Journey of a Hammer

Mjolnir sorrowfully flew from Thor's hand, off to find its new wielder. It had been through many great adventures with the Odinson, but that time had now definitely come to an end. The legendary heroes of the Marvelverse had fallen, with only a few stragglers left, who would last a couple of years longer but would soon meet their end as well.

Mjolnir grieved about them, and about its wielder in particular. Thor had been an amazing protector of not only the Nine Realms, but also many other worlds and even entire dimensions, often crossing over to defeat interdimensional threats that could not be handled by the inhabitants of said dimensions themselves. His loss was a heavy blow to the Omniverse at large, which yet another reason for Mjolnir to choose a new wielder as soon as possible.

Additionally, Thor wanted to see this new wielder before his death, so Mjolnir, doubly motivated, made great haste towards its destination. Fortunately, it already knew who to choose, the blessing of the One-Above-All guiding it on its path.

Mjolnir was a unique weapon. If one were to look at it, they would see a block of metallic material, about as large as a football, in a simple prismatic form. The handle was strangely short, many would say too short for it to be effective on the battlefield. A leather strap, approximately the length of the handle itself, hung from the end of the grip.

It seemed nothing more than an oversized tool, to be used to hammer nails into wood, but nothing could be less true.

Mjolnir was made from the mass of a dying star, compressed by arcane arts. Its creators were the First Dwarves, beings directly in service to the One-Above all, embodiments of Creation itself.

This made Mjolnir a weapon with few equals and fewer superiors. Only weapons like the Ultimate Nullifier, the Infinity Sword and the Infinity Gauntlet were consistently more powerful than it was, but those weapons were also unwieldy and corrupting, often being the cause of their owners' almost immediate deaths.

Mjolnir did not corrupt and could be handled with the greatest of ease, making it still the best weapon all around.

Many beings had attempted to obtain Mjolnir for themselves, and just as many had bitterly failed. The Creator did not allow fools or villains to possess such great power, not for long.

So all Mjolnir had to do was find a worthy person and be picked up from the ground once more. The worthiness enchantments, as well as Thor's essence, would do the rest.

As the hammer flew past countless worlds and universes, it saw/felt several potential candidates:

A girl trapped inside a locker, with a power of will that was truly staggering, even to an ancient divine weapon. She had endured years of torment without breaking and would endure so much more if Mjolnir would let history run its course. Fated to merely rule insects, her life, though ultimately successful, would be a short and unhappy one.

Passing by, Mjolnir felt a pervert with a heart of gold. Possessing a 'Sacred Gear' that was somewhat powerful, but not all that impressive ultimately in the grand scheme of things, he too would struggle in his Journey. The odds he had to overcome with a power that he barely understood would make him ineffective as a hero, despite his very best attempts. He would have to be bailed out many times by many others, because he lacked many qualities that would have him made a fine hero.

Mjolnir could have chosen him, if there had not been someone worthier. Perhaps the hammer could have brought out the best in him. It would have had to reduce his pervertedness by a large degree though, perhaps with a nice smack in the head.

Actually, there was no reason why Mjolnir could not still smack him, even if it would not choose him.

Moving on. An orange haired protector, destined to fight in a Spiritual World that seemed to be based on Feudal Japan. This boy was a hybrid with enormous potential, perhaps the most out of all of Mjolnir's candidates. He would be too slow in accessing it though, making him have to suffer through much pain and loss, of which losing his mother would only be the beginning.

On another world, another dimension, a pink-haired girl was suffering under the burden of having no magic, in a society where magic was everything. Starting out with a kind and strong soul, she could have wielded Mjolnir, if it had chosen her. It was so very sad though that she would nearly be broken by family, school and country, to the point where violence would be her only answer to everything.

In a bus, on again another world, a young boy was on his way to his new school, a school where he would have been the only human. Spending much time after that as a human, he would largely be useless, until gaining his own power.

One of the few choices left was yet another powerless boy, hoping to join the academy of heroes. He would have succeeded even without outside assistance, even becoming more than he could have ever dreamed of, but Mjolnir would certainly help a great deal in the process should the hammer join this boy in his path.

