Night fell.
In Leon's secluded garden, the moonlight was like water.
He lay on a lounge chair, seemingly in a deep sleep, but his eyelashes trembled slightly in the moonlight.
His superhuman hearing, or rather, his perception of light and energy as the Sun God, allowed him to easily detect every unusual energy fluctuation within the Heavenly Palace.
For instance, the muffled plotting in Thor's chambers, filled with suppressed excitement and fury.
"Alas…" Leon sighed inwardly.
"Truly a group of troublesome younger brothers."
He had long seen through Loki's little tricks and knew that Thor's pathetic self-esteem was at play.
He even understood that Odin had tacitly allowed all of this to happen.
"A meticulously designed farce?" Leon found it somewhat amusing.
Odin wanted to use this opportunity to temper Thor's arrogance, to make him understand the responsibilities a true prince must bear.
Loki, on the other hand, wanted to seize the chance to kick Thor, his bothersome brother, out of the picture, paving the way for his own future position.
And Thor, he simply wanted to prove to his father that he wasn't useless.
Everyone had their own little schemes, and everyone thought they were the player.
"Boring." Leon turned over, deciding not to bother with this mess.
As long as they didn't cause too much trouble and didn't actually dismantle Asgard, he was too lazy to interfere.
After all, Thor was about to go to Earth according to the plot.
At that time, Odin would definitely send him to Earth to keep an eye on his foolish brother.
So he might as well just wait for the outcome.
Soon, he sensed Thor and Loki, along with Sif and The Warriors Three, stealthily sneaking towards the Bifrost Bridge.
Sif
He conjured several plates of melon seeds and watched with relish.
"Consider it a free play."
With a thought, a faint, imperceptible golden light flew from his hand, silently attaching itself to Thor's cape.
What followed played out almost exactly according to the movie's script.
Thor and his companions arrived at Jotunheim via the Bifrost Bridge, and their appearance immediately enraged the Frost Giants, who were already simmering with anger.
A chaotic battle erupted; though Thor was brave, he quickly found himself in danger under the siege of Laufey and the entire Frost Giant army.
At the critical moment, Odin descended, riding the divine steed Sleipnir, forcibly ended the battle, and brought his troublesome sons back to Asgard.
Inside Valhalla, the atmosphere was icy.
Odin's wrath was like an erupting volcano; he held the Eternal Spear, pointing it at Thor, who was kneeling on the ground.
"You are arrogant, reckless, and conceited! You have failed my expectations! You are not worthy of this divine hammer! You are not worthy of being an Asgardian warrior!"
Odin's voice echoed through the empty hall, every word heavily striking Thor's heart.
He stripped Thor of his divine power, threw Mjolnir into the distance, accompanied by a curse.
"Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."
Finally, with a wave of his hand, a rainbow pillar of light engulfed the despairing Thor.
"Father!" Loki feigned a cry, but his eyes gleamed with triumph.
Odin ignored him, merely sitting wearily on the throne, as if he had aged hundreds of years in an instant… Soon, everyone left the great hall.
"So, the farce is over?"
Leon's figure appeared silently beside the throne, holding a bunch of freshly picked grapes.
Odin turned his head, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "You knew all along, didn't you?"
"Knew Loki was fanning the flames, or knew you were deliberately acting?" Leon tossed a grape into his mouth, speaking casually.
Odin fell silent.
"Father, I actually don't quite agree with this approach." Leon shook his head.
"Though Thor is impulsive, it's not very serious. You are risking the safety of a realm to teach him a lesson."
"He must learn humility!" Odin's voice trembled.
"How can a brute who only knows war become your future right-hand man!"
"What about Loki?" Leon asked again.
"Are you just letting him scheme against his own brother like this? Can't you see the ambition in his eyes?"
"Loki…" Odin's tone grew even more weary.
"He just needs more attention. When Thor returns, everything will be fine."
"Naive." Leon commented unceremoniously.
He walked to the center of the great hall, looking at the lingering energy afterglow of the Bifrost Bridge.
"Forget it, I'm too lazy to bother with these messes." Leon's tone was calm.
As the Sun God, his physical prowess was already extraordinary, far surpassing Thor's strength.
Even without using divine power, his physical strength alone was enough to crush most beings in the Nine Realms.
Moreover, he was proficient in all of Asgard's magic, his mastery even exceeding Loki's, it was just that he was too lazy to use it.
"However, since you've thrown Thor to Earth, I also happen to want to go there to see."
Odin's single eye lit up; he was still wondering how to bring it up, but Leon had proposed it first.
"Leon, you want to go to Earth?"
"Why not?" Leon raised an eyebrow.
"As the future King of Asgard, isn't it normal to familiarize myself with one of the most special of the Nine Realms? Besides, Sorcerer Ancient One is also there, and I haven't seen her in a long time."
Leon, of course, knew Ancient One, simply because Odin had taken him to Kamar-Taj several times to discuss the mysteries of the Universe with the Sorcerer Supreme.
Odin slowly nodded, his eyes showing relief and expectation.
"You are right, Leon. Earth is indeed special, and Thor, he will be your bravest general in the future. But he still needs tempering now. Go, help me watch over him, guide him, and make him understand what true responsibility is."
"You want me to be his bodyguard?" Leon sighed.
"Alright, consider it a vacation, and a chance to watch a show. I hear Earth's yellow Sun is quite special; it should be good for my skin."
His tone was relaxed, but Odin could see his calm demeanor, as if everything was under control.
He knew Leon understood everything.
He wasn't going to clean up a mess, but to watch a show, and incidentally ensure the show didn't fail.
"Go." Odin finally nodded slowly.
With Leon there, perhaps, everything really wouldn't spiral out of control.
"Thanks, Father King." Leon snapped his fingers, his figure once again transforming into particles of light.
"Oh, right." His voice came before he completely vanished.
"Remember to watch over my garden for me. If anyone dares to steal my grapes, I'll let them taste a solar flare."
Odin: "..."
Looking at the empty hall, the All-Father shook his head helplessly.
His three sons, each one more troublesome than the last.
But for some reason, his heart felt an unprecedented sense of peace.
Nothing else, just because the eldest, Leon, though appearing lazy and gentle, was not actually so.
He had been a warmonger since childhood.
Two thousand years ago, he, like his sister, advocated for outward expansion, striving to rule the entire Universe, to plant Asgard's banner in every corner.
All enemies that appeared were utterly annihilated by him; every time he acted, nothing was left in his wake, not a blade of grass, not a chicken or dog.
His catchphrase was also quite peculiar: "The Sun will shine equally on every devout believer. Your words make the Sun happy, but the Sun does not like your actions."
This statement was somewhat arrogant, so Odin felt that while Leon's current personality was gentle, it wasn't due to weakness, but rather good upbringing. Deep down, he didn't truly regard others as important, believing he could control everything.
After this, the Sun God's reputation spread wildly throughout the Universe; some even called him the God of Death instead of the Sun God.
This level of cruelty made even him, a king who had fought for many years, frown deeply.
Ultimately, Odin himself sought out Leon for a talk, and in the end, he found it uninteresting, gradually becoming as he is now.
Thinking of these things, Odin sighed.
Besides all this, Leon was also the First Prince of Asgard, of noble status.
It seemed the people of Earth were likely in for a tough time.
However, with Leon, his most trusted son, there, he didn't think there would be any major trouble.
He just hoped Thor wouldn't disgrace the Asgardians!