Prologue
A lone man sat cross-legged in pitch-black darkness. The man, with long dark hair and light skin, was in a deep trance, his face not showing the slightest sign of life. He wore golden armor which covered almost his entire body, made up of individual plates that allowed for mobility and speed. A green cape was clasped onto his shoulders, and stretched behind him into the dark. The cape did not move or flutter, as if the air in the room was completely still.
Next to him sat a curious object: a golden helm engraved with the same kind of etchings as the armor. These mysterious markings encircled the helm around its crown. The aspects that stood out, however, were two long horns extending from the forehead and curving backwards towards its rear. The helmet seemed to shimmer in and out of existence, as the darkness encroached upon the man.
The helm was not the only object in the room, however. Across the man's lap lay a spear, which seemed to be made of the same golden material as the armor and helm. The spear stretched nearly six feet in length, topped by an ornate spearhead. The spearhead was covered in the mysterious etchings and had a single green gem inlaid into the metal. The gem glowed constantly, seeming to beat back the darkness.
Suddenly, a massive flash of light, brighter than a sun, burst forth from the gem and forced the darkness to recede. As the dark gave way to light, a room began to form around the man, stretching only fifty feet across and twenty feet wide. The ceiling, however, stretched farther than the eye could see, and glittered in the light of a thousand stars. The room had no windows or doors, was encased with black walls and capped by the night sky above. There were no other occupants of the mysterious space: just the lone man.
As the room cleared of the darkness, the man began to stir from his trance. His eyes opened, revealing his startling irises, which were the color of emeralds. They seemed to pierce reality itself as he glanced around at his surroundings. His face betrayed no emotions, only cold calculation as the man stood and turned to scan the rest of the room. Looking down, the armored stranger saw the helm and knelt down to examine it. Reaching out hesitantly, he seemed unsure if the helmet was truly there. Laying his fingers upon its engravings, the man's face betrayed a sign of emotion: a single tear ran down his right cheek.
Wiping it away with his right hand, his face broke into a slight grin. Picking up the helm, the dark haired stranger placed it on his head, completing his set of armor. As he grasped the spear in his left hand, the gem in the spearhead flashed twice, as if acknowledging the man. The man grasped the spear tighter, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. The grin on his face was replaced by a scowl, and his eyes seemed to fill with pain and sadness. He began to speak aloud.
"So it's true then. Of all the inhabitants of the golden realm, I alone remain." He slammed the spear into the ground, making cracks appear in the floor. "I remember darkness, all of reality coming undone, and…" He closed his eyes, as the memories came rushing back. "How did I survive the destruction?" He glanced down at his hands, and remembered.
I am Loki.
Waves of energy rippled out from the golden palace, and it looked like the sky was being rent apart. With each release, reality was being ripped apart. The fighters on all sides were being rendered into oblivion by the power being unleashed. Warriors renowned throughout the realms as being without fear shrieked as their bodies were blown apart or burnt into ash. Only the mightiest of the combatants could withstand the reality-altering energy blasts.
The present day Loki looked upon Asgard and remembered who he was, what had happened. He still needed to see how he had survived though. Loki searched the battlefield for his past self, hoping to find the answers he was seeking. From his perch atop a guard tower, he could see everything.
The greatest of the frost giants, the mighty Ymir, stood alone among his brethren, fighting the remaining forces of the golden realm. Only three warriors stood to oppose him, magically protected from the energy waves. The first stabbed his sword into the giant's hand, pinning it into the ground. The giant, enraged, plucked the sword out of his hand and without warning, crushed the warrior between his palms. The other two fighters counterattacked, but were met by the giant's full fury.
He turned his attention to another battle unfolding: one between three women and a man dressed in golden armor… that looked exactly like him. Loki's hands glowed green as he sent energy blasts towards one of the women, dressed in battle armor and wielding a mystical sword. The energy blasts struck the battle-weary woman and caused her to collapse. "Valkyrie! No!"
