Asgard shimmered like a dream cast in gold. Spires pierced the heavens, halls gleamed with impossible craftsmanship, and the Bifrost stretched out like a ribbon of light across the void.
At its far end, Thor lay collapsed on the bridge, breath thin, armor scorched, barely clinging to consciousness. When he realized he had been brought back, a fragile sense of relief crossed his face.
"Thank you… Heimdall…" he managed, voice rough and fading.
"I saw you were in danger," Heimdall replied, calm but watchful. "It was my duty."
Thor swallowed, struggling to stay present. "That man… he's beyond anything I've faced. I couldn't stop him. What about Father?"
"The Allfather is still in his rest. Asgard—"
He never finished.
A pale hand appeared from nowhere, as sudden as a glitch in reality itself. It pressed down on Thor's head.
A single, sickening impact.
Silence.
Thor's body went limp. No struggle. No second chance.
From a glowing, ember-edged portal, Noah Vale stepped through, withdrawing his hand with casual ease. His expression carried a faint, almost polite smile, the kind that didn't belong anywhere near what had just happened.
"I told you," Noah said lightly, "no one gets away from me."
Heimdall stood frozen.
He had brought Thor back. He had seen him return. And yet, the prince of Asgard had died at its very gates as if the realm itself meant nothing.
No—worse than nothing.
Noah's gaze drifted over Heimdall, curious, almost amused. "Didn't expect to see someone like you here," he said, studying him like a rare exhibit.
Heimdall tightened his grip on his weapon. Rage boiled under the surface, but instinct held it in check. This wasn't an enemy you provoked lightly.
"Do you understand what you've done?" he asked, voice controlled, though it trembled at the edges.
Noah shrugged. "Of course. He killed people on my world. I was dealing with it. You interfered." He stepped closer, eyes locking onto Heimdall's. "So I followed him here and finished the job."
A beat.
"Got a problem with that?"
The air grew heavier.
Noah tilted his head slightly, his tone turning sharper. "Or are you planning to make this a war?"
Heimdall met his gaze. "What you've done already is an act of war. When the Allfather awakens, he will answer you personally."
For a moment, Noah looked genuinely entertained.
"A duel? With me?" He chuckled under his breath. "Alright. I'll play along. How long do you need?"
"One month," Heimdall said. "When the Allfather rises, he will meet you in Midgard."
Noah smiled. "One month, then. I'll be waiting on Earth."
With a flick of his hand, a massive portal tore open behind him. He stepped through and vanished as if he had never been there.
Only after the portal closed did Heimdall exhale.
"My king… you've awakened."
From the empty air nearby, Odin emerged, clad in golden armor, his presence heavy with grief. His single eye fell upon Thor's lifeless body.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then, quietly:
"This… is my fault."
Regret weighed on every word. Sending Thor to Earth had been meant as a lesson. Instead, it had become a death sentence.
"Will you truly face him?" Heimdall asked.
Before Odin could answer, footsteps thundered across the bridge.
Loki arrived first, followed by the Warriors Three and Sif. Their reactions hit like a storm—shock, anger, disbelief.
"Who did this?" Sif demanded, her voice sharp with fury. "Was it the Frost Giants? Is this their challenge to us?"
Even Loki, burdened by his own truths, stood frozen, grief cutting deeper than he expected.
"Enough."
Odin's voice cracked like thunder.
The entire bridge fell silent.
"Gather everyone," he commanded. "It's time to leave."
Heimdall frowned. "Leave… to wage war?"
Odin slowly shook his head.
"No. To survive."
The words landed like a blade.
"You will all flee," Odin continued, his voice heavy but firm. "Disappear. Take new names. Never return."
Disbelief rippled through them.
"Flee?" one of them echoed. "You're telling us to run?"
"Yes," Odin said. "Run as far as you can. And do not come back."
Silence followed. Not confusion now—but dread.
"This enemy," Odin murmured, almost to himself, "is beyond us. We cannot defeat him. Not once. Not even with everything we have."
His eye had already seen it.
Every possible future.
Every outcome.
All of them ended the same way.
Defeat.
Noah Vale had gone beyond brute force. He had mastered the knowledge hidden within Ancient One's teachings—every spell, every principle. Given the right tools, he could draw power from forces beyond their realm, bending reality itself.
Here, in this universe, he wasn't just strong.
He was unstoppable.
A warrior with the strength of a god and the versatility of a master sorcerer—one who could shatter limits whenever he chose.
And Odin knew it.
"If I could win," he said quietly, "I would already be fighting."
He looked at them—his people, his family.
"This month is all I can give you. Use it."
Heimdall stepped forward. "And you, my king?"
Odin's expression softened, just slightly.
"Someone has to stay behind."
Because if Noah discovered they had fled—
There would be no escape. Not ever.
There had been another option, of course. Submission. Bend the knee. Join him.
But Odin knew his people. Pride ran too deep. One wrong word, one wrong glance, and it would only hasten their destruction.
So he chose the only path left.
Command.
Hours later, the Bifrost roared to life one final time.
A brilliant arc of light tore across the sky, carrying Asgard's remaining gods far beyond their home.
Odin stood alone as the light faded.
The golden halls were silent now. Empty.
A kingdom reduced to memory.
"Go," he whispered into the stillness. "Live."
Even if Asgard could not.
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Sorry for the delay, the timer bugged again