Just as Thor and Odin, the God King, were silently exchanging thoughts, far away on Earth, inside a mansion in New York, Tony Stark was immersed in his basement laboratory. He was meticulously studying the metal composition of the Destroyer armor.
"This is a brand-new metal never seen on Earth before. Its hardness far exceeds that of most earthly metals. No artificial alloy can compare. Probably only Vibranium's strength comes close," Tony Stark said while recording his observations.
"J.A.R.V.I.S, scan all the divine patterns on this armor, then perform a high-temperature resistance test to determine its limits. Record any changes that occur to these divine patterns during the test," Tony ordered.
"Yes, sir. Scan complete!" J.A.R.V.I.S replied. "But, sir, there has been a major update in the diary."
"An update? Don't tell me it's just 'sunny in Asgard today, rainy in Asgard tomorrow'!" Tony quipped, looking up.
"No, it's official content," J.A.R.V.I.S answered.
Tony had pre-set the system so that if Rowan updated important content, he would be notified immediately. Boring weather notes wouldn't interrupt his experiments.
"Let me see! Project the diary contents in front of me," Tony commanded.
After a moment, the diary's contents appeared before Tony.
"Magic books, huh? So he really took reading magic seriously once he reached Asgard," Tony muttered to himself.
Rowan had mentioned magic in the diary a few days ago but hadn't detailed the content. Now it seemed he had accessed an immense magical library.
"Obviously, he's trying to improve his magical skills!" Tony remarked.
Compared to Odin and Thor, the god kings of Asgard, Tony Stark was more intrigued by Rowan's magic learning.
"This means that in this world—now or in the future—there exist one or more beings with very high magical attainments, and some may become supervillains," Tony pondered aloud.
From Rowan's words, it was clear he was afraid—though no one knew who or what he feared.
"So he's strengthening his magical abilities. We should keep up!" Tony decided. "J.A.R.V.I.S, create a brand-new file on divine patterns and list all research results there."
Rowan's diary hinted at a powerful magical enemy or group of enemies Tony would have to face in the future. Studying these divine patterns thoroughly was vital.
After days of research, Tony had to admit these divine patterns were extraordinary—completely different from scientific phenomena but remarkably effective.
"Yes, sir. File created," J.A.R.V.I.S confirmed.
"Asgard is going to be destroyed?" Tony read the line and suddenly recalled what he had recently researched about Asgard. "In Nordic mythology, is there a doomsday legend called Ragnarök?"
"Yes, sir. According to Nordic mythology, Asgard will be completely destroyed by the Flame Titan, known as Ragnarök. After Ragnarök, Odin, Thor, Tyr the God of War, and others will perish in battle," J.A.R.V.I.S replied.
"That's strange. Given the massive differences between the real Asgard and the mythical legend, wouldn't Ragnarök still happen as foretold?" Tony was stunned for a moment before musing, "If so, that would be… very interesting."
Never in his life had he imagined witnessing Ragnarök's existence.
"That scene must be spectacular!" Tony exclaimed.
If possible, he wanted to film it with a camera—an extremely spectacular event.
Meanwhile, at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in New York, Nick Fury read the news about Asgard's impending destruction in the diary. His expression darkened.
He now considered Asgard an ally. At least while Thor was in power, Asgard shouldn't become Earth's enemy.
This was crucial.
Though Thor might develop ambitions later, Fury suppressed his worries. It was one thing to have paranoid delusions; quite another to be dominated by them.
"..." Agent Hill also saw this and said bluntly, "That might not be good news for Earth."
"But it doesn't say Asgard will be destroyed," Hawkeye Barton said. "Rowan only said 'these good things will be destroyed,' but maybe after a great war, Asgard could survive in the end?"
"That's a big fight," Natasha Romanoff, the Widow, said. "Remember, Rowan once mentioned in his diary that Thor is the lone star of the gods—parents, brothers, sisters, lovers, all will be killed. Think about it: these 'good things' to be destroyed probably refer to the famous Ragnarök in Norse mythology."
Hearing Natasha's reminder, everyone immediately thought of something. Many myths exist in this world, but only one seemed to predict their own end.
At least, none of them knew of others.
"It's possible. After all, Rowan's diary says our world is a story written by Hollywood screenwriters outside the universe's fourth wall.
"Then these Hollywood writers borrowed Norse mythology as the story's background.
"Is that possible?"
Phil Coulson pondered aloud. "No matter how different current Asgard is from the Norse myth, the myth is the benchmark.
"If the writers wanted explosive plot points, they wouldn't skip Ragnarök.
"Thor's 'lone star' might even come from this."
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