Return to Earth!

In the main hall of the Asgardian palace.

"Your Majesty. Guardian Kyle has selected a divine artifact from the treasury. Prince Thor is now taking him toward the Bifrost." Fielder respectfully dropped to one knee and reported to Odin on the throne.

"What did he choose?" Odin narrowed his single eye slightly and asked in a deep voice.

"The Eternal Fire. He took the Eternal Fire." Fielder answered cautiously.

"What? That human actually dared to choose the Eternal Fire and take it out of Asgard!?"

Before Odin could respond, Loki, who was still serving in the main hall, changed expression drastically. Breathing rapidly, he said, "Father King, the Eternal Fire is…"

"I know." Odin gently shook his head and said in a low voice, with a hint of deeper meaning, "I said he could choose anything from the treasury and take one item with him. Since he chose the Eternal Fire, then so be it."

"Yes." Loki lowered his head, his face full of reluctance.

The Eternal Fire was something tied to Asgard’s future, an important object capable of triggering Ragnarok. Yet it had been handed over to an outsider just like that.

At that moment, at Asgard’s Bifrost portal.

Thud!

Thor held Mjolnir in one hand and gripped Kyle’s arm with the other. The two flew out from Asgard and landed steadily at the end of the Bifrost.

Kyle still held the Golden Fire Plate in his arms. There was no fuel inside it, yet flames blazed fiercely within, flickering without ever going out.

"Kyle, this is as far as I’ll take you. There are still some minor disputes at the edges of the Nine Realms that need my attention." Thor looked at Kyle sincerely, his gaze falling on the Eternal Fire in Kyle’s hands. He sighed, "I never thought that in the blink of an eye, you’d become Asgard’s second Guardian."

"I never thought so either." Kyle shrugged and smiled faintly.

"You must really miss your homeland, so I won’t delay your journey. My Father King often mentions a place called ‘Earth’ too." Thor smiled and scratched his head. "When I get the chance someday, I definitely want to visit Earth."

"No problem. When that time comes, I’ll make sure to welcome you properly. Once you know how good Earth is, maybe you won’t even want to return to Asgard." Kyle teased him, then turned and walked into the rainbow hall, waving behind him. "Farewell, then."

"Farewell!"

Thor’s booming send-off came from behind him. Kyle did not turn back and simply stepped into the rainbow hall ahead.

Heimdall, who had been guarding the place all along, stood high atop the platform. He opened his eyes and looked directly down at him.

"Heimdall. I should be qualified to use the Bifrost now, right?" Kyle met Heimdall’s gaze and spoke calmly and coolly.

Heimdall nodded. Compared to before, his attitude had softened somewhat. He answered in a steady, powerful voice, "Naturally. As a fellow Guardian, you have the authority to use the Bifrost to travel to any known peaceful location in the Nine Realms!"

He paused, then continued, "If you wish to enter Asgard from outside, simply call my name. My eyes can see anywhere in the Nine Realms. As long as I see you, I can activate the Bifrost and bring you in."

"Fine, then I’m going back to Earth now! Immediately, right away!" Kyle snapped his fingers lightly, quiet excitement and joy rising within him.

"Take a few steps forward."

Following Heimdall’s instructions, Kyle walked to the interior wall of the hall. The terminal instrument of the rainbow hall aimed itself at his body.

"Destination: Earth. I’m opening the Bifrost." As Heimdall spoke, he climbed to the highest point of the central platform, gripped the Rainbow Bridge Sword with both hands, and raised it. Then he drove its tip fiercely into the keyhole-like slot.

Crackle!

White arcs of electricity spread from the Bifrost to the surrounding outer walls. The rainbow sphere-shaped hall spun rapidly, and multicolored light gathered and surged from the terminal, instantly enveloping Kyle and the fire plate in his arms.

From outside, the rainbow hall perched beside the waterfall cliff adjusted its tank-like cannon muzzle downward and fired a dazzling beam of rainbow light. In an instant, it pierced through Asgard and crossed the Nine Realms!

Kyle traveled through the Bifrost as the scenery of the Star Domain churned chaotically before his eyes. Countless brilliant stars blurred and receded behind him.

The strange sensation of crossing cosmic space vanished. Having departed Asgard, Kyle descended with the rainbow pillar of light onto a barren stretch of land.

"Earth, I, Kyle, am back!"

Before he could even check where he was, even someone as cool-tempered as Kyle could not help clenching his fists and shouting toward the sky.

Yet the sound that left his mouth could not even be heard by himself. Very quickly, he sharply noticed something wrong with the surrounding environment.

The grayish-white ground was utterly barren, covered in uneven circular craters. There was not a single trace of life across the vast landscape in view, and above him was an endless star-filled sky.

Most importantly, there was no air. No sound…

A vacuum?

Realizing this, Kyle frowned slightly. He first converted the Eternal Fire in his hands into a card and put it away, then summoned Venom. In its symbiotic full-coverage state, it formed an integrated Combat Suit around him.

