Marvel x Genshin: Mavuika, The Sun Goddess Rules Asgard — Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Controlling Power

Morning light, like molten gold, spilled through the high windows and cascaded down the corridors of the Golden Palace.

Mavuika was awake earlier than usual. She sat quietly on the edge of her bed, her senses turned inward, observing the flow of the two distinct powers coiling within her. The divine energy of Asgard surged through her veins like a mighty golden river, potent and full of life. In contrast, the cluster of flames from her past life—the Source Fire of the Pyro Archon—remained nestled deep within her soul, a tiny yet eternally burning sun.

“Sister, are you awake?” Hela’s voice, still raspy with sleep, drifted over from the adjacent bed.

Mavuika turned her head. Her younger sister was already sitting up, any trace of drowsiness absent from her dark green eyes. Instead, they sparkled with an eager, almost predatory light.

“I dreamed of the ceremony,” Hela declared, hopping off the bed and padding barefoot to the grand window. “I dreamed my power covered the entire temple. Everyone was watching us—Father, Mother, all those envoys from the other realms…”

“That was a dream,” Mavuika reminded her gently, standing to don a simple training outfit. “We begin our extra lessons today, remember?”

Hela’s eyes grew even brighter, a fierce excitement igniting within them. “Of course, I remember! Mother said she would teach me how to control that… that green light.”

***

At breakfast, Odin and Frigga were already seated at the head of the long, ornate table. A holographic star chart, a swirling nebula of constellations and cosmic pathways, shimmered in the air before the All-Father as he discussed something in low, serious tones with the Queen. They fell silent as their two daughters entered the hall.

“Sit,” Odin’s voice was as steady and immovable as the mountains of Asgard.

Handmaidens moved with silent grace, serving a breakfast unique to the world of the gods: warm, golden bread that steamed gently, pitchers of honeyed milk, and an array of fruit that seemed to shimmer with an inner light. Mavuika ate with quiet focus, but Hela was far too distracted, her eyes constantly darting toward her parents, vibrating with contained energy.

“Father,” Hela finally broke the silence, unable to restrain herself any longer. “When do we start our training today?”

Odin set down his silver cup, his gaze settling upon his younger daughter. “After you finish your morning foundation lessons. Hela, Frigga will await you at the North Tower. Mavuika, you will follow me to the Star-Gazing Platform.”

At noon, after their shared foundational training had concluded, Mavuika followed Odin to the highest point of the entire Golden Palace: the Star-Gazing Platform.

It was a vast, circular dais suspended in the open air, constructed from ancient, weathered stone. There were no railings at its edges, only eight colossal pillars inscribed with glowing, intricate runes standing at the cardinal points. From this vantage point, one could overlook all of Asgard: the sprawling complexes of the Golden Palace, the waterfalls that cascaded like liquid silver from floating islands, the distant, snow-capped mountains, and the iridescent ribbon of the Bifrost Bridge that spanned the sky.

A powerful, ceaseless wind swept across the exposed platform, whipping Mavuika’s long, pale-gold hair into a shimmering banner behind her. She steadied her breath, feeling a evident current of cosmic energy, so dense the very air felt heavy, as if each breath was an inhalation of starlight itself.

Odin stood in silence for a long moment, his single eye surveying his kingdom before finally turning to Mavuika. “From this day forward, you will come here every day at noon.”

“Yes, Father,” Mavuika replied respectfully.

“Furthermore…” Odin’s gaze shifted to the distant, shimmering arch of the Bifrost. “Next month, I will arrange a formal sparring match between you and Hela. This will not be play. It will be a true combat exercise.”

Mavuika felt a flicker of surprise. A real spar?

“She needs to learn to face setbacks,” Odin continued, his voice devoid of emotion, yet carrying the weight of royal decree. “And you need to learn how to guide the flow of a battle without causing her true harm. You are sisters and the future pillars of Asgard. Understanding each other’s strengths and weaknesses is far more important than blind protection or reckless competition.”

Mavuika’s hand subconsciously clenched into a fist, feeling the phantom warmth of her flames that had yet to fully dissipate from her senses. She understood his intent perfectly. Hela needed a challenge, and Mavuika needed to learn how to be that challenge without breaking her sister’s spirit.

