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Chapter 87
Technomancer in MCU
Asgard
–Odin Borson–
They were here. He could sense the Bifrost closing as they made their way to the Royal Palace.
Watching the new God humiliate Loki was not amusing; however, if there was anyone in his family who needed an ego check, then it was Loki.
So, he let it be.
As expected, the Guardian and the Singularity, both had arrived but with them, they had brought in an uninvited guest.
Toby Mathers.
If the rumours around the cosmos are to be believed, he is a Demon host. Something that was thought to be lost to the annals of time. His demonic nature was peculiar too. He didn’t bother hiding it but to both his and Frigga’s senses, he didn’t reek of death and destruction that normal demon hosts do.
Not that he would have any personal expertise on that since the last time Asgardian encountered a demon host, he was not even born so the records from that time period were spotty at best.
However, this demon host seemed particularly stable right now, even more so than the Guardian.
While he could not ignore the fact that his invitation had been disregarded by bringing in the demon host who seemed to be aware of the surveillance he was under, these were hardly normal circumstances.
He could ill afford to push away the new guardians of Midgard. Especially the Guardian since the Singularity seems to be on his last legs anyway.
The body he was sensing in the metal coffin they were carrying was holding on to its last wisps of vitality in a futile effort to cling to life.
He was not even sure if Asgardian healers could even prolong his life, let alone completely heal him.
Nevertheless, that was sure to be one of the negotiating cards he could use to better deal with the Guardian since he is loyal to a fault.
Striking the bottom of Gungnir to the floor that resulted in a dull booming noise that silenced the entirety of the court, he ordered, “The Court will resume tomorrow.”
All the nobles, dutiful as they were, nodded obediently and shuffled out of the court.
Once the doors closed, he slumped and sighed in exhaustion, safe in the company of his beloved Frigga.
“What ails you?” She asked him as she put her hand on his, for comfort.
“Ragnarok, my dear. Ragnarok. The end of Asgard.” he said as he left Gungnir to hover in its place and cast an illusion in front of him, replicating the visions he got for Frigga to see.
Seeing the death and destruction of Asgard always left him reeling but the fact that he was directly responsible for raising the one who would bring about Ragnarok was a punch to the gut for him.
He could have done something. Tried to bring her to the right way. Mend her fractured mind.
But no. He had to take decisive action against someone who was expressly forbidding his orders. Someone who had both the right and the power to make people doubt his kingship.
So, he sent her entire unit to death. Imprisoned her in a dead realm, with no magic and no company to speak of.
What was he thinking? Sending someone who was clearly mentally unstable to a place where anyone could go insane.
Alas, his pride reared its ugly head when some sense was finally knocked into his head by his wife but by then, it was too late.
He had tried to go talk to her but she refused to even listen to what he had to say. Instead, she kept attacking the prison her power was tied to.
At the beginning, it was manageable. Of course, he didn’t have access to a significant chunk of Odin Force because it was being used to hold Hela but he didn’t need that power anyway.
He had grown so much more powerful than the average denizens of the Nine realms that he could effortlessly defeat any of them without even actively tapping into the Odin Force.
Then, came Thor, and with Thor, the gradual inheritance of his Odinforce. It made matters worse when the Odin Force, by right of inheritance, was supposed to go to Hela but because of his will, had to go to Thor which resulted in an unbalanced transfer.
That was the reason why Thor was never quite able to use his magic without Mjolnir. While Thor had power, a lot of power, he was unable to access even 10 percent of it and instead relied on Mjolnir to channel a small portion of that power.
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All that meant that his control over the rapidly growing Odinforce was fading. His old body now could barely sustain Hela’s attacks on her prison which had only grown in frequency ever since she figured out that doing so hurt him.
If he didn’t have to exert himself, he had 5-10 years tops before his body gave out. That was not enough time to prepare either Thor or Loki to face Hela. Even together, they would have a hard time surviving her let alone defeat her, and as soon as Hela lands on Asgard, it would be impossible to defeat her without triggering Ragnarok as Asgard itself would begin empowering her once she stepped back on her homeland.
He was so lost in his thoughts that Frigga had to nudge him, “What?”
“The guests are here. Shall I call them in?” She asked him, concern clear in her eyes. The best decision his past self could have made was marrying her, disregarding the Vanaheim enmity.
He nodded and took Gungnir back in his hand, his back straightening as he assumed the demeanor of the Ruler of Asgard.
The attendants announced the summons and through the golden-plated doors came his sons, the Singularity, Ed and his Guardian, Alfred along with the demon host, Toby Mathers.