The two remaining women, one blonde dressed in green garb and the other black-haired dressed in ornate armor, cried out at once. The blonde summoned energy blasts of her own and flung them at Loki. "You will pay for this treachery!" Loki simply ducked as the blasts impacted into the side of a building. The wall collapsed, and took the building with it.
The Trickster chuckled at her remark. "It was no different from what you have done, Amora. You fought Thor for years, but now you defend the golden realm from the inevitability of its destruction. You are no different than me: I am only choosing the winning side." With that remark, Loki summoned a glowing sword and attacked. Amora put up a fight, but she was exhausted from the long battle before. A magical shield conjured by the Enchantress lasted for mere seconds before he smashed through it with the sword. The last of her magic expended, Amora collapsed to her knees.
She spoke: "Finish it. You have won, for now. But what happens when that," pointing to the cracks in the sky, "reaches its peak? No one, not even you, will survive." As she finished her remark, she waited for a reply. Instead, Loki simply laughed and without warning, plunged the blade into Amora's stomach. "This final battle, as you call it, has played out an immeasurable number of times. It comes, the nine realms burn, and the gods fall. Then it begins all again. I will see you, when the cycle starts anew." He kissed her on the cheek, as the life left her eyes.
Loki smiled and waved his sword around. "No. I don't think that this toy will work with you. You are far too gifted with a blade for me to dispose of you that way. Amora was so talented with her magics, but could never swing a sword. You on the other hand…" He was interrupted by the other woman, who charged forward, swinging her sword in a downward arc. Loki dropped his sword and grabbed the woman's sword with his hand, which was ensorcelled in mystical energy. "You and Thor are the same. Fighting with sword or hammer, never with magic. Tell me, hasn't the battle been tiring? Swinging a sword for hours on end has to be utterly…" He snapped the sword in two suddenly with a burst of magic. Loki then finished his sentence: "exhausting."
Astonished, the woman reached for her belt, but was frozen in place by the god's power. "Tell me, Sif. Do you think that anyone else remains? Let us see." The two dissolved in a flash of light, and reformed at the battle site of Ymir and the Warriors Three. Sif could only talk and move her head, and immediately wished she could not do the latter. The giant lay dead only feet from the pair, a sword protruding from its left eye. The three fighters lay crushed beneath its right hand, dead.
"Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg…" Sif closed her eyes as tears began to well up. "Oh, and that's just the beginning, my dear lady." Loki interrupted her grieving by transporting them again. Before them stretched a rainbow bridge, littered with the dead and dying of the battle. Some wore golden cloaks and armor, signifying their allegiance to the realm eternal. Others were trolls, demons, and even some frost giants.
Loki walked among the dead towards the walls that surrounded Asgard. Sif, still bound by the magics, was levitated behind him. Soon, the two reached the main gate, or what remained of it. The doors were torn apart by frost giants, evidently. Some Asgardian corpses remained, but two stood out to Sif and her captor.
Right before the opening to the gates, two men lay with multiple spears and arrows piercing their bodies. One wore a horned helm and grasped a sword still glowing with blue flame. The other wore simple gray armor that covered his body from the shoulders down and had a metal cup where his left hand should have been. The bodies were surrounded by piles upon piles of corpses, further evidence of their valiant, if futile, last stand. "Heimdall and Tyr, it seems, have fallen, too. Which of Asgard's valiant defenders remain, I wonder? Shall we find out, my lady?"
The god of evil and his beautiful prisoner disappeared again and found themselves at the front gates of the palace. Rubble was strewn everywhere, as support beams and walls had been destroyed by the invaders. Corpses of Asgardian soldiers were almost as numerous as those of the invading forces, most cut in half by what looked like a sword nearly two feet wide. Navigating through the battlefield, the two remaining Asgardians came upon another familiar corpse. "Ah, Balder the Brave, son of Odin and the god of light. How pathetic he looks in death, just as his brother, no doubt." Loki would have continued his mockery, but another corpse caught his eye.
