Invasion of the Frost Giants!

"Child! You must not be too hasty. The more anxious you are, the harder it will be to achieve results. Don't rush... It should happen soon!" Odin said, looking meaningfully toward the Bifrost Bridge.

Odin could feel that his time was nearing its end. Before his death, he wanted to play one last grand game!

He envisioned the Nine Realms as a chessboard and Asgard's potential enemies as the pieces.

When Laufey heard about the death of his youngest son, he was both upset and furious. However, it wasn't grief over his son's death—after all, he had abandoned him long ago, and his death didn't really matter. The real issue was that with Loki gone, Laufey's plan to retrieve the Casket of Ancient Winters was in jeopardy.

"Your Majesty, we have just received news from our spies in Asgard. Although Loki is dead, the Casket of Ancient Winters has fallen to Earth," the High Priest of the Frost Giants reported, bowing low.

Laufey's eyes lit up.

Was this the opportunity they had been waiting for?

Trembling with excitement, Laufey spoke with renewed vigor, "I remember sending people to Earth, didn't I? Contact them and tell them to be prepared to assist us. We are marching on Midgard!"

The High Priest hesitated. "But, Your Majesty, the Sorcerer Supreme is there..."

"Once I have the Casket of Ancient Winters, not even the Sorcerer Supreme, let alone Odin, will be able to stand against me!" Laufey, blinded by his desire for the casket, urged eagerly.

The High Priest wanted to dissuade him further, but after seeing Laufey's cold gaze, he realized that any more attempts to advise against it might cost him his life.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" the High Priest replied respectfully.

Meanwhile, at the North Pole...

After carrying Wendy back to the Sky Fortress, Ethan made sure to arrange a room for her. Once that was done, he went to the command room.

"Commander, we've detected a S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft heading our way. It will arrive in about an hour," 1745 reported.

"Looks like we can't leave just yet," Ethan said, somewhat resigned.

"1745, prepare for combat. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. is coming to us, we'll stay here and wait. Let's see how they plan to steal our prey!" Ethan's eyes gleamed as he looked at the aircraft on the screen.

Next to him, Tony looked puzzled. "What's going on? You're butting heads with S.H.I.E.L.D. again?"

"This time, they're coming to us!" Ethan said with a smirk. "Come on, let me show you something cool."

Ethan grabbed Tony and leaped off the Sky Fortress.

When they landed on the icy surface, Ethan let go of Tony, who was panting heavily.

"Next time, try not to do that! My heart's not in the best condition," Tony grumbled.

"Look over there. See that? Doesn't it look familiar?" Ethan pointed at a shield embedded in the ice.

"That is…" Tony squinted at the shield.

"If my guess is correct, Captain America is frozen over there," Ethan said nonchalantly.

Tony murmured, "No wonder S.H.I.E.L.D. is rushing here so urgently."

Captain America was, after all, a national icon. It made sense for S.H.I.E.L.D. to go to great lengths to recover him.

"But what's that thing over there?" Tony asked, pointing to the lifeless body of a Frost Giant lying nearby.

"A Frost Giant. They're basically aliens," Ethan replied casually, not bothering to explain further.

"But speaking of which, why hasn't my SCP-096 arrived yet?" Ethan looked up at the sky, feeling uneasy.

Just as he was about to try and reassure himself, his vision suddenly blurred.

"Your Majesty, this is the man. It was his subordinate who killed Loki, and if we're not mistaken, the Casket of Ancient Winters is in his hands," said a voice in his mind.

"Excellent! Have the High Priest predict his location. We'll deal with him now and reclaim the casket!" Laufey commanded.

"Your Majesty, he's in the polar region of Midgard. He's also killed some of our kin!" the voice continued.

"Damn it!" Ethan, observing everything with his godlike perspective, was left feeling confused.

What was going on in this world?

Magic and aliens were one thing, but now they were using prophecy too? Wasn't that a bit much?

But the magic wasn't the main issue. The real problem was that he had attracted the attention of the Frost Giants once again.

Also... how did these fools get a photo of him?

As his vision returned to normal, Ethan muttered to himself, full of complaints.

"What's wrong? You don't look so good," Tony asked, noticing Ethan's pale face.

"Don't ask. I've attracted the attention of another bunch of idiots," Ethan said, grimacing.

All he wanted was to quietly play the mastermind behind the scenes, so why did trouble keep finding him?

"We should head back," Ethan decided. Knowing that the Frost Giants were targeting him, he needed to find a way to deal with them once and for all.

One hour later...

A flaming meteor descended from the sky, crashing heavily into the ice near the unconscious Frost Giant.

Watching from the Sky Fortress, Ethan laughed heartily as he saw the meteor descend. "Haha! My baby, you're finally back!"

Without wasting any time, Ethan jumped off the fortress and rushed to the meteor's side. After retrieving SCP-096 into its containment space, he eagerly grabbed the Casket of Ancient Winters and tossed it into the containment space as well.

Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have successfully contained the SCP-MC-122: Casket of Ancient Winters!

Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have obtained the power of the Eternal Ice (a power surpassing cold, capable of plunging the world into eternal winter!).

Ding! Congratulations, Host! You now have control over the Casket of Ancient Winters.

Feeling immensely satisfied, Ethan returned to the Sky Fortress. But before he could celebrate, 1745 reported, "Commander, Sharon Carter has betrayed the Foundation. We've spotted her with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s team."

"They've arrived?" Ethan asked in surprise.

Ethan wasn't particularly concerned about Sharon Carter betraying the Foundation. After all, she had never truly been one of them. How could she betray a group she wasn't even a part of?

"Yes, S.H.I.E.L.D. has sent people, and they're searching the Arctic Circle," 1745 explained.

"Is that so?" Ethan said thoughtfully. He felt that maybe he should lend S.H.I.E.L.D. a hand.

As a good citizen of New York, Ethan retrieved a Frost Giant from his containment space. After waking the dazed giant, he said sternly, "Tell your king that the Casket of Ancient Winters is in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands. Not only that, but they also have the Tesseract! If he wants them, he'll have to come and beg me. I'll be waiting at your former camp!"

With that, Ethan kicked the bewildered Frost Giant off the fortress.

The density of a Frost Giant's body was three times that of a normal human, and in such cold environments, their physical abilities were even further enhanced. A mere drop of a few dozen meters wouldn't kill the giant, especially with all the snow cushioning the fall. At most, he would be slightly injured.

The fallen Frost Giant soon got back on his feet and limped toward the depths of the Arctic Circle.

He needed to return and deliver this message to his king, who would undoubtedly lead a force to exact revenge!

There was a spatial rift leading to Jotunheim nearby. The Nine Realms were connected by Yggdrasil, and some spaces naturally overlapped.

Loki had informed the Frost Giants about this spatial rift, intending for them to enter Midgard undetected by Heimdall.

Unfortunately, before the plan could be executed, its mastermind was no longer alive...

"S.H.I.E.L.D., huh? Waiting for us at the camp, are you? Very well! I'll remember this!" the limping Frost Giant growled as he glanced back toward the now-distant Sky Fortress.