memory of that giant brute using him to redecorate the Stark Tower's floor came unbidden.

"Who?" Who the hell were the Avengers? An emo boy band?

"The Avengers? The heroes that saved the world from the Chitauri invasion five years ago?" Thor knew something was definitely wrong now.

"What invasion?!" Jason was aghast, because he sure as hell did not remember an alien invasion on Earth.

What the hell was going on?!

---

The discrepancy between Jason and Thor's knowledge of Midgard, which included the convergence, the Avengers, and the Chitauri invasion, had stumped them all.

Until Jason realized what was happening, and a great weight settled on his stomach, dragging him down, "I think this is not my Earth."

"I beg your pardon?" Loki didn't know what the mortal meant by not his Earth, because there certainly was only one planet with that name where humans lived.

Unless they were wrong on a galactic scale, of course.

"Do you guys know what the multiverse is?" The theory must not have existed in Asgard, because they looked at Jason as if he had grown a second head.

"Basically, there exist an infinite number of universes in parallel to each other. For example," he gestured to Thor, "let's say that in this universe, you are a male, and in another, you are a female."

Loki chuckled at the thought of a female Thor, a tall maiden with muscles like sculpted marble and a thunderous voice, forced to wear dresses by their mother.

Which made him miss Frigga.

"You believe you are from another reality? Where we possibly did not exist, or existed as your myths described us?" Because as far as Hela was concerned, these myths were worse than this reality by far.

Her being brothers with Fenrir and a serpent the size of a planet, all born from the same mother as children of Loki?

Even the thought of it made her nauseous.

"How are we described in the myths? I am not familiar with Midgardian beliefs regarding the rest of the Nine Realms." Loki had been on Midgard two times, once to fulfill his end of the dare with Thor, and the other for the failed conquest; as such, he did not know much about how the mortals saw them before learning that Asgard actually existed.

Thor, looking at the Midgardian in their midst, had an idea on how to mess with Loki: "Yet you wanted to conquer and rule Midgard."

His brother's eyes widened in worry, because if the human had as much influence over Hela as he thought, then he might just be in trouble.

"You what?" Jason hissed like an agitated serpent. He was definitely in a different dimension now, but that didn't mean he was going to ignore the fact that this bastard tried to invade Earth.

"Oh, he was the one leading the Chitauri invasion against Earth. He had the Mind Stone and still failed," Thor said, grinning as Loki glared at him.

Jason turned to Hela. "Any chance we can bind him to a rock and let a snake drip venom in his eyes?" because this bastard deserved nothing less.

Loki tensed, ready to flee should Hela actually decide to punish him, but she just waved her hand.

"My, you Midgardians are certainly creative," Hela remembered Jason's tales of Midgardians that worshipped the Aesir, who believed Loki's cries of pain were the causes of earthquakes.

Cute.

"Ignoring his failure in taking Midgard, you said he commanded the Chitauri?" Hela asked. Jason had told her about the futility of invading Earth, because the humans would sooner destroy their world than let anyone else have it.

Every time Hela called Thor and Loki "brother," it was done as mockery, but this time, her tone was serious.

The Chitauri were under the command of Thanos. They would not simply get up and obey Loki out of nowhere. Especially with the Mind Stone in the mix.

She did not like where this was going.

—
​

In the next chapter:

With every word from Thor and Loki's mouths, Jason saw Hela lose her patience.

"You fools!" she bellowed. There was literal power behind it, and the air shook as if a grenade had gone off.

Thor and Loki recoiled as if physically struck, watching one another. They didn't expect her to suddenly shout. Contrary to what their Father had said, Hela seemed calm and reasonable.

Jason had seen it coming, but it didn't stop him from flinching.



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