Everyone has their moments of youthful arrogance and folly.

Thor began to explain various matters regarding Asgard to Jane, including the World Tree and the composition of the Nine Realms.

After retrieving Mjolnir, Tony had originally intended to show Thor the door. However, upon hearing Thor's explanations to Jane, he grew quite interested and began to listen. Although he had heard about the Nine Realms from Harvey and knew that the Allfather Odin was a major figure in the universe, to be honest, his understanding remained entirely superficial. If he could gain a deeper insight into Asgard and comprehend its power, it would prove immensely beneficial to him. After all, if he could elevate Earth's civilization to a level comparable to Asgard's, Earth would undoubtedly secure a prominent standing in the universe.

***

Meanwhile, in Asgard...

Because Thor had been banished to the mortal realm, Loki, supported by his mother Frigga, had successfully ascended to the throne. Yet sitting on the throne was not enough for Loki; he desperately wanted to win true recognition of his abilities from his father and mother, rather than serving merely as a fallback option and a substitute after his elder brother Thor’s banishment. Consequently, Loki secretly slipped out of Asgard through a clandestine passageway and set his own series of plans into motion.

At the same time, Thor's loyal companions began conspiring to find a way to bring him back. In their view, while Thor had indeed made mistakes, even if he was no longer fit to be king, he certainly did not deserve to be stripped of his divine power and cast down to the mortal realm. Such a punishment was far too cruel for a god of Asgard. Thus, the group stealthily made their way to the Bifrost, hoping to figure out how to persuade Heimdall.

"You have come?"

Even before they reached him, Heimdall, who had long anticipated their arrival, spoke as they appeared in sight.

"Heimdall, how is Thor? Where is he?"

Hearing Heimdall's words, Sif felt a wave of tension wash over her, yet she pressed on and asked anyway. Among the gods of Asgard, Heimdall possessed power of the absolute highest tier—immensely formidable. Had they not felt a guilty conscience, they would have had nothing to fear in his presence. However, their mission this time was to bring Thor back, which constituted a direct defiance of the Allfather Odin’s will.

"Thor is doing well. If he is able to return to Asgard, he will return of his own accord," Heimdall said, his brilliant, golden pupils flashing. "If he cannot, your deliberate disobedience in descending to the mortal realm will only bring joint punishment upon yourselves."

"Thor is doing well?"

"Stop trying to deceive us!"

"How could a god stripped of his divine power possibly be doing well in the mortal realm?" a burly, bearded warrior demanded loudly, refusing to believe a word of it.

"Go back. I will not allow you to cross over to the mortal realm," Heimdall replied, offering no further explanation and ordering them to leave.

"You won't ignore Thor's summons, will you?" Sif asked in a low voice, watching Heimdall with a thoughtful expression.

Heimdall did not answer, merely shaking his head. If Thor had not regained Mjolnir's approval, he certainly would have ignored Thor's calls. However, aided by Tony Stark—someone who had lifted Mjolnir—Thor had come to understand the responsibilities resting upon his shoulders and had won back the hammer's validation. Even if Heimdall refused to answer his call, Thor now possessed the capacity to return to the celestial palace of Asgard by other means. Since he was capable of returning either way, Heimdall had no reason to ignore Thor and force him to take a roundabout path. Furthermore, Heimdall recognized Thor's capabilities; compared to Loki, Thor was far better suited to be the King of Asgard. Since he could not spot Loki anywhere within the palace, he knew for certain that Loki must be plotting something in secret. Therefore, he could not reveal the fact that Thor had regained his divine power.

"Let's go. We are returning."

Seeing Heimdall's reaction, Sif realized that Thor's situation might not be as dire as they had imagined. A powerhouse like Heimdall disdained lying; since he had said so, there was a high probability it was the truth.

"But..."

The burly, bearded warrior, seeing that Sif had given up on descending to the mortal realm, looked bewildered and wanted to argue further. Sif shook her head, signaling him to remain silent.

The group, who had prepared themselves for battle, could only turn back the way they came. Just as they were leaving, however, Heimdall's voice drifted to them from behind:

"I imagine Thor will be very glad to know you were willing to defy orders to come down for him."

"Knowing Thor is safe gives me peace of mind," Sif said softly, a genuine smile blooming across her lovely face.

***

In the Stark Estate in New York, Earth...

Thor continued explaining numerous things to Jane, talking from daylight well into the evening. It was no exaggeration to say that he had opened up a whole new world of astronomy for Jane, proving that intelligent life truly did exist elsewhere in the universe. It was simply because Earth happened to be under Asgard's protection that ordinary extraterrestrial factions dared not run amok on the planet.

"Ordinary ones don't dare come, which implies there are aliens who *do* dare?" Jane asked, instantly seizing upon a crucial point while furiously taking notes with her pen on what Thor had said.

"The Frost Giants of Jotunheim—whom I provoked into an ancient war—are the kind who both dare and possess the capability," Thor explained. "In ancient times, they wreaked havoc across the Nine Realms, but the war was eventually quelled by my grandfather and my father. As a result, the Nine Realms have enjoyed peace for many years. Even when large and small conflicts occurred, they were merely internal struggles within individual worlds, never invasions by external forces. It was only because my youthful arrogance and conceit blinded me to my own limits that I foolishly shattered the pact. With the pact broken, the Frost Giants could make a resurgence at any moment."

Thor paused, a look of deep shame crossing his features.

"Youthful arrogance is something everyone experiences, so there's no need to dwell on it too much," Tony said, watching Thor's expression and hearing his words.

As the son of the Allfather Odin, born with divine power far surpassing countless beings, it was only natural for Thor to be proud of his strength. To put it bluntly, Thor was much like a super-wealthy second-generation heir, bearing some resemblance to Tony's own past. Before experiencing genuine peril or setbacks, such individuals possessed absolute confidence in their own strength and talents, firmly believing that everything they did was entirely correct. Such a personality trait was generally impervious to the heartfelt advice of family and friends. Only by plunging into genuine danger and realizing the folly of their past arrogance could they truly experience a sudden, profound awakening.

Thor had lost his divine power and been cast down to the mortal realm; had he not encountered Tony—who had directly returned Mjolnir to him and explained the conditions required to lift it—and had Jane Foster not pierced through the surface conditions to wake Thor up with her words, enabling his swift realization, he would not have awakened so quickly. Without his assistance, Thor would have undoubtedly endured a great deal of hardship before eventually—perhaps—recognizing his past foolishness and regaining Mjolnir's favor.