Chapter 565: Schiller's Best Skill (2)
Just as Helen's energy beam was about to hit Thor, suddenly, a faintly glowing magic barrier appeared in front of Thor, and Frigga's figure descended slowly from mid-air.
Because little Helen appeared very inconspicuous under that beam of light, in the vast expanse of space, any small celestial fragment was larger than Helen. If you didn't look carefully, you might mistake her for a speck of dust in space.
So, from Frigga's perspective, it was actually Stark who had fired that beam, even though Frigga was angry about Sif's injury, she would instinctively protect her own children. After blocking the attack on Thor, she landed by his side.
As the light dissipated slowly, a small figure floated in the air. The moment Frigga saw her face, she froze.
"Lady Loki? How... How did you... shrink?" Frigga's first reaction was to rush up and then hugged Helen. It wasn't until she got closer that Frigga realized that this girl didn't seem to be Lady Loki.
No one understands their children better than a mother, and Asgardians can sense each other's divine power. Frigga had been spending a lot of time with Lady Loki recently, and she was very familiar with Lady Loki's aura. The girl in her arms looked a lot like Lady Loki but wasn't her.
Frigga gently released Helen, lifting her under her armpits, and raised her. She then noticed the Ark Reactor on Helen's chest still emitting a faint light, obviously having just discharged energy and was in the process of recharging.
Suddenly, a figure flew over to the opposite side of Frigga and took Helen from her hands. Stark supported Helen's back and used his gauntlet to press against the Ark Reactor on her chest.
A few small robots flew over and connected their mechanical parts. Stark was repairing the old version of the Ark Reactor on Helen's chest, which had malfunctioned due to excessive output.
By this time, Thor, who had exhausted his divine power, had flown over. Before he could start scolding, Stark explained, "First of all, this is not a child of mine and Lady Loki.""How is that possible! She looks exactly like Lady Loki!" Thor shouted.
"She is Lady Loki's child, but not mine and Lady Loki's!" Stark explained again.
"Then how come she has your Ark Reactor on her chest?" Thor demanded.
"Humans are carbon-based life forms, and the Ark Reactor is my creation. She can't inherit..."
"So, you're experimenting with Lady Loki's children!"
"Wait a moment," Frigga suddenly spoke up, she was much calmer than Thor, or rather, when she noticed Helen's appearance, she thought this might be Stark and Lady Loki's child, but she wasn't as angry as Thor.
Part of it was because Frigga had spent more time with Lady Loki and knew her better. Frigga knew that if Lady Loki didn't want something, no one could force her. And considering Lady Loki's current level, it would be hard for anyone to deceive her.
If this was indeed Stark and Lady Loki's child, it meant that Lady Loki had to be willing, whether it was for emotional reasons or other interests. ...
Frigga and Thor had different perspectives, so they came to different conclusions. Since Lady Loki was willing, it would actually be more satisfying for Frigga.
What no one knew was that Frigga didn't actually approve of Odin's idea of matchmaking Thor and Lady Loki.
First of all, Thor definitely still saw Lady Loki as a sister, and in his previous life as an older brother, Lady Loki was even a younger brother. They had not developed any feelings beyond sibling love. If Thor were to marry Lady Loki directly, he would definitely feel uncomfortable.
In any case, Thor was now the king of Asgard, and Odin's time had passed. There was no need for friction between the new king and the old king over this matter.
Secondly, Asgardians had a deep-seated prejudice against Lady Loki. They would not accept Lady Loki as their queen, and if it were forced, even if Lady Loki had the ability, it would be very difficult at the beginning.
Frigga knew that Odin had other lovers; it was common in Asgard. However, Asgardians adhered to monogamy when it came to their queens. They would only acknowledge one queen. There had never been a case where an Asgardian king had two queens. Therefore, Asgardians had very high standards for their queens. She had to be strong, beautiful, gentle, and virtuous, adhering to the traditional goddess image of Asgard in both word and deed.
But clearly, Lady Loki was not that kind of person. Her ambitions were too great, and Asgard could not accept a queen who would meddle in politics, even if it only occasionally.
Odin's political considerations in matchmaking the two were valid, but in reality, it would make both parties uncomfortable.
Furthermore, if Thor were to abandon Sif like this, he would undoubtedly receive criticism. First, he had eliminated the hardliners, and now he was abandoning Sif, who had previously relied on the hardliners. This would easily make the people of Asgard see him as heartless and ungrateful, and they would become uneasy.
In short, Frigga had been worried about how to resolve this situation. She had advised Odin, but Odin still believed that he should consider the bigger picture and even asked her to persuade the two children.
However, after being a queen for so long, Frigga wasn't naive. Whether Odin was willing or not was one thing, and whether it could actually happen was another. Frigga didn't say it outright, but she had ways to ensure that this marriage wouldn't take place.
