Loki looked toward Sigurd, who had so easily controlled the power of the First Firmament, yet he had never heard of him in any time period.
"Could this be the anomaly whispered about by those old antiques?"
He studied Sigurd but couldn't understand how this figure could be an anomaly.
"Bor did have a General Sigurd in another universe, but here he is his son. Could something have changed the world's direction?"
Loki shook his head, then turned his eyes toward the Prime Avengers members who had been resurrected using the power of the Dark Phoenix. He looked toward Sigurd.
"Will there be any side effects from using the Dark Phoenix power to resurrect them?"
Sigurd looked toward Loki and shook his head.
"I purified the power during the resurrection, so you need not worry."
Then he looked toward Odin.
"Let's go, brother. I think we should return, or else Hela might bring people to Midgard to search for us."
So everyone, including Firehair and the Midgard warriors, prepared to return to Midgard. Just then, Thor walked toward Sigurd.
Sigurd looked toward Thor as he approached, unsure of his purpose.
"Uncle, this is a memory crystal that your future self gave me to give to you."
Hearing this, Sigurd felt confused.
"This could change the future if I learn something I shouldn't know too early."
Thor shook his head, then spoke.
"I don't know about that, but he said it isn't about anything that will happen in the future—it's about the past. It won't change the course of the world, but he specifically told me you should open the memory crystal only when you feel everything is under control."
Hearing Thor's words, Sigurd felt they held more meaning than others might decipher.
"Okay, I understand. You all should return as well, to avoid further altering the timeline."
Just as Sigurd and the others entered the portal, Tony Stark walked toward Thor and looked toward the closing gateway.
"What was in the crystal?"
Thor looked at Tony with a curious expression but shook his head. Tony felt he was beginning to understand the world, but today's events made him realize its depth was far beyond his current reach.
Then he spoke to Jarvis.
"Jarvis, do you think it would be possible to build armor that could handle someone like him?"
Jarvis, having recorded the battle, began analyzing the energy Sigurd had displayed.
"According to my analysis of the battle records, he never exerted his full strength, as if he never felt threatened. Even when the barrier broke, his facial reaction showed no concern. Therefore, it is difficult to accurately gauge his full power. However, by studying the sample armor of Killmonger, we could potentially create powerful armor that might approach his level—though the chances are low with our current technology, and we would require extremely rare materials."
Tony understood this, but he still contemplated the power Sigurd had displayed. Considering the possibility of memory alteration, he instructed:
"We may lose our memory of this battle, and he might even alter your programming. Record the details in encrypted form and store the battle data securely. Even if we never remember, we may need it in the future. I doubt he would go so far as to erase everything."
While the future Avengers pondered the battle they had taken part in, Sigurd had already reappeared on Midgard. He was unaware of their complex thoughts, and even if he had known, he would not have concerned himself with such matters.
Sigurd appeared in the same place they had left earlier, but the area had already been cleaned up by Agamotto.
Suddenly, Sigurd felt the presence of many Old Gods across Midgard, as if they were observing from different regions.
"These old fools didn't appear during the battle, so why are they suddenly making their presence known on Midgard?"
Then he remembered something.
"Ah, so this battle was the catalyst that will draw the Old Gods to Midgard, seeking divinity from human worship. But humans are still in their early stages—it will take thousands of years for them to truly develop in this ancient world."
"Could this be the start of the ancient civilizations that worshiped gods? Midgard may be set on a path to prosperity. But these bastards didn't join the battle—they only want to reap the benefits from humanity."
Sigurd shook his head, then looked toward Odin, who had also sensed the presence of the Old Gods.
"Let them do as they wish, as long as they do not destroy Midgard or disrupt the human race. It may even be beneficial for humanity's rise. But if they cross the line, there will be a price to pay."
Odin heard his words, then looked toward the regions where the Old Gods lingered.
"Much can be tolerated, but do not forget the Nine Realms are still under Asgard's protection. Know your place."
With Odin's declaration, every Old God in their dimensional realm understood they had been granted permission to enter Midgard.
After all, they did not truly care for humanity—they had sensed the divine power emanating from human prayers during the battle and were surprised to learn that human worship could enhance divinity.
At the same time, on Mount Olympus, Zeus looked over the information brought to him by Athena and began to laugh, his voice echoing throughout the realm.
"Finally, something to bring joy to this boring life."
Then he looked toward Athena.
"Odin truly believes he can rule Midgard alone. Does he think he can defeat every Old God in the universe?"
Athena looked toward her father and shook her head.
"Father, if Odin were alone, others might not respect his authority. But his brother, Sigurd—his divine power is different. Even I cannot gauge his full strength, and the same is true for others. That is why they chose not to fight."