"Laufey!"
The surging cold seemed to seep into every part of Heimdall's body, abruptly freezing him in place.
"Impossible. You were clearly still... How could you get here so quickly?"
At some point, Laufey had overtaken him and appeared directly behind him. His towering body cast a vast shadow, completely engulfing Asgard's gatekeeper.
"You Asgardians are nothing but insects. You have no idea what true power looks like."
Laufey lowered his crimson eyes, his gaze filled with contempt for Heimdall.
Although he had remained in the sky without personally intervening, he had maintained a perfect view of the entire battlefield. Every last one of Thor's and the Asgardians' desperate struggles had been laid bare before him.
"No! No!"
Thor saw Laufey appear behind Heimdall from afar. The moment he noticed the vicious expression spreading across the blue-skinned giant's face, his heart lurched, and overwhelming terror rapidly consumed him.
"Heimdall! Drop the sword! Run!"
"I'm sorry, Thor... Goodbye."
A chill touched Heimdall's neck.
Before he could react, two icy hands seized his head with incredible speed.
Frigid energy hissed as it spread throughout his body, and his thoughts rapidly began to slow.
There was no escape...
The instant Heimdall realized this, he looked toward Thor, a barely perceptible trace of guilt appearing in his eyes.
"I'm sorry. Perhaps forcing you to live is cruel..."
"But I have to do this."
"Hah!"
Ignoring the deadly presence behind him, Heimdall let out a fierce shout and violently twisted the sword in his hands.
A tremendous surge of magic erupted from his body. In the next instant, the rainbow light surrounding Thor became more dazzling than ever.
"No..."
Thor had lost count of how many times his vision had blurred with tears today. His body grew weightless beneath the power of the Bifrost, and he was moments away from being carried out of Asgard.
"Crack!"
Amid the Bifrost's deafening roar came a crisp snapping sound.
With deliberate, unhurried movements, Laufey pressed the Casket of Ancient Winters against Heimdall's waist. His every action was relaxed and mocking, as though he were not remotely concerned that Thor might escape.
The Casket of Ancient Winters lit up.
Familiar white light erupted as though it had pierced straight through Heimdall's body, illuminating his dark skin until it appeared almost translucent.
"Crack!"
Ice shattered with a brittle chime.
The power Heimdall had poured into his sword was severed with ease. The brilliant light rising from the Bifrost seemed to struggle for an instant before rapidly dimming.
Thor's body, which had already risen into the air, suddenly lost its support and plummeted toward the ground.
"No..."
The golden light in Heimdall's eyes filled with disbelief.
"How is this possible?"
Could he not even send away Asgard's final hope?
"Gatekeeper, your loyalty is admirable."
Laufey's icy voice drifted into Heimdall's ear, each word engraving itself into his mind.
"As the king of Jotunheim, I respect you."
"That is why I will not kill you. Just like that human, you will be granted eternal life within the royal palace of Jotunheim."
"Aren't those eyes of yours capable of seeing across all Nine Realms?"
"Then watch. I will make you witness with your own eyes what fate awaits the Asgard to which you devoted all your loyalty..."
Laufey slowly straightened and patted Heimdall on the shoulder. Then, with a series of sharp cracks, he forcibly turned Heimdall's already stiffened head until all of Asgard lay within his field of vision.
In the next instant, a thick layer of ice spread across Heimdall's body, leaving only his eyes exposed.
A single cold tear slipped from the corner of his eye and silently merged with the ice.
Heimdall finally felt his thoughts begin moving again. He desperately tried to close his eyes, but even that simple action had become nearly impossible.
"Laufey!"
"I'll make you pay for their lives!"
Without Thor, the gods on the ground had fallen into an overwhelmingly unfavorable position beneath the Frost Giants' encirclement. They were nearly swallowed whole by the surging blue tide.
Thor stared at yet another close friend condemned to the same fate as Fenris, sealed within ice for all eternity. Every muscle in his body stiffened, and his expression went numb. He could not even begin to understand the chaotic thoughts racing through his mind.
"I'm sorry, Loki. I... I'm not going with you."
"Take care of Father and Mother..."
Thor cast one final glance toward the depths of the palace where Odin slept.
He knew his mother was there even now, watching Asgard's fall with a broken heart. She had witnessed his return to life, and now she would watch him charge to his death once more.
"Mother, be proud of me..."
Through the haze, Thor seemed to see her loving eyes, always filled with concern for him.
"Father... Goodbye..."
When he thought of Odin, Thor had a thousand things he wanted to say. In the end, however, only a quiet farewell escaped his lips.
Mjolnir spun in his hand.
Thor suddenly turned away, abandoning any thought of protecting the gods behind him. Wrapped in roaring thunder and brilliant lightning, he transformed into a blur and charged straight toward Laufey, who had risen into the air once more.
"I'll take you down with me!"
Thunderclouds gathered behind him as Thor tore across the sky. The power of the God of Thunder, dormant within the depths of his body, surged with unprecedented intensity.
At that moment, Thor unleashed nearly every last trace of his strength. He drained himself completely, leaving nothing behind. His lightning-filled eyes trembled violently, focused solely on Laufey's hideous blue face.
Laufey's expression remained unchanged as he watched Thor charge toward him with overwhelming momentum. The corner of his mouth even curled upward, his contempt unmistakable.
Beneath the vast vortex of thunderclouds gathered by Thor's all-out attack, Laufey's towering body appeared almost insignificant.
Yet Laufey merely raised one hand.
Dense frigid energy gathered within his palm, and without making any attempt to evade, he met Thor's desperate attack head-on.
The greatest sound was silence.
At the instant they collided, every sound in the world seemed to vanish.
The howling wind and roaring thunder abruptly ceased.
The distant gods saw only a brilliant point of light appear where the two figures collided.
Perhaps a long time passed. Perhaps it was only an instant.
Then sound finally returned to the silent world.
"Boom!"
A colossal explosion spread across the heavens.
The dense black clouds were torn apart the instant after the collision, dissolving into water vapor that scattered across the sky.
(End of Chapter)
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