148. Suye Missing? Instance Opening: Holy Grail War

Before the dawn of light, the world was shrouded in darkness.

From that darkness emerged the Dark Elves, a race more ancient than even the Asgardians. Yet, this ancient lineage was marked by a brutal temperament. One of their kings, Malekith, once sought to annihilate the Nine Realms using the Aether particles.

This ambition sparked a fierce war between the Dark Elves and the Aesir gods. In the end, the Dark Elves were nearly wiped out, and the Aether particles were sealed away by Odin, the Allfather and ruler of the Aesir.

Even now, the exact location of this seal remains unknown, not even to the current All-Father Odin.

This uncertainty has led to much speculation among netizens. What if Jane never entered the spatial portal, never disturbed the Aether particles, and never removed them from their sealed resting place? Would the Reality Stone within the Aether remain dormant, sealed for another five thousand years until the next celestial convergence of the nine stars?

If that were the case, the Dark Elves would not awaken, Asgard would remain unscathed, Queen Frigga would live, and the Collector of the Void would not be slain.

Most critically, Thanos’s plan to bring about annihilation might have to wait another five millennia.

For once the celestial alignment passes, even if Thanos desecrated Odin’s tomb, he would not find a way to the sealed realm.

Could the looming Infinite War crisis of the future have been averted entirely?

Moreover, the celestial event known as the nine-star alignment manifested near London — one of the three major sanctuaries. Why did the Ancient One not take heed, nor foresee the impending danger?

Had she intervened slightly to curb Jane’s reckless actions, perhaps the future would have unfolded very differently.

But then again, the Ancient One is a detached ascetic, living in New York, yet remaining indifferent to the Battle of New York. It is clear she would not alter the future unless she saw the Doctor Strange from that future doing so.

Simply put, she trusts Doctor Strange more than herself.

In truth, one should not place too much hope in this old nun; she is little more than an instrument of fate. Even Carmathaji, like the tarot in Shang-Chi’s tale, exists solely to support Doctor Strange’s ascent.

All these seemingly illogical developments serve only to empower a particular individual — a pattern that has become routine.

If the Ancient One remains unconcerned, Suye naturally would not intervene either. After all, the timeline of this world is already fractured, and he cannot precisely track when Jane entered the spatial portal. He cannot be tailing her every moment.

A graceful lady is a suitable match for a gentleman, but all must be conducted with propriety...

Jane, after all, is Thor’s confidante, while Suye is no chancellor; he would never dare commit such brazen acts as flagrantly flouting decorum before his superior.

Though it does sound thrilling, cough!

After Heimdall’s call, Thor abandoned his drink, eager to have Heimdall open the Bifrost to transport him to Earth.

Suye, with nothing better to do and unwilling to return to the silent battles among several women, opted to accompany Thor back to Earth.

Besides, he had never been to London before.

In no time, the rainbow bridge pierced the void, carrying the two men far away to Earth.

In London, under a torrential downpour, overturned heavy vehicles littered the streets as police hastily erected barricades, struggling to maintain order.

Daisy Louise, a formidable woman, stood anxiously in the rain. Her leader and dear friend Jane had been missing for over five hours. The police had yet to find any trace; if this continued, Daisy feared she would break down.

After all, without her job, there would be no paycheck.

In today’s world, the value of stable employment needs no elaboration.

Just then, Jane reappeared, shielded beneath an invisible vast canopy from the rain, coming back into Daisy’s sight.

Before the two could exchange many words, a towering man wielding a hammer appeared in the distance.

Jane immediately slapped Thor, using it as an excuse to confirm his authenticity and vent her frustration. She wanted him to understand how cruel it was for a woman who had been thoroughly defeated to feel no sense of fulfillment.

Yet, after being slapped and having his head twisted, Thor seemed unfazed and instead looked around in confusion.

“Huh, where’s the other person?”

Jane exploded instantly.

What did he mean? He hadn’t come alone? He brought a companion? Was this some kind of flaunting?

Before Jane could retort, Thor looked up and shouted:

“Yeah!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah!”

At that moment, everyone nearby was dumbfounded, casting strange looks at Thor.

Here was a burly man who, after being slapped, seemed to revel in it, shouting “Yeah” thrice—clearly harboring some masochistic tendencies.

Thor was, of course, looking for Suye. The two had departed Asgard together, but only one had arrived. Where had the other gone?

The Bifrost is a transport portal, its surrounding rainbow columns both guiding and protecting the traveler.

Yet, those rainbow beams are not impenetrable. Hela once held Thor against the light pillar, rubbing him down, and eventually cast him out into the void of space.

Though Thor had never endured such treatment, he understood the consequences of falling outside the light pillar.

Suye had surely not been lost to the vast cosmos, never to return.

Thor thought of the many Great Wall Guardians who feasted and drank at his home and felt a headache coming on.

If they learned Suye had been lost due to Thor’s mishandling, they might cease all revelry and conversation and simply overturn Asgard itself.

There was no doubt they possessed such power.

So Thor had no patience to care about Jane’s slap or where she had gone. As long as she was safe, the priority was to find Suye.

“Heimdall!” Thor shouted to the sky. The rainbow pillars descended again, carrying him and the utterly bewildered Jane away.

“Is this… kidnapping?” Daisy Louise muttered, unsure how to respond.

On the Bifrost, Thor looked at Heimdall. “Where’s Suye? Where did he go?”

Heimdall blinked, confused. “Didn’t he come with you to Earth?”

He turned his gaze toward Earth, then the Nine Realms, then farther still—but found nothing.

“Suye’s gone missing!”

The news struck both men like a thunderclap. Clearly, what Thor feared was now Heimdall’s concern too.

