Marvel: AS A PRINCE IN ASGARD

Before Thor could fully grasp the situation, a resounding crack split the air as Odin yanked Gungnir free from his grasp. His single remaining eye burned with fury as he roared at Ragna,

"Do you even understand the words coming out of your mouth?"

"I understand perfectly," Ragna replied coldly. "Perhaps your age has finally caught up with you, 'God-King.'"

Odin's grip on Gungnir tightened, the spear humming with latent power as he raised it toward Ragna. The Allfather's voice carried the weight of millennia.

"Ragna!"

A storm of energy crackled around Gungnir as Odin took aim.

Only now did Thor realize the severity of the conflict. These two—his father and this enigmatic ruler—were not allies. He took a wary step back, gripping Mjolnir tightly, his storm-infused eyes shifting between Ragna and Valina, the warrior who stood at Ragna's side with an unreadable expression.

"I said, I'm here to negotiate," Ragna repeated, his voice laced with unwavering authority. "Release Hela. Relinquish Midgard."

Odin's gaze remained locked onto Ragna's, ancient and inscrutable, as if weighing the weight of history itself. He sighed, lowering Gungnir ever so slightly, but his voice was as unyielding as Asgard's walls.

"Freeing Hela is impossible. The seal that binds her is intertwined with my very life force. Should I perish, she will be unleashed upon the realms. As for Midgard…" His expression darkened. "Midgard holds secrets beyond mortal comprehension. It is more than a mere world—it is a nexus of power, safeguarded by Asgard's vigilance for untold ages. We cannot abandon it."

Odin's words carried the weight of divine conviction, but beneath them, there was something more—an unspoken plea, an acknowledgment of Ragna's power. Yet, as much as Odin recognized Ragna's strength, his duty to Asgard and the Nine Realms remained unchanged.

"Whatever your reasons, whatever you seek," Odin continued, his voice lowering, "I advise you to abandon this reckless ambition. You are not ready."

Ragna stood motionless, his icy gaze locked onto Odin's. For a fleeting moment, something flickered in his expression—perhaps recognition of the rare paternal concern in Odin's voice. But if it was there, it vanished just as quickly.

Thor, meanwhile, was lost in a whirlwind of questions. Hela? His father had never spoken of her. And why did Midgard hold such great significance? Why had Asgard protected it so fiercely?

For the first time, Thor realized just how little he truly knew.

Mjolnir trembled in his grasp as frustration mounted within him. Unable to voice his confusion, he resorted to gripping his hammer tighter, swinging it in idle rotations to steady his mind.

Ragna's piercing gaze bore into Odin. The Allfather was not the same conqueror he had once been. The Odin of old, the warrior who once laid waste to entire civilizations, had faded into something lesser. The deep lines in his face, the weariness in his remaining eye—this was a king clinging to a past he could no longer command.

"I don't believe it," Ragna stated, his voice cutting through the tense silence.

"I refuse to believe that your death is the only means to free Hela. And I will not be deterred."

His stance shifted, his presence pressing against the very air. "As for Midgard and your supposed wisdom… The Odin I see before me today is no longer fit to decide my worth."

Odin's lone eye narrowed. Energy crackled between them.

"Then prove it," Odin challenged.

The words hung in the air for only a second before the sound of rushing wind tore through Bifrost. A towering, spiked suit of armor streaked across the sky—the Destroyer. With a resounding clang, the living weapon encased Odin, its darkened metal gleaming under the cosmic light.

From within the armor, Odin's single eye burned red. The air around him grew thick with raw, unrestrained power.

"Defeat me, and I will grant you what you seek." His voice was a war drum, heralding the battle to come.

"But if you lose—leave Asgard and never return."

The challenge had been issued.

Ragna's lips curled into a smirk, but he wasted no words. Slowly, he extended his left hand, fingers tightening—a pulse of blue light flared from his palm, the power of the Space Stone glinting in his grasp. His right hand reached into the void, pulling forth a long sword wreathed in golden flames.

Though the sword was but a standard weapon of the Angelic Legions, under the power of the sun, it burned with a radiance that rivaled the stars.

For a moment, the two warriors stood in silence, eyes locked.

Then—Bang!

The clash of Gungnir and the flaming sword sent a shockwave tearing through the remnants of Bifrost. Sparks ignited the sky, tendrils of lightning arcing from the impact. The once-calm waters beneath the bridge erupted into massive waves.

The battle had begun.

Thor surged forward, unwilling to remain a mere spectator. But before he could reach the battlefield, Valina intercepted him, her blade drawn.

With a single step, she barred his path, her dragon-tooth sword gleaming in the celestial glow.

Thor's eyes darkened. "What are you doing?"

Valina's expression was unreadable. "You. You're my opponent."

A Valkyrie standing against Asgard's prince—this was no simple duel.

A second battlefield was born.

The titanic clashes of Odin and Ragna illuminated Asgard's skies, their battle rippling through the realms. Yet neither warrior yielded.

Far away, Heimdall, Frigga, the three warriors of Asgard, and the royal guards had already begun rushing toward the Bifrost, drawn by the sheer force of the battle.

But in the heart of the fight, neither Odin nor Ragna spared them a glance.

Odin fought without restraint. His spear thrust, parried, and twirled in perfect, deadly arcs. His movements spoke of thousands of years of battle—every strike, a lesson learned in war, every block, a defense honed through bloodshed. He was a master of the battlefield.

And yet—Ragna held his own.

Even though he lacked Odin's refined technique, raw power made up for it. With the Space Stone augmenting his reach, every clash twisted reality itself.

Time slowed. Distances warped.

Whenever Odin's spear sought an opening, Ragna was already there, blocking, countering, retaliating. The duel remained locked in a stalemate.

As their battle raged, the fate of Asgard and the Nine Realms teetered on the edge of a blade.

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