"Wait… Was I just talking to myself?"
Come to think of it, I was speaking to her…
No, that line was clearly meant for me!
Lothar had the distinct feeling he'd just dug a pit for himself, and it was far too deep to climb out of.
"Great. Just great," he muttered.
Among the four present, Hela stood alone as the only one who had awakened divine power—true divinity. That alone gave her ample cause to look down on the others.
Well, the two others, technically.
The Other didn't count. He was just a glorified tagalong.
"Speaking of which," Jennifer turned to Hela, perplexed, "why do you carry the aura of Death itself?"
Even after living for over a millennium, Jennifer had yet to crystallize a divine spark within herself. Yet here was Hela, a woman their master had assured was barely in her twenties, with fully awakened godhood?
"I was born a goddess," Hela replied coolly.
The detached tone, the effortless pride, it left Jennifer speechless.
"What? You don't believe me?"
Hela's sharp eyes caught the flicker of disbelief that flashed across Jennifer's face.
"My people are the Aesir of the Nine Realms. Every child of Asgard is born with some degree of divinity."
"The only difference lies in what happens with time. Some awaken and strengthen that spark. Others lose it completely and fall into mediocrity."
"But I… I am the daughter of Odin. Heir to the throne of Asgard. My potential, from birth, has surpassed every generation in our history."
"The divine essence of death? I awakened that fully when I was seven."
"In other words, from the age of seven, I have been the Goddess of Death."
She raised her index finger proudly, the corners of her lips lifting in a smirk. She was thoroughly enjoying the stunned expression on Jennifer's face.
"Asgard's Goddess of Death?" Jennifer raised an eyebrow.
"Sounds like a weak god to me."
Whap!
Hela turned and swatted to her left, at empty air.
Lothar had already moved far ahead, widening the gap with each step.
"The weakest of gods?" Jennifer asked, blinking in confusion at Hela.
There was something different about her. This goddess of death didn't feel as untouchable or oppressive as the others Jennifer had met over the centuries.
Or was that simply because of the man called Lothar?
"Shut it," Hela snapped, her face darkening as she turned and strode in the opposite direction from Lothar.
She didn't even know why she'd been teleported here. She didn't need to awaken any godly essence, and she certainly didn't know this so-called Great Sage of Gafa, Gubo.
No matter. She could always seek out the Grandmaster of Sakaar directly, in Odin's name.
After all, she'd already memorized the route on the Soul Stone map. Her father's mission was complete. Gafa was gone. And without him, the agreement with the Collector no longer applied.
"Lady Hela, where are you going?" asked a bright, curious voice.
Woz's holographic face appeared in front of her.
"To find the Grandmaster," she replied icily.
"Then you should follow Lord Lothar! Woz has already calculated a path to the arena, where the Grandmaster is waiting!"
The cheerful image of Woz scratching the back of his head with a toothy grin made Hela freeze.
"..."
Two deep breaths later, she turned and stalked back in Lothar's direction.
I'm building my own AI when I get home!
And it'll be magical!
I'll call it Lothar!
And it'll have to call me Princess every single day!
The longer she thought about it, the more her fury simmered. Her aura grew colder with every step.
"Prince Lothar, look!"
"There's a spaceship!"
The Other pointed his staff toward the sky, where more and more ships were appearing.
"Greetings, champions of Sakaar!" boomed a holographic projection. "I am the Grandmaster, 55ruler of this fine planet!"
"I know many of you have long wished to leave and return home."
"I regret that I sealed off that hope… but now, I've had a change of heart. I will offer a single opportunity to return home."
"Two days from now, I shall host the First Gladiator Championship of Sakaar, right here at the arena!"
"Everyone on Sakaar is eligible. Simply register at the arena gates."
"The champion of this grand tournament will not only earn passage off this world… but will also receive a divine relic, the skeletal remains of a deity who perished at the dawn of the universe!"
"Furthermore, their likeness will be immortalized in the Pillars of Champions, standing for all to admire!"
"So come, warriors of Sakaar, if you have faith in your strength, come and fight!"
"Claim the title of Sakaar's Strongest!"
"That… is the highest glory a warrior can attain!"
The Grandmaster's hologram, projected from a golden spacecraft, broadcast across every corner of Sakaar. All those exiled here, warriors, rogues, warlords, looked skyward, eyes fixed on the glowing figure in a golden robe.
A silver stripe ran from his lower lip to his chin, his unmistakable insignia.
"The First Gladiator Championship?" Lothar murmured from the ground.
"A divine relic as the prize?"
He narrowed his eyes as the Grandmaster's message looped again in the sky.
He had just wiped out the Grandmaster's goons, and now the guy was flaunting a god's remains as bait. There was no way this was just a coincidence.
"Prince Lothar, should we…" The Other looked to him for instruction.
"Of course we're joining."
Now that the Grandmaster had guessed his objective, Lothar saw no reason to play coy.
So, it was a tournament. What of it? His opponents were just the scum stuck on this planet. Lothar didn't feel even a flicker of pressure.
"If he's bold enough to use a god's remains as a reward, he must be hiding something," Jennifer muttered, eyes narrowing in thought.
"What gives him the confidence to take that risk?"
"He is one of those primordial beings from the dawn of the universe," Hela scoffed, casually revealing the truth. "His confidence is his own power."
She recalled the tales Odin had once shared of the Collector and his brother.
"These two are something else," she said. "One hoards rare things like a cosmic dragon. The other? He gets off on games, designing and controlling tournaments."
"And his reputation as a bookie?" Hela smirked. "Let's just say it's… questionable."
She squinted, recalling something Odin once told her.
"Someone once beat him in a bet. Grandmaster smiled, handed over the winnings…"
"…then stabbed him through the gut."
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