After a long exchange of glances, Heimdall finally said, “You go have a drink. I’ll keep searching. We still have the whole night—I believe we’ll find him.”

With that, Heimdall crouched down, eyes wide open, meticulously scanning the entire Nine Realms.

Thor hefted his hammer and flew off toward another battlefield.

Jane, who had been inadvertently ‘kidnapped,’ felt utterly superfluous, as if no one had cared about her from start to finish.

“Who am I? Where am I? What should I do next?”

After a moment of confusion, Jane pieced together from their conversation that Suye was missing.

But Suye himself was unclear where he had gone.

Just as he was crossing the Bifrost toward Earth, nearing his destination, his system suddenly chimed.

[Ding! Absorbed unknown energy, triggering unknown function upgrade. Would you like to upgrade and activate the new feature?]

Trusting that the system would not harm its host, Suye decisively chose “Yes.”

[Ding! Unknown condition met. You may draw one ‘Special Card.’ Would you like to draw and use it now? Countdown: 5, 4…]

This new feature seemed rushed—named “Special Card” but offered no explanation, starting an immediate countdown with only five seconds to decide.

It felt more like a death sentence than a thoughtful choice.

As the countdown neared its end, Suye still chose “Yes.”

As always, they chose to believe in hope.

Then, he vanished from the Bifrost.

When he opened his eyes again, Suye found himself inside a dilapidated warehouse. Beside him crouched a purple-haired girl, her eyes slightly vacant, quietly observing him.

“Good morning, Senior Ye!” she greeted with a smile.

The girl wore a Japanese school uniform, her hair cut shoulder-length.

Seeing Suye awake, she smiled warmly.

Suye returned the smile. “Good morning, Sakura.”

At the sound of the name, Suye’s brow furrowed sharply. Sakura—this girl was his classmate’s younger sister. These memories seemed to belong to him inherently, rising naturally to his mind.

‘So this is another system-induced memory interference, just like when Harry appeared?’

The girl’s eyes curved into two crescent moons upon hearing Suye speak.

“Senior sometimes oversleeps, you know? I think it’s nice because then I get to wake you up.”

“By the way, I’ll prepare breakfast, so no need to rush. Also, Teacher Fujimura will be here soon. You should change your clothes.”

Suye looked down at his somewhat dirty work overalls and nodded wryly.

“Yeah, if Sister Fuji saw me like this, she’d probably punch me.”

Another new figure appeared in his memory—Sister Fujimura, eight years his senior, who became his guardian after his father died and he was orphaned.

“Wait a moment!”

Suye suddenly froze.

“I’m an orphan? Old Su… gone?”

At that thought, Suye wavered. Since the system appeared, Old Su had been a near-mythical presence. No matter how many life-draining powers he had drawn, Old Su had always lived well—growing even stronger.

His performance on the southern slope of Everest had firmly convinced Suye that Old Su might be the greatest figure in this world, simply uninterested in meddling in America’s affairs, which was why he was sent out to cause chaos.

But now, these ‘memories’ told him Old Su was gone?

Suye refused to believe it and immediately activated telepathic abilities, extending his consciousness outward.

This place was clearly Japan, not far from the Dragon Nation. Perhaps, without needing a neural amplifier, he could sense the Dragon Nation itself. Once he connected with the national defense formation, everything would be revealed.

Yet, as his awareness expanded, he realized this Japan might not belong to the original world.

Under his scan, the city he was in appeared as a solitary existence suspended in space, surrounded by a mist that isolated it from the outside world.

Recalling the system’s upgrade alert and the activation of the ‘Special Card,’ Suye formed a rough hypothesis.

Perhaps this was a special space, created by the activation and use of the ‘Special Card.’

Here, his ‘orphan’ status had become the collective belief, without affecting the ‘real’ Old Su.

In other words, Suye had entered a sort of game-like instance.

That seemed to be the case.

After a bath and a change of clothes, Suye arrived at the dining room. Sakura had already prepared breakfast, and Sister Fujimura sat at the table.

His new daily life involved a junior sister-like schoolgirl who came by each day to cook breakfast with various creative dishes.

And a sister-like guardian who came by daily under various pretexts to share meals.

Such a life did not seem so bad.

Someday soon, I will have a quilt large enough to cover all three of us.

Yet the city itself seemed far from peaceful. Disasters occurred frequently without explanation—gas leaks, stabbings, and the like.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department was busy like headless flies but achieved little beyond exhaustion.

After watching the news, Suye felt no urge to investigate further.

After all, though this was an instance-like space, it was still a Japanese city. If it was chaotic, so be it.

Besides Sister Fujimura and Sakura, Suye also had a girl at school who stirred feelings of secret admiration—a proud girl named Rin with black twin tails.

At the sight of her, Suye felt an inexplicable familiarity—this girl and he had a history.

Do you think these three girls encompass all of Suye’s current identity?

No.

After school, when he finished work and returned home at dusk, a white-haired girl in European noble attire suddenly appeared in an alley, smiling at him.

As they passed each other, the girl whispered softly:

“If you don’t summon soon, you’ll be killed, Oni-chan!”

Clearly, no matter where Suye went or what new identity he assumed, his luck with women remained firmly intact.

As for the white-haired girl’s mention of summoning, it was a special system.

Within this ‘instance,’ a unique power called magic existed, but battles between magicians were not mere spellcasting.

At intervals, seven chosen individuals would invoke spells and formations to summon seven heroic spirits from legend and history.

Ultimately, the outcome of their battles would determine victory in the war.

The summoners were called Masters; the heroic spirits were Servants.

Killing or subjugating all other Masters and Servants would crown the last pair as victors.

And the prize?

The Holy Grail—the ultimate artifact capable of granting any wish.

This conflict was known as the Holy Grail War.