Chapter 35: The Glorious Mortal
"Foolish, arrogant, conceited, jealous, with such traits, what qualification do you have to call yourself a god? You are unworthy of this honor! Since you are so jealous of that Midgardian, I shall grant you this opportunity. Go and be a Midgardian. Be a mortal, forever!!"
Odin used his immense divine power to forcefully rip the battle suit from Thor's body and even stripped him of his divine power.
By the time his last word fell, Thor had become a strong, ordinary person.
The next second, Odin shoved Thor into the Rainbow Bridge and placed a spell on Mjolnir: "Whoever can lift this hammer, shall possess the power of Thor."
With that, he tossed Mjolnir into the Rainbow Bridge, the anger on his face unabated.
"Father, he was merely blinded by his anger. I'll go and bring him back right away," Loki said with feigned sincerity, though a flash of ecstasy crossed his eyes.
Odin glanced at Loki, knowing all too well what his adopted son was thinking.
"There's no need. He cannot return."
"I understand. You want him to spend some time as a mortal on Midgard to cool down? That's a good idea. Once he comes to his senses—"
"He might not return to Asgard alive," Odin said, his tone growing heavy. "Something unusual has happened on Midgard. I have only one expectation for him: to strive to survive on Midgard."
Loki froze, the secret joy in his heart vanishing completely.
He wanted that damned Thor to suffer misfortune—the more miserable the outcome, the better. But now someone dared to harm Thor?
How could this be allowed? Only he could mess with Thor, no one else!
Moreover, they were after Thor's life!
Loki said, "In a place like Midgard, there's someone who dares to harm the son of Odin? Who is it, the Eternals? Do they have such audacity?"
"The Eternals might not have the subjective will to harm Thor, but they are not the ones who decide their actions. For this group to become active again, it must be due to some ulterior motive. This is not a good omen," Odin said.
The puppets deployed to Earth by the Celestials would never do anything meaningless. Their every move is at the behest of Arishem. Odin believed this deeply; he knew all too well how terrifying the Celestials were.
Loki grew more and more puzzled. He didn't know about the war between the Gods of the World Tree and the Celestials, so he couldn't comprehend Odin's worries.
The mere Eternals, worthy of the mightiest God-King of the World Tree investing so much energy? Loki had also heard the recent news from Heimdall. Look, even in a place like Midgard, a nameless pawn had suddenly appeared and caused a powerful Eternal to suffer a great loss. This further proved that the Eternals were not worthy of much attention.
As for Thor being jealous of that pawn or whatever, well, given his foolish brother's brain, that was entirely possible. Loki knew how Thor thought even with his eyes closed:
The Eternals actually diverted Father's attention—unforgivable. Then, wouldn't the mortal who defeated the Eternals be even more worthy of attention than the Eternals themselves? Even more unforgivable!
This was Thor's one-track logic.
Odin's expression was ice-cold. "He has been exiled. From now on, his life and death have nothing to do with me!"
"But he's an Asgardian! And Mjolnir..."
"If a Midgardian can lift Mjolnir, then they will gain the power of Thor. This is the spell of Odin, the God-King, and also a blessing!" Odin snorted coldly.
What else could he do? Send Thor to the other Seven Worlds? If he did that, Thor would surely die. At least on Earth, with the Ancient One watching over it, Thor still had a good chance.
Besides, if he didn't send Thor to Earth, didn't give Thor the chance to learn humility and prudence, then he would be truly beyond saving. Moreover, as the successor to Asgard, if he couldn't withstand even a small setback, then such a person was unworthy of becoming the next God-King.
"Midgard, Earth... My worries about the Celestials are one thing, but that fellow, the Ancient One, is holding the Time Stone. What is she still hesitating about?" Odin narrowed his eyes.
When he communicated with the Ancient One across space-time, he could sense that her mind wasn't on this matter.
He couldn't figure it out, but after much thought, Odin believed that as long as no single-universe-level deity appeared, with the power he could currently wield, he would not fear any enemies below that level.
The splendid Rainbow Bridge pierced through the deep and silent vacuum of the universe, carrying the mortal Thor and a hammer to Earth, where it drew a complex and mysterious symbol upon the soil of New Mexico.
Unfortunately, perhaps due to the small ripples indirectly caused by Du Wa, Thor did not encounter Jane Foster. Naturally, he wouldn't be taken to the hospital by Jane, which would have triggered a series of subsequent events.
Thor landed safely on the ground and began to roar furiously at the sky:
"Heimdall, open the Rainbow Bridge! Send me back!"
"Heimdall!"
He kept roaring like this, from dusk till dawn, and from dawn till dusk. His stomach was rumbling with hunger and his voice had gone hoarse, yet he still received no response. This finally made Thor panic.
Or rather, for him, Thor, to have his voice go hoarse was terrifying. It meant he had truly become a mortal, the divine power within his body having vanished without a trace.
Thor decided to first find a tavern in Midgard to fill his stomach. Thor should not starve to death in this godforsaken place.
He picked a direction and began a long trek along the highway.
He walked for another whole day.
The more Thor walked, the more grief-stricken and indignant he became. If he still had his hammer, he would have been flying long ago. Would he need to walk?
Did his father throw him into this kind of place just to train his physical fitness?
Speaking of which, after falling into the Rainbow Bridge, he had clearly seen his hammer being thrown in as well. He didn't know where it had landed.
"As long as I get Mjolnir back, I can regain my divine power!"
Thor deeply believed this. His only remaining hope rested entirely on the hammer.
But what he didn't know was that in a small town several dozen kilometers away, a large crowd of mortals had already discovered his hammer, and a large-scale event had quickly formed around it.
Even more than ten hot dog vendors had shown up.
"Move aside, move aside! You're not strong enough! I can definitely lift it!"
"This thing looks a lot like Thor's hammer from the storybooks. Could it be real?"
"Someone brought a pickup truck!"
"Hot dogs! Cheap hot dogs!"
The scene was bustling with excitement, a cacophony of noise.
The ones who had discovered this place and rushed over weren't just ordinary people, nor was it only S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Deviant Leader, having absorbed the Juggernaut, had changed its original direction of travel and was also heading this way.
(end of chapter)