Heir of the Immortals Resurrection
Chapter 21
Herald emerged from a red oval, snow crunching underneath his feet as he took in crisp cold air. Dressed in a long-sleeve black shirt, jeans, and thick-soled black boots, he crossed his arms over his chest, taking in the forest around him.
Twisted trees stretched out before him, their Ebony-colored bark adding contrasts to the sea of white powder around him. Gnarled branches stretched out like beseeching arms begging for spring to come.
Fog burst from his mouth as he exhaled, a layer of fire covering his body. The shin-deep snow receded around him, steam rising into the air.
Moving forward, Herald flexed his fingers, eyeing the fingerless gloves that covered his palm. If he would've known how cold Asgard was going to be he would have worn something warmer.
With each step, knowledge flowed into his mind.
Since his powers evolved to Claircognizance, he was constantly absorbing information from his surroundings. Most of the time, he could ignore it, filtering it into his mind without it ever affecting him outwardly. However, this place was different Asgard was an old realm. One steeped in blood and magic, magic that was now seeping into him, tainted by the bloody battles that had released it.
This was Earth-22260. When he met Tiamut, the Celestial implanted this information in his mind, leaving him the impression that it could help him with future endeavors. According to what was implanted and the knowledge he was withdrawing from the realm itself.
In this universe, Laufey, King of the frost giants, killed the all-father, Odin, and plunge this realm in winter.
Snow shifted around him, bringing him out of his thoughts.
Three figures rose from the snow, their pale blue skin glistening from the thin layer of ice that covered their bodies. Red eyes bore into him as they bared their teeth, their bottom canines jutting upward over their upper lip.
Long fingers tipped in sharp nails flexed around thick clubs as they straightened to their full 8-foot height. Pointed ears jutting out from their heads twitched as stubby noses flared taking in his scent.
The one to his left cocked his head to the side, "Human?" He rumbled confusion clear in his voice.
"Human," the one in front of him repeated, scratching a belly that protruded over his filthy lowing cloth.
A thinner creature wiped his nose on the back of his hand, his serrated teeth flashing as his dark blue lips stretched in a smile, "Tasty."
The ground beneath his feet pulsed, the land itself tinged with rage as it gave him the name of the creatures, "Frost Giants" his body blurred as he tapped into the speed he replicated from Jacqueline. Tilting his head from side to side he watched the fat frost giant leap forward, his left arm drawn back, his basketball-sized fist clenched.
Stepping forward, Herald slammed into the frost giant, only to be pushed back at the creature's weight. Blurring around behind it, he jabbed his right fist forward, bone claws emerging from between his knuckles. Each one gleamed with psychic energy as they stabbed into the creature.
Herald grunted at the resistance he met, forcing him to lean into the strike to pierce the giant's skin. Pulling his arm back, his eyes widened as he watched ice grow around his bone claws still buried in the base of the troll's neck.
Pain flared through his body as the frost giant on his left slammed into him, snapping his bone claws on impact. As the giant tried to wrap its arms around him, Herald shifted his density, phasing through the creature. As he emerged out of its back, he restored the density of his left hand.
The Giant's head exploded with the new mass that appeared in its brain.
Shaking his hand free of the Gore, Herald turned to the thin frost giant, his eyes burning with psychic power. Raising his right hand, threads of fire shot from his fingers, wrapping around the creature just as it turned to flee. With a twist of his hand, the threads pulled taut, snapping his limbs together.
The giant screamed as the flame threads dug into his body. Pale smoke rose into the air mingling with the smell of burnt flesh.
Slowly, Herald moved forward. Stepping in front of the creature, Herald stared into its fear field red eyes. "I need information."
Against the pain the frost giant bared his teeth, "I'm not telling you anything, filthy human."
"I don't need you to speak."
–XX –
Mary Walker floated in space, her Auburn hair flowing out behind her like a wave of fire. Dressed in a white tank top, hip-hugging jeans, a red leather jacket, and thigh-high boots, she looked like she was going out for a night on the town instead of exploring the vast ever-expanding darkness of outer space.
A blue-black aura flared around her as she took in a breath. Psychically transforming tachyon particles into what she needed to survive.
Ever since absorbing the fruit of the divine spark, something had changed within her, not only had her powers expanded. The voices she dealt with all her life were quiet. She felt whole, but also alone. They were still there. She could feel their knowledge and skills integrating into her mind. They just weren't speaking.
From what she was feeling, they weren't angry, they were at peace. She shook her head, she would focus on that mystery later, right now she had a task before her. With a force of will, she shot forward, leaving a trail of blue-black energy behind her like a shooting star.
As she moved through the darkness, stars blurred past her, becoming nothing more than pinpricks of light. Reaching out with her mind, she searched for her target, the friend Harald wanted her to find.
