Marvel Cybernetic Girl

After ordering the three warships to remain on standby in Nidavellir's outer orbit, Kagura, Thor, and Loki descended together onto the Dwarves' Dyson Ring to search for any signs of life.

The Dyson Ring, built around the system's star, was designed to massively improve energy collection efficiency.

A typical planet could only gather an incredibly small fraction of a star's output—after all, compared to the vast 360-degree space surrounding a star, a planet's cross-sectional area was minuscule.

To harvest far more stellar energy, civilizations as advanced as the Dwarves opted to fill the entire orbital path, thus gaining a collection area millions of times larger than that of any planetary surface.

Put simply, the Dyson Ring was an enormous ring-shaped space station encircling the star itself.

By all logic, such a titanic structure should have been alive with light and activity.

With their living space expanded beyond imagination, the Dwarves of Nidavellir once possessed productivity and resources far surpassing anything Earth could ever dream of—a civilization of industry that could build wonders on a cosmic scale.

But now... the Dyson Ring was a wreck.

Scattered debris, shattered machinery, and inoperative equipment lay strewn about.

Power systems were completely down—only the life-support functions struggled weakly on, whispering that this cold, dark place had once been full of life.

"If you ask me," Loki muttered, kicking aside some loose scrap, "these Dwarves are either all dead... or never heard of cleaning up after themselves. I mean, living in this dump? I wouldn't stand it for a day."

"This is not what Nidavellir should be like," Thor said grimly, carefully pressing forward.

"In my memory, this place was glorious—brilliant, bathed in the light of the forge—filled with the roar of industry. The greatest forge in the universe... the birthplace of the finest weapons ever crafted..."

"Yeah, yeah, save the bragging. There's not even a Dwarf hair left here," Loki cut him off with a sneer. "Tell me, wasn't this realm under Asgard's protection? How does one of the Nine Realms get wiped out and you don't even notice?"

"Good question..." Thor scratched his head awkwardly. "We never received any reports of an attack on Nidavellir. It's possible the attackers didn't even give them a chance to send a distress signal..."

As the two Asgardian princes bickered over the Dwarves' fate, a massive shadow suddenly lunged from the side—slamming hard into Thor.

"Watch out!" Kagura reacted instantly, summoning her dimensional sorcery.

A bright orange chain of light coiled from her hand, wrapping around the heavy fist poised to strike Thor and stopping it cold.

"Easy! I am Thor—Thor Odinson!" Thor shouted, not raising his weapon.

He'd recognized the figure in an instant. "Eitri—the King of the Dwarves, Master of the Forge, the greatest weaponsmith in the universe!"

"We mean you no harm! We are your ally—calm yourself!"

At last, the giant figure—Eitri—stopped struggling against Kagura's chain, lowering his arm.

"Thor? You're... Thor?" Eitri rumbled.

"Yes, it's me. Thor. What happened here? Why has Nidavellir fallen to ruin like this?" Thor kept his voice gentle, showing no aggression.

"We came to seek the aid of the Dwarves..."

'THOOM!' Eitri smashed his enormous fist into the floor, the impact shaking the deck.

"Thor! Why in the Nine Realms did you only come now?! You were supposed to protect us! Asgard was supposed to protect us!"

"Asgard never received word that Nidavellir was under attack," Thor said firmly. "We had no idea your realm was in danger—"

"LIAR!" Eitri roared, cutting him off.

"What about Heimdall? The keeper of the Bifrost! Heimdall sees everything in the universe—there's no way he didn't see this!"

"Then the attackers must have found a way to blind Heimdall's sight," Thor muttered, his brows knitting in concern. "Someone capable of that... was no ordinary foe. They planned this thoroughly. Tell me, Eitri—who was it? Who did this to Nidavellir?"

"Thanos," Eitri growled, his eyes blazing with fury. He spat the name like venom.

"It was Thanos. He came, demanding that we forge him a gauntlet to harness the power of the Infinity Stones. We thought that if we obeyed, we'd be spared... but... but..."

Eitri's massive frame trembled, and for a moment, tears welled in the eyes of the mighty Dwarven king.

"But once the Gauntlet was complete... he slaughtered us all. Every last Dwarf—men, women, children. None were spared. Only I remain..."

He raised his heavy, iron-bound hands—the twisted mockery of limbs that Thanos had left him.

"He told me: 'Your life is your own... but your hands are mine.' Then he did this to me. Left me here... to live alone... in the cold and the dark..."

The towering Dwarf—three meters tall, brimming with strength—lowered his head, silent tears streaking down his face.

"Eitri... listen to me," Thor said softly after a moment's pause.

"No matter what happened... we still need your help. Asgard is under Hela's control now. If we can't defeat her, the entire Nine Realms will fall into ruin. You must forge us a weapon strong enough to kill Hela—or else—"

"Or else what?"

'THOOM!' Eitri smashed the wall beside him, leaving a deep dent.

"Nidavellir is gone! Our sun is dead! The Dyson Ring has stopped functioning! The forges are cold and broken! The forge works are lost forever—I can't help you!"

"But—" Thor tried to speak, but the furious glare in Eitri's eyes made him fall silent.

The last of the Dwarves—this mighty, fur-covered giant—looked down on him with bitter hatred.

"Save your breath. I cannot help you... just as Asgard did not help Nidavellir."

"And besides..."

Eitri's voice turned soft and sorrowful once more.

"Even if I wanted to forge you a weapon... I have no hands left to make it with."

"About that..."

Kagura quietly raised her hand.

"Maybe... just maybe... I can help with that. Maybe... I can bring all of Nidavellir back to life."

Everyone turned to her, eyes wide with disbelief.

"...What did you just say?!"

Kagura gently placed a hand over her chest.

"Eitri... if your will is strong enough... and if your memory of Nidavellir remains clear... I might be able to restore the entire realm to its former glory."

She met Eitri's astonished gaze, his eyes slowly lighting up with hope.

"Well?" she asked softly. "Do you want to try?"

"...Yes."

Eitri gave a fierce, heavy nod.

"If there's even the slightest chance to restore my homeland... then I, Eitri, will walk through fire and death itself to see it done!"

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