“I understand.”

***

Meanwhile, in the Magic Study Room of the North Tower, Hela was facing her own challenge.

Frigga stood in the center of the chamber, holding a clear crystal ball that swirled with a miniature nebula within. No candles were lit; all illumination came from the self-illuminating runes etched into the walls, which cast an arcane, silver-blue glow, and the shimmering light circulating within the crystal.

“Magic is an extension of your will, Hela,” Frigga taught, her voice a gentle counterpoint to the room’s arcane hum. “The power you displayed at the ceremony is responding to your emotions, especially your fighting spirit and your desire to win. But that is a dangerous way to wield it.”

“Why is it dangerous?” Hela asked, her gaze fixed on the flickering green light she could feel just beneath her skin. “I think it’s very powerful.”

“If immense power is left uncontrolled, it will harm you first,” Frigga explained, stepping forward and gently taking her daughter’s wrist. “Try to call it forth again. Slowly.”

Hela frowned and closed her eyes, concentrating. But the moment she touched that wellspring of power, her competitive instincts took over. A violent eruption of dark green energy coalesced into dozens of jagged, obsidian-like spikes. They screeched through the air, fanning out in a deadly, uncontrolled barrage!

With a calm, fluid motion, Frigga waved her arm. A shimmering golden barrier instantly expanded from her, intercepting every single spike. The moment they made contact, they dissolved into wisps of black smoke.

Hela’s eyes snapped open to witness the aftermath. A flicker of surprise crossed her face, quickly replaced by a wide, excited smile. “Mother! Did you see that? It can attack!”

“I saw it,” Frigga said, her expression serious as she allowed the barrier to fade. “I also saw that you have absolutely no control over its direction or its intensity. If I had not shielded us, those spikes would have destroyed half this room and grievously injured any servants passing in the hall.”

Hela’s triumphant smile froze on her face.

“Power is not a toy, Hela,” Frigga said, kneeling to look her daughter directly in the eye. “It is a responsibility. Your sister understands this, which is why she withdrew her flames the instant she felt them grow too strong at the ceremony. You must learn the same restraint.”

“Sister…” Hela murmured, the excitement in her eyes gradually fading, replaced by a storm of contemplation. “She always knows what to do.”

“Because she thinks before she acts,” Frigga affirmed, stroking her daughter’s cheek. “You can as well, my dear. You possess potential no less than anyone in the Nine Realms, but you must learn to master it, rather than be mastered by it.”

Hela looked down at her small hands. The dark green light had completely vanished, leaving only a faint residual warmth in her palms.

“Then what should I do?” she asked, her voice small.

A gentle smile returned to Frigga’s face. “We start with the simplest thing. Today, we will only practice allowing the light to appear steadily in your palm. No swirling, no changing shape. You will simply command it to exist.”

***

In the evening, the two sisters reunited in the gardens on the east side of the Golden Palace.

Hela looked a bit drained from her efforts, but her eyes were still bright with an unyielding fire. Mavuika, by contrast, appeared perfectly serene, though her fingertips occasionally rubbed together unconsciously, as if reminiscing about the sensation of wielding her own flames.

“Mother had me practice letting that power ‘just exist’,” Hela said, slumping onto a stone bench under a golden apple tree and resting her chin in her hand. “It’s so hard. It always wants to turn into something else, wants to move, wants to fly out.”

“Father’s lesson for me was similar,” Mavuika replied, sitting beside her.

The two were silent for a moment, watching as the setting sun painted the sky in hues of orange and violet, casting a warm glow over the garden.

“Sister,” Hela said suddenly, breaking the quiet. “Father told me we’re going to have a formal sparring match next month.”

Mavuika nodded. “Mm.”

“I will give it my all,” Hela declared, turning her head. Her dark green eyes burned with that familiar, intense fighting spirit. “So you must give it your all, too. Anything less would be disrespectful to me.”

Mavuika looked at her sister’s fierce, determined face and suddenly laughed.

The sound was warm and genuine, a soft peal of amusement that caught Hela completely by surprise, leaving her stunned for a moment under the twilight sky.