Superman from the comics: Starting with the Black Robe

Chapter 309 Thor Odinson – Preparing to Break Out of the Underworld

Chapter 309 Thor Odinson – Preparing to Break Out of the Underworld

Just as Heimdall was struggling with this dilemma, a melodious horn sounded throughout the divine realm.

Upon hearing this sound, Loki's face immediately changed color; this horn was only sounded when someone important died.

Loki quickly asked the gatekeeper:

"Heimdall, who died?"

"I'm sorry, Loki, you sinner."

Heimdall stepped aside, pointing his sword toward the other side of the Rainbow Bridge. After a flash, Joey led Loki to the funeral.

In the center of the funeral site was a huge and turbulent river, with a Viking longship floating silently on the current, and lying inside the ship was none other than Thor, the God of Thunder.

Seeing this, Loki, who was bound, lost control and smashed through the mourning crowd, running wildly towards Thor's location:

"What happened?!"

"what?"

Not to mention Loki, even Joey was caught off guard.

Doesn't this seem a bit off?

Ragnarok has not yet arrived, and the Midgard Serpent has not yet appeared. How could Thor be dead?

A thumping sound came from behind; it was the sound of Gungnir's gun butt striking the floor.

"My son, having learned of Ragnarok, went ahead of time to Muspelheim, the land of the fire giants, to challenge Surtur."

Odin, the king of the gods who had been in a deep slumber, came before Joey with the help of Frigga, wielding the Spear of Destiny:

"He successfully defeated Surtur, but an accident occurred along the way."

From Odin's words, Joey learned the whole story—

On his way back from Muspelheim, Thor stopped in Midgard, the Earth of the Middle Kingdom, and made a detour to visit an old female friend.

Then, while he was having a tryst with her in the wild, he was unexpectedly bitten by a small snake about the thickness of a finger.

After Thor smashed the snake into a pulp, his first thought was that Loki was playing another prank on him.

But after confirming that it was just an ordinary Earth snake, Thor put it out of his mind and didn't take it seriously at all.

Nine days after he returned to Asgard with Surtur's crown, the lurking poison spread throughout Thor's body, and by then it was too late to save him.

"That snake, could it be—"

Joey seemed to understand something. Before Ragnarok began, Thor's challenge to Surtur, the fire giant, was tantamount to forcibly pushing the wheel of fate forward.

Although the small snake is now impossible to find, it was probably the mortal python that had not yet fully grown.

The prophetic events were fulfilled in other ways ahead of time in the life of Thor, a man who recklessly charged into the threads of fate.

He was still poisoned to death by the venom of the Midgard Serpent.

"Your guess is very likely correct."

Odin also agreed with Superman's view.

However, there was still one matter to attend to. After learning of Joey's purpose, Odin glanced at the emotionally distraught Loki from afar. Grief-stricken by the loss of his son, he finally abandoned all pretense of politeness:

"You unfilial son!"

Loki paused with his spear in his hand, then vanished from the arena and was transported to a place where the sun never shines.

The funeral was restored to order.

After doing all this, Odin, who was already in poor condition, looked even older. He was very grateful to Joey for sending Loki back to Asgard.

"Thank you. In the name of Odin, the King of Gods, I assure you—my son, Loki, will pay the price for his heinous sins."

When Odin first took Loki, the child of Laufey, the king of the ice giants, and raised him by his side, it's possible that he did indeed have some intention of acquiring him as a spoil of war.

But as time passed, the long years changed Odin, who used to conquer and slaughter indiscriminately, and also changed Loki's position in his heart.

Odin may have favored Thor, but that doesn't mean he didn't consider Loki his son.

He knew Loki was always unruly, but he never expected that after Loki's betrayal and escape from Asgard, he would commit such a massacre.

Throughout Odin's life of conquest across the nine realms, the blood of the innocent beneath his feet barely reached above his knees.

And his son Loki—according to Superman's description, the blood of those who died unjustly was almost flowing over his own shoulders!