Actually, it was not a corpse: rather, a suit of armor. This weapon was soulless, unyielding, and terrifying to behold. It stood eight feet tall and had nearly impenetrable armor. Its strength was greater than all of the gods of Asgard, and its speed was surprising given its size. Odin created it to serve as a weapon of the gods, but now the Destroyer had turned on its maker and slaughtered his subjects.
Someone had finally stopped its rampage, however. The armor was sliced in half, with its helm still flickering with magical power. Placing his hand on the head of the armor, Loki conjured its last memories. "Balder's death will be entertaining to watch one last time before the end of the worlds. He may have defeated the Destroyer, but I will get the last laugh." The memories appeared in a cloud of mist in front of the pair.
Balder stood, bloodied and weakened from the intense battle. His sword was broken, his armor had been turned to nothing more than a few plates still clinging to his clothes. His left leg was broken as well as four of his ribs. Meanwhile, the Destroyer itself was untouched by the long battle. Balder was the only thing standing between the ungodly weapon and Odin's throne room. The enchanted armor moved forward to land the killing blow, but the god roared and landed an earth-shattering punch that sent it flying. Crashing into a pillar, the armor was almost immediately crushed by a section of falling ceiling.
Balder's shoulders slumped, as the adrenaline from the battle began to abate and the pain of his wounds sunk in. His eyes filled with pain, but he staggered forward, his broken leg trailing behind. He slowly made his way to the pile of rubble, to ensure that his enemy was destroyed. Just as he made it, Balder's body simply couldn't handle the pain. The Destroyer had been enchanted to negate the protections Frigga had given him as a boy. He was actually harmed by the automaton's blows, which shocked him.
He collapsed near the rubble. Balder waited for the sweet embrace of death, drifting slowly into oblivion. Suddenly, a massive armored hand burst from the rubble, grasping Balder in a tight embrace. Crying out in pain, the Asgardian saw the Destroyer rise from the trap he had made for it. A disembodied voice, Loki's voice, echoed from within the automaton. "Balder, did you honestly think you could beat me? Son of Odin, I wield the power of the Destroyer itself! Let me demonstrate!" Twin energy beams burst from the armor's visor, but Balder was not destroyed. He had stopped the beam with his hands.
"What?! How?!" "I am the god of light, and I can turn your weapon against you, traitor!" With his hand acting as a kind of mirror, Balder reflected the beams away from him. Rotating his hand, Balder used the reflected beams to slice through the Destroyer's torso. The grip of the massive hand was suddenly gone, and Balder tumbled to the ground. He looked up to see the upper half of the automaton clawing its way into an upright position. Without a word, Balder picked himself up and began to limp towards the battered armor.
"No, no, no! I was supposed to slay both of his sons with his own weapon, but now…" The Destroyer's master paused as another energy beam lanced out from its eyes. "Now, I will settle for your death, son of Asgard!" Catching the beam in his right hand, Balder staggered backwards. Loki had channeled what remained of the Destroyer's immense power into the attack. The sheer amount of energy released was too much for Balder to bear. However, before he collapsed, he sent a good portion of the energy back into the Destroyer's helm, finally defeating the unstoppable automaton. Smiling as he collapsed into unconsciousness, Balder stopped breathing soon after.
Angered, Loki dissolved the cloud of mist with a wave of his hand. The weapon was now useless for further attacks on Asgard. It was inconsequential now, however. "Come Sif. Let us witness the coming of Ragnarok together." Lifting his captive into the air again, Loki pulled her along towards the doors to the throne room itself. The throne room entryway was flanked by two stone sentinels.
One was clearly male with a long beard and stern features. His armor was magnificent, adorned with the emblem of the ruling house: the World Tree. His right eye was covered by an eye patch which concealed the empty socket. In his right hand was a mighty spear, six feet long and with a gem in the spearhead. There were Asgardian engravings on the shaft: Hail the All Father, King of Asgard!
