Falling through the void. He was falling, tumbling through nothingness, allowing himself to sink into eternity. He had resigned himself to this end at the final confrontation between himself and his father—no, Odin was no father to him—when the cruel Allfather had denied the lost prince any chance of justifying his actions or of reconciling their mistakes thereafter. He had lost hope entirely and let go of the scepter in Thor's grasp. At that time he had believed that doing so would result in certain death. However, that was not what the Norns had determined to be his fate; a far more brutal punishment lay ahead, in which he would live to see many more bleak and unbearable days.

And as he fell, all he could think was, Please, do not make me suffer this fate alone.


(It gets better, I promise.)