Asgard.
The people of the divine realm were enjoying another peaceful afternoon.
Shops lined the streets. Gods and mortals lived together. A thriving scene.
Yet in recent days, a strange piece of news had quietly spread—passed from the mouths of those who had fought in Muspelheim.
"Hey, did you hear? His Majesty the God-King brought back something astonishing from the fire realm!"
"Of course. Apparently… an egg?"
"Yes! An egg! They say His Majesty values it immensely!"
"An egg? What use could that be?"
"No one knows. But to make the God-King pay that much attention… it can't be simple."
Countless Asgardians discussed it, filled with curiosity and doubt.
An egg—no matter how magical—what could it really do?
At this moment—
A mutation arrived without warning!
Boom!
A violent tremor from the direction of the World Tree spread across all Asgard!
Everyone felt the ground beneath their feet shake slightly. Energy particles in the air activated and began to go wild.
"What's happening? An earthquake?"
"Look toward the World Tree!"
Countless residents dropped what they were doing and rushed out into the streets, looking up at the majestic tree that connected heaven and earth.
The next second, everyone sucked in a breath—faces full of shock!
"By the gods… what is that?"
A colossal energy vortex had appeared around the World Tree.
Bands of colorful energy light coiled and flew like dragons—an extremely magnificent sight!
Even more astonishing: Asgard's eternal blue sky was now wrapped in a blazing, vivid red!
"This… this aura… it's flame!"
"What incredibly pure flame power! I've never seen such sacred fire!"
As everyone talked and doubted, a veteran who had just returned from the battlefield stared at the burning-red sky, his body trembling with excitement as he shouted:
"It's because of that egg! It's definitely because of that egg!"
"Back then in Muspelheim, this aura was terrifying—ten thousand fires bowing! No mistake!"
What?
The moment those words were spoken, the crowd exploded.
"This is because of the egg? Are you serious?"
"You're joking! An egg can cause World Tree visions? It can even set the sky on fire?"
"That's too exaggerated!"
Questions, gasps, arguments echoed—yet everyone's gaze remained locked on the World Tree, hearts pounding.
…
Beneath the World Tree.
Odin and Frigga stared anxiously at the golden egg devouring energy at full speed.
At the instant the energy converged to its peak—
"Kacha!"
A crisp, pleasant cracking sound entered their ears.
Then, like a chain reaction, "kacha, kacha" continued endlessly!
Fine cracks appeared on the once-unbreakable golden eggshell.
The next second—
Bang!
The shell completely exploded!
Thousands upon thousands of golden rays burst forth, dazzling to the extreme. The God-King and the Queen unconsciously narrowed their eyes.
At the center of the endless light, a figure slowly emerged.
It was a human child—about eight or nine years old.
Black hair. Black eyes.
Yet everything about him radiated inhuman sanctity and majesty.
He wore a golden robe woven from pure flame, within which it looked as if hundreds of millions of stars flickered.
He wore a simple crown condensed from primordial fire, symbolizing the supreme authority of flame.
He was young, yet in eyes as deep as a starry sky, there was not even half a child's innocence—
only cold indifference and lofty dignity, as if looking down upon all living beings.
His temperament was noble and transcendent, as though he came from a higher dimension than this world.
He didn't look like a prince.
He looked like a born…
God-King.
Odin stared at him—stared at the sacred life he had personally brought back to Asgard. Seeing that otherworldly bearing and posture, the ecstasy in his heart reached its peak!
"Hahaha—good! Good! Good!"
God-King Odin let out a bold laugh that shook the entire Asgardian palace!
He stepped forward, extended his hand, and proclaimed in a loud, majestic voice to all Asgard—indeed, to the Nine Realms:
"From today onward, you are my fourth child!
Asgard's Fourth Prince—
Lucci Odinson!"
…
The Rainbow Bridge—Bifrost.
This magnificent bridge of colorful crystal was the key passage connecting Asgard to the other realms.
Light flickered, and two young figures appeared at the bridgehead.
The tall, handsome blond youth with a strong build, holding a small yet powerful warhammer, was Asgard's great prince—Thor.
Just behind him was another boy, equally handsome, yet with cunning and intelligence in his eyes.
He was the second prince—Loki.
"Heimdall, we're back!"
Thor laughed loudly. "That trial in Vanaheim was truly fun! Those trolls are nothing—one hammer and they're smashed!"
Heimdall, guardian of the bridge's end, turned his golden eyes that could see through the Nine Realms and nodded slightly.
"Welcome back, Prince Thor. Prince Loki."
"Hello, Heimdall."
Loki rolled his eyes and asked with interest, "While we were gone, did anything new happen in Asgard?"
Heimdall's serious face showed almost no emotion. He nodded, voice low and firm.
"Yes.
And it may be an event that changes Asgard's future."
"Oh?"
Both Thor and Loki were interested.
Heimdall gazed toward distant Asgard and said slowly, "The All-Father conquered Muspelheim not long ago and brought back a mysterious egg from the Temple of Flame."
"An egg?"
Thor smiled with mild disdain. "Father still likes collecting things like that?"
"It is not an ordinary egg."
Heimdall's tone grew heavier. "Recently, that egg hatched beneath the World Tree.
A sacred life named 'Lucci' was born from it.
And the All-Father publicly declared that he would accept him as his fourth child."
Thor and Loki's smiles froze at the same time.
Lucci?
Fourth child?
"Wait… you mean…"
Loki reacted fastest, eyes wide in shock. "We… have another brother?"
Heimdall nodded solemnly.
"Not only do you have a younger brother."
He took a deep breath, as if still recalling that shocking scene.
"But this Prince Lucci's power… defies the heavens."
He then briefly described the magnificent spectacle of Lucci's birth—how it triggered World Tree visions and turned all of Asgard's sky into a sea of flame.
Thor and Loki were stunned.
"Is it real?"
Thor clenched the hammer in his hand, disbelief on his face.
"Triggering the World Tree… because of a newborn…"
A child?
Loki's eyes shone with complex light. He didn't speak, but waves were already rising in his heart.
This newly born younger brother—its meaning could not be ignored.
Seeing Thor's unconvinced expression, Loki's mouth curled slightly. In a fan-the-flames tone, he said:
"Well, brother.
Then your title of 'Asgard's number one young warrior'…
might be changing owners, hmm?"
"No!"
Thor immediately flared up, neck stiff as he shouted, "I'm the strongest in Asgard! How strong could someone be who just crawled out of an egg?"
He said that, but Heimdall's words had already stabbed into his heart.
Dissatisfaction, competitiveness, and an unspoken sense of crisis rapidly sprouted.
"I'm going to meet this new guy!"
Thor swung his hammer. "I'll let him know who Asgard's future really is!"
With that, he strode toward the palace with anger.
Loki followed behind, his eyes gleaming as if he were about to watch a good show.