Chapter 2: Hela Within the Seal
"Hah..."
Amid the endless fall, Orion Cross’s power as an Aspect, which could only last for one hour, had long since faded.
Plummeting from an immeasurable height, the reason he could survive in a mortal body still depended on his unyielding will.
However, that will could only allow him to reject the summons of the realm of death and preserve the integrity of his body as much as possible. It could not help him recover quickly.
So Orion Cross, whose entire body was riddled with comminuted fractures, could only leave his fate to the heavens when that unfamiliar female voice suddenly sounded. He could not even respond.
"Oh, what a pitiful mortal. You cannot even speak anymore."
From within the darkness, a graceful figure walked over. She crouched down in front of Orion Cross and pressed one hand against his head.
A strange power drilled into Orion Cross’s body, instantly healing a portion of his injuries.
"There. Can you speak now? Answer my question."
"What exactly did you do? Why would Odin seal a mere mortal like you in this place?"
Hela stood up coldly and returned to the only throne within the darkness, her eyes fixed on Orion Cross.
"Don’t you already know?"
Orion Cross propped himself up from the ground and sat up, spitting out a mouthful of black air as he stared coldly into the endless darkness ahead.
The power that had "healed" him just now was called "death."
If Orion Cross could not reject the summons of any realm of death, he would already have been turned by Hela into a soldier of her army of the dead.
"Immortality? That alone is not enough for Odin to act personally. You definitely did something else."
Hela leaned against her throne, one hand supporting her jaw as she looked at Orion Cross.
"I killed one thousand and twenty-four warriors who called themselves gods."
"Oh, that is passable. What else?"
Hela raised an eyebrow and nodded.
"I beat Odin’s son half to death and threw him off the Rainbow Bridge. If Odin had arrived one step later, his line would have ended there."
"Well done. Any other heroic deeds?"
Hearing that Odin had suffered a setback and that the younger brother she had never met had been beaten up, the corners of Hela’s mouth rose wildly.
"Odin threw me beneath the palace of Asgard. There, I killed a giant wolf and countless skeleton monsters."
"..."
The smile on Hela’s face stiffened. She slowly turned her head to look at Orion Cross. "What did you say?"
"I can feel a familiar killing intent."
Orion Cross took a deep breath and dragged his heavily injured body to his feet.
"I really have to thank that old bastard for sending me such an undying plaything. At least I can find some amusement in this boring seal."
Hela slowly rose from her throne. She clenched both hands in the air, and two Night Sky Swords carrying a cold aura of death appeared in her grasp.
"I am already tired of endless battle..."
"But I will not run from it."
A ray of starlight broke through the seal, cutting open the dark sealed space and shining down upon Orion Cross.
The power of the Aspect instantly repaired his originally broken and heavily wounded body. Strength surged through him once more.
"So this is your true power? Interesting. Come, entertain your queen!"
Watching Orion Cross’s miraculous transformation, Hela showed no fear. Instead, she became even more excited, changing from walking toward him with swords in hand to charging straight at him.
The battle erupted at once.
Within the seal, death and war fused together, while darkness and starlight intertwined.
No one knew how long this battle lasted.
Orion Cross’s power as an Aspect could only last for one hour, but his unyielding will allowed him to hold on until the next awakening.
Back then, it was also with this unyielding will that he had used a mortal body to carve his own scars into Asgard.
As for Hela, she had spent far too long in that lonely seal. She had long wanted to vent without restraint, so naturally, she would not stop easily.
...
On an endless grassland, two people lay side by side on the ground, gazing up at the sky.
"So this place isn’t just darkness?"
Orion Cross drew in a breath of air and narrowed his eyes, feeling the long-lost sunlight.
After fighting for an unknown length of time, even Hela began to feel somewhat tired of it, so she simply stopped on her own initiative.
Once she stopped, all the dark green aura around them, symbolizing death and darkness, was drawn back into her body.
After that, the current scene appeared.
"This is Midgard, your homeland. You actually did not recognize it?"
Hela spoke with a mocking tone.
"Midgard..."
Orion Cross muttered to himself. Midgard was Earth, wasn’t it?
In other words, after going in a circle, he had come back?
Thinking of this, Orion Cross dragged his somewhat exhausted body to his feet and looked around.
"Stop looking. The surroundings have been sealed off by that old bastard. No living thing can enter or leave this place."
Hela thought Orion Cross was looking for a way to break the seal, so she spoke up to remind him.
"As the Goddess of Death, do you count as a living thing?"
Hearing her voice, Orion Cross casually asked.
"...Give up. Unless Odin dies, this seal is indestructible."
Hela fell silent for a second, then spoke.
"What if the one who breaks the seal has power equal to Odin’s?"
"Who? Midgard has such an existence?"
Hela frowned and asked.
"I am not sure how much time has passed, but the future is promising."
Orion Cross looked toward the sky and spoke.
Since he had returned to Earth, the Ancient One must have sensed it.
Back when Odin had taken him away from Earth, the Ancient One had only recently inherited the position of Sorcerer Supreme. After clashing with Odin, she had lost, which led to Orion Cross and the other mortals being taken away.
At the time, the Ancient One had promised that she owed Orion Cross once. As long as he could return to Earth, he could seek her out if he encountered trouble.