Marvel : Super Soldier at the Start

Because Odin had to suppress Hela with his divine power, he spent most of this period in a deep slumber. 

This self-imposed hibernation was akin to freezing oneself, a method to slow the depletion of his primordial divine energy. 

Earlier, when Thor returned, he stopped by to check on the slumbering Odin and informed Queen Frigga about Blake and the others' arrival. 

After chatting with his mother about some amusing events on Earth, Heimdall sent a message stating that Blake had arrived at the Bifrost Bridge with his companions. 

Thor rose to greet them but passed by Odin's room on his way. He and his mother glanced in to see if Odin had awakened, only to find that Odin had mysteriously disappeared. 

The mother and son had been chatting in the neighboring room. If Odin had awakened and left on his own, they would have noticed. Yet there had been no sign or sound. 

With his father's sudden disappearance, Thor had no mood to entertain the visitors. After briefly explaining the situation, he went straight to Heimdall. 

Heimdall, understanding the gravity of the situation, didn't wait for Thor to speak. The golden glow in his eyes vanished as he turned his gaze elsewhere, attempting to locate Odin. 

After a long silence, Heimdall, without a word, took the Guardian Sword and returned to the Rainbow Bridge's control room. He inserted the sword into the console. 

At that moment, the needle-like antenna atop the Rainbow Bridge Temple emitted waves of multicolored light. A brilliant beam shot into the cosmos. 

In a desolate corner of Svartalfheim, the land of the Dark Elves—abandoned ever since their failed attempt to plunge the universe into darkness using the Aether— 

The barren landscape, where all the Dark Elves lay dormant, recovering and waiting for the right moment, suddenly found Odin lying in its midst. 

A rainbow beam descended from the sky, enveloping the area where Odin rested. 

With a loud boom, the moment the Rainbow Bridge touched down, Odin vanished once again in an eerie and inexplicable manner. 

Back at the Rainbow Bridge Temple, after inserting the Guardian Sword, Heimdall activated the bridge, locking onto the location he had just seen. Within seconds, the bridge retracted. 

However, the Rainbow Bridge's portal remained empty. 

"What?" Heimdall's expression shifted. 

"Heimdall, what's going on? Didn't you use the Rainbow Bridge to bring my father back?" 

Heimdall ignored Thor's question, his gaze once again clouded and unfocused. 

Blake suddenly seemed to realize something. He grabbed Thor's arm and said: 

"Odin's location is probably shifting unpredictably. Don't interrupt him—he needs to concentrate and bring Odin back before he disappears again." 

Heimdall's actions confirmed Blake's theory, as he activated the Rainbow Bridge once more. 

This time, the destination was Muspelheim, the realm of fire. 

As the bridge activated and then retracted, the multicolored light of the temple portal flashed, and Odin appeared in the temple. Alongside him came a lava creature native to Muspelheim's depths. 

The creature, seemingly in the midst of attacking Odin before being teleported, instinctively lunged at him again. 

It was met with Thor's Mjolnir, swung in rage. 

With a single strike, the lava creature was smashed into steaming fragments of molten rock. 

"Heimdall, what's going on?" 

Thor checked Odin's condition before turning to Heimdall for answers. 

"Nine Realms Convergence!" 

Before Heimdall could respond, Odin, who had been lying motionless, sat up. 

For a fleeting moment, the overwhelming aura and authority of the All-Father flashed in his eyes, before he reverted to the demeanor of a weary, aged man. 

"Father, are you alright?" 

Thor quickly stepped forward to help Odin up. 

"I'm fine, my child. Blake, you're here too! And these must be your friends from Earth? Thor, it seems you've gained a fine group of companions on Earth. Welcome to Asgard, friends of Thor!" 

Odin gently freed himself from Thor's hand, took a step forward, and greeted everyone with a warm smile. 

Although the Avengers believed that so-called gods were merely highly evolved extraterrestrials, standing before Odin—the All-Father and a figure of legend from Earth's mythology for millennia—they couldn't help but show respect. 

Beyond his age and status, the group already knew that thousands of years ago, when the other realms of the Nine Realms, like the Frost Giants, sought to invade Earth, it was Asgard, led by Odin, that had defended the planet. That alone earned him their sincere reverence. 

"Father, what did you mean by 'Nine Realms Convergence' earlier?" 

"Your friends have come all the way from Earth; this is no place to host them. Let us return to the Golden Palace, and I will explain the Nine Realms Convergence there." 

Without directly answering Thor's question, Odin led the group toward the Golden Palace. 

Seeing Odin safe, Frigga let out a sigh of relief and began preparing for a banquet. 

Long, long ago... 

Once they had settled into a meeting room, Odin began recounting a tale: 

It was the story of how his father led Asgard's army to defeat the evil Dark Elves. 

The tale was brief and straightforward. Malekith, the leader of the Dark Elves, sought to use the ancient weapon known as the Aether to plunge the universe back into eternal darkness but was ultimately defeated by Odin's father, who hid the Aether away where no one could find it. 

"I've heard this story since I was a child. But Father, what does it have to do with the Nine Realms Convergence?" Thor asked, puzzled. 

"The Nine Realms Convergence occurs when the Nine Realms align in a straight line as they orbit. Since the Nine Realms are connected through the World Tree and already have spatial links, when these celestial bodies align, the realms' spatial boundaries compress and distort, causing spatial displacements." 

Seeing the confused expressions of his audience, Odin elaborated: 

"Exactly. My sudden disappearance earlier, and my repeated drifting through different realms, are proof that the Nine Realms Convergence is about to begin. As for the Aether I mentioned earlier, it was never destroyed. Instead, my father hid it in a place no one could find." 

"This Convergence... I have a growing sense that the Aether will resurface, and when it does, Malekith will awaken from his slumber and once again attempt to plunge the universe into darkness!" 

Odin wore an expression of deep concern. 

Blake rolled his eyes. 

"Let me guess—did the Ancient One visit you? Are these just your feelings, or did she tell you all this?" 

"Ahem!" 

"I sensed it first... then I consulted with her to confirm. And yes, it turns out I was right!" 

Odin's face reddened slightly as he admitted this. 

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