And now, the opportunity had come. Frigga even felt that it was Lady Loki who had sensed Odin's intentions and therefore maintained an ambiguous relationship with Stark. With a potential demon god like Stark in the middle, it would be difficult for Odin to forcefully separate them.
With this in mind, Frigga felt that she had to give her daughter a beautiful assist, so she stopped the impulsive Thor and said, "I don't care how you two had this child, I just want to ask, you are her father, and Lady Loki is her mother, right?"
"This..." Stark hesitated for a moment and then briefly introduced how this child came to be to Frigga. Frigga listened with a furrowed brow and said, "So you mean this child is not only yours and Lady Loki's child but also Thor's child?"...
"My child? What relationship do I have with this?" Thor still couldn't grasp it.
"If what he says is true, then it was your divine power that ignited this child's soul flame, which means you can also be considered her father."
Thor was surprised, opened his mouth wide, and gently touched Helen's head with his big hand. He then sensed a familiar aura. Although it wasn't his divine power, this little girl's soul was indeed of Asgardian origin.
Frigga looked at the two of them with a serious expression and said, "I don't want to inquire about how this child came to be, but whether it's Lady Loki or Thor, I should be this child's grandmother."
Stark acknowledged this point, after all, it was Lady Loki who wielded the hammer at the beginning, and the divine power belonged to Thor. But both of them were princes of Asgard, which meant that no matter how you looked at it, Frigga was Helen's grandmother.
"Now, I hope that neither of you will reveal how she was born, or..." Frigga looked into Stark's eyes and said, "insist that she is solely your and Lady Loki's child, with no connection to Thor."
"Why?" Stark asked.
Frigga glanced at Thor, who was still bewildered, but didn't directly answer the question. Instead, she said, "If Odin finds out that Thor has a child, no matter what, he will surely want to bring this child back to Asgard to be raised by us."
"No," Stark shook his head. He looked at Frigga and said, "You should know better than I do what Asgard will face."
"That's why Odin sees every part that deviates from the prophecy as a lifesaving straw," Frigga emphasized, saying, "Odin is a pure Asgardian nationalist. As long as it can preserve Asgard, he will sacrifice anyone, including all Asgardians, and even himself."
Frigga sighed and looked at Helen, saying, "The prophecy never mentioned the existence of this child. If Odin were to know she is related to Thor, you might encounter trouble."
"Don't you want her to help avert Ragnarok?" Stark asked.
Frigga closed her eyes, shook her head, and said, "Perhaps Odin regards Asgard too highly. People often lose sight of the bigger picture. The reason for Ragnarok isn't that we're not strong enough; it's because we're too powerful."
"He has been grooming Thor, waging wars, plundering resources, strengthening Asgard, but this is pushing it towards destruction. And if he insists on bringing this child back to Asgard, he will only lead us all down the path of returning to the source of Space."
Stark held Helen, touched his head, and said, "This child will never go back with you to Asgard. No matter what Odin thinks, even if he knows everything, if he wants to come, then I'll be waiting."
Frigga heard a resolute tone in Stark's words. As a mother who had once lost a child, Frigga understood better than anyone the protective instincts of parents, the most powerful force in the world.
After saying these words, Stark turned and left. Thor, who still hadn't fully understood what was happening, caught up with him and said, "Wait! You haven't explained your relationship with Lady Loki yet!"...
Watching the backs of the two as they left, Frigga sighed deeply. Suddenly, she turned her head and looked into the deep space, where a brilliant Thunderbolt was flashing – Odin.
Frigga turned her head slightly, looking somewhat sad. Clearly, she had some grievances regarding the matter of Balder's return to the World Tree due to excessive destruction.
Odin approached and embraced Frigga. He said, "Let's go back."
"Don't you want to bring that child back?" Frigga asked him.
Odin shook his head and said, "I understand better than you do that any unexpected turn of events beyond the prophecy must always remain outside of it to truly bring about a change. If we insist on involving her in this quagmire, the end result will be our collective demise."
"After Thor ascended to the throne, I had more time to think. I've pondered a lot."
"Humans are a fascinating race. They hold emotions in such high regard. I used to think it was just an excuse for their weakness and escapism."
"But they changed Thor, they changed Lady Loki. Perhaps, emotions give them more weaknesses, but at the same time, they also grant them greater strength..."
Odin held Frigga as they walked back. He turned his head and, through the endless deep space, gazed at the azure planet.
At this moment, the boundary between light and darkness had just crossed over New York, and the arc of the Sun floated on the sparkling sea. Accompanied by the first call of a morning whistle, New York was waking up.
Pepper, who had been busy all night, rubbed her temples and quickly entered the elevator, arriving at the Stark Tower lab, intending to discuss the work for the next quarter with Stark.
As she entered, she was bumped by a small figure. Pepper looked down, and the first thing she saw was the Ark Reactor on the little girl's chest, who had also fallen to the ground.
And the second thing she saw was that the little girl looked at least eighty percent similar to Lady Loki.
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