“Welcome to Asgard,” he stated as he watched all of them with an impassive eye.
Alfred and Ed looked neutral to be here but Toby Mathers was looking at him with a disturbingly similar gleam in his eyes.
A sentiment he knew very well since he was the same in his youth. The feeling of finding a strong opponent and fighting them, to defeat them.
If he had not been worried about Ragnarok, he would have shown the youth how he had not lost his edge but as matters stood, he was in no condition to use the Odin Force.
“It is customary,” he began saying as he stood up and removed a scroll from his storage, “-for me to meet the new Guardian of Midgard once it is formally recognised by either all concerned parties or by the previous Guardian.”
“You,” he said while pointing at Alfred with the scroll, “have been chosen to be the new Guardian of Midgard, recognised by the Ancient One herself, one of the very few people I have met that I could proudly call my equal.”
“Step forward and sign the treaty recognising you to be the sovereign of Midgard,” He said while floating the scroll towards Alfred who had indeed stood forward and was standing at attention.
The scroll slowly unfurled itself as it reached Alfred who snatched it out of the air and began reading it. Once he finished reading it, finding it satisfactory, he signed it using his blood.
Once the scroll was signed, a pact was formed between the sitting ruler of Asgard to formally inform the Guardian of Midgard of any Asgardian activities that were taking place on Midgard and for the Guardian to aid Asgard in any battle that threatened Asgard itself so no active war declaration but mutual defense pacts.
Once the pact was signed, a golden circle formed between them as a manifestation of the magic invoked, one copy of the scroll went to Alfred and the other came back to him which he safely stored away in his personal storage.
That pact was going to be his biggest bet on saving Asgard and preventing Ragnarok.
“Now, Alfred, was it? Are you aware of your newfound status being a New God? Something that hasn’t happened for over a thousand years in the history of the universe?” He asked Alfred.
“I am aware that it is rare to become a God. The way I have become one is certainly unconventional but I have yet to become the god of something as all my abilities were something I had earned before gaining a body and becoming a God.” Alfred said as he handed over his copy of the pact to Ed.
“The way you have become one is certainly something which cannot be replicated anytime soon and as for your domain, it is because you are yet a New God and a god’s domain is something that takes time to form and for you to master it. It will soon manifest itself.”
“Now, before we leave, can I ask what is happening to you, Ed? Your body and your soul seem in disarray of some sort. Maybe, we can help/” Frigga said as she openly cast a spell on Ed. The spell would not have given any information if Ed hadn’t given his consent so in a way it was good that Ed trusted them to do that.
‘Yes,” Alfred said as he cast a magic circle in front of him, “That is one of the things I wanted to discuss with you, in private.”
He raised an eyebrow as he recognised the runic circle in front of him, the mastery of which was only known to be had by him.
“Very well, everybody else, please retire to the guest houses. We’ll have a feast in the evening.” He ordered and everybody began leaving the court.
Toby tried to stay but Ed pulled him out of the room.
“Speak, what is it that you want?” He asked as soon as the court was empty save for him and Alfred.
“Before we begin, I want to ask you this: How much do you know about us and our origins?” Alfred asked him as the metal coffin behind them floated in front of them.
He raised an eyebrow as he leaned forward in interest, at least the runic work on the coffin was interesting to him, “Enough. I’ve been watching you ever since you arrived in this universe, broken and in pieces. I have watched Ed stumble and fall as he pieced you back together and even after that.”
“That makes things easier, then. I want your help in healing Ed. I have tried many ways and have found a way that could be viable but need your opinion on it since you are the foremost expert on Magic I know.” Alfred said as he sent the knowledge directly to his mind using Runic magic circles.
Truly, Runes were the most versatile branch of magic.
As the knowledge was inserted in his mind and he processed it, his eyes widened as he nearly thundered at Alfred, “Are you Mad? Do you have any idea how many things can go wrong if you miss even a tiny minute detail of the procedure?”
Alfred looked sheepish but completely determined to do exactly that, his words not convincing him otherwise at all.
He sighed and slumped back in his seat.
He was getting too old for this shit.
“Just get out, I’ll..” He waved at Alfred and after looking at Ed’s body and the recent reminder of Hela made him fold, “...consult with Frigga and let you know by tomorrow. Until then, DO NOT do anything regarding that in Asgard otherwise you will have me as your enemy, and believe me, you do not want that”
Alfred nodded solemnly and left the court.
Now, he was left all alone in the court with only the repainted murals of his daughter’s deeds to give him company and haunt him with his failures.
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Word Count - 2011
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