Viss transformed into an earpiece and was likewise wrapped within Venom’s outer layer. Only then did its voice finally reach his ears clearly.

"Master. The soil here is rich in elements such as silicon, aluminum, potassium, barium, hafnium, and rare earths. No water source, atmosphere, food supply, or similar resources have been detected within several miles. Preliminary assessment: this environment is unsuitable for human habitation. It has been ruled out as a region of Earth."

"I know this isn’t Earth. What exactly is Heimdall doing? Did he really send me to the wrong place?" Kyle’s face turned slightly cold as he surveyed the desolate surroundings. A vacuum could not transmit sound, which meant he had no way to call out to Heimdall and have him bring him back to Asgard.

On the silvery-white ground where he stood was the rune circle imprinted by the Bifrost, with tiny sparks still emitting wisps of smoke.

Kyle tried taking a step. His body felt light, and even controlling his strength down to the smallest degree sent him bouncing several meters into the air. But his highly evolved Divine Body rapidly adapted to the harsh environment in a short time.

He sprinted across several kilometers at high speed. Everything he passed was monotonous, desolate ground, riddled with pits and craters. He could see exposed terrain and some leftover reconnaissance equipment.

"If I’m not mistaken, this should be…"

Kyle murmured as he circled to the other side of the planet. When he saw a familiar azure sphere emerging in the pitch-black starry sky ahead, he finally smiled in relief.

Sure enough, this was the moon.

Heimdall had indeed teleported him to the wrong location, though the error was not completely unacceptable—at least he had not been sent to another realm.

If he had been sent to the Undead World, then given the chance to return to Asgard, he would definitely slam the entire plate of Eternal Fire onto Heimdall’s forehead.

Kyle sighed and began wandering across the moon’s barren surface. No matter how much he had imagined in the past, he had never expected that one day he would be able to stroll alone on the moon without any auxiliary equipment.

There was no sign of life anywhere on the moon. The surface was covered in craters of all sizes caused by meteorites, along with countless irregular scars that seemed to have been left by other forms of energy…

Following Viss’s guidance, Kyle walked roughly two kilometers in one direction and discovered an Earth spacecraft parked on the moon.

Kyle was somewhat surprised as he carefully examined the spacecraft’s highly technological exterior.

It stood eight meters tall with a radius of roughly fifteen meters. Its shell was coated in a special silver-white finish, supported only by four extended high-pressure-resistant mechanical legs. Overall, it looked like an enormous metal beast crouching on the ground.

There was also an American flag insignia on the spacecraft.

This was clearly not aviation technology that should have existed during the era when he left. When Kyle had departed Earth, it had only been shortly after World War II, in 1945. At that time, concepts in the field of aerospace technology had only just begun to emerge—

No matter how explosively Earth’s technology advanced, it still required time to accumulate.

"Just how many years have passed on Earth?" Kyle fell silent. His greatest worry back then had been that he would go into outer space to seek a cure for his Gene Disease, only to return and find everything utterly changed.

But no matter what, he had still fulfilled the promise he made all those years ago. Just as promised, he had returned alive and well!

Viss spoke considerately. "Master, would you like me to forcibly infiltrate this American spacecraft’s operating system? It can barely replace the damaged fighter jet and serve as transportation for your return home."

"Am I the kind of person who casually steals other people’s things?" Kyle coughed, then his heart stirred as he asked seriously, "Can you directly infiltrate this spacecraft’s system? What are the odds?"

Viss quickly gave its conclusion. "As I have not encountered Earth’s current level of technological systems, mechanical structure, or information communications, this is only a preliminary calculation based on the currently known database. There is an eighty-nine percent chance of successfully infiltrating this spacecraft’s system and taking remote control. There is a nine percent chance of being detected and affected by the other party’s remote system. There is a two percent chance that the infiltration will fail and expose your location."

"Then forget it. We still don’t know what Earth’s situation is like. If someone discovers us, then…"

Kyle was discussing the topic of whether to "steal or not steal" with Viss while facing the spacecraft in the distance.

The next moment, a door beneath the spacecraft suddenly opened. A white male wearing a bulky spacesuit walked down, carrying a Reconnaissance Instrument and intending to carry out his usual collection and detection work.

"Oh my God!" When the astronaut looked up and saw Kyle standing on the ground ahead, he froze, his face showing the same shock as though he had seen a ghost.

"Since I’ve been discovered, there’s no helping it."

Kyle smiled faintly, then explosively kicked off the ground. In a flash, he rushed before the astronaut and cleanly knocked him unconscious.

Venom instinctively extended black liquid threads, forming a hand that wrapped around the astronaut’s body and violently tossed him into the cabin like cargo.

At the same time, Viss transformed into a mechanical creature, detached from Venom’s outer layer, and leaped and climbed into the spacecraft. From within, it infiltrated and took over control of the vessel.

The entire process of hijacking the spacecraft was seamless, their movements coordinated as though the three of them had rehearsed the operation countless times.