The second statue was also a male, but with long hair that reached down to beyond his shoulders. He wore a helmet with wings and heavy plate armor which covered only his chest. His arms were covered by a type of scale mail, as were his legs. A long cape flowed down to his ankles, completing his outfit. The statue was lifting a hammer with a short handle above its head. Similar Asgardian runes were engraved on the hammer as well. They read, "Whosever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."
The doors to the throne room were carved to bits, the metal remnants scattered across the floor. The kind of force required to do this was extraordinary. Only a few beings in the Nine Realms could pierce the enchantments that protected the throne room, Loki thought. Surtur has done it, at last. The god of mischief smiled, his lifelong goals finally accomplished.
"Come, Sif. We mustn't keep the All Father waiting now." The two strode into the throne room, and immediately saw the destruction. Flames were consuming the edges of the room. One third of the room was collapsed, the rubble clogging the other two thirds. The roof was blown outwards as some kind of energy wave emanated from the center of the room. The pair, captor and captive, made their way to the throne itself.
Halfway there, they came upon a self-contained inferno. They could barely make out the shape of a body inside it. "Surtur is dead? Amazing. I never thought I would see the end of days. And what is this?" Loki walked over to a collection of metal shards near the inferno. "The Twilight Sword… It's shattered. The amount of power required to do this must mean that the All Father prevailed. How unfortunate." The two kept on moving towards the throne.
In front of the throne, Sif broke down in tears. "NO!" The body lay on the golden seat, bleeding from various wounds. They seemed to be inflicted by a sword, and were most definitely the cause of death. The body was very familiar: he wore a golden eye patch over his right eye. The mysterious energy wave emanated from him, as the power he once wielded tore Asgard apart. Loki broke out into laughter. "So, the All Father is dead. Ragnarok has come at last!" He walked up to the throne, prying something unseen to Sif from Odin's right hand.
Loki turned to face Sif again, showing her the object he was carrying: a four foot long sword which glowed gold. The runes engraved in the sword were radiating pure mystical energy. "The Odinsword, my dear lady. This sign portends the end of… everything. Excellent. Now, I am the rightful ruler of Asgard!" Throwing the sword away, another object caught his eye.
He lifted the spear above his head, and smiled. "Gungnir is mine!" In his rush to grab the spear, the enchantments holding Sif hostage fell and she acted quickly. Drawing the dagger on her belt, the warrior charged. Loki acted quickly, twisting to the left to dodge her assault. Channeling his power through Gungnir, Loki recaptured the warrior in a stronger web of magical energy.
"Now, now, we wouldn't want to do that? Sif, with the death of Odin, we are the last Asgardians. However, that, as the mortals say, throws a wrench into my plans. Shall we rectify that?" He spun the spear around and stabbed the warrior princess in her gut. Sif cried out in pain as the spearhead was yanked out. Blood flowed freely from the wound as she crumpled to the ground. Her attacker knelt to speak with her one last time. "Any last words to say, my dear lady?" His mocking tone grated on her ears, and she gathered the strength to spit in his face.
"I am not afraid of death, trickster. But you should be. For I go to Valhalla, while Niffleheim claims your soul." She coughed up blood as her condition worsened. Death would claim her soon.
"Oh, really? Ragnarok will undo everything, including Valhalla. We are all doomed. So, I will never have to experience Niffleheim, and Valhalla's doors are closed to you as well. I win, Sif. Accept it." The god turned away to look at the throne of Asgard one last time. "I have outlasted them all, from Surtur to Ymir and even the mighty All Father himself. No one is left to stand against me." Loki raised his fist in triumph. "Even the heroes of Midgard have fallen. I can see out across the void to witness their world burn. It is glorious. I am victorious, at last!"
Sif laughed. "I guess you did not hear that, then." Loki turned to face her again. "Hear what?"
"Thunder."
Suddenly, gale-force winds struck the Trickster and sent him flying. Loki managed to throw up an energy barrier to protect him from the worst, but he still tumbled for at least a hundred feet. The fallen god picked himself up to witness his worst fears come to life. He had arrived.
