Chapter 310: Remnants of a Past

13th May 2013, Svartalfheim

(Thor Odinson POV)

Thor needed to protect his father, so he sent a bolt of lightning towards his sister, who easily blocked it with a projected black shield.

She gave him a cocky smirk, "Is he supposed to be my replacement? What a disappointment."

Odin replied back, "The only disappointment here, Hela, is you."

"Then watch him die for your sake, Odin."

The woman snarled and sent dozens of black blades at him which he destroyed with his lightning. He summoned Mjolnir and sent it at her. The woman, Hela, actually grabbed the hammer and froze it in place.

Gaping at the scene, he uttered, "That is impossible."

The woman smirked at him, "Oh honey, you have no idea what's possible."

With a squeeze of her hands, cracks started appearing on the hammer, until it was destroyed, releasing an explosion of lightning. Whatever was left of the hammer was a few pieces of Uru metal. Thor tried to deny it by trying to find his bond to his hammer, but he found nothing. Mjolnir was dead.

For Thor, everything fell to silence, as he stared in disbelief at the sight before him. Mjolnir was dead. The hammer had been a constant companion of his ever since he was a child and it had chosen him as its wielder. It was not the most powerful weapon in the nine realms; it didn't hold a candle to his father's Gungnir before he had melted it down, and it definitely didn't compare to the King's new Odinsword, but it was the closest thing to a true partner Thor ever had in his life.

There was always this underlying intelligence that the hammer had, which he now understood to be a remnant of the true Mjolnir's intelligence. Even then, when provided the chance to wield the more powerful hammer, Thor was hesitant to let go of his companion for a more powerful weapon. It felt dishonorable, an unworthy act that felt more like a betrayal than an improvement.

In his youth, Thor would have grasped the more powerful hammer with a wild gusto, accepting any gift that would make him even more mighty, an even greater warrior. But the Prince's experiences in Midgard had taught him that there was more to life than battle and fighting prowess, and there was more to being a king than being a warrior.

Loyalty, courage, and sacrifice, these were the true qualities of a good king. Everything else can be learnt, but these values, these characteristics, had to be fundamental. Thor loved his hammer, and Hela, his supposed sister, had destroyed it.

Very few things could quench the fiery anger that coursed through his veins. That monster of a woman who had killed his friends, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, had massacred thousands of loyal Asgardian soldiers in seconds without a second's thought. She was a monster and a threat to Asgard, no matter what her father had done to her.

Revenge did not justify these actions. Killing Odin was one thing but killing the people that she had once been the heir to, that was unforgivable.

Thor glared at the woman, "You'll pay for that!"

The woman simply chuckled as if his threat was barely more than a jape, "I don't think so."

She sent hundreds of swords at him, and Thor simply let out a veritable storm of lightning coming at the projectiles and destroyed them. The woman still looked unconcerned by his display of power, "You really are angry about that hammer, aren't you? Did you know that it was mine? It was made for me and given to me by my father to help harness my power during my conquest of the nine realms. It was a useful training tool, a nice trinket, one that I had outgrown after a few centuries."

Thor shook his head, "If you think that it was a mere trinket, then you do not understand where its true power comes from, or perhaps, it simply hadn't chosen you. Perhaps it thought that you were a disappointment like our father does. Even then, what should I expect from a traitor that would kill so many of her people just to get back at her father?"

Thor looked at the kneeling Odin who had small scrapes around his body but was otherwise unharmed. He was using his sword to remain standing up. Thor, with his newfound connection to the Odinforce, could still sense that his father was in a far better condition but chose not to use any of his Odinforce, preparing it for the final attack.

It was a noble sentiment. His father let himself suffer the constant attacks of his daughter, being almost humiliated by her, whereas he could have destroyed her in seconds, just for the chance of his people being fully free.

Hela though glared at him, "This old man betrayed me first. I was his weapon, his executioner, we conquered the nine realms side by side, always victorious, and then after that cursed ritual of his, he thought himself to be above war and conflict, above the cornerstones of our culture. So, when I tried to do the same, to continue Asgard's conquest and failed at the hands of that abomination in Midgard, he used my weakness to banish me, to bind my powers and sent me to an eternal void for thousands of years. Just because he feared me, that my ambitions outshined his, while he was content growing fat on a golden throne, he set me aside without warning and sent me to my own purgatory."

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Thor nodded, "Our father is not perfect, and you have perfectly understandable grievances, but what you're doing, the beings you are helping, will hurt you in the long run. Do you even understand what those Shadows truly are, the threat that they pose?"

"I don't care. I only wish to kill Odin nothing more, nothing less. Everything else is secondary."

