Skyscrapers of all shapes and sizes lined the streets. The roads bustled with cars, and the crowds flowed like waves, endless and vibrant.
Looking up at the bright sky, there was none of the gloomy haze that hung over the Void.
Bathed in sunlight, Classic Loki closed his eyes and raised his arms, embracing the long-missed warmth.
After a long moment, he lowered his arms and looked seriously at Fenris. "Thank you."
"I know you miss Asgard, miss your brother Thor," Fenris replied casually. "So don't play any tricks. I'll allow you to stir up some waves, but take it easy when you do."
Classic Loki had surrendered earlier out of fear and respect for Fenris's power and mystery. Now that there was hope of leaving the Void and fulfilling his wish, he naturally understood what he should and shouldn't do.
He nodded solemnly, then asked with curiosity, "So, oh all-knowing and all-powerful king, what is it that you want?"
He didn't believe Fenris had come all this way just to become some scavenger king in the Void. There had to be a deeper, grander purpose.
Fenris chuckled. "What do I want? I want the stars, the moon, everything in this world. I want the world to surrender."
"That's a truly magnificent goal," Classic Loki said sincerely. "If achieved, it would bring infinite glory."
"For Asgard?" Fenris added with a smile.
"For Asgard," Classic Loki echoed in his heart.
Now fully convinced that Fenris could indeed leave the Void, Classic Loki quickly composed himself.
As they wandered the city together, he learned about this timeline's current situation while also asking what kind of supplies Fenris needed.
For now, Fenris mainly wanted "money" and "equipment."
Massive items like Thanos' Sanctuary II, Ronan's warship, or the Hydra-branded helicarrier were more valuable, but too difficult to transport and store. Plus, without the necessary tech experts to repair or reverse-engineer them, they had to be shelved for now.
You don't become rich overnight; just eat the meat bit by bit while it's still in the pot.
An hour later.
Back in the Void, inside the underground fortress.
Kid Loki had already organized all the previously collected but "useless" materials.
Holding the toothless Alligator Loki, he sat on the sofa that once belonged to Black Loki. Suddenly, without warning, Fenris and Classic Loki appeared in front of him.
"You're back–" Kid Loki quickly stood up and looked toward Classic Loki.
Classic Loki walked over to him and the crocodile, quietly recounting everything that had happened after leaving the Void.
Meanwhile, Fenris eagerly headed for the neatly stacked supplies and began sorting through them.
As he picked out anything useful and tossed it into his backpack, the first pleasant surprise soon appeared.
"This is a TVA Time Controller, isn't it?"
In his hand was a long rectangular device that looked like a handheld console. He flipped open the cover and tapped a few buttons, but the screen remained dark.
"Broken?" Fenris turned to Kid Loki.
Kid Loki glanced at it and shook his head. "I'm not sure. It was like that when I found it. I tried everything I could, but it never worked."
Fenris nodded and placed it in his backpack.
Whether it was broken or out of power, he could deal with it. If it didn't work in the Marvel universe, he could always try another world.
He continued digging, and soon enough, the second surprise arrived.
It was a dull, green gem, instantly recognizable as the Time Stone, one of the Infinity Stones.
The TVA had many Infinity Stones. Once they had too many, they simply dumped them into the Void as trash.
In theory, the Void should be full of discarded Infinity Stones, but this was the first one Fenris had found.
In both the TVA and the Void, Infinity Stones were useless.
However, Infinity Stones from different time branches within the same universe should still work, if returned to their original timeline.
After all, the TVA only reset one timeline at a time.
Even if a branch deviated and got pruned, the Stone's origin and power remained tied to its proper universe.
The TVA saw the Stones as junk because they had no power in that realm. And since no one could leave the Void, they were indeed useless.
But Fenris could leave.
It was like finding a needle in a haystack, one in a million, but if he ever found a fully functional Infinity Stone from his own timeline, even just one, it would be worth it.
And if it turned out to be unusable? He could at least flaunt it, tease Thanos or Loki, who had schemed endlessly for such power.
"If you ever find any more Infinity Stones, keep them for me," Fenris said, placing the Time Stone securely on his person.
Kid Loki and Classic Loki finally realized the importance. In the Void, Infinity Stones were trash. But once outside, they returned to being some of the most powerful items in the universe.
Fenris continued checking through the items with high hopes. Unfortunately, aside from the Time Controller and Time Stone, there were no more surprises.
No, there was still one big surprise waiting to be unboxed.
The one he had been searching for all along but hadn't yet found:
Thor's mighty hammer, Mjolnir.