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The Vast Universe

A golden corpse floated in the void, clearly having endured great torture before dying. The corpse was thin, resembling an old man, with a blue gemstone embedded on his forehead that glowed faintly in the dark sky, like a distant star.

A spaceship flew past but soon returned, stopping near the corpse.

"It's a corpse," said a humanoid inside the spaceship, with a tone of awe.

Facing him was another humanoid creature with ice-blue skin, appearing middle-aged. His skin was calm and cold, and a chilling aura surrounded him, instilling awe in everyone on board.

"Let me go out and see," the man said, standing up.

"Yes, Your Majesty Laufey."

The leader of the spaceship was Laufey, the king of Jotunheim who had been missing for a long time in the Nine Realms!

The spaceship opened a hatch, and Laufey stepped out into the vacuum of space, heading directly for the golden wreckage.

"This is... the Elder of the Universe, Runner!" he exclaimed after inspecting it closely.

The golden corpse floating here was indeed Runner, one of the Elders of the Universe. Others might not recognize him, but Laufey, who had conversed with Odin and Surtur, knew him well.

"How could Runner die so tragically in the void? What happened?" Laufey muttered, frowning.

However, he soon gave up pondering this question and focused on the blue sapphire on the corpse's forehead.

Looking at the gem, Laufey smiled in surprise: "The Space Stone!"

He reached out and plucked the gem from the corpse's forehead, much like Thanos did to Vision.

After the Space Gem left Runner's body, it suddenly burst into light, emitting powerful energy fluctuations, as if to trigger some terrible consequences. Even Laufey was slightly taken aback.

Immediately, his hand glowed, and the ice-blue cold force swirled around the Space Gem, forming a clear blue cube like ice, encapsulating the gem.

Once contained, the Space Gem's activity subsided.

"Space Gem, take me back to the Nine Realms, to Jotunheim, to my Castle of Gastpone," Laufey commanded, his eyes flickering. His hand sparked again, and a space door opened before him.

Laufey smiled, left the spaceship behind, and stepped into the space door, disappearing.

**Jotunheim, Gasthofuni Castle**

A space door opened without warning, and Laufey stepped out, holding the blue cube. He looked around at the icy landscape, his expression a mix of joy and complexity.

"Who goes there?" came an angry shout.

Laufey turned to see two Frost Giant guards approaching.

"Don't you know me?" he asked, frowning.

"I don't. Who are you? You dare trespass at Gasthofuni Castle!" the guard threatened.

Laufey raised his hand, and the Space Gem's power sent the guards back to their original positions.

The guards, shocked and stunned, looked at each other.

"Young people today don't even know their king. Thirteen hundred years ago, who was your king?" Laufey said displeased.

One guard finally remembered: "You... Could it be Your Majesty Laufey!"

Laufey nodded, "Of course. Summon Byrest to see me."

One guard hurried off.

Soon, Fabti emerged from the castle with others, looking both happy and worried: "Laufey! You are finally back!"

"Your Majesty Laufey!" everyone saluted.

Laufey hugged his wife. "What about Byrest? Hasn't he learned to be a king yet?"

Fabti's face fell: "Our son..."

Laufey trembled: "Could it be?"

The atmosphere grew tense.

"Byrest died on the battlefield. He is a hero of the Frost Giants," said a tall man beside Fabti.

"Was it... Asgard?" Laufey's voice shook.

"Yes."

"And Grimir?" Laufey asked, taking a deep breath.

"Grimir... was also killed," Fabti replied.

Laufey closed his eyes, his chest heaving with emotion: "Tell me everything about these thirteen hundred years."

Fabti suggested, "Laufey, let's move to the castle."

"Tell me now!" Laufey demanded, his eyes red with anger. "Now!"

Everyone was terrified.

Fabti looked at the tall man: "Hiosgem, explain."

"Yes." Hiosgem briefly described what had happened in the Nine Realms after Laufey's disappearance.

"Odin, Lord of the Nine Realms? Ha!" Laufey laughed bitterly.

Hiosgem continued, "Yes, the Nine Realms have surrendered to Odin, including Jotunheim and even Muspelheim. Surtur was defeated by Odin. Asgard now acts as the law enforcer of the universe, a beacon of justice"

"Cosmic enforcer, beacon of justice... hum!" Laufey clenched his fists and snorted coldly. "Prepare the troops. I want to crusade against Asgard!"

"No, Laufey!" Fabti pleaded. "Don't be impulsive. Asgard is stronger than ever. We can't oppose Odin."

"Thirteen hundred years!" Laufey exclaimed. "Thirteen hundred years! Do you know what I endured? What I experienced? Do you know?!"

"I must kill Odin!"

Fabti, tears in her eyes, said, "Laufey, Odin's power is beyond your imagination. He is much stronger than Cul and has three Infinity Stones..."

"Three Infinity Stones?" Laufey finally calmed down.

"Odin used the power of three gems to defeat Cul and the celestials," Fabti explained. "Although he hasn't used the Infinity Stones since."

"He defeated Surtur without the Infinity Stones?" Laufey asked.

"Yes, even without them, Odin's strength far surpasses what Cul was," Fabti confirmed.