Her lips pressed into a thin line, as much as she liked Herald, maybe loved him, he didn't seem the type to have friends, at least until recently.
She glanced at the dark green tear-shaped bulb on her wrist, the intertwining vines spreading from it to create a makeshift bracelet.
The bulb bloomed, revealing a pink flower, the yellow feelers in its center bent to the left. Shifting her Psionic abilities to the left, something pinged within her mind in the distance.
At the ping, she froze, staring down at the flower on her wrist. Harald had said this plant would help her find his friend. Just what was she looking for. Stretching forth her left hand, the flower bent more, pulling her forward.
As she watched, the vines attaching the flower to her wrist unraveled and it shot into space.
Her stomach lurched as it drifted away. Without it, she would not be able to find her target, she would fail in her task, fail Herald.
While failing him would disappoint her. The fact that she allowed her fear of traveling to another universe to stop her from going with him, and then failed to find his friend would make her feel worse.
On instinct she wrapped her power around it, an aura of blue-black energy blossoming around the plant. She grimaced as the plant pulled on her power, soaking it up like parched ground soaking up water in the desert.
Through squinting eyes, she watched as the vines retracted into the flower. The flower turned to face her, expanding with each beat of her heart. At 6 feet tall and 5 feet wide, it stopped expanding. The pink petals twisted together. The yellow vinelike feelers in its center shrank into the flower spreading through its petals like veins.
The flowers blossomed open, their tips connecting to the vines that ring the plant's interior. A crimson portal sat before her, shining like a star.
Slowly, she drifted forward, beads of sweat running down her face as the portal continued to pull on her power. Did Harald know the flower would do this? She shook her head, no, if he knew he would've told her. A smile curled her lips, well, at least she wouldn't get bored.
Straightening her back, she floated into the portal.
A crimson flash lit the darkness, before the portal folded in on itself, the vines encompassing it withering to float away in the void.
–XX –
Herald stopped before the city of Asgard, icy wind curling around his pale blue skin. Since running into the frost giants, Herald shifted his body into ice, an ability he gained from Tora Drake.
His skin took on the look and feel of glass, the tribal tattoos that littered his body taking on the appearance that they had been etched into his skin.
According to what he was able to learn from the frost giant he questioned, in this universe, Thor had been taken in by Laufey after he killed Odin and plunge this realm into eternal winter. Since then, his legitimate son Loki tried to help the Queen of Asgard Freya escape, only for it to end in her death at the hands of Thor, but not before Loki killed his father, resulting in Thor becoming the new King of the frost giants.
Since becoming king, Thor had a hatred for his former people, believing that they had turned Loki against his adoptive father inadvertently leading to Laufey's death. He regularly posted smaller frost giants here for them to prove themselves and kill any Asgardians that remained.
Herald shook his head, what a mess. Though this universe had a darker history than his own, the ripple effect of a simple change to history had was fascinating.
He couldn't help but wonder, were there other versions of him in the multi-verse? Was he raised by his parents? Was he happy, did mutants thrive, or were they still hunted like wild beasts? He shook his head, while those questions were interesting, they would not help him in his task. They would not make his life easier. He had to focus on the now, he had to focus on his life not what could've been.
Bending his legs, he pushed off the ground, shooting into the sky.
Snow swirled around him before slowly drifting back to the ground as he hovered in the air staring down at the city that spread out before him.
A thick stone wall surrounded a medieval city. Towers were equally spaced along the walls, giving the former defenders a chance to fire upon enemies that attacked their homes.
As he looked at it now, he could see the cities former Majesty in his mind, even though there were large holes in the stone walls, and more than a few of the towers had collapsed into the city.
Drifting forward, he took in the city proper. Stone buildings stretched out below him, some reaching as high as modern-day skyscrapers. His eyes lingered on the buildings that were oddly shaped, looking as though they had been molded into being instead of built.
All of the buildings formed concentric rings that grew larger as they spread out from the center.
Moving towards the center, pure stone buildings gave way to buildings that were a mix of stone and metal. Broken wood from doors or furnishings littered the fused stone blocks that made up the streets.
Drifting lower, Herald passed roofs covered in a black tile.
Touching down in the center of the city just before his target, his back arched as rainbow-colored electricity crackled around his body sinking into his flesh as knowledge and experiences flowed into his mind.
Within a moment he realized Asgard was more than a city, it was alive, begging him to be used again.
Red energy exploded from Herald, sweeping throughout the city. Guided by the magic of Asgard, it wrapped around anything of value and dragged it towards him. As if the city itself was trying to bribe him for his help.