The light from the fires reflected off his magnificent armor, making it gleam in the darkness of the storm above. His blond hair came down to his shoulders, flowing freely in the wind. The helm he wore bore wings stretching to the sky. The red cape he wore fluttered about him as he landed on the ground next to Sif.
The Thunderer had returned to Asgard.
Thor knelt down to cradle Sif in his arms. "Sif, my love…" She placed a finger on his lips to silence him. Tears welled in Thor's eyes as his wife struggled to speak. "Thor, I will always be there for you. I will… always… lo-" Her voice cut off as she passed on. Thor blinked away his tears and shut her eyes. Placing her body gently upon the ground, he rose and turned to the Trickster.
Rage flickered in his eyes as he laid his eyes upon his wife's killer. Stretching his hand to the heavens, the god of thunder waited. The god of mischief knew what came next. He always hated it when Thor did this.
A hammer flew from the gathering storm at incredible speed towards Thor. His hand closed around Mjolnir's handle as the storm intensified. "Brother! You did this!" The trickster could feel the energy crackling around him as Thor summoned the full power of the storm. Lightning struck the hammer, charging it with pure elemental energy. "FOR ASGARD!" Thor sprung forth with inhuman speed towards his hated foe. Before his opponent could even blink, Thor slammed the hammer with all his fury into his brother.
Loki shielded himself as best he could, but the full power of Mjolnir shattered his defenses. Loki flew for another two hundred feet before coming to a stop, bruised and battered. Before he could pick himself up, a hand clenched his throat and Loki was hauled up into the air. Thor began to squeeze, choking Loki to keep him subdued. He lifted Mjolnir high into the air, summoning even more power from the storm.
Then, something extraordinary happened. Mjolnir, and then Thor, began to glow. A golden aura surrounded the prince of Asgard and his mighty weapon. This was enough to draw Thor's attention from Loki. He let go of the trickster god and stared at his glowing hands. Not wasting a moment, Loki vanished in a flash of light and reappeared two hundred feet away wielding the spear of Gungnir. "Now, son of Odin, feel my wrath!" He channeled his power through the spear, firing a massive energy blast at Thor.
Thor turned to face the blast head on without reacting in the slightest. The attack detonated and sent a cloud of dust and debris into the air. Loki smirked. No one, not even the mighty Thor, could have taken a blast like that head on without sustaining serious damage. Was it really that easy?
"LOKI!" A figure began to form in the dust cloud and Loki was awestruck. Thor strode into view, not a hair out of place. The power of the blast hadn't even fazed him. Not even on his best day could he do this, and he has been in battle for days. How is this possible? Fear crept into Loki's thoughts as the Thunderer strode towards him.
Loki's magic surged through Gungnir again as a continuous green beam of energy struck Thor in the chest. Loki kept up the assault, hoping to bring Thor to his knees. Instead, Thor continued to walk towards his foe, unaffected by the attack. He bellowed again. "LOKI! You will pay for this affront!"
Raising his right hand, Thor sent a blast of golden energy towards Loki. Loki ceased his futile attack and redirected his magic to form a ball of energy around him. Thor's blast struck the energy barrier just as Loki solidified it. The golden ball of energy broke through the barrier like a bullet breaking glass and struck the god of evil in the chest.
An explosion of immense proportions propelled Loki to the other side of the throne room. He struck the far wall and crumpled to the floor twenty feet below. My magic is useless against him. His thoughts were interrupted by a hand roughly lifting him up by the collar. A second later, Thor's blue eyes filled Loki's vision as the Thunderer brought him in close.
"Loki Laufeyson, you have brought Ragnarok down upon the realm eternal. I would tear thee apart villain." Thor's voice sounded like hundreds of voices speaking at once, and his eyes began to glow gold. He threw Loki to the ground and raised Mjolnir to the sky once more. Lightning charged the weapon again as Thor prepared to deal the killing blow. Loki braced himself, pushing his fear away one last time.
Thor brought the hammer down towards Loki, his golden eyes shining brilliantly. Before the blow made contact, Thor stopped himself. It is almost like he's fighting himself, Loki remarked in his mind. Thor's eyes stopped glowing and the built up energy inside Mjolnir dissipated. "I cannot believe that…" Thor's voice had returned to normal as well.
