For a moment, the room was silent and a rare flicker of sorrow passed through Arthur's eyes.
Power might not be the answer to everything, but there was no denying its importance.
If Odin still possessed his full strength, even if his fate remained unchanged, he could have held on a little longer.
But now...
Arthur had no idea how much time the old man had left.
When he first met Odin, the way the All-Father forced himself to stand tall— it was nothing more than sheer willpower holding him together. A stubborn old king refusing to show weakness.
And the more Odin acted like that, the clearer it became just how close he was to collapsing.
Thinking back to their time together, Arthur had to admit Odin had given him plenty.
Aside from watching over him for more than thirty years without his knowledge... and forcing him into a blind date with his eldest daughter, Odin had never truly wronged him.
The more Arthur thought about it, the heavier his chest felt.
And somewhere beneath the sorrow, anger smoldered.
"You're too damn stubborn." Arthur let out a long sigh, his frown deepening. "Do you really think I care about that bit of divine energy?"
"There wasn't much left to begin with," Odin admitted. "Compared to my prime, I'm nothing more than a flickering candle. My power is less than a tenth of what it once was. If I still had my full strength, the Dark Elves never would have breached Frigga's chambers."
"You know that's not what I meant."
Odin chuckled. "Of course, I do."
He stepped forward and rested a hand on Arthur's shoulder, his touch lighter than expected. "It's almost over now. Once you absorb the last of my power, I'll be gone. You'll be able to restore my memories later, but… I hope you won't do it too soon. At least, not before I see Frigga one last time. Otherwise, I fear I might act… unpredictably."
Then, with a knowing smirk, Odin added, "A thousand years from now, that girl on Earth won't be able to stand by your side through eternity. But Hela can… I'm giving you both a chance. If, in the future, you two find a way forward together, I will rest even easier."
Arthur's expression darkened. "Don't talk like you're leaving behind a will. You're not dead yet."
"I will bee soon."
Odin's grip tightened on Arthur's shoulder. "I entrust Asgard's future to you. Please… no matter what happens, stand by Thor's side."
With those final words, the old king's figure faded—
His body dissolving into streams of light, converging into a pure white glow that became part of Arthur's power.
At the same time, knowledge surfaced in Arthur's mind— Odin's final gift— the method to unlock the seal on his memories, left behind for him to use when the time was right.
When Arthur opened his eyes, the orb in his hand had vanished. But within him, the colorless energy had surged to an entirely new level.
Odin's power had at least doubled the number of large stars within him, and it seemed only a matter of time before they surpassed a thousand.
"Stubborn old man."
Arthur exhaled, shutting his eyes for a moment.
Then—
The sound of gears shifting filled the air.
[Disassembler upgrade complete!]
Arthur froze for a second before rubbing his forehead. "Was it because of Odin's power? Did it accelerate the Disassembler's upgrade?"
With a thought, he summoned the Disassembler.
It looked nearly identical— sleek, advanced, and pristine. But the status indicator had changed.
Intermediate Level One → Intermediate Level Two.
Arthur had learned from experience— most of the Disassembler's upgraded features weren't immediately visible.
Only time would reveal what had truly changed.
On any other day, Arthur might have been in the mood to disassemble something, to experiment and explore.
But with Odin's situation weighing on his mind, he just couldn't bring himself to focus on anything else.
He sat down on the bed, then let himself fall back, staring blankly at the ceiling, his thoughts a tangled mess.
For a long while, he let them drift. Then, finally, he ran a hand over his face, exhaled sharply, and pushed himself up.
"Ragnarok… Odin went to such lengths to prepare for it. So what can I do?"
His brows furrowed in deep thought.
Thor: Ragnarok had depicted the so-called end of Asgard.
First, Odin passed away. Hela broke free from her prison, shattered Mjolnir like it was nothing, and then unleashed her fury upon Asgard.
Thor was hurled from the Bifrost, eventually landing in the middle of some gladiator death match— where he found Hulk, who had spent years stuck in a permanent rage.
They formed a shaky alliance and returned to Asgard… only to realize that, in terms of sheer power, they had no way of defeating Hela.
And in their desperation, they unleashed a force even more destructive than her.
"That was the key to Asgard's destruction."
Arthur closed his eyes.
"So, to stop it, I have to stop Hela first. If she never reaches Asgard, then none of this happens. And if it does come to that… then that fire-born monster can't be unleashed. If necessary, I'll have to fight her myself."
His gaze drifted to his hands.
The brutal woman he had glimpsed in Hel…
"Carrying Odin's power, I can't just stand by. But brute force alone won't be enough. Odin's strength is too depleted— what I inherited isn't as much as I expected. In a direct fight, I might not be able to match her…"
Arthur sighed.
"As much as I hate the idea of going to Hel, once this situation is dealt with, I might not have a choice. If there's a way to resolve this without a fight, I'll take it."
Having settled his thoughts for now, Arthur let out a long breath.
"When did I start thinking like this?"
A wry chuckle escaped him.
"Now, all I think about is whether Earth will survive, whether Asgard will fall… When did my only goal stop being just to stay alive? Funny how people change when they're pushed far enough."
Shaking off his thoughts, Arthur didn't waste any more time. He got up, stretched, and strode out the door.
With a long sigh, Arthur didn't linger any longer but got up and headed out to find Thor.
Odin's situation could be set aside for now, but the matter of the Dark Elves could not be delayed any longer.
(End of chapter)
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