"Even as an accomplice, he cannot be spared the torment of blood debt. Just as you said, Loki will be suspended by a rope below the cliff of the World Tree, enduring the torment of snake venom day and night. The rope will be forged by the finest dwarven craftsmen of Nidver, forged from the blood and tears of those who died unjustly because of him. Only when the blood debt is paid and the blood and tears are wiped away will he have a chance to regain his freedom."

Frigga, who was wiping away tears, moved her lips as if she wanted to say something, but seeing Odin's resolute eyes and the undeniable words in his mouth, she could only cover her face and weep bitterly.

She lost her only two sons in a very short period of time.

How many innocent souls have died because of Loki! The length of time Odin speaks of "gaining freedom" is nothing short of eternity.

"Is Thor really dead? He's a god!"

Looking at the dense crowds of people who had come to mourn Thor, Joey was still somewhat incredulous: "Couldn't he just be resurrected?"

He knew of a man who had two holes in his hand from nails and a spear piercing his waist, yet he was able to revive after being left out in the sun for several days!

Why doesn't it work with Thor?

Poor Thor!

Mentioning Saul breaks Frigga's heart even more.

The venom of the Midgard Serpent is the most deadly poison, carrying fate and karma. As a witch, she was powerless to stop it and could only watch helplessly as Thor succumbed to his wounds on his bed.

At this thought, Frigga broke down in tears again: "My child died in his bed—I won't even be able to see him in Valhalla!"

In the Norse mythology system, only those who die bravely in battle can have a place in Valhalla after death, and Thor unfortunately does not belong to this category.

He passed away peacefully on his bed, so in the end his soul could only go to one place, that perpetually dark and bitterly cold realm—the land of death, Helheim.

"Do you know who I am? I am Thor, the God of Thunder!"

Bare-handed, Thor mercilessly beat the endless army of the dead in Helheim, roaring at the commander behind the legion:

"You, state your name! I don't kill nameless nobodies!"

"Oh!"

After a soft laugh, a dark shadow descended from the sky, trampling Thor, who had snatched the dead man's weapon and was hacking and slashing, under its feet.

The newcomer was shrouded in ominous, jet-black armor, and draped in a crimson robe woven from the blood of the dead. She was Hela, the goddess of death and mistress of Helheim, the land of the dead.

"I know exactly who you are, and I also know you want to leave this godforsaken place."

No matter how much Thor struggled beneath his feet, he couldn't escape from this predicament.

In a place like the underworld, Hela, who holds the power of death, is unshakeable, not even by the god of thunder.

"Helheim is a cold, icy hell. Nobody wants to be here, and you certainly don't."

Therefore, Hela offered Thor a deal:

"I can let you leave the underworld, but there's only one condition."

Thor was naturally happy to leave this hellish place. Ragnarok was still waiting for him, and he couldn't just be trapped in Helheim like this. Although he didn't know the woman named Hela in front of him, Thor was willing to exchange whatever she asked for in exchange for the return of his soul.

"My request is very simple."

Hela smiled mysteriously, concealing her ambition, which had been suppressed for tens of thousands of years, beneath her face:

"When one life departs, another must fill the void, and you, God of Thunder, must bring me that life."

Thor had prepared himself for an unbearable price to pay, but upon hearing these words, he was at a loss for words.

If he heard correctly, Hela, the ruler of the Land of the Dead, clearly meant—

"That's right."

As the queen of the land of the dead, Hela already possessed a unique charm, and under the crimson cloak and crown she wore, known as "Lies," she appeared even more breathtakingly beautiful.

"Are you going to say yes?"

It seems there really is no other way. Thor also realized the huge gap in power between the two sides in this realm.

This may sound strange, but given the current urgency, it's not something we can't consider.

Thor's mind wavered, but at the last moment, his vigilance and longing for his old friends in Midgard pulled him back to his senses—

"But I refuse!"