Soon, Peter learned everything about the identity of the infant in his arms and the information regarding the ash tree in the courtyard.
Slowly opening his eyes, he smiled slightly, gazing at the blue-skinned baby staring curiously at him.
As he had expected, the infant sent by the system this time was none other than Loki Laufeyson from the Marvel universe—son of Laufey, King of the Frost Giants. In Norse mythology, Loki was the god of fire and mischief, also known as the god of lies and chaos.
Despite his ambition and formidable strength, Loki suffered repeated failures in the Avengers' world, often mocked for possessing "the body of a god, yet the strength of a mortal."
"Well, I should've known it was you, kid."
Peter murmured softly while shifting his gaze to the void before him.
With Loki's arrival, the secret of the ash tree was also revealed to him.
As he had suspected, the tree was none other than the legendary World Tree.
However, the one before him was merely an immature seed of Yggdrasil.
It did not possess the unfathomable power of the World Tree from Norse mythology.
It had not yet given birth to the Nine Realms, the Well of Wisdom, or the Norns who governed fate.
For now, it only contained two realms—Jotunheim, the land of the Frost Giants, and Muspelheim, the land of fire.
And neither realm had any life inhabiting it yet.
It seemed that even with the World Tree in his possession, he was still far from becoming the ruler of the Nine Realms.
Could the reason the World Tree seed appeared in the courtyard be solely to bring Loki to him?
Peter glanced at the baby babbling in his arms, lost in thought.
Unable to reach a conclusion, he withdrew from his contemplation, carrying Loki back to the real world.
As he reappeared beneath the World Tree, Martha McDonald, drenched from the rain, finally arrived nearby.
Startled by Peter's sudden appearance, Martha took a step back.
Then, a powerful sense of unease washed over her.
With a deafening crash, a bolt of lightning split the sky, illuminating the world like daylight.
A massive thunderstrike shot straight toward the World Tree!
Martha barely had time to warn Peter before the violent lightning engulfed him and the baby.
Peter immediately felt an overwhelming surge of energy flood his body.
Yet, to his surprise, rather than harm him, the lightning filled him with warmth and strength.
Amidst the crackling electric arcs surrounding him, Peter sensed something profound.
Looking up, he saw countless ancient and cryptic symbols descending from the World Tree.
Each rune, composed of vertical and diagonal lines, radiated a powerful and timeless aura.
Shocked, Peter instinctively reached out.
The moment his fingers touched the symbols, they converged into a storm, surging into his body all at once.
"This is...?!"
Realization struck him—these were Runes!
The mystical script used by the Norse gods in magic.
He remembered well that Odin himself had once discovered Runes beneath the World Tree.
As the Song of the Wise recounted:
"The Allfather, Odin, seeking wisdom, pierced himself with his own spear and hung upon the Tree of Life. Nine nights and nine days he endured, without food or drink, unseen and unassisted, until at last, gazing downward, he beheld the sacred Runes. Summoning his last strength, he reached for them and fell from the tree, enlightened."
Just like Odin, Peter had comprehended the power of the Runes.
And he hadn't even needed to bind himself to the tree, endure starvation, or undergo harsh self-sacrifice.
All it took was a lucky lightning strike!
Or perhaps... this was fate's advanced payment for raising Loki?
At that moment, Martha had yet to react when the lightning suddenly vanished from Peter's body.
The next instant—
Boom!
A muffled explosion rang out as an overwhelming force erupted from Peter, rippling outward.
Caught in the energy surge, Martha was instantly knocked unconscious.
Hearing her faint groan, Peter snapped out of his trance and turned to see her collapsing.
In a flash, he dashed to her side, catching her just before she hit the ground.
Boom!
Thunder rumbled in the distance as a violent storm raged, hurling wind and rain toward the farm with increasing ferocity.
Holding Loki in one arm and supporting Martha with the other, Peter looked ahead.
A tornado, swirling with debris, roared toward the farm, its devastating force growing stronger.
Watching the approaching tempest, Peter furrowed his brows slightly.
He recalled the Runes he had just learned from the World Tree.
Perhaps... he could give them a try.
With that thought, Peter extended a finger, channeling divine energy into it.
