From The Ashes - 029

Chapter 029 – Too Little

[2012]

Sitting on his throne, the large ceremonial hall being illuminated dimly, Odin's expression was heavy as his thoughts circled around the concessions that he had just made so that Noah would keep his promise and help restore the Bifrost Bridge.

The only ones present were his most loyal Kingsguard, consisting of the most elite amongst the Einherjar at this point as Thor had already taken Noah and his strange follower to a room in the guest wing of the palace.

'It's too little … ', the Allfather mused silently.

Noah had asked for too little in return for his help, which in truth was compensation for his attack a few days ago.

Naturally, in comparison to just agreeing to allow the Dwarves to forge him a weapon, he still asked for a lot more but in the view of the broader picture, Noah's demands seemed incredibly restrained tough a bit surprising.

Having his follower given access to the wealth of magical knowledge that they possessed, as well as allowing them to live on Asgard for an indefinite amount of time in addition to enough wealth to last them a thousand years.

As impressive as the knowledge gathered over millennia was, most of the magic theory could only be used by an Asgardian since it was based on their innate godforce. There was naturally other knowledge besides that but the difference in complexity and the effects of it were worlds apart.

It was still incredibly precious since knowledge was a dangerous weapon in itself but Odin didn't care about that too much since the truly formidable and forbidden knowledge would not be shared according to the agreement.

The other two minor demands weren't even worth mentioning, especially the last since a thousand years of living expenses were but an insignificant drop in the ocean of the royal family's wealth.

The Allfather could not understand why the half-mortal had asked for so little, especially so since he had come into possession of the most dreadful of the Infinity Stones – the Soul Stone.

He had recognized the ingot's energy signature the moment that he had laid eyes on the flickering orange flame that burned in between Noah's brows.

This stone made even him feel a chill in his heart since its killing power was incredibly sinister and hard to defend against. A simple thought was enough to extinguish the soul of another being.

Odin knew that even if Noah could not kill him due to his immense strength and connection to Asgard itself, with the Soul Stone and the Space Stone in his hands, every other Asgardian, even his sons, was nothing but lambs waiting to be slaughtered in front of Noah as even he could not protect them all and himself at the same time.

Noah had held the absolute advantage since Odin did not have the strength to restrain or kill him, and he could have even asked for an object from the vault but he had not.

The Allfather didn't understand why this was so, which made him only more anxious as he knew that the grudge between them was not so easily dispersed.

…

Looking over the large city from the balcony of the large guest suite in the royal palace, golden decorations glittering everywhere as the sun slowly set over Asgard, the floating island giving it a mystic and utopian atmosphere, ripples appeared in the blue-grey ponds that were my eyes.

Exhaling deeply, the tension left my body as I tried to simply enjoy the incredible sight before me.

“Does this look like you imagined it would, Johann?”, I asked the red-skinned man that stood respectfully behind me, his expression a strange mix of awe and disbelief.

I could see it without even turning around as my spiritual energy formed an invisible domain around me through the support of the Soul Stone, which allowed me to visualize everything it touched in my mind.

It was like a totally different sense that seemingly existed on a different level than my other senses. I didn't really 'see' through the use of my spiritual energy, I just 'knew'. And the same was true for my other four senses.

There was a depth to this 'spiritual sense' that I could not yet understand as it was different than Observation Haki, which was an enhancement of my normal sense through spiritual energy that reached into a realm beyond human capabilities.

It was the difference between a new sense and an inhuman enhancement of existing senses.

There was a lot more to discover about my abilities and I knew that I hadn't even scratched the surface of what I was capable of when condensing all my powers into one. Though since I had plenty of time to do so, those thoughts vanished quickly as I waited for Johann's answer.

Shaking his head, he replied quietly while sighing in wonder: “How could I have ever imagined something like this? This is not something humans can do … “

I nodded inwardly as I understood that he didn't mean that humanity wasn't capable of building a city equally impressive but that it couldn't happen in such harmony with nature.

Asgardians were different than humans as they would never wantonly destroy their own world in their pursuit of advancing their civilization. They also didn't have to due to their innate strengths and longevity.

They existed in a drastically different way than humans did since they weren't threatened by their own mortality, the average lifespan of humans amounting to barely a few decades.

Another few moments of silence passed as both of us watched the daylight being chased away by the night before I gestured for him to leave so that I could be alone for a while.

I naturally pondered about my decision on how I had handled Odin after he left and I felt the all too familiar solitude encroaching upon me.

