Chapter 688: U: The Infinite Event (4)

At the entrance of Stark Tower, Pepper held Helene in one arm and a bag in the other; she handed Helene to Sif and said, "Helene isn't an ordinary human child, so the things from Asgard should be fine for her to eat, but she doesn't like fruits similar to apples—though she loves orange juice…"

"Oh, and don't let her consume too much sugar—it's unhealthy. Also, make her read more books and don't let her fight—oh my god, she really loves fighting, it's so exhausting…" Pepper handed the bag to Sif as well; inside were Helene's daily necessities.

Lately, Sif had been training her swordsmanship in surrounding dimensions, leaving her weary; so when she learned Frigga wanted to bring Helene to Asgard, she volunteered to go, hoping for a change of pace.

Though Helene looked very much like Loki, Sif adored children and had always dreamed of having a daughter; Helene fulfilled that fantasy. She reached out, stroking Helene's head, imagining herself picking flowers and weaving garlands with her in Asgard's forests, splashing by fountains, telling stories by campfires…

The Bifröst shimmered once, and Sif and Helene vanished from sight; upon returning to Asgard, Sif first took Helene to Frigga.

Frigga showed Helene her bedroom—the place Loki had lived in as a child, Frigga's favorite son, the Second Prince of Asgard; even after all these years, the residence remained magnificent.

Polished, smooth floor tiles were covered in plush carpets; the bed frame bore a primitive Viking style, supported by thick, round logs holding up deep green curtains.

To Helene, the bed was far too large; Frigga worried Helene might be frightened on her first night and planned to sleep with her, but Odin suddenly summoned her—so Sif stayed behind to tell Helene a bedtime story and lull her to sleep.

Until now, Helene had been quiet, but perhaps because she had consumed members of the Heir Family and inherited their vampire traits, as darkness fell, she grew noticeably more lively.

"And so, the valiant warriors of Asgard defeated the great dragon, chopped off its antlers, mounted its head on the helm, forged armor from its scales, and set sail toward new adventures…"

Sif held a storybook, speaking softly to Helene; Helene propped her chin on her hand, blinked her eyes, and sighed. Sif asked, "What's wrong? Don't you like this story?"

Helene looked at her with big eyes and said, "I'd rather kill the dragon myself than listen to a hero slay one."

Looking at Helene's face, Sif sighed, "You're so different from your mother… uh, father… hmm, maybe still mother—you're nothing like her…"

Helene rested her cheek on her hand, staring listlessly at the pattern on the blanket; Sif told her another story, then picked her up and laid her in bed to sleep.

Helene couldn't sleep at all; gazing at the bright moonlight outside the room, she widened her eyes, glanced left and right, confirmed no one was watching, then leapt nimbly onto the windowsill and flipped out onto the balcony.

She was about to use magical power to fly, then remembered—this wasn't Earth; everyone in Asgard was born with innate magic.

If she used magic here, the guards would sense it; she might shake them off, but she couldn't escape Frigga or Sif—then she'd never get out again.

Realizing this, Helene gripped the balcony railing, leaned out, and looked down—below, a tall tree stood, its crown level with the balcony floor.

Beneath the clear moonlight, towering coniferous trees clustered around Xiangong; Asgard, of Norse civilization, held a special affection for conifers—these trees were nurtured to thrive, their needles glowing a faint blue-green under the moon.

Suddenly, several trees near Xiangong's wall rustled violently; startled birds streaked across the sky.

Then, many tall trees began to sway, approaching from afar—*thump*—Helene leapt down from the outermost tree, brushed her hands, indifferent to the leaves stuck in her hair.

After exiting the forest behind Xiangong, left led to the training ground, right to the fountain garden; beyond the fountain garden lay the library. After a one-second hesitation, Helene decisively headed toward the training ground.

On her way to Xiangong, Helene had seen many different Asgardian weapons; she wanted to visit the training ground to find an interesting blade—she still had no proper weapon.

But when she arrived, she discovered a figure sitting on the steps beside the training ground; Helene hid behind the wall, peered out, and stared at the figure.

It was Sif; beside her lay a longsword. She sat on the steps, reached behind to gather her long hair, and began braiding it.

A faint white mist rose from her body—she had clearly just trained; the scattered dummies in the center of the training ground confirmed Sif had been training through the night.