Then, with lightning speed, he inscribed a Rune into the air.
Had Odin been present, he would have immediately recognized it—
Peter had just drawn the Sailing Rune.
This Rune was primarily used to calm stormy seas and communicate with nature to pacify its fury.
The moment the Rune appeared, it emitted an ancient and profound energy.
Waves of power rippled outward, surging toward the raging storm.
As Peter constructed the runes using celestial energy, the moment the symbols took form, a surge of immense power erupted from them.
A vast energy wave swept outward, as if an invisible hand had seized control of the approaching tornado, preventing it from advancing further.
At that precise moment, John, who had just left Jonathan, arrived at the scene.
Standing at the edge of the farm, he stared in stunned silence as Peter unleashed immense power to stop the tornado.
The runes emitted ripples of energy that not only bound the space around them but also immobilized John.
John watched in shock as the tornado let out an "unwilling" roar, surging forward with great force—only to be completely dissipated by the rune's energy in an instant.
"Uh…"
Once the tornado was fully "suppressed" by Peter, John swallowed hard and looked at him in awe.
He had always assumed his father's abilities were similar to his own. He never expected his father to possess such overwhelming power.
If his dad could subdue a tornado this easily, then dealing with him would probably take mere seconds.
At that thought, John felt a sense of relief—thankfully, he had never truly angered his father before.
If he had… no matter how much he struggled, he wouldn't stand a chance.
Meanwhile, unaware of John's exaggerated imagination, Peter let out a small breath after casting the rune spell and glanced at the World Tree seed.
Fortunately, the runes he had just obtained came from the World Tree itself, so he didn't have to worry about any sort of "debt collection."
In this world, magic used by sorcerers—such as Zatanna and the Three Witches—often originated from powerful entities beyond the dark dimensions.
One day, those entities would come to collect their dues.
But the runes from the World Tree weren't bound by such contracts, so he could use them freely.
"Dad!"
John called out, walking toward him with an expression of disbelief.
Then, he caught sight of the blue-skinned baby in Peter's arms and was even more startled.
"Dad… who is he?"
He never expected that after being gone for just a short while, his father would have a new baby in his arms.
"John?"
Peter looked at John, surprised to see him back at the farm. "Why are you here?"
"I was worried about you, so I came back."
John's gaze shifted toward the baby in Peter's arms. "Dad, did you… pick up another baby?"
He was starting to get used to his father's habit of adopting children out of nowhere.
Peter coughed lightly. "He… uh…"
After a brief hesitation, he said, "He grew from the tree. I happened to see it, so I picked him up."
"…Grew from the tree?!"
John stared at Peter in disbelief.
Was this baby some kind of sentient fruit?
Did he really just… grow from a tree?
However…
As he examined the child's blue skin and sensed the powerful, enigmatic aura emanating from the divine tree, John found himself believing the explanation—at least partially.
"…Is that true, Dad?" John hesitated, then glanced at Martha, who was still unconscious. "This… isn't actually Ms. Martha's child, is it?"
Peter: "…"
First, this kid suspected that Star-Lord was his son with Kelly.
Now, he was wondering if this baby was his with Martha?
Did he need to tie John to the World Tree for a few days to reflect on his wild imagination?!
"Of course not," Peter said sternly. "The tree you see before you is the World Tree, also known as the Tree of Life. I don't know why it appeared here, but this baby was indeed born from it."
John gave him a doubtful glance before shifting his focus back to the World Tree.
After getting John off his back, Peter turned his attention back to the baby in his arms—Loki.
The blue skin was a bit too conspicuous. If he grew up like this, he'd likely be labeled a "monster" his whole life.
After thinking for a moment, Peter found a suitable rune in his mind.
He extended a finger, channeling celestial energy into it, then carefully etched a "Healing Rune" onto Loki's body, altering his skin color.
As the rune activated, a bright light erupted, and Loki's blue skin gradually transformed into the normal complexion of a human infant.
Beside him, John stood in stunned silence, his eyes wide as he watched Peter's actions. 'Is my Dad Jesus?'
After finishing the spell, a thought suddenly occurred to Peter. He turned to the still-dazed John and asked, "Where's Star-Lord?"
...
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