Marvel: NIHILITY

The air in Ta Lo was thick with the scent of wet earth and growing plants, but all Hela could focus on was the rocky outcrop before her. It was a small patch of land, perched high enough that she could see the village below, but not so high as to give her a grand view of anything else. It was... insignificant, and so was the task Jiayi had given her.

Hela's brow furrowed as she sat cross-legged on the jagged rocks, her back straight and her hands resting on her knees. Jiayi stood in front of her, arms crossed and face stern, her eyes like embers in the darkness.

"Focus on your breathing," Jiayi instructed. "Inhale deeply through your nose, then exhale slowly through your mouth. Let the air fill your lungs and push out all the distractions."

Hela glared at her. "Breathing? Really? This is your grand plan to teach me how to fight?"

Jiayi didn't flinch. "This is the foundation. Without control of your breath, there is no control of your mind or body. Breath connects you to the light. It connects you to everything around you."

Hela gritted her teeth, but complied, taking in a deep breath. She could feel the air entering her lungs, cool and clean. But the stillness... it gnawed at her. The task felt beneath her, beneath the goddess she was, beneath the fury that burned inside her. She clenched her fists, but Jiayi's calm voice cut through the storm in her mind.

"Again," Jiayi said, her tone unwavering. "Focus. Breathe."

Hela exhaled slowly, her frustration building. She was a goddess of death. She had once ruled the dead. She had destroyed entire realms in her pursuit of power. And here she was, sitting on a rock, breathing like a mortal in some kind of pathetic attempt at enlightenment. She was better than this. She didn't need this.

But Jiayi's next task only added salt to her wounds. "Now, paper folding."

Hela blinked in disbelief. "What? Paper folding?"

Jiayi nodded. "Yes. Folding paper is a practice of patience and precision. You must be able to focus your mind on something simple before you can move to something more complex."

Hela's jaw tightened. She took the square of paper Jiayi handed her and tried to follow the instructions, her hands clumsy and impatient as she bent the edges in all the wrong directions. It wasn't long before the paper was crumpled in her fist, frustration bubbling up once more.

"This is a waste of time!" she snapped, standing abruptly, her hand slamming down on the ground. "I came here to learn real magic, Jiayi, not to fold paper like some child!"

Jiayi didn't react to the outburst. Instead, she calmly folded another piece of paper herself, showing Hela the delicate crease of each fold and the precision required. "You came here because you want power. But power without discipline is nothing more than destruction. And you..."

"I know what I am!" Hela cut her off, her eyes flashing with dark fire. "I am the goddess of death! I am power incarnate!"

Jiayi's gaze softened, though her voice remained firm. "You are more than that, Hela. But first, you must understand why you want this power. What is the purpose of your destruction? What is the point of all the fighting, the conquering?"

Hela froze. The question hung in the air, heavy and oppressive, like the storm clouds she had once brought upon Midgard. "I... I want revenge," she said, the words bitter in her mouth. "I want to bring down Odin and his lackeys ... make them all pay for what they've done."

Jiayi's eyes bore into her, unyielding. "Revenge is a chain, Hela. And chains are not freedom. You are trapped in your own rage. But what if there was another way? What if, instead of destroying, you could choose a different path? What if you could free yourself from the chains that bind you?"

Hela's heart stilled at that—chains. She had been chained her entire life. Her thoughts flitted back to a distant memory, one that had always lingered at the edges of her mind. It was when she was still a child, innocent and unaware of the weight of her own destiny. She had a dog back then—her beloved Fenrir. He was strong and loyal, and she had loved him more than anything.

One day, though, Odin had come to her, looking stern and commanding. Fenrir had been chained, kept at bay in the courtyard by Odin's orders. He claimed it was to keep Fenrir from becoming a threat. But Hela had known better. He wanted control. He always wanted control.

"He's a danger, Hela," Odin had said, his voice cold. "This is for his own good. For all our good."

But Hela had known it wasn't for anyone's good. Odin's chains were never about protection; they were about domination. And that day, as she watched Fenrir—her only companion—struggle against the chains, she had realized the truth. Odin had always kept her chained, too.

The memory hit Hela like a physical blow. Her entire life had been shaped by the weight of those chains. The helmet. The expectations. The control. It wasn't power she craved, not truly. What she wanted was freedom—freedom to choose her own path, to escape the suffocating grasp of Odin and his endless demands.

Her hands trembled, and the realization began to settle over her like a fog. It wasn't vengeance she sought. It was freedom.

Jiayi's voice cut through the haze. "Do you understand now?"

Hela nodded slowly, her expression unreadable. "I... I understand."

Jiayi smiled, a rare warmth in her gaze. "Then you are ready."

Meanwhile, on a small hill just beyond the village, David sat on a rock, his legs stretched out in front of him, popcorn in hand that looked like glowing soul stones. He was enjoying the unfolding drama between Hela and Jiayi, the intensity of it all providing ample entertainment. As much as he had grown accustomed to the idea of magic, watching Hela wrestle with her own demons was oddly captivating.

"Man, this is better than any action movie," he muttered to himself, popping another piece of popcorn into his mouth. "She's gonna make a badass anti-hero when this is all over. Hope she doesn't become a demon slayer after learning breathing arts. Imagine her yelling 'Death breathing, first form: endless death' or some similar shit!"

But as he leaned back, stretching his arms above his head, he didn't notice Jiayi's subtle glance toward him. With a casual flick of her wrist, she sent a wave of magic in his direction, and before he could react, he found himself falling face-first toward the rocky outcrop where Hela sat in meditation.

"Wait, wh—" Crash!

David collided with Hela in a heap, and in a moment of sheer awkwardness, their faces were smacked together.

Hela's eyes widened in shock as David's face landed squarely on hers, the unexpected collision causing their lips to meet in a brief, accidental kiss. She could only shockingly stare at him as their lips parted slowly.

For a long moment, there was silence.

David blinks, his face flushed with embarrassment. "Uh... that was... not intentional." He then pretended to be like a shy Japanese girl, sticking his fingers together, and said, " You will take responsibility, right, goth-looking onee san? That was my first kiss in this world..."

Hela's expression was a mix of fury and disbelief. "You fucking bastard...!"

Jiayi, standing a few feet away, merely raised an eyebrow, a small, knowing smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Oh my, that was quite unexpected. Sometimes, the light comes from the most unexpected places."

David groaned, his face still flushed. "You didn't have to make me crash into her! I was just—"

Hela growled under her breath, shoving him off. "Get away from me, you bastard lecher!"

Jiayi chuckled softly. "I think you've both learned something today. Though it wasn't quite what I intended."

David, ducking under the punch Hela thrown at him, grumbled. " You really suck. You ripoff ancient one copy made in China! You just had to raise a flag!"