Helene sighed, realizing her plan was unlikely to succeed, and turned to slip away quietly—but then she heard Sif say:

"You're awake?"

Helene froze, one foot still raised; slowly, she turned—and saw purple light flickering over Sif's body, yet Sif's gaze wasn't directed at her; she seemed to be speaking to herself.

Helene crept softly back to the wall, leaned out again, and listened to what Sif was saying.

"... es, after all this time, you should really go home and visit. I'll go to Earth tomorrow—you can find a new host. By the way, where are your companions? Aren't they coming to pick you up?"

Immediately after Sif finished speaking, another voice emerged from her mouth: "Thank you, Sif. Working with you has been a joy—you're the strongest, kindest host I've ever had…"

It was a woman's voice, but different from Sif's; as she spoke, purple light flickered across Sif's body.

Helene frowned, studying closely—those purple lights felt familiar; they resembled the symbiote she'd seen on Peter before.

"The Cosmic Agents are in dire straits. Civilizations near the Andromeda Galaxy harbor deep hostility toward us. The force that surrounded Clint's planet last time seems to have agitated N'Kala—he's growing increasingly active. No one knows when he'll break free." The symbiote's tone carried worry; Sif comforted her:

"Phantom, don't worry. If trouble comes, I'll help you."

Hidden behind the wall, Helene rolled her eyes—she seemed to have devised a plan.

The next day, as Sif prepared to activate the Bifröst to Earth, Helene clung to her; Sif had no choice but to bring Helene along, and the two returned to Earth together.

Sif's purpose this time was to find a new host for the symbiote within her, Phantom. Since the Destroyer Loki had unleashed had wounded her, and Phantom had bonded with her to save her life, Phantom had remained on Sif's body; they trained together, forging deep friendship.

But just days ago, Phantom proposed returning to her homeworld, Clintar; yet Sif, as an Asgardian Valkyrie, had patrol duties and couldn't leave without authorization—she couldn't travel to the Andromeda Galaxy without orders, so separation was inevitable.

On Earth, Phantom left Sif's body; unlike other symbiotes, she had one advantage—extreme flexibility and agility. Even without a host, she could fly, and her individual mobility far surpassed others'. So she didn't settle for just any host—she intended to find the female nurse she'd once inhabited.

After she left, Helene said she wanted to take Sif shopping on Earth. Sif had recently hit a bottleneck in her power growth and felt restless; she welcomed the chance to relax, so she took Helene to a street beside Times Square, planning to stroll.

As expected, with Spider-Man absent from New York and the good neighbor missing, they hadn't wandered long before gunshots rang out; down the street, a jewelry store was being robbed.

Sif wouldn't stand idly by. She turned, scanned the surroundings, and noticed a nearby café was quiet; she took Helene inside, placed her on a seat, and said, "Stay here. Don't move. I'll be right back!"

Helene nodded obediently—but the instant Sif dashed out, she leapt off the chair. Though her legs were short, her speed was swift; she vanished into the crowd like smoke.

Finding a deserted spot, Helene sniffed lightly, caught a scent in the air, then transformed into a streak of light, soaring over New York.

Suddenly, she halted midair, looked down—and saw a pool of purple slime oozing along a wall in a narrow alley not far from New York Elder Hospital.

Helene flew straight down, landing on the wall, peering at the slime; the purple slime froze, paused for an instant, then recoiled rapidly.

But Helene gave her no chance to escape—she flickered forward and pinned it with her hand.

The symbiote naturally wouldn't be contained by a single hand; Phantom was thinking this when she felt a terrifying suction from the tiny hand—something was devouring her symbiote cells, and she couldn't resist.

*whoosh*—all her symbiote cells were sucked into Helene's body. Phantom thought she'd be consumed; she opened her mouth to scream—then realized she wasn't in mortal danger. Instead, like before, she was now bonded within Helene.

Phantom transmitted a confused emotion; Helene replied in an innocent tone: "I saw Peter had a symbiote too—what was it called… Red Bee? I thought that was interesting, so I wanted one too. What's your name?"

"I'm Phantom. But little girl, the Cosmic Agents' code forbids us from bonding with underage beings—even if you're an Aesir. Your body isn't fully developed; hyper-speed could cause severe strain…"

"Eh?! … How are you flying??? No no no! Stop! Stop! You're going too fast! Stop the car!"

"Aaaaaaahhhhh!"

"!"

"!"