Next up was a cast-out prince, determined to fight and defeat his former country. He would receive a power from his own planet, but that would not be enough. His masterplan was doomed to fail. His plan for peace, though seemingly quite brilliant, was faulty and based on the arrogant belief that mankind would never forget him. They would however, in a sparse few years at most.

These people and more Mjolnir passed on his way. Each of them worthy in their own way and each of them having the potential to be his wielder had the circumstances been a bit different.

They all paled in comparison though to the beacon of worthiness shining at Mjolnir's destination. This person was the worthiest of them all, the most incorruptible, and as such would receive the honour of wielding the Hammer of Thor.

The people mentioned would find their way in life without Mjolnir, one way or another. They were the protagonists of their own stories, heroes or at least anti-heroes in the making. They had potential to become the next generation.

The Avengers, later Defenders, the X-Men, The Illuminati, Shield, the Justice League, all of these teams had started out confined to a mere planet, but had become Multiversal eventually, greatly aiding in maintaining the Balance of All and easily saving trillions of beings a day. They had been the greatest protectors the Omniverse had ever had.

Unfortunately, even all of that power could not prevent them from dying. By the sword, by age, or a plethora of other causes, they all had perished. New heroes hadn't risen though, for Their Verses were now at peace. The big threats had been defeated, wars were a thing of the past, hunger and energy-shortage had long since been fixed. There was no need for heroes anymore, and as such, no more heroes appeared.

This was a great loss, as these heroes had not only saved their own quadrants, but often also protected large parts of the Omniverse.

But such a thing was no longer possible now.

The One-Above-All had deemed this unacceptable and had already taken steps to obtain new heroes to fill the holes the previous ones had left. All of the people mentioned before, and many others, were about to receive their own powersets, so that they could step up to become the next Omniversal heroes.

An ambitious plan, of which the transferal of Thor's power was only the first step. With Thor's death, the plan had been set into motion. Power was about to handed out like candy.

Mjolnir was roused from its introspection when it entered the right universe at last. Thor was only clinging to life by a thread, so it sped up even more.

It flew passed the station of Nasu the Watcher, who peered at it with wise and understanding eyes. It continued its way through space, slowly approaching a version of…

Earth (for what other planet could it be?). Mjolnir entered the atmosphere, skilfully dodging debris and fooling satellites and other measuring equipment into not perceiving anything weird. It aimed for the correct nation, the nation of the Rising Sun.

Its focus was thrown off for a moment though, when Mjolnir felt a shield and a warning coming up around itself. It recognized the source right away. It seemed that an old friend of Thor had decided to help fend off any possible challengers.

While Mjolnir doubted the protection would last forever, it was reasonably sure that it would last at least for as long as it would take to bring its new wielder to an acceptable level of power.

Mjolnir fell and fell, closer and closer to the worthy person down there. The hammer could feel him, closer than ever, his worthiness clear on the canvas of Reality. Thor may lie dying at that very moment, but Mjolnir swore this next wielder would be someone he could be proud of.

The hammer increased its speed even more. It was only a few miles from the ground when it decided to slow down a bit. No sense in creating an Earthquake or otherwise alerting others to its arrival.

As luck would have it, its new wielder was currently alone, walking through a small forest. An excellent opportunity for the hammer to introduce itself.

And so, Mjolnir descended, flying straight ahead, aiming for…

Fuyuki City.

Chapter two done. I am aware that this was a short chapter, but there wasn't much to tell really. This part told some more about Mjolnir (more information to come of course) and gave an introduction to other stories I am planning on making sometime, should I ever find the time.

For those of you wondering where Shirou himself is, he'll appear from the next chapter onwards. This story is about him, and about him only. I will add other POV's fairly frequently, or use the omniscient storyteller here and there, but the main character is Shirou, just so you all know.

Can you guess who the people were that Mjolnir referred to? There's no reward, but you will have impressed me if you know one or more. If you are surprised that I would consider some of them Mjolnir worthy, in my stories, I'll go with the best possible interpretation of their character.

You should also be aware that both Thor and Mjolnir have more powers and abilities than the ones I have mentioned up to now. Those other powers will come forth when it is their time.

Here's an omake by the way. I would like to add that I do not hate this character, but my brother insisted on me making something like this:

Issei Hyoudou was, once again, attempting to perv on girls, who were changing after a day of sporting. It was a lucky coincidence that he had found a hole in the wall big enough to look through and located at the back of the changing room, so no one would see him peeping on the girls.