Loki began to laugh maniacally. "Even with all the power in the world, you still cannot bring yourself to do it. I still win!" His laughter continued to irritate Thor, who summoned a band of magical energy to gag him. "Silence yourself, brother." The last word was spat out, as if it was a curse. With Loki silenced, Thor disappeared in a flash of light.
Searching the room for Thor, Loki found him cradling his wife's dead body in his lap. Walking up to Thor, Loki smiled mockingly as if to insult the thunder god one last time. Thor stood and dissipated the gag with a wave of his hand. "Loki, how do we reverse this? I control the Odin Force. Surely I can stop Ragnarok." Thor had pleaded with his erstwhile brother for help.
"Oh Thor, your hope is admirable but misplaced. Ragnarok is but the end of a cycle. Surtur and Odin fight, they destroy each other, and the ensuing release of energy rips the universe apart. Once the Nine Realms are destroyed, they will reform and the cycle begins anew. There is no stopping it. It is the will of the universe." Loki took joy in the impact his words had on Thor. Tears welled up in Thor's eyes as he realized what Loki had said.
"I abandoned Asgard in her time of need. The fault is mine, not thine. The All Father is slain and I am to blame. If not for my departure, Surtur would be vanquished." Thor gripped Mjolnir so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Loki reveled in Thor's suffering. I am the god of mischief, after all. For a few minutes, Thor stared blankly into the sky, watching the cracks in reality grow. Loki took the time to retrieve Gungnir and summon a vision of Midgard.
The Trickster watched the few remaining heroes of Midgard fight against the endless tide of fire demons. The Iron Man fired blasts at the enemy, dissipating them with the surges of energy. The monster roared and smashed the demons with his large green fists to ward them off. The panther threw purple daggers humming with energy into the chest of a larger demon, killing it instantly. A circular shield painted red, white and blue with a star in the middle lay on the ground, untouched by the fires raging around it.
Midgard and Asgard: the last two bastions of resistance. How do the mortals do it? Loki waved his hand through the cloud of mist to dissipate the vision. Looking up at Thor, Loki wondered if he should attack again. It would be impossible to defeat him while he's empowered with the Odin Force. And we will all be dead in a few minutes anyway. Loki decided to simply savor his victory before his destruction. His magic was protecting him from the reality wave for now, but soon it would overpower his enchantments and unmake him.
Thor would survive for a little while longer, protected by the Odin Force, but it was impossible to outlast the apocalypse itself. Then Asgard and the other realms, all of reality, would be destroyed. I will accomplish my destiny, just as the World Tree revealed to me. A sudden tremor shook Loki out of his trance. What is going on? Is reality degraded that much already?
Loki glanced into the sky to look at the cracks in the sky, but something extraordinary caught his eye. Thor was levitating in the middle of the storm, concentrating. Mjolnir floated in front of him as he channeled the Odin Force through it. The hammer glowed gold and then pulsed with the cosmic powers of the All Father. Thor's eyes flashed open, glowing gold as they had before.
What does he mean to accomplish? Loki remembered what Thor had asked him before: could the Odin Force save the Nine Realms? No, the fool! Loki summoned the strength to fly towards Thor. He was truly desperate, his eyes looking like those of a wild animal. I cannot harm him while he wields the Odin Force, but if I can disrupt his concentration… The god of mischief summoned his full and terrible power, which broke the enchantment keeping his true form hidden. His skin turned blue, his eyes shone bright red, and his black hair became as white as snow. Loki had sacrificed his Asgardian disguise for every ounce of power he had.
Channeling all of his power into Gungnir, Loki fired a blast that could destroy half of a continent directly at Thor. Thor was deep in concentration, and for a few moments Loki believed that his plan would succeed. Loki fell to the ground, exhausted. Then the blast struck.
