Asgard
Heavenly Palace
The Divine Realm, Asgard
Leon Odinson felt that if idleness could be canonized as a divine duty, he would undoubtedly be the most devout follower within the Nine Realms.
At this moment, he lay on a lounge chair on the terrace of a secluded garden on the east side of the Heavenly Palace, in a posture completely devoid of majesty.
This was his carefully chosen treasure spot; the angle of the Sun was just right, allowing him to enjoy the radiance refracted from the Golden Palace without being scorched by the midday Sun.
Of course, for the Sun God, being scorched was a false proposition to begin with.
That's right, his divine position was Sun God, personally bestowed by Odin.
Don't ask why the Sun God is male; isn't Sól a goddess?
But none of that matters. In short, if I say it is, then it is.
He closed his eyes, enjoying the Sun's energy permeating every cell like warm Water. He reveled in this comfort, yet his brow was slightly furrowed.
"Boom!!!"
A tremendous roar from the distant training grounds made the entire terrace tremble.
Without opening his eyes, Leon knew it was his good younger brother making a ruckus again.
Indeed, it was Thor, whose mind contained nothing but muscles and his hammer.
At this moment, he was once again testing the power of his precious hammer on the poor training dummies.
"Can't he be quiet for just one day?" Leon sighed helplessly.
He casually retrieved a bunch of purple grapes from a nearby ice bucket. These rare delicacies from Xandar, each containing a faint trace of Universe energy, were his favorite snack in the Nine Realms.
He lazily raised his hand, and a grape automatically detached, floating to his mouth. He opened his mouth to catch it, and the juice burst forth, a sweet flavor with a hint of warmth.
He was a transmigrator; in his previous life, he was just an ordinary Earthling.
An accident led to his rebirth, directly into the womb of Queen Frigga, becoming a pure-blooded Norse god, Odin's second child.
When he was born, his sealed older sister had already been imprisoned by their father, Odin, long before.
That's right, it was Hela, the Goddess of Death.
Their parents had never mentioned Hela's existence to them, but Leon, relying on his memories from his previous life, knew all about it.
He also knew that this World, which appeared to be the cinematic Universe, actually incorporated many other elements, though he couldn't fully determine what they were yet.
"Brother Leon, it seems your photosynthesis has been disturbed again."
A teasing voice came from behind him, accompanied by slight energy fluctuations.
Leon didn't even lift an eyelid; he simply summoned another grape.
Loki, the God of Mischief
"Loki, if you're here to show off your new illusions, I suggest you go find Thor." Leon's voice was languid.
"He's easier to fool, and seeing two of you, he might even be happier, because then there would be two people to listen to him boast about his heroic deeds."
Loki, dressed in a green robe, appeared silently on the terrace. He conjured an identical lounge chair and quietly lay down beside Leon, conjuring an identical glass of iced fruit wine in his hand.
"How boring, Brother," Loki swirled his wine glass.
"I thought you'd be interested in my new magic. I just successfully made the ravens on Father's throne sneeze for several hours straight."
"Oh? Then Father must be very pleased." Leon's tone was unperturbed.
"After all, those two old birds have been squawking in his ear for thousands of years; it's rare for him to have some peace and quiet."
Loki's mouth twitched. He found that talking to his older brother always left him with a sense of powerlessness, like punching cotton.
He was always so calm, so lazy, as if the sky falling wouldn't make him move from his lounge chair.
"Seriously, are you just going to lie here until Ragnarok?" Loki couldn't help but ask.
"Father has been worried about the future of the Nine Realms lately, and Thor is constantly thinking about war. Can't you show a little princely responsibility?"
"Responsibility?"
Leon finally opened his eyes, golden pupils shimmering in the sunlight. He glanced at Loki.
"Are you sure, Loki? You weren't even born when I was fighting in the Nine Realms. And now, aren't there Father and you two?"
He yawned, turned over, and continued to rest with his eyes closed.
"Don't worry, Loki. When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up, and I, coincidentally, am the'shortest' among us three brothers."
Loki: "..."
He felt he must be insane to try to discuss responsibility with a god who considered living a life of leisure as his ultimate pursuit.
And how dare you say "shortest"? A height of 198cm? Can that be called short?
Heaven knows, among the three brothers, only he, Loki, was the shortest; that truly was a hellish joke.
Can you believe that a height of 194cm is the shortest?
Just then, an Asgardian guard in golden armor rushed onto the terrace and knelt on one knee.
"Prince Leon, Prince Loki." The guard's voice was urgent.
"King Odin summons you. Please proceed to the Royal Great Hall immediately."
A flicker of light, barely perceptible, crossed Loki's eyes. He elegantly rose, straightened his robes, and the smile on his lips became meaningful.
Leon, on the other hand, let out a disgruntled protest, then slowly sat up from the lounge chair, stretched, and his bones cracked with a series of pops.
This sight made Loki's mouth twitch slightly, as if recalling some unpleasant memory.
As the eldest brother who could easily handle Thor with one hand, Leon had always enjoyed bullying the two of them since childhood; these were all memories Loki found unbearable.
"Got it." Leon waved his hand casually.
"Tell Father I'll change my clothes and be right there. Tell him not to rush; the sky won't fall anyway."