His friends were looking alongside him of course, they were as desperate for a look as he was, if not more. They had thought that being among the very few boys at this school would get them at least one girlfriend, but it was not to be. Not a single girl was interested in any of them.

Probably because they were perverts. Issei had to admit that such a thing would be quite a deal-breaker in terms of relationships.

Refocusing on the matter at hand, Issei hoped he would be able to see a pair of real boobs today, but honestly, he doubted it. It had been a wish of his for so long now, but despite many tries, he had never actually seen any.

That didn't prevent him from trying though, and even if boobs weren't in sight, there was still plenty of naked skin to see. So he looked, his friends muttering and giggling all the while.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much space at the hole they were trying to peep through, and in their inevitable struggle for more room to watch, they ended up falling on the ground, hard, making a lot of noise. Mere moments later, it went very quiet inside the changing room, a quiet few moments quickly followed by angry voices.

Issei sat up immediately, hoping they would be able to get away before the girls found them.

"Guys, quick, we have to get away!" He proclaimed, foregoing the need for stealth, but upon turning around, he discovered his friends had already bailed, leaving him behind. It was also at this moment that he heard rustling behind him.

The girls had found him already.

Issei sweatdropped and chuckled nervously, backing away slowly. Maybe he could run for it?

It was not to be. The girls, armed with bokken, stones, and fists, were upon him in a mere second, viciously beating him into the ground. "How often do we have to teach you a lesson for you to stop?" One raged at him. "Do you really have nothing better to do?"

Their piece said, and their point made, the girls left again, angrily muttering about stupid boys and ugly perverts. Issei sat up, bruised and battered, and tried to stand. After some trying and failing, couples with noises of pain and discomfort, he succeeded in standing upright.

His head held down, he started speaking: "This was a catastrophic failure, as it has been every other time. I just don't seem to be able to ever see a pair of real boobs, no matter how hard I try. Maybe I should just give up now, save myself the embarrassment and pain. That is what everyone else would do."

Then Issei threw his head up. "But not me! I will continue trying, even after failing a thousand times. I have chosen this path and I will see it through until the end, straying is for those without heart, without courage. I shall not be a coward, not now, not ever."

Feeling his blood pumping at his own words, Issei threw his hands up in the air, and exclaimed: "I SHALL BECOME THE HAREM KING!"

'BOOM'

Was the sudden sound echoing over the campus of the school. A sound that had many jump up like startled bunnies, never having heard such a loud noise before. The windows rattled, a couple even broke. The ground itself shook, as if there had been a sudden short earthquake.

Everyone clamoured around, trying to find the source of the noise, but to no avail.

Well, almost everyone. In her clubhouse, Rias Gremory sat very still. Just now, she had felt an enormous amount of power crashing down upon the school. Raw, wild power, more than she had ever felt before. Was it possible that this was the Dragon?

While Rias was thinking about possible explanations and the other students were running around, Issei lifted his head. He had somehow obtained a massive headache, as evidenced by the pain and the throbbing in his head.

He did not know what had happened, one moment all had been fine with him reaffirming his ultimate goal, and the next he had woken up with the worst headache to ever headache. Had he been hit by something?

Issei looked around, not really expecting to find anything, but then his jaw dropped in shock. Before him was a hammer. A beautiful hammer, power seemingly radiating from it. No doubt this was the thing that had hit him in the head.

However, just as he reached out for it, the hammer rose from the ground again, and shot away faster than he could follow.

"Oi, wait." Issei yelled. "You can't just hit me in the head and then fly away. Stay here and explain yourself."

But the hammer did not listen and disappeared into the sky. This had been a momentary interlude in its travels, to knock some sense into the fool, but now it had to go, to its new wielder.

At the same time, somewhere else, impossibly far away, yet somehow still close enough to see everything that had transpired, a giant golden being with three faces palmed one of those faces.

One of the future heroes being hit in the head by Mjolnir. His brother would never let him hear the end of it.

And done. An omake about the hammer making a detour to knock some sense into Issei Hyoudou.

The golden being will also make an appearance, either next chapter or the one after that.

Have a nice day all of you.

Edited later for better flow and better choice of words.