The shock wave from the blast ripped into the palace's foundations, caving in the throne room completely. The light blinded Loki for an instant, and he couldn't see if it worked. Loki rubbed his eyes and squinted. Panic filled his eyes as the truth unfolded in front of his eyes. The god of mischief collapsed to the ground in defeat. No…
Thor was surrounded in a golden energy field which shielded him completely. Loki's plan had failed. The aura surrounding Mjolnir began to pulse faster as Thor's efforts reached their climax. In desperation, Loki used his ace in the hole. Concentrating, he reached out with all his willpower and absorbed all of the resonant magic in Asgard from the deceased combatants. His Asgardian form returned as his power returned to maximum.
Standing up, Loki began to mutter incantations under his breath. This spell would take nearly all of his energy, but it could save him from Thor's plan. In the few moments before he attacked, Loki had communed with the World Tree and seen the results of Thor's efforts. I have to save myself.
As he muttered the last incantation, Loki used Gungnir to slice the interdimensional barriers open in front of him. A portal opened up in front of him, just as a massive energy wave erupted from Mjolnir. Thor was swallowed up by the wave, as was Mjolnir. Loki felt fear course through his veins once again and leaped into the portal without a second thought. As the portal closed behind him, the wave overtook the space the portal occupied. A surge of energy followed Loki through the portal and knocked him unconscious.
In the present day, Loki awoke from his trance. He finally remembered what happened. Thor doomed me to this prison. Loki spoke aloud, as if talking to a phantom in the room. "Why have I awoken now? What had changed in the world outside this room?"
As if the room heard him, a window appeared on one of the walls. Loki strode over to it and looked through it. His eyes narrowed in anger as the god of mischief saw the outside world for the first time in millennia. "THOR! You will pay!" Loki pointed Gungnir at another wall and fired a bolt of green energy from the spear. As the bolt struck, a simple door appeared.
"Now, brother, I will destroy this world you have created and then rebuild the Nine Realms. My destiny is never changing. I am the harbinger of Ragnarok." Loki laughed maniacally as he stepped through the open door and out of the room.
Republic City
171 AG
The portal opened in the alleyway, startling three hoboes. Loki emerged from the dimensional doorway, further terrifying the occupants of the alley. He walked over to one of the men and lifted him up by the collar. "When can I find Thor the Thunderer?" He spat the last words out as he poked the spear into the man's chest.
"Who?" The response both angered and confused Loki. He stabbed the man in the chest with Gungnir, which killed him instantly. The other two homeless men attempted to flee, before Loki blasted them apart with the spear. He didn't know of Thor. Could it be true? Is Thor gone? Loki closed his eyes and mentally scanned the planet for Mjolnir's energy signature.
It took him several minutes, but Loki finally found Mjolnir. Its energy was faint, but Loki could still transport there. Slamming Gungnir in the ground, he willed himself to move across the world. Just as he began to concentrate, two strangely armored men dropped from the roof and pointed their hands at Loki. "This is the police. Freeze, dirtbag!"
They both fired metal cables at Loki, who was astonished. The policemen were controlling the cables with their minds. Just as the cables wrapped around the god, he finished his transport spell. Loki disappeared in a flash of light and cloud of green smoke, startling the officers. "Where'd he go?"
Si Wong Desert
A scorpion crawled across the ground as Loki phased into existence again. Sand blew into his eyes as the god scanned the surrounding area for his target. The midday sun beat down upon him and the wind threatened to knock him over with its sheer intensity. The elements would not deter him, though. Loki slammed Gungnir into the ground, creating a dome of energy around him to keep out the wind and sand. Now, where was I?
After a few minutes of searching in vain, Loki stumbled on to his prize: a crater nearly fifty feet wide and twenty feet deep in the sand. It looked as if it had formed recently, as the sandstorms common to the region had not filled it in yet. In the middle of the crater lay a hammer with the handle pointing towards the sky. The head of the hammer was a plain gray metal with bands of Asgardian runes engraved into the weapon. The handle was short, which meant that the weapon was to be wielded with only one hand.
