The All-Father Odin entered his vault and opened a door that had remained sealed for countless years.
Beyond it lay relics left behind by his father, King Bor.
Odin lifted the lid of an ancient, unadorned wooden box. Inside rested a silver collar, its surface densely engraved with intricate runes and patterns. Its design was peculiar—less like jewelry and more like an enormous lock.
-----
When Heimdall introduced the gentle, beautiful woman before them as Queen Frigga, the Mother of the Gods, Clara immediately straightened and bowed politely.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. My name is Clara Johnson. I'm from Earth. It's an honor to meet you."
"What a well-mannered child," Frigga said warmly. "Did Thor bring you here?"
"It was a wormhole, Your Majesty," Heimdall replied. "The Celestial Convergence has filled Earth with spatial rifts. Clara arrived in Asgard through one of them."
"Heimdall said that once the Convergence ends, I'll be sent back to Earth," Clara added.
"Oh! Then your parents must be terribly worried," Frigga said softly.
During the time Loki's fate had been uncertain, Frigga had tasted the pain of losing a child. She understood that fear all too well.
"Her mother has passed away," Heimdall said.
Clara turned to him in surprise. How does he know everything?
"My eyes can see the countless lives across the Nine Realms," Heimdall explained, gesturing to his glowing orange eyes. "I forgot to mention that."
"Then… can you see Tony and the others?" Clara asked eagerly. "Iron Man—the one who fought alongside Thor?"
"Yes. They've already spread the news of your disappearance. They're all very worried about you."
-----
In a small roadside inn in India, Sam handed Steve a bottle of beer as Steve stared blankly at the night sky.
"Still thinking about Clara?" Sam asked. "You know this, Cap—once it's beyond Earth, there's nothing we can do."
"I know," Steve replied quietly. "I just… realized how small I am. I used to believe that as long as I tried hard enough, nothing was impossible. Now I understand—no matter how hard I try, there are things I simply can't change."
He drained the beer in one go, slammed the empty bottle onto the table, grabbed his shield, and stood up.
"Let's go. We still have to find Bucky."
Sam glanced at the bottle, now covered in fine cracks, then looked back up at the blue sky—empty except for a few drifting clouds.
-----
Asgard was a realm where the heavens formed a dome above a flat world, suspended directly in the vastness of space. With no industrial pollution and no artificial lights, the night sky here was unimaginably clear—like looking through a powerful astronomical telescope. It was so beautiful it stole the breath away.
"I really want to take a picture," Clara sighed, gazing upward. "But my phone is broken."
She still carried her backpack. When she'd fallen into the water earlier, it had been flooded—books ruined, phone destroyed.
She'd thrown away the soaked textbooks, keeping only the phone shell and the dozen bean-sized red crystals Peter had given her.
They were the leftover fragments Star-Lord had harvested from the small spiders. After obtaining the massive core crystal, he'd lost interest in these tiny ones and gave them all to Clara as a keepsake. In exchange, Clara had given him her music player—loaded with hundreds of songs collected from across eras and cultures, all themed around the Celestial Convergence.
"This isn't the most beautiful sight," Heimdall said calmly. "The Convergence is about to begin. It may bring danger, but the cosmic spectacle it creates is unmatched. It's a pity—you won't be able to see it."
"Won't… won't be able to see it?" Clara murmured.
She stared at the sky, thinking about Heimdall's words—
And then she saw it.
A breathtaking, soul-shaking cosmic vision unfolded before her eyes, as vivid as if she were standing within it.
"It's… beautiful—"
A delighted smile bloomed across her face.
Heimdall froze.
Within Clara's dark eyes, starlight flowed—the reflection of distant galaxies themselves.
Aside from Heimdall, no one had ever possessed the ability to truly observe the stars in this way.
Suddenly, a massive flaming rock hurtled straight toward her.
Clara yelped and jumped back, the stars vanishing from her eyes.
"Oh my gosh! I saw a meteor coming right at me! That scared me to death!"
Her heart pounded violently. Behind her, space rippled once more.
"Clara, it's very late," Heimdall said abruptly, taking her hand and guiding her away from the balcony. "You wanted to see the sunrise tomorrow, didn't you? If you sleep in, you'll miss it."
Clara was full of questions. They'd only just finished dinner—why was he rushing her to bed now? She'd been about to tell him about her 'see-through vision' ability!
Ever since HYDRA's uprising and the dissolution of S.H.I.E.L.D., Clara had noticed something strange about herself. When she focused intensely, she could sometimes see things she shouldn't be able to see.
Not every time. Perhaps special conditions were required—just like when she'd glimpsed Steve deep beneath the sea. Most attempts at "peeking" failed entirely.
She didn't know whether this counted as X-ray vision or clairvoyance—but hearing that Heimdall possessed a similar ability had sparked a thought.
Maybe… one day I could be the next guardian of the Bifrost.
Assuming she lived long enough for Heimdall to retire.
"If you can't sleep, read for a while," Heimdall said, handing her a book. "Good night, Clara."
She looked down in surprise—it was an English edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales.
So Heimdall didn't spend all his time just staring at the stars after all.
…..
The spatial rift outside hadn't vanished immediately. Worried that something dangerous might emerge, Heimdall hurried back to the terrace after ensuring Clara was safely inside.
There, he found a slender blue-skinned young alien holding the leash of a small blue-furred creature, both looking around curiously.
The creature wagged its tail and barked like a puppy when it saw Heimdall.
"Hey! I know you!" the blue-skinned youth exclaimed. "You're Heimdall—the Bifrost guardian from our textbooks! I'm Jack from Xandar. Nice to meet you!"
"Are you here alone?" Heimdall asked.
"Yep! I was walking my pet, Dodger, when I saw a portal. Got curious and stepped in."
"Hasn't your teacher taught you that wormholes are extremely dangerous?"
"Of course," Jack replied cheerfully. "That's why I let Dodger test it first."
Unaware that it had just been used as a living probe, Dodger wagged its tail and barked happily.
"Very well," Heimdall said. "Will you return on your own, or shall I send you back?"
"No, no—I'll go myself! My mom's waiting for me to eat dinner!"
Jack waved enthusiastically as he stepped back through the wormhole, calling his goodbyes. Heimdall waited until the spatial ripples fully dissipated before returning indoors.
After some thought, he still felt uneasy.
In the end, Heimdall stationed himself outside Clara's door, standing guard.
After all, he didn't need sleep.
He was merely watching the stars from a different place.
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T/N:
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