Inside the vast pyramid, silence fell in an instant.
After completing his scan, Woz made his judgment crystal clear, he was doing everything he could to dissuade Lothar from taking action himself.
Currently, his soul was fractured at 32%. If Lothar disregarded the consequences and acted recklessly again, that number could skyrocket to 100%.
"Prince Lothar…"
The Other looked at him, worried. Lothar's face remained emotionless, but the growing cracks etched across his skin felt like daggers in The Other's eyes.
"Savior, my lord!"
"Please… allow me to handle this."
"It was my failure that betrayed your trust. If not for my carelessness, your physical body would never have been taken by those who serve Dormammu."
"So, I beg you, grant me the chance to redeem myself!"
Pharaoh Menis dropped to one knee before Lothar and Hela, his right hand over his chest, humbling himself as a king before them.
Empowered by the dimensional god Horus, he was confident, he would not lose to the Dormammu devotee known as Cuba.
He had already experienced the so-called spontaneous combustion once before. This time, as long as he remained alert, he wouldn't fall for the same trick.
"You?"
"Don't be ridiculous."
Lothar, irritable and stern, looked down from above. The disdain in his eyes cut deep, and Menis visibly faltered.
"Prince Lothar, I actually think Menis has a point," said The Other, who was already half-charred on one side. He, too, knelt on one knee before Lothar.
While The Other didn't trust Menis, and viewed him as a threat to his own status, for him, Lothar's well-being was of paramount importance.
Putting aside all grievances, their top priority was retrieving Lothar's physical body from Cuba's hands.
"Prince Lothar, Cuba's appearance was indeed unexpected. In fact, before Lord Thanos left, he specifically tasked us with protecting your physical vessel. So we will make this right."
Woz, having used materials from his abdominal pouch to patch himself up, bowed solemnly to Lothar.
"Father?"
But what really caught Lothar's attention was the name that slipped from Woz's mouth.
"My father is here too?"
He frowned, a ripple of unease passing through him.
On paper, he was still supposed to be under confinement.
"Yes, Prince Lothar. Your trial was the result of an agreement between Lord Thanos and the Sorcerer Supreme, Lord Agamotto."
"However, it appears things didn't go exactly as planned…"
Woz summarized the deal between Thanos and Agamotto with crisp efficiency. Lothar listened in heavy silence.
Lothar, I hope you realize, this universe isn't nearly as simple as it seems.
Lothar, don't let your pride blind you.
"…Father…" Lothar clenched his fists as he murmured, staring off in thought. Hela, watching from the sidelines, rolled her eyes.
"You're a grown man. Still need Daddy to come clean up after you?"
Lothar slowly turned to glare at her, locking eyes with such intensity that Hela shifted uncomfortably.
"Lady Hela, you're no different. Your trial was the result of a discussion between Lord Odin and Lord Agamotto," Woz stated flatly, exposing Odin's involvement without hesitation.
"…Seriously?" Hela narrowed her eyes.
"You're hardly one to talk," Lothar shot back.
"Anyway, Prince Lothar, please don't act on your own again. We'll assist Lady Hela and retrieve your body together."
As Lothar and Hela seemed poised to snap at each other once more, Woz wisely cut in and presented his final appeal.
"What? You want me to help him?" Hela scoffed, fresh from their stare-down.
"Let him beg me. Then we'll talk."
"But Lady Hela, your body is also in the hands of Dormammu's followers," Woz said, flipping through his data pad like a meticulous librarian.
"…Fine."
"Enough joking, Woz. Just find the location of that Dormammu follower and report back. That's an order," Lothar said, cutting off the banter. He turned away, shutting his eyes and going still in an attempt to speed his soul's recovery.
Hela snorted in response and floated to a corner. Being in a soul form, posture didn't really matter to her.
"Lady Hela. Lady Hela."
About ten minutes into Woz's diligent tracking, Hela suddenly heard someone whispering her name from behind one of the massive statues within the pyramid.
Curious, she looked toward the voice, and spotted a miniature version of Woz peeking out from behind the foot of Lothar's statue, waving her over.
"…?"
Suspicious but intrigued, she glanced at Lothar, still meditating, and floated over to the small Woz.
"You?"
"I'm a mechanical duplicate, Lady Hela," he said with a bright grin, revealing his identity immediately.
"You're sneaking around. What is it?"
Hela leaned against Lothar's statue, arms crossed, tone unreadable.
"Actually, I'd like you to come with us when we move out," Woz got straight to the point.
"What?" Hela paused mid-tap, her fingers having been drumming against her arm.
"Shhh…"
Perhaps her reaction was too loud, because mini-Woz quickly brought his tiny round hand to his mouth, urging her to quiet down.
"In truth, the Flerken has been tailing Cuba this whole time." Woz pulled a gesture through the air, and a blue holographic screen shimmered into existence before her eyes.
The tracking point representing the Flerken glowed on the map, along with real-time footage from its camera feed, currently showing a snowy Nordic landscape.
Hela spotted her body at once, strapped to a silver cross, held by Cuba.
Her inky black hair was matted with frost, no one there to wipe it away.
"Prince Lothar's soul degradation has reached 32%. He absolutely cannot fight in this form again, or he'll die."
"So, I want to ask you. Please… come with me."
Hela's soul wasn't some undocumented anomaly in this universe. On top of that, she still retained her divine connection to death itself. With the combined power of Pharaoh Menis and Woz, they should have enough strength to wrest Lothar's body back from Cuba.
And of course, Hela would benefit too.
This was a win-win scenario.
Woz was being entirely sincere. To show good faith, he laid all the favorable terms on the table without reservation.
Tempting, to say the least.
But Hela had one final question.
"How exactly are you planning to sneak out of here… without Lothar noticing?"
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