"So, you would rather live as a slave, a puppet to those parasites just to have your meaningless revenge? You could simply wait this conflict out and we could settle things later. You can have your revenge later, with the people of Asgard on your side. You have a claim to the throne as Odin's first born, you could do it the right way, and not massacre the soldiers that you claim are your people." Thor bellowed back.

Hela nodded, "Yes, I would. I am never going to be alright after thousands of years of isolation. It was only my purpose, my revenge, that allowed me to keep my sanity. Save your words Odinson, I will not discard my revenge for anything, even if I have to burn countless realms to submission."

The God of Thunder knew at that moment that nothing would deter his sister from killing Odin, even with what was at stake. And with his father refusing to use his full might, saving it for the final attack. Thor will need to do this on his own, for his father, for Asgard.

Odin might not have been the perfect father, especially regarding Loki, and he could believe that someone that doesn't understand the full context about the Shadows might resent what Odin has done. But Thor didn't have it in him to hate his father for his actions, for not all of them are his own, and even then, they are colored by his past lives.

Thor didn't know if Odin was forced to banish Hela or erase any mention of her, but it didn't matter now. Nothing mattered in front of Asgard's freedom. The Shadows must fall.

"You leave me no choice," Thor responded, "I cannot allow you to jeopardize Asgard's freedom for your petty vengeance."

"Don't say I didn't warn you, Odinson," the woman replied.

She immediately created a giant sword, as tall as a skyscraper and banished it towards him. Seeing the soldiers behind him, Thor released a giant bolt of lightning to shatter the metallic sword.

He then created dozens of Mjolnirs from lightning and sent them at Hela, who dodged them. However, she did not expect Thor to be able to control them in the air and was hit in the back as the hammers returned to him.

Seeing his opponent stumble, Thor summoned a bolt of lightning that came from the heavens and struck him. As his cells started to be imbued by the element, the world froze, and Thor became the lightning itself. He leapt towards his opponent with remarkable speed, his body entirely surrounded by the lightning, and gave her one of his most powerful thunder punches yet, sending her flying back.

He then palmed a piece of lightning, he ran at his enemy with blinding speed with his hand towards his opponent, which was letting out a high-pitched chirping sound, similar to that of a flock of birds. His attack went through her chest and shattered her heart. The woman stared at him, eyes wide in disbelief, as she was impaled.

Thor gave her a sad look, "I am sorry, Hela. But I cannot let you jeopardize Asgard's freedom. It's too important. You probably don't understand, but at any other time, I would have listened to you. Time is pressing and this is our only shot."

With that, Thor retracted his hand and ran back to his father who was still limping, "My son, did you succeed?"

"Yes, Hela is dead."

Odin shook his head, his face slowly paling, "You fool! No, she is not. She cannot die. Her connection to Asgard is too strong. The realm itself will heal her. You need to restrain her or banish her somehow until we're done dealing with the Shadows."

Before Thor could register his words, he felt something impaling him in his gut, "He's right, you know. You really should have sent me away."

Thor turned towards her, almost blinded by the pain. This was not a normal wound, these swords let out some sort of curse or poison into his body. The God of Thunder groaned as he turned towards his supposed sister and muttered "Coward."

The woman gave him a smirk and shook her head, "There are no rules on the battlefield, brother. Your father should have taught you that. Although, I am impressed by your control over your power. But alas, I am Odin's first born. I am the true heiress of Asgard. You were always going to lose, brother. But perhaps after Odin is dead, we could come to an understanding."

Hela prepared another sword ready to attack Odin once more, but Thor ran towards her and took it in his place, impaling him in the chest.

Thor relished seeing her surprised look but mourned his father's horrified expression. He glared at the woman trying his best to disguise his pain, "Asgard is not a place, it's the people, and you are betraying them with your actions. You're no Crown Princess of Asgard, and I will not let our people suffer under your rule."

He let out another burst of lightning and sent her away from him and his father. He ran towards her, with blades of lightning in his hand, and prepared to fight to his last breath. He could not defeat her, he knew that deep down, but he didn't need to. He only needed to delay her until the plan is over. He was only supposed to act as a deterrent should anything come their way.

Hela summoned swords of her own and they started to fight a contest of physical prowess. They were evenly matched at first, but Thor's injuries started to slow him down. It didn't take long for Hela to land a hit, slashing him in the chest. Distracted by his pain, he was not able to see Hela's punch, which disoriented him further, until she impaled him for the third time.

The curse was starting to spread, and Thor felt his natural healing try to stop it, to no avail. He fell down to his knees and stared at his attacker.

Hela though did not have a smile on his face like he expected. She looked oddly sad for some reason, "I don't know if this means anything, but I am sorry that things ended this way. You were a formidable opponent, Odinson, and for that, I acknowledge you as my brother."

These were the last words the God of Thunder heard before his world turned to black.

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