Mjolnir. So he is still alive. Loki walked up to the weapon and examined it. It arrived on Midgard at the same time I did. Remarkable. But why? He began to focus his mind, searching for mystical energies throughout the world. Loki was already taxed by his previous uses of this ability, but he required answers. Remarkably, he discovered two major sources of energy: one at each terrestrial pole.
The amount of energy given off was astonishing. I must investigate. Using Gungnir, he once again ripped open a portal in the very fabric of reality. Stepping through the hole in space, the Trickster emerged in a vastly different land.
South Pole
The vast tundra surrounding him reminded Loki of the frigid wastes of Jotunheim. The cold wind pierced his clothes, but he felt nothing. The Frost Giant in him reveled in the ice and snow. Loki turned to see a forest in the middle of a snow storm, a contradiction not found naturally. Surrounding the forest were signs of a great battle. Icicle spikes and metal debris littered the lands around the forest. What appeared to be a primitive plane had crashed in a snow drift not far from Loki. Most strangely, suits of armor on treads lay scattered about the encampment, powered down or ripped apart by what seemed like explosives. Loki turned his attention skyward, as he found what he had come for.
A pillar of light stretched from the middle of the forest to heights Loki could not even see with his own eyes. Even at Loki's distance, the mystical energy radiating outward from the pillar could be felt in the air. It was so great that he could almost see it around him. Loki began to trudge through the snow and ice towards the mysterious beam of energy. As he reached the edge of the forest, he noticed signs of fortifications built out of ice and scorch marks on trees.
A great battle was fought here not long ago. But why? Loki pushed aside his nagging doubts and moved into the forest itself. Following an ancient footpath, he soon reached the center of the arboreal mystery. At the middle of the forest, the beam of light seemed to erupt from the ground itself and continue towards the heavens. Curious, Loki reached out to touch the pillar of energy.
His hand passed through the pillar and vanished from sight. Loki recognized the sensation and stepped into the light entirely. In an instant, he was transported into a wasteland. Mountains encircled the plain, ascending into jagged peaks. Rock formations spiraled outwards from the pillar of light behind Loki in a counterclockwise direction. Streams of water trickled through the plain, adding a pleasant atmosphere to the otherwise desolate landscape.
At the middle of the wasteland stood a massive tree. Its roots reached deep into the earth, its branches stretching high into the sky. Loki's eyes widened, his heart racing. It can't be… The Asgardian vanished in a cloud of green smoke and reappeared at the base of the tree. A hollow in the trunk caught his attention. As soon as Loki touched the bark to climb towards the cavity, a backlash of mystical energy sent him reeling in shock.
Collapsing to the ground, he held his head in his hands as visions began to filter into his thoughts. Images of men blasting fire from their palms, an arc of golden energy cutting across a purple sky, and a young woman with glowing white eyes filled his mind. The pain was unbearable, as if thousands of years of history were filling his head at once. "Enough!" The god of mischief focused his mind and dispelled the visions.
After a few seconds, Loki managed to pull himself up and begin to climb the tree towards the hollow. Every breath, every step he took, added to the pain raging inside his skull. Five feet from the cavity, he couldn't handle the shear agony anymore and collapsed. With one last burst of energy, Loki dug his fingers into the bark and pulled himself into the hollow. Once he was inside, the visions and pain that came with them stopped for an instant.
Loki stood up shakily, as if he had been struck with Mjolnir in the temple. Clenching his right fist, he summoned Gungnir to his left hand with a flick of the wrist. The golden spear of Odin shimmered into existence as the visions returned. So much for a respite… I only have one chance. Slamming the spearhead into the bark, Loki channeled mystical energy from the tree through the spear. The visions continued unabated, but the pain dissipated.
Loki had surmised that the tree was channeling the visions through the mystical energy it gave off. By channeling the energy through Gungnir, he was able to stabilize the influx of information and dispel his mental torment. Loki closed his eyes and witnessed the visions the World Tree granted him. After several minutes, he opened his eyes and smiled. Finally.