A tiny cracked rectangle of stone with an ever-shifting rune in its center floated towards Herald, settling in his palm. Eyes glazed over with the knowledge still flooding his body, Harald gazed down at the object.
"A Norn stone," he muttered his fingers closing around it. A Norn stone was one of nine stones that could alter reality in various ways depending on the rune written on its surface.
It may be broken, but the stone whispered secrets to him. With it as an example, and the city adding to his knowledge of runes, he could inscribe his abilities on stone allowing him to always protect his home even if he wasn't there personally.
With a force of will, he brought himself back to reality shifting the knowledge that was flowing into him through his mental defenses, and into a library where his knowledge was kept. There, it would do what all knowledge from his environment did create books that he could call upon when needed.
Moving forward, Herald approached the world tree. It had been destroyed, its curling magnificent branches laying strewn throughout the city square. Reaching his hand forward, he placed it on the trunk, just below the jagged wound that was left behind when it was snapped in half.
A week consciousness reached up, shining with curiosity.
Despite being in a destroyed city, a smile curled Herald's lips.
The world tree reminded him so much of Krakoa but much older.
'Hello.'
–XX –
Mary stepped through the forest, lifting vines out of her path as she made her way through the shrubbery.
A beam of light pierced her eyes, and she glanced upwards at the glass dome that surrounded her location.
Shaking her head, dried leaves crunched beneath her feet and fertile soil gave with each step as she followed the force that pulled her deeper into the island.
When she first emerged from the portal, she found herself in a pit with two other people.
Vines and branches pierced their emaciated bodies, glowing red as they removed energy from them.
With liberal use of telepathy, Mary was able to learn that they were Crule and Candra, to external's that attacked Harald here many years ago. They had been given to Krakoa to nourish him. However, they were losing strength and Krakoa's hunger was beginning to override his mind as he fought to ration them a bit longer.
Not wanting to end up like the externals, blue energy exploded around her body as she flew upwards. Branches exploded from the walls, each one positioned to skewer her body. Using them like an obstacle course she grabbed and jump from branch to branch until she finally made her way to the top of the pit.
Blue fire curled around her hands. With a scream, she pushed it forward. The ground before her exploded upwards, heated earth raining down as she emerged from her would-be prison.
Since her escape, the force pulling her guided her through the forest in a winding path that was impossible to chart. However, if she didn't follow its direction, then the forest would try to eat her.
The forest around her finally gave way, leaving her standing before a massive tree. Its red eyes bore into her as its bark split into a jagged mouth. Each word spoken revealed blocky teeth nestled into green fungus-like gums.
"Who are you?" Its voice boomed, sending a rumble through the ground.
Mary's back straightened as the vibrations pass through her body. She stared into its eyes, her brown eyes becoming a luminescent blue flecked with black. "I am Mary Walker, Herald sent me to check on you." She looked around her, her gaze lingering on the dome above them, "Although if he knew you got yourself into such trouble, he would've come himself."
"Now," she crossed her arms over her chest, "I spent the past few hours walking in circles while you observe me, so why don't you tell me how you got yourself into this mess, and I'll work on getting you out of here so we can meet up with Herald."
One of the ridges above Krakoa's red eyes raised, "You are not afraid of me? Can you not feel me taking your energy?"
Mary shrugged. "Everyone's got to eat, and I've got more than most. Besides, Herald wouldn't have sent me here if you were dangerous," she cocked her head to the side. "Well, he might, but he knows I can handle myself."
A rumbling swept through the island again, and it took Mary a moment to realize that the island was chuckling.
"It is good that Harald has finally found a mate that will stand beside him and who he trusts. He would not send you here otherwise."
Fighting down the heat that flared in her cheeks, Mary stared into Krakoa's eyes.
"Now," its eyes glowed, "allow me to show you, my story."
– XX–
'So, what do you say, are you willing to help me create a home for my people?'
The world tree was silent for a moment before the center of its stump split, and a small rainbow-colored seed floated up from the crack.
As Herald reached for the seed, his head snapped to the right. Something was coming.
Wrapping his fingers around the seed, Harald leaped over the stump as something slammed into the ground.
An oval-shaped crimson barrier flared up around him, parting the dust that swirled through the air and shielding him from the stone that rain down from the impact of whatever had arrived in the city.
As the dust faded, Herald's eyes widened.
Standing before him was a man 6'6" tall, pale blonde hair was draped over broad dark blue shoulders. Hands covered in leather wrappings tightened around a Warhammer, icy wind and snow swirling around its head as luminescent blue eyes bore into Heralds.
"You are not a frosts giant or an Asgardian," the man before him growled, "who are you?"
Despite everything he had been through in his life, Herald took a step back, Frost King Thor had come to Asgard.