The guard acknowledged the order and departed. Loki took a deep breath, no longer dwelling on those painful memories, but instead looked at Leon's leisurely pace and couldn't help but shake his head.
"Can't you be a little more enthusiastic? It might be a great thing."
"A great thing?" Leon raised an eyebrow.
"For me, being able to take a quiet nap is a great thing."
He shrugged, and his figure began to dissipate into thin air, like Water vapor in the sunlight.
Loki looked at the empty lounge chair, paused for a moment, then shook his head with a bitter smile.
His elder brother, despite his claims of laziness, possessed an unfathomable and mysterious power.
At least this precise control over space and light energy made even him, the God of Mischief, feel inferior... The Great Hall
Inside the magnificent hall, the atmosphere was heavy.
Odin, King of the Gods
Odin, the Allfather, sat upon the High Throne, his single eye gleaming with wisdom, the Eternal Spear in his hand exuding a faint aura of power.
Thor stood beside the throne, Mjolnir in hand, his face filled with eager battlelust.
Thor, the Thunder God
Loki, meanwhile, stood on the other side, his expression elegant, but his eyes glinting with calculation.
Soon, Leon's figure, like converging light, instantly appeared in the center of the Great Hall.
He had changed into simple golden casual clothes, still looking as if he hadn't quite woken up.
"Father, what is it that you need me for?" Leon yawned, casually leaning against a pillar.
"I haven't taken action in a long time. Has the situation escalated to the point where even I must intervene?"
Odin's single eye swept over him, his authoritative voice echoing through the hall: "Leon, shed your indolence. The balance of the Nine Realms is being broken."
Leon finally showed some interest. "Oh? Are those Frost Giants in Jotunheim restless again?"
"Worse than that," Odin said gravely.
"According to Heimdall's observations, dark energy is eroding the roots of the World Tree, and ominous signs have appeared in all the realms. And just now, a patrol sent to Vanaheim lost contact."
"Vanaheim?" Thor immediately stepped forward, his expression excited.
"Father! Let me go! I guarantee I'll smash those who dare to provoke Asgard into pulp!"
Loki chuckled softly: "Brother, can your mind hold anything besides battle? We don't even know who the enemy is."
"That's still better than you, who only hides behind others to plot schemes!" Thor glared at him.
"Enough!" Odin's voice, filled with unquestionable authority, stopped his two sons' bickering.
His gaze finally settled on Leon, who was leaning against the pillar, almost asleep.
"Leon, what do you think of this matter?"
Leon opened his eyes and scanned the holographic star map of the Great Hall, where the light representing Vanaheim flickered weakly.
He pondered for a moment, then said lazily.
"What is there to think? Send someone to check it out, and you'll know. But I suggest not sending Thor; I'm afraid he'll just tear Vanaheim apart."
Thor: "Hey!"
Odin ignored Thor's protest and continued to ask: "Then who do you think should go?"
Leon shrugged: "Anyone can go, as long as it's not me. I still have to catch up on sleep this afternoon."
Just then, the doors of the Great Hall were violently pushed open, and a wounded Asgardian warrior stumbled in, his armor covered in ice and scorch marks.
"Allfather! It's... it's the Frost Giants!" the warrior cried hoarsely.
"They attacked our outpost! Laufey... Laufey himself led the team!"
The Great Hall instantly fell silent.
Thor's eyes immediately blazed with fury: "Laufey?! How dare he!"
Odin's single eye narrowed, the Eternal Spear glowed, and the temperature of the entire Great Hall seemed to drop a few degrees.
Only Leon remained leaning against the pillar, even offering an interested comment.
"It seems those Frost Giants are truly tired of living."
"Father!" Thor knelt on one knee, his voice like thunder.
"Please allow me to go to war! I will lead Asgard's most elite warriors, flatten Jotunheim, and bring Laufey's head back to you!"
"I'll go too." Loki stepped forward, a cold glint in his eyes.
"It's a good chance to test my new magic."
Odin remained silent, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.
Leon looked at his two younger brothers, who seemed eager to rush out and fight immediately, and sighed helplessly.
He slowly walked forward and, to everyone's surprise, directly took a bottle of mead from a guard's hand and tilted his head back to drink.
"Alright, stop bickering." Leon's voice quieted the entire Great Hall.
He shook the bottle in his hand and looked at Odin: "Father, leave this matter to me."
A flicker of surprise crossed Odin's single eye: "You?"
Thor and Loki both turned to look at him, their faces filled with disbelief.
"Aren't you going to sleep?" Loki couldn't help but ask.
Leon rolled his eyes: "Otherwise, what? Wait for them to reach Asgard?"
He casually tossed the empty wine bottle to Thor, then stretched.
"You all stay here; don't go anywhere." Leon's tone was calm, yet carried a commanding air.
"Especially you, Thor. If you dare to sneak out, I'll melt that hammer of yours and forge you a wine cup."
Thor was startled and instinctively hugged mjolnir tightly.
Leon no longer paid attention to the shocked expressions of the others. His body began to emit a faint golden light, like a miniature Sun.
"I'll be back soon."
Before his words faded, he slowly floated up, then... Swoosh!
By the time everyone reacted, his figure had transformed into a brilliant pillar of light, shooting through the dome of the Great Hall and disappearing into the sky.
Leaving behind a bewildered Thor and Loki, and a pensive Odin.