40: A failed gambit

"Proceed," Odin commanded his high-ranking servants.

The high gods, summoned by Odin, approached the white mist cautiously. As they extended their hands to touch it, their fingertips instantly froze.

Withdrawn in terror, their trembling bodies caused the ice on their fingertips to dislodge, shattering their fingers into ice crystals.

"Ah!?"

Exclamations filled the air. The mist could freeze high gods on contact; what was this white mist?

"My Lord!" They turned to Odin with innocence, "These white mists induce absolute zero; even we freeze upon approaching!"

Upon hearing of absolute zero, soldiers and generals stepped back in fear.

Odin, though a king, remained subject to the universe's general laws. Contact with absolute zero would halt the motion of the matter within his body, leading to instant disintegration.

Gazing at the ice treasure box, a sense of helplessness overwhelmed them. If no one could close the box, they'd witness the courtyard fall under the Frost Giants' control.

Rhodes couldn't stand by and stepped forward.

"What are you doing? That's absolute zero, the theoretical law of death; you'll perish!" the High God shouted, clutching his severed finger, his face contorted in pain.

Rhodes ignored him, advancing steadily.

As the mist touched his body, it behaved like ordinary water mist, easily displaced by his movement.

Contrary to expectations, his body didn't freeze.

Rhodes held the ice treasure box with both hands, exerting force to seal it shut.

Yet, the white mist persisted, even with the box fully closed.

Once opened, the ice treasure box's magic, once activated, couldn't be reversed by physical closure. The only way to stop it was via the opener, a role that only Laufey could perform.

Rhodes grimaced, recalling the treasure box's sealing mechanism.

"If you don't value my Earthlings' lives, don't blame me for what follows."

Before the onlookers could fully comprehend, Rhodes summoned Heimdall, opening a Rainbow Bridge and transporting himself to Jotunheim.

Exiting the Rainbow Bridge's light, he hurled the ice treasure box into the sky, letting it fall freely.

The white mist accumulated around it, forming a vast shroud.

As the ice treasure box, once intended to impact Earth, lost its target, its magic power dispersed.

The shroud erupted, scattering into the surroundings.

Jotunheim's sky witnessed a cascade of white snowflakes.

Curious Frost Giants extended their hands, touching the strange snow. For the first time in years, Jotunheim saw such snow.

But contact caused their bodies to turn to ice, disintegrating upon a gentle breeze, leaving behind sparkling ice crystals that eventually dissolved into space.

Panic ensued. Frost Giants sought refuge indoors and beneath ice cliffs, desperate to evade the falling snow.

However, the snowflakes rendered the ground frigid, its cold spreading.

Rhodes didn't linger. He returned to Asgard through the Rainbow Bridge.

Soldiers ushered an unconscious Laufey to prison. Rhodes emerged before them, eliciting awe.

"Salutations, Legion Commander!"

"Give him to me," Rhodes stated calmly.

Soldiers exchanged glances, recognizing Rhodes as the Pegasus Knights Legion's leader, rendering them powerless to oppose him. They yielded Laufey.

Rhodes seized Laufey by his neck, casting him into the Rainbow Bridge.

The sudden jolt revived Laufey, revealing Jotunheim before him.

Rhodes pressed his foot against Laufey's head, issuing a threat. "Notice the white mist in the distance? Close the treasure box, or watch Jotunheim succumb to absolute zero's void."

Laufey trembled slightly. Even a Frost Giant couldn't endure absolute zero. Resistant as he was, he'd last a mere second in its grip.

Should his people be trapped, their survival was impossible.

"Huh!" Laufey smirked, "Do you think I'm ignorant? Even if you bring the treasure box to Jotunheim, the atrium's fate will align—swallowed by the treasure box's magic."

Rhodes released him, and Laufey smiled in self-assurance, assuming Rhodes cowed by his words.

A punch, however, landed on his cheek, rattling his brain.

"You can test whether it was I who killed your people before your eyes, destroying the treasure box forcibly, or if the atrium was consumed by insignificant magic now," Rhodes rebuked.

Laufey averted his gaze. Jotunheim was too distant for its magic to transfer rapidly, especially given the distance involved. Limited in scope, the transmitted magic would remain in Jotunheim.

Untransferred magic remained in Jotunheim, feeding the snowflakes before him.

Should this continue, Jotunheim would disappear first, Rhodes—a being unhampered by absolute zero—proving ineffectual.

Laufey bowed his head, then reluctantly nodded. "I'll close the treasure box and spare my people."

Rhodes kicked his rear, a few well-placed strikes, then moved to close the treasure box, emitting white mist.

Jotunheim now resembled a war-torn battlefield, Frost Giants in distress. Some lost limbs to snowflakes, others mourned friends.

Their cries filled Jotunheim, nearly rupturing reality and escaping into the Nine Realms.

Kneeling, Laufey surveyed the scene, his fury transforming into a bitter howl directed at the sky.

"A failed gambit! A failure!"

He pivoted, glaring at Rhodes, gnashing his teeth.

"With a monstrosity like you from Asgard! I'm unlucky!"

Rhodes met his glare, cold and unyielding. "Will you return to prison willingly, or must I enforce your return?"

Laufey smirked wryly, stood, and entered the Rainbow Bridge's light.

Gazing at the chaos in Jotunheim, Rhodes whispered to Laufey behind him, "Your greed dragged you into this. These lives were sacrificed for you."

Laufey remained mute. Opening the ice treasure box ensured all beings in the courtyard's vicinity perished. Now the same magic struck Jotunheim—a consequence of his actions.