[Currently running a discount on P@tr30n, 50% off!! for +30 chapters on all my fanfic!!]
"With me here, kill him."
Laufey's calm command seemed to inject fresh courage into the wavering ranks of Frost Giants.
Their hesitant steps immediately grew firm. They tightened their grips on their blades and roared, "Kill!"
"Bang!"
Thor gritted his teeth and once again squeezed power from the depths of his divine body.
Mjolnir spun rapidly in his palm, lightning illuminating the hammer's head. Fighting through the crushing exhaustion brought on by the relentless waves of enemies, he blocked the countless blades thrust toward him once more.
"Thor..."
A soft voice reached Thor's ears without attracting anyone else's attention.
Thor's ear twitched. He recognized Loki's voice.
His hands never slowed, but he diverted a sliver of his attention and silently waited for Loki to continue.
"Why don't we run?"
Loki's voice sounded weak, yet it also carried a faint trace of relief.
"Run?"
"Where could we possibly go?"
Thor's eyes dimmed.
If they left now, Asgard would fall completely. From that moment onward, the two of them would become homeless ghosts, wandering without a place to call their own.
Without their people, even their hearts would have nowhere to rest.
What meaning would there be in that kind of life or that kind of future?
"Loki, if you still have the strength, you should leave first..."
The thought remained in Thor's mind for only a moment before he shook his head.
Although he was already utterly exhausted and would soon lose the strength to continue fighting, he would rather live and die alongside Asgard than spend the rest of his life wandering aimlessly through the universe.
"Thor, if there were even the slightest hope left, I would never try to persuade you..."
Loki's broken voice reached Thor's ears. Gripping Gungnir, he watched Thor struggling to hold the line and could not bear to keep looking.
"I still have Gungnir. I am the king! I am also one of Asgard's people. I have even less desire than you to become a coward who abandons his home!"
"I've recovered a little of my strength..."
After a brief silence, Loki's agitation seemed to subside slightly.
"Thor, there is no hope left for Asgard, but our family may still have a chance to escape."
Thor's movements stiffened.
"What do you mean?"
"I know a hidden path out of Asgard that does not require the Bifrost."
"While Laufey's attention is elsewhere, I can use an illusion to deceive him. Then..."
Loki gritted his teeth, as though the suggestion was almost too shameful for him to say aloud.
"We can take Father and Mother..."
"And run!"
"You saw it yourself. Even Fenris is dead! What meaning is there in continuing to fight? Are we supposed to die for your precious honor?"
"The universe is vast beyond measure. Couldn't our family find some place no one knows and simply live out our lives there? We could abandon our names and disappear. There would be no more Odin, King of the Gods, and no more Asgard..."
A pleading note entered Loki's voice.
"We can wait for an opportunity to avenge Asgard and Fenris later. All right?"
"..."
Thor had to admit that Loki's words truly shook him.
The situation could not have been clearer. Anyone could see what the future held.
Should he die for Asgard, or...
"Our family could stay together. That does sound..."
Thor glanced from the corner of his eye at the gods of Asgard behind him. When he saw Loki's bloodshot eyes, hesitation suddenly flickered across his face.
"...All right."
Thor nodded with great difficulty.
"Then you should..."
"I'll leave immediately!"
Loki's eyes lit up with delight.
His body suddenly flickered without attracting anyone's attention.
Thor saw everything and knew that Loki had begun to act. A storm of conflicting emotions filled his heart.
"Fenris, I'm sorry..."
"I may be about to run away... But don't worry. Once Father awakens, I'll..."
"Thor!"
A furious shout suddenly erupted from the distance, jolting Thor out of his thoughts as he mechanically slaughtered Frost Giants and desperately wrung every last trace of strength from his body.
"Heimdall?!"
The moment that familiar voice reached him, Thor's pupils widened.
He whipped his head around.
At the far end of the Bifrost, where Fenris had shattered its central mechanism into ruins during the battle, the air suddenly began shimmering with rainbow-colored light like the surface of a mirror.
As the warped space gradually smoothed out, a towering figure slowly appeared.
His body was drenched in blood, and his golden armor lay shattered, yet he still clutched a massive golden sword as he struggled to rise.
"Fenris went to all that trouble to hide you. Why did you come out?"
Thor's gaze met Heimdall's from afar.
After countless years together, Thor immediately recognized the resolve in Heimdall's eyes.
Remembering the agreement he had just reached with Loki, Thor realized what Heimdall intended to do. His cheeks began trembling uncontrollably, and his voice filled with terror.
"No, Heimdall. Don't..."
"Don't!"
"Fenris's magic is unstable in Asgard. I could not have remained hidden for long. It is better for me to emerge willingly and do one final thing for you and for Asgard..."
Heimdall gently shook his head. His golden eyes, capable of seeing across all Nine Realms, were now perfectly calm.
"I'm sorry, Thor. You will have to endure the pain of surviving without us..."
Heimdall's lips moved slightly. Although he made no sound, his words reached Thor with perfect clarity.
"Do not avenge us. Live well..."
Thor saw Heimdall suddenly smile.
He raised the golden sword, which still shone with brilliant light, and an immense surge of power began gathering within him once more.
"Allfather..."
Withdrawing his gaze from Thor, Heimdall looked reverently at the old companion he had carried for countless years.
"Please grant me the strength to wield dark magic one more time!"
"Boom!"
The moment he finished speaking, rainbow-colored light erupted from the Bifrost and rapidly grew brighter.
Its central mechanism had been destroyed, yet Heimdall forcibly activated it again through sheer effort.
A multicolored pillar of light suddenly descended from the heavens and enveloped Thor with perfect precision.
"No! Heimdall, don't!"
Sensing the familiar power of the Bifrost, Thor stared in horror and desperately swung Mjolnir, trying to propel himself beyond the pillar of light.
However, a powerful force began pulling at his body from all directions.
It was the sign that the Bifrost was about to activate.
"Go..."
Heimdall drew upon the last trace of his strength and prepared to pour it into his sword.
In another instant, the Bifrost would activate.
"Trying to escape?"
"Do you think I'm not here?"
An icy voice suddenly sounded behind Heimdall without warning.
Bone-chilling cold engulfed his entire body, making him shudder involuntarily.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]