Asgard... Odin... Hela...
"Where am I? Agh…"
A blinding pain tore through my skull, like someone had cracked it open and poured molten steel inside. Images—strange, ancient, terrifying—flashed before my eyes. They weren't mine... and yet, they were me.
In the span of seconds, I aged thousands of years. Not metaphorically—literally. This body I now occupied… six thousand years old. In mortal terms, a fully grown teenager. A goddess. The goddess of death.
My new memories whispered one name for this place: Helheim. The Norse underworld. Land of bones, shadows, and the forsaken. I—Hela, Firstborn of Odin, Executioner of Asgard—was banished here.
But this wasn't the Marvel Universe I knew. No, this world was far more vast and dangerous. Here, angels and demons, fallen angels and devils, gods and primordial horrors coexisted in delicate chaos. My Asgardian education, now fused with newer, darker insights, hinted at this universe's frightening scope.
Another wave of cold and pain hit me like a hammer, forcing me to my knees. I wasn't just exiled—I was cursed. Odin had not only stripped me of my powers and thrown me into the Deadlands, but sealed my divinity itself. A cruel deviation from canon, where Hela remained powerful despite her banishment.
I looked down. Pale skin, barely covered in a tattered tunic. Black Asgardian runes branded across my body, pulsating with malevolent energy. These weren't decorative—they were prison bars, locking away my true nature.
"Damn you... father."
My mother, Frigga, had once taught me the ancient ways. Transmutation and necromancy—the shaping of matter, the curse of undeath. Even forbidden death magic, the kind that worked on souls. Yet now, I could barely summon a flicker of that power. The massive pool of divine magic that once surged in me had dried to a mortal trickle.
I probed my soul, cautiously. And what I saw... confirmed it. A fusion. My soul—stronger now, but also different. As if someone else had merged with Hela... something human.
I stood—slowly, painfully. The cursed ground beneath my bare feet was jagged, lifeless. Helheim. An eternal graveyard.
Each step sent jolts of weakness through my body. I examined my soul again, narrowing in on the rune chains that wrapped around it like iron bindings. These were no ordinary enchantments. Asgardian runes, yes—but darker, older. Perhaps even Vanir in nature, passed down from Frigga's lineage.
I reached for my power, and it bit back. A surge of raw agony ripped through me, forcing me to the ground. My knees slammed into stone, and I screamed—not in pain, but in rage.
Everything was gone. My strength. My magic. My title. My divinity. I—the undefeated war goddess, the shadow on the battlefield, the daughter Odin once trusted with the conquest of realms—was nothing but a pale husk crawling through the ashes of death.
And worst of all... I wasn't even sure if I wanted revenge anymore.
The fury I once held toward Odin and Asgard had dimmed—soured into something slower, heavier. Not the sharp edge of a sword, but the steady pressure of chains. That hatred… it wasn't entirely mine anymore.
This isn't just Hela's anger, I thought. It's mixed with confusion, sorrow… and restraint.
Two souls. One body. A fusion.
I took a breath and used what little energy remained to cast a neutral spell—one of the few Father had taught me: Calm Mind. The effect was almost immediate. The burning in my chest eased. The pain in my limbs dulled. Clarity returned.
A soft chime echoed in my mind.
Skill Gained: Calm Mind – Neutral Spell added.
I blinked. "Really... a system?" I muttered, amused. "Might as well use it."
"Status," I said aloud.
A translucent window opened in front of me, flickering slightly in the cursed air.
[STATUS SCREEN]Name: Hela Odindottir (Cursed)Race: Reborn Asgardian (Soul-Fused)Age: ~6000Divinity: Sealed
Stats
MP: D-
Strength: E+
Speed: D-
Intelligence: C+
Wisdom: B+
Perception: D-
Dexterity: D
Skills
Goddess of Death: A+ (Sealed)
Close Combat: B+ (Degraded → C+)
War General: A-
Transmutation Magic: B (Degraded → D+)
Necro Magic: C+ (Degraded → E+)
Neutral Magic: C (Degraded → E+)
Curses Active:
Divinity Seal
Mortal Coil Binding
Spirit Shackles (Unknown Effects)
My fingers clenched. This… this is unacceptable.
Even degraded, the core of Hela's talents remained. War. Magic. Death. She had been born to conquer, trained to rule. Odin had tried to erase that—but he hadn't succeeded. Not entirely.
I stood again, slower this time, steadier.
First, I reclaim my power. Then, I tear this curse from my soul. And then...
I looked out over the horizon. Bones stretched into the distance. Shadows drifted across the dead land, watching.
Then I rise—not as Odin's executioner... but as something new.