Marvel: AS A PRINCE IN ASGARD

"Perhaps the Sorcerer Supreme won't even take notice of me unless I pose a significant threat to the entire planet?"

Ragna pondered the thought for a moment but didn't dwell on it.

After all, as a member of the Aesir, Earth had always been under Asgard's protection. Simply walking its surface shouldn't warrant the Ancient One's intervention. The Sorcerer Supreme was known to act only when threats to the fabric of reality emerged, not for every powerful visitor who set foot on Midgard.

Still shrouded in invisibility through light refraction, Ragna and Varina continued to track Carol Danvers from the shadows.

If possible, Ragna would have preferred to capture Talos directly and extract the coordinates of Mar-Vell's hidden ship. But Carol's latent power was a problem. If forced into an emergency, she might instinctively unlock her true strength, and at this point, Ragna wasn't certain he could defeat her in a direct confrontation.

For now, he needed patience. He would follow Carol, wait for her to discover the coordinates herself, and then move ahead of her to claim the Tesseract first.

The Skrulls

"Skrulls?"

"All the Skrulls in this universe should be exterminated. They are disgusting parasites!"

Varina's tone was filled with unrestrained hatred as she glared at the Skrull agent attempting to escape after its failed attack on Carol Danvers. The alien infiltrator's body shifted erratically, morphing in an attempt to evade detection.

Varina instinctively reached for her weapon, eager to cut down the shape-shifter, but Ragna stopped her.

Varina had once hunted Hela around the 10th century AD before being stranded on Sakaar. She had lived for centuries, and given the Skrull Empire's long history as one of the three dominant cosmic civilizations, it was clear she had prior dealings with them.

Perhaps she had even fought Skrulls as enemies in the past.

"We can't reveal ourselves yet," Ragna cautioned, his tone thoughtful. Then, after a moment's silence, he asked,

"Why do you believe all Skrulls deserve to die?"

As Asgardian royalty, Ragna had spent most of his early years confined to Asgard, largely due to the incompatibility between his powerful Aesir body and the lingering essence of his previous life's soul. It had taken him years to fully harmonize with his divine strength.

Because of this, he had never explored the greater Nine Realms or beyond.

Unlike Thor or Loki, who had firsthand experience dealing with cosmic civilizations, Ragna 's knowledge of the Skrulls came mostly from his past-life memories, rather than real encounters.

Varina's face darkened with disgust.

"They are nothing but revolting, deceitful vermin!" she spat.

"Do you realize that the Skrulls have never developed their own unique technology?"

"From beginning to end, every advancement, every conquest, and every ounce of their power comes from their ability to steal from others!"

Her voice sharpened with fury as she continued.

"At a glance, they can perfectly mimic anyone's body, and even absorb their short-term memory!"

"Can you imagine the horror? The lover you hold dear, the one you trust the most—what if they were nothing more than a Skrull imposter, using your emotions for their own amusement?"

"Can you imagine pouring centuries of effort into scientific research, only to have your latest breakthrough stolen in an instant by a Skrull infiltrator?"

"Worse still, think about the greatest heroes, the most revered kings, the leaders who shape entire civilizations… What if, one by one, they were silently replaced, and no one ever realized? What if the Skrulls had already begun ruling from the shadows, slowly corrupting societies from within?"

Varina's hands clenched into fists.

"And beyond all of that… those filthy creatures have violated the Valkyries before! They even tried to steal the secrets of Bifrost!"

Her voice trembled with restrained rage.

"If Rig, Heimdall's father, hadn't seen through their deception with his all-seeing gaze, they might have succeeded!"

Her expression turned solemn.

"You know, Ragna , most of the people they impersonate end up dead."

She looked away for a moment before adding,

"One of those Valkyries was my best friend."

"The Skrulls deserve annihilation!"

Ragna 's gaze darkened as he listened. Rig, Heimdall's father, had once been the Guardian of Asgard before his son took over. He possessed the Eye of the Nine Realms, granting him unparalleled vision across space and time.

For him to have personally unmasked a Skrull infiltrator attempting to access the Bifrost's power was alarming.

Ragna hadn't given the Skrulls much thought before, but hearing this, he raised his guard against them.

This civilization was truly repulsive.

However, despite Varina's fury, Ragna did not agree that all Skrulls should be executed on sight. He had his own perspective.

"Varina," he said, calming her, "As far as I know, there is no 'Skrull Empire' left in this universe."

"The Kree annihilated their homeworld. Their civilization is in ruins. Most of their people have perished. The few who remain are nothing but refugees, scattered across the galaxy."

Varina scoffed, crossing her arms.

"Serves them right. Those bloody parasites deserved it."

But then, her expression shifted.

"Still… I doubt those bugs were completely wiped out. The Kree should be hunting them down relentlessly. Otherwise, they'll just hide in the shadows again, waiting for another opportunity."

She seemed satisfied at the thought but then hesitated.

"Wait… The Kree destroyed the Skrull Empire?"

There was a note of genuine skepticism in her voice.

"The Skrulls were always technologically superior to the Kree. For the longest time, the Kree were little more than a colony of the Skrulls, back when the Skrulls were at their peak."

Her brows furrowed.

"In fact, much of Kree technology originally came from the Skrulls. If the Kree managed to surpass them, then they must have made some significant advancements."

Ragna considered this for a moment before responding.

"Maybe."

He shrugged.

"Who knows how an ancient, powerful empire could collapse so quickly?"

He narrowed his eyes.

"There might be a great secret behind the Skrulls' downfall."

His fingers tapped against his wrist thoughtfully.

"But honestly, it doesn't matter now."

He let out a small, ironic chuckle.

"I have to admit, though, I find it surprising that the Kree were once subjugated by the Skrulls."

He glanced at Varina.

"Maybe that's why the Kree Empire is still a military dictatorship to this day. They refuse to let history repeat itself."

Ragna exhaled, watching Carol from the shadows.

Soon, everything would fall into place.