I had obviously not forgiven him for his attack and attempted suppression, the sense of humiliation burning brightly in my chest. But this was a personal grudge and I disdained taking it out on others even if my goodwill towards Asgard as a whole had basically turned to ashes.

This though didn't mean that I could just go up to the Allfather and challenge him to a deathmatch since that would either spell my end or I would have to flee. It was wishful thinking to assume that I could kill or even beat him down while he was surrounded by his warriors without causing a total massacre.

His identity as the King of Asgard made this personal grudge very difficult to resolve as I couldn't even beat him up without rather serious repercussions, at least not at this point in time.

I could get even by simply killing Thor or Loki, maybe even Freya since Odin would undoubtedly suffer if he lost them. But this wasn't the kind of person I was, doing something so vicious just to feel as if I had avenged this comparatively minor grudge.

No, if I wanted to get even, I had to beat up the old man himself without others interfering. And I already had thoughts of how to do this, though it was something that would have to wait for a while.

On the other hand, I wasn't really interested in Asgard's riches as I saw no value in money beyond covering my basic needs. The only valuable things that Asgard possessed were its knowledge and the various treasures in the vault.

But even then, I had my hands full with refining my own abilities and unearthing my full potential, so how could I have the leisure to learn magic?

Johann, on the other hand, was someone obsessed with the mythical and his intellect was at the very peak of humanity. Him learning magic and strengthening himself was undoubtedly the best choice since I could crush him with a single finger at this point in time, which was a bit problematic.

I wanted him to have some strength of his own, otherwise, bringing him along would be more burdensome than it would be beneficial. And even though he was capable of besting every human alive with his current strength and abilities as a specter, it was still lacking for what I envisioned.

After all, I had the perfect example in my memories, which was the Black Order that stood behind Thanos with every member having exceptional abilities. Though since Johann was the only one to follow for now, the burden to be comparable to all of them would fall on him for the time being.

It was naturally an unfair comparison since he was only a single person, but that was exactly why I had gotten him the chance to learn and study the magical knowledge that the Asgardians had gathered for millennia.

With this as his 'inheritance', I believed that he could live up to my expectations and might even prove himself worthy of his own Dwarven-forged weapon, though that was something that couldn't be forced.

If that time came though, it wasn't too late to request for such a weapon. In the worst-case scenario, I could also just force the Dwarven King to create a weapon according to my demands. After all, invincible strength afforded one such freedom and opportunities.

On another note, the treasures in the vault, though incredible, could also not compare to the Infinity Stones that were in my possession, which I had yet to master the use of.

Not to mention that there would certainly be a time for me to get my hands on those artifacts if I really wanted them, so there was no use in making excessive demands that might sour my relationship with Thor and the other Asgardians at this point in time any further.

I had already drawn a clear line between them and myself with my actions against Heimdall, whom I had felt probing my very soul with his transcendent senses. And while this meant that being polite and respectful had lost any meaning, there were still unspoken rules that I followed to make sure this beneficial relationship would not just crumble.

The was also the added bonus that Odin would undoubtedly wreck his brain while trying to figure out why I had not made any more excessive demands besides a special Dwarven-forged weapon, access to some knowledge, and permanent residence on Asgard.

Well, in the end, I still thought that Asgard was a very fitting place to stay for a while and develop my abilities without having to worry about being embroiled in some schemes and plots as it would undoubtedly happen if I went to Earth and didn't hide myself.

Here, there was no reason to do so since I would essentially save the Asgardian Kingdom by restoring the Bifrost, so none would bother me under the King's orders.

Where to go afterward or what to do when I would eventually be confronted with other events from the MCU timeline? Well, I didn't know what I would do.

But the one thing that I knew, was that I needed the strength to decide freely and disregard not only fat itself but any other obstruction thrown my way.

[A/N: What a hard chapter to write!

I was really struggling to get a feel of what Noah would do upon his return to Asgard but I think this is the most likely outcome since he is not an irrational person and knows that simply attacking Odin has little to no benefit at this point in time.

What Noah needs most at this juncture is time to learn and advance his strength by truly digesting all his gains since coming to this new reality, forging all his abilities into a single blade that would allow him to cut down any and all obstacles.

He isn't someone affected by greed at all since Noah understands the difference between wanting something and deserving it. His choice is to set himself free through absolute strength, and everything else is secondary.

He isn't a forgiving person though and will eventually settle the grudge with Odin but not in a way that would result in nothing but endless hostility from the Asgardians at a time when he is looking for a quiet place to grow.

There are a few more nuances to this though those are the most important reasons for his decision besides that fact that this is something personal that he plans to settle with only Odin, without it affecting others.]