Chapter Thirty-Two: The Entrance to the Nine Realms

Midtown High School, New York, Earth

Peter Parker stared at the empty seat behind him. Where had Arthur gone? He’d heard Arthur had taken leave and even went to his house to check on him. But the place was deserted, and when he asked Isa at the diner, she had no idea where Arthur was either.

Always so mysterious. Peter packed his bag and rose to leave the classroom with Gwen; school was over for the day.

Just as Peter stepped out of the school gates, a man in a suit stopped him. “Are you Peter Parker? Please come with us.”

“Who are you? Where are you taking Peter?” Gwen immediately stepped in front of Peter, questioning the man.

“You misunderstand. You know Mr. Arthur, don’t you?” the man explained.

“Are you sent by Arthur?” Peter asked.

“You could say that. I’m here to invite you; someone wants to meet you,” the suited man replied.

“All right, Gwen, you head home. I’ll go with him,” Peter said, winking at Gwen.

Gwen, knowing Peter’s abilities, didn’t worry for his safety and watched as Peter and the man got into a Mercedes and drove off.

The suited man drove Peter to a luxurious villa, opened the car door, and gestured, “We’re here, please follow me.” Leading Peter toward the villa.

Inside, Peter was greeted by a chubby man. “You can go now. You’re Peter Parker, right? Come with me; the boss wants to see you!”

Peter followed the chubby man down to the second basement level, passing through a glass door into a studio. Someone was seated inside. “Boss, I’ve brought him.”

Peter found the man before him both unfamiliar and oddly familiar. Unfamiliar because he’d never met him, familiar because the face seemed to ring a bell.

“Hello, Peter Parker. I’m Tony Stark. You’ve probably heard my nickname—Iron Man!” It was Tony himself. Before leaving, Arthur had asked Tony to look after Peter and had briefly explained Peter’s situation.

“Oh my god! You’re Iron Man! Tony Stark!” Peter finally recognized him and exclaimed excitedly.

“All right, calm down. I’m a good friend of Arthur’s. He never mentioned me to you?” Tony asked.

Peter shook his head in confusion, then suddenly remembered, “Are you the wealthy friend who sent Arthur that car?”

Tony was momentarily speechless.

“Arthur told me about your situation. If you ever run into trouble, you can contact me. My phone number is… Tonight, stay here and have dinner with me,” Tony said, watching the boy before him with genuine fondness.

“Thank you very much!” Peter replied politely.

…

Realm of the Gods: Asgard

Arthur lay beneath the waters below the palace of Asgard, eyes closed, constantly absorbing the surrounding energy. As expected, Asgard was far richer in energy than any ocean on Earth. No wonder Hela and Odin were invincible with Asgard’s divine power at their disposal—the energy here was boundless, inexhaustible. Arthur couldn’t help but wonder why he hadn’t crossed over to Asgard sooner; if he spent a hundred years cultivating beneath these waters, he’d emerge invincible.

The immense energy washed over Arthur’s body, making his flesh stronger still. His physical body was nearing its limit; no matter how much he trained, his strength would only rival Thor’s. To surpass this, he’d need the bloodline of an ancient deity.

Instead, Arthur’s mental power kept growing. As his spiritual strength increased, so did his control over water and his capacity for psychic attacks.

Arthur’s mind continued to absorb energy, steadily expanding, step by step.

…

A year later, Arthur opened his eyes underwater, and his spiritual force radiated outward like a radar, allowing him to sense even the tiniest fluctuations of energy within a kilometer. Any living being possessed energy, and even some non-living things, like magical weapons, harbored energy.

His mental power had more than doubled compared to a year ago, yet Arthur was still far from his bottleneck—he could keep absorbing energy. But he knew Loki was about to head to Earth. If he continued training, he’d miss his chance. Arthur coveted the Mind Stone, so he willingly halted his cultivation.

He hadn’t properly explored these waters, having spent all his time training. Arthur slowly swam downward. The waters of Asgard floated in the cosmos, marvelously unique, and devoid of any creatures. When Arthur reached the deepest part, it wasn’t the usual seabed.

At the bottom, there was a curtain of water. Arthur reached out and passed through; beyond it, there was no water—just air! Steeling himself, Arthur stepped through the curtain, and clouds appeared before his eyes. At the center of the waters stood a towering mountain.

Passing through the water curtain inverted heaven and earth; the ground became the sky, even gravity was reversed—utterly wondrous. The curtain became the surface of the water, and above him stretched a vast galaxy, countless stars, and at the center, the mountain—the base of the Asgardian palace.

The palace was diamond-shaped; from any angle, it was a mountain. On one side, palaces had been built, while the other remained wild and pristine.

Arthur swam toward the mountain, soon reaching its side, climbing onto it. As he walked along the winding path among strange stones, Arthur marveled at the uniqueness of the divine realm—even its mountains were extraordinary.

He couldn’t tell what stone the mountain was made of. It was a dark gray, but its heart was transparent, almost glass-like. Under sunlight, the whole mountain shone with silver light.

Arthur sensed faint energy currents within the mountain. Previously, he couldn’t feel them, but now with his enhanced spiritual power, he could detect subtle flows, all converging upward.

Should he follow them to see where the energy led?

Arthur expanded his spiritual senses, following the flow inside the mountain. It seemed to lead straight to the summit.

The vast mountain was eerily quiet, devoid of life; Arthur alone climbed its heights.

He was almost at the peak when he felt the mountain’s energy converging ahead. The sensation grew stronger as he approached, indicating he was getting closer to his goal.

Arthur advanced, finally discovering a crevice in the rock, wide enough for a single person to enter. No light penetrated the gap—it was pitch-black, sunlight unable to reach inside. All the mountain’s energy flowed into the crevice.

Arthur hesitated, a bit unsettled, yet curiosity compelled him. With his current physical strength, he doubted there was any danger. Fortune favors the bold!

He stepped into the crevice. Instantly, darkness enveloped him—had he gone blind?

Arthur retreated and immediately regained his sight, confirming there was no light at all in the gap. Was this… a wormhole?

To test his theory, Arthur entered again, feeling his way along the wall in total darkness. Suddenly, he touched another crack—an exit!

He stepped out, and light flooded his vision, but the temperature had dropped sharply. The stone he touched was icy cold. Arthur walked out into a world of snow and ice. Where was he?

Though chilly, Arthur felt invigorated; the air here was saturated with water, far exceeding anywhere he’d visited on land. It was as if he were underwater, his energy circulating rapidly.

Where was this place—a world so suited to him? Arthur ventured further, emerging from a grand canyon.

Beyond, he found himself on a vast ice plain, where he finally saw someone—or rather, a wild figure. The being wore only thin clothing, was remarkably tall, wielded a colossal wooden club, and, most strikingly, had deep blue skin, reminiscent of the Atlanteans.

Arthur realized where he was—this skin tone existed only in outer space, and beings thriving in such an environment could only be Frost Giants. This was Jotunheim! The passage he’d just traversed was one of the Nine Realms’ gaps!

The Nine Realms’ gap! Loki knew the locations of these gaps, which allowed him to freely travel between Earth and other worlds!