After pawing through the book a few more times, Garfield decisively closed it.
"Nope."
This was not something he could brute-force his way through.
Divine theory, Asgardian runes, light-element conversion, none of it was intuitive enough to muddle through alone.
Much better to go to Asgard in person.
He was, after all, technically Odin's son now. Asking Odin or Frigga for guidance was entirely reasonable.
As for Thor and Loki?
Not even under consideration.
One was obsessed with hammers and solved most problems by hitting them.
The other was brilliant, yes, but far too fond of close-range spellcasting and deception. Neither inspired confidence as a teacher.
Garfield spent the next two days at home, living the life of a thoroughly unmotivated salted fish.
Other than Henry Morgan dropping by for a meal, the most frequent visitor was the old cowboy, Roy.
Roy was nothing if not diligent. Every visit followed the same pattern… a drink, some stories from the past, and without fail the same topic toward the end.
"Garfield," Roy said seriously, swirling his glass, "You should just admit it."
"Old cowboy," Garfield replied flatly, "I categorically refuse. I will never submit myself to the feet of a Godzilla."
"Godzilla?" Roy blinked. He clearly had no idea what Garfield was talking about.
Garfield tapped his own head. "That director you mentioned? Around here, she's called Godzilla."
"Godzilla…" Roy rolled the word around thoughtfully. "That's a strange name. Does it mean anything?"
"It's the name of an ancient super-monster." Garfield explained solemnly, "Something that can wipe out an entire planetary civilization by itself."
Roy fell silent.
A creature that could destroy the world alone… He tried to imagine it… kilometers tall, reaching into the clouds, trampling continents like something out of a fairy tale.
After a moment, he scratched his long beard.
"So the old myths are real, then?" Roy asked. "If such monsters appear, do the gods come and destroy them?"
Garfield hesitated.
According to ancient records, most world-ending monsters were cosmic entities that accidentally wandered into Earth's sphere of influence.
Back when the gods were active, they would mobilize their divine forces to eliminate the threat and preserve their dominion.
But now?
Asgard had only one seedling left. Most of the gods had departed.
Even those who remained… moon gods and the like rarely interfered, occasionally tossing down a blessing to some fortunate mortal.
Like Moon Knight.
"Generally speaking," Garfield said carefully,
"If something that doesn't belong on Earth appears, there are supernatural beings who deal with it."
He paused. "But the gods are mostly gone now. That responsibility was… taken over by someone else long ago."
As he said it, realization clicked.
Kamar-Taj.
Of course. That was precisely why the Ancient One and her successors existed, to intercept invasive cosmic and extradimensional threats before they could devastate the world.
Garfield sighed inwardly.
Clearly, his brain needed an upgrade.
Roy nodded, apparently satisfied.
"Whether you understand it or not doesn't really matter." He said casually.
"I'm heading to Asgard in two days. If you run into any troublesome dead spirits or strange creatures you can't handle, just come straight to the store."
He raised his glass. "Someone will deal with it."
With that, Roy drained his whiskey, left a generous portion behind in Garfield's humidor, and departed without further comment.
…
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
That day, Garfield stood in the streets of New York, blocking an entire stretch of road without the slightest concern. Pedestrians stared. Cars stopped.
Above him, the sky split open.
Seven colors descended from the heavens, brilliant and unmistakable.
The rainbow bridge had arrived, right on schedule.
"It's time." Garfield flicked his tail.
Odin's new boy was coming.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream