The golden divine radiance, like a rising sun, burst forth in dazzling brilliance, illuminating the sky and sea until the world itself seemed forged from pure gold.
At the center of that light, Gilgamesh floated weightlessly, anger tightening his brows as he raised one hand toward the heavens.
In the next instant, a blinding crimson light gathered at the tip of his index finger—like a fleeting star cutting through the night—and the sky shifted into a deep, oppressive red.
The crimson glow contrasted sharply with the golden brilliance pouring from his body, splitting the world into dark red and gold—two opposing yet perfectly balanced hues.
A heartbeat later, the red light tightened, compressing into a single gleaming orb. From below, it looked like Prometheus raising the final sacred flame—or perhaps a god poised to unleash a cleansing flood upon a sinful world.
Its sheer power was enough to bring the entire universe to its knees.
"I remember you once said that in the eyes of the gods… there is no room for even the slightest betrayal."
A vast and majestic divine voice echoed from above. Gilgamesh lowered his crimson-filled hand, his tone trembling with fury as he glared down at the glacier below.
There, Odin stood silently—clad in golden armor, gripping the Spear of Eternity—his expression dark and heavy.
"They say, 'none are more ruthless than the royal bloodline.' I once thought it was just mortal humor… but today, it seems painfully true.
Father… why do you fear me as you fear my sister Hela?"
Odin's expression shifted instantly. Knowing Gilgamesh had misunderstood, he spoke quickly, "Child, I only wanted you to set aside your arrogance and, as a true prince, contribute your strength to the peace of the Nine Realms."
"So… you conspired with that mortal filth and had me imprisoned for twenty-six years?"
Gilgamesh let out a cold laugh. Had he not known firsthand what Odin had done to Hela, he might have believed such a lie.
Odin opened his mouth but no words came out.
He was the one who arranged Gilgamesh's trial. He was the one who betrayed him. He was the one who locked him away for twenty-six long years.
And when Gilgamesh finally escaped on his own… Odin appeared, self-righteous and demanding forgiveness.
If their roles were reversed, even he wouldn't believe it.
"No more excuses, Father. Everything you've done… it's all for that fool Thor, isn't it? The All-Father's favoritism truly broadens my horizons."
Tilting his head slightly, Gilgamesh looked down with an expression colder than ice. The crimson light at his fingertip sparked, illuminating his merciless face—then shot downward.
A streak of red tore through Odin's vision. Instantly he tightened his grip on the Spear of Eternity as a golden shield rose around him—
But the crimson needle didn't hit him.
It pierced the glacier beneath his feet instead.
Watching from afar, the Ancient One frowned. "He missed? Could it be that… he hesitated?"
Even Odin almost believed that.
But the next moment, the glacier beneath them cracked apart inch by inch—like colliding tectonic plates. The fissures widened, overflowing with crimson light. Even the frozen sea turned red, as boiling energy surged up from the planet's crust, dyeing the ocean like blood.
Then, from the depths of the earth, came a world-shattering roar.
The entire planet erupted.
A colossal wave of molten magma—tens of thousands of meters high—burst forth, blazing crimson like the apocalypse itself.
Seeing this, the Ancient One was completely stunned. "A single blow… destroys a planet? How could it be this powerful?"
But despite her shock, survival came first. In the face of such a cataclysmic eruption, she instantly opened a portal beneath her and Odin's feet, pulling both of them out of the Mirror Dimension just before the blast fully detonated.
The moment they emerged, they spotted Loki and Thor nearby. Thor blinked at them, eyes wide with surprise and delight. "Father? What are you doing here?"
Only Loki sensed something was terribly wrong. He tugged sharply at Thor's arm. "Brother… something happened."
Odin, upon materializing, could only shake his head with bitter regret. His heart felt unbearably heavy. Everyone said Gilgamesh was arrogant—but wasn't he just as arrogant?
He always believed he could control everything, planning and scheming at every turn. But now, matters had spiraled far beyond his grasp. Faced with the unstoppable Gilgamesh, he had no idea how to end this disaster.
The Ancient One also felt the situation tightening around them. She knew all too well that the Mirror Dimension was incapable of containing Gilgamesh. And now that the Time Corridor could no longer restrain him, if an enraged God of Light were released… the Earth destroyed in the Mirror Dimension could very well become the Earth of the real world.
"Alas… it seems my fate was sealed long ago."
Her quiet sigh left Odin momentarily stunned. "What are you talking about? What fate was sealed?"
The Ancient One smiled with a strange mix of calm and resignation. "Long before you came to me, I had already foreseen my death. No matter what I did—whether I acted or stood aside—I would die at Gilgamesh's hands.
In countless timelines, I existed… yet I did not. Because the futures where I lived were never the futures I wanted."
Her cryptic explanation left Thor and Loki utterly lost. Only Odin grasped the meaning behind her words.
"So you knew this day would come?" Odin's voice trembled. His expression shifted from disbelief to anger in a heartbeat. "Then why didn't you stop me?"
The Ancient One smiled faintly, hiding her true thoughts. I knew you'd make a mess of things—why should I stop you? I didn't just let you act… I helped you.
What good would a united Asgard do for Earth?
Did Odin truly think he was the only one capable of scheming?
But of course, none of that could be spoken aloud.
"The future is always shifting," she said instead. "Even if I had stopped you, it would only delay Gilgamesh's destruction of Earth. Rather than leaving this burden to future generations, it's better to face it now.
Besides… wasn't this Trial of the King your idea to begin with?"
Odin fell silent again. She was right. If he had never initiated the Trial of the King, Gilgamesh would still be living peacefully in Asgard—and none of this chaos would ever have unfolded.
"So… what do we do now?"
The Ancient One didn't answer right away. Instead, she removed the bronze plaque hanging from her chest and handed it to Odin. "As I told you before—find that doctor, Strange. Guide him onto the path of a sorcerer… and give him the Time Stone.
The rest… we must allow the future to decide on its own."
"Pfft—!"
Before she could finish speaking, a sharp splatter of blood burst from her chest. A crimson, still-beating heart—torn violently from behind—thumped against the air as it—
pounded…
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