Chapter Eighteen
"I wish I could hold you," Balder whispered.
Nanna pressed herself closer to the energy barrier that separated them. "Me too... what do you think is happening out there?"
"People are dying. People are dying because I was too weak to fight."
Nanna shook her head. "I know you... you did try to fight. Set's just too strong for us." She blinked back tears. "This will all be over soon."
Not ssso sssoon.
They both felt Set's control wrap around them. Balder tried to yell, shout for help, but he'd already lost control of his body. Set made him begin chanting, and the barriers caging him and Nanna dissipated in minutes.
Now... let the firesss rage.
They began walking under Set's direction, both of them wondering what they would be forced to do now.
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Loki felt the portal forming just in time to push Thor out of the path of Heimdall's sword. Thor stared up at Heimdall in disbelief. Loki explained rapidly while fending off the Gatekeeper's attack.
"He's under Set's control!"
Before Thor could reply, there was a rumbling all around them. The palace shook. He jumped forward to help Loki, but there was a sudden pitch and all three of them were thrown from the tower. Thor tried to use Mjölnir to gain flight and slow their fall while simultaneously grabbing for Loki, but they were falling too fast to stay aloft- all he could do was slow their descent.
Heimdall, it seemed, had suddenly gotten the power of flight and wafted down easily. He swung for Loki as the brothers hit the ground hard. Loki had no time to react as the blade came down. A second blade suddenly swooped in and diverted it. He looked up, dazed, to see Sif facing her brother-cousin, her face hard as stone, her armour bloodstained. A pack of dwarves pounced on Thor immediately.
"I know he's annoying but I hardly think he caused this, Heimdall!"
"No," the gatekeeper replied. "He had no part in this destruction. But Heimdall already knew that."
Sif's eyes widened in horror as Heimdall's amber eyes turned putrid green. She stood, paralysed, as he broke her sword's hold on his, and swung it towards her.
Loki pushed himself to his feet, forming an ice dagger in his hand. As Heimdall's sword cut cleanly through Sif's ribcage, Loki drove the dagger through Heimdall's heart. Both siblings collapsed as one. Thor smashed the last of the attacking dwarves and rushed to Sif's side, eyes wild.
"Sif!"
"Thor..." Her voice was faint. Blood was staining the ground beneath her.
"Sif..."
"Love... you..."
Heimdall seized Loki's jacket and pulled him close. "Serpent ... Balder's room." Their last breaths were almost taken at the same time. Thor pulled Sif's body into his arms, shaking his head, cradling her, tears pouring down his face. Loki lurched to his feet.
'Serpent... Balder's room.' What had Heimdall meant? Serpent crown? Balder was safely locked away in the dungeons... wasn't he? An icy feeling of terror crept up Loki's spine.
"Thor- Thor! I have to get to Balder's room." He gently closed Sif's eyes. "There's nothing left to do here."
Thor shook his head. "I can't just leave her!"
Loki squeezed his shoulder. Without a word he headed into the palace. The sight inside almost broke him. The grand halls were filled with dead or dying people. Citizens of Asgard, warriors, women, children... it seemed there was no end to them! Swallowing hard, he made his way to Balder's room, dreading what he'd find there...
It was empty. Loki blinked in surprise. Utterly empty. Serpent Crown! He began searching frantically. He turned half the room upside down and found nothing before a mocking laugh echoed in the door behind him. Turning he saw Balder standing in the door holding a heavy jade crown.
"Looking for this?"
"Balder." Loki fought to keep his voice steady.
"Wrong. Guessss again!"
The chilling smile on Balder's face was all wrong. In that moment, Loki felt his heart break. His eyes filled with tears. "Balder..."
'Balder' laughed. "You wisssh you were ssspeaking to him."
Loki clenched his fist, forming an ice dagger in it. But he looked down at the weapon and dropped it. I can't... Not Balder. His head hung as he heard Set walk forward in Balder's body.
"Fascinating," he murmured, repressing his lisp. "To think I expected such difficulty in breaking you."
Loki looked up. "Why did you pick him?"
"I picked you. He was just a happy accident. Curiosity made him touch the crown and it was easy to possess him, to bend him to my will. After all, Chthon left an open door in him as a child. Simple task of opening it."
"My fault," Loki whispered.
"Yesss... asss you were told, hisss downfall will be becaussse of you. Perhapsss it isss bessst that you will not live to sssee it..."
Loki nodded once, his heart weighing heavy. Angrboda. Hela... He couldn't just give up! "Can I at least say goodbye to him first?"
Set sneered at him. "If you insssissst." The green glow faded, leaving Balder's blue eyes behind, utterly full of self hate.
"Loki..."
"Balder." Loki forced all his feelings down, preparing himself for what he knew he had to do now, feeling sick at the very thought. He'd only get one chance...
Balder threw his arms around his brother, hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"No, I am. None of this would have happened if I hadn't..." Loki's eyes burned with tears, embracing his little brother for the last time. His gaze fell on the Serpent Crown, left on the chair near the door. If only... But there was no way to destroy the cursed thing, and even if he could, there was no guarantee that destroying the artefact would stop the Elder God. Loki steeled himself, taking a deep breath.
"Goodbye, Balder," he whispered. "I love you, little brother."
He formed another ice dagger - and was on the floor, his face being ground into the carpet before he could make another move. The impact had him gasping for air, even as he struggled to rise, and work out what had happened.
"I am not ssso ssstupid, nephew," Set chuckled. "But you've sssaid goodbye. Now ssshould I kill you quickly or ssslowly?"
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Oshtur and Gaea faced each other, hands touching while Frigga and Angrboda watched. Hela was crying in fright and nothing her mother did could soothe her. Light was surrounding the two Elder goddesses, and they began chanting in unison. The light grew brighter and hotter - with a sudden whoosh, it expanded like an explosion, enveloping the room and then the whole of Asgard.
"What have you done?"
Frigga turned to see Nanna standing in the doorway. Not Nanna. Her eyes were green. She - or rather, Set - was staring at Gaea and Oshtur in horror.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"
"This ends today, little brother," Oshtur said softly. "There is no leaving for any of us now."
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Thor stood over Sif's body, fighting with all his strength, trying to protect her from being trampled in the battle. The ground grumbled and shifted again, causing building to collapse. In the sky the dark and light were still fighting for supremacy. Crevices beginning to tear themselves into the earth. Thor struggled to keep his balance as his allies and foes alike tumbled into the chasms.
The ground burst open; showers of rock and dust fell over them all. Something rose out of the newly created chasm. It was huge, lifting all the way to the sky. A snake. A giant, seven-headed snake! It snapped at Atum. Thor reacted instantly. His brother needed help. He didn't even realise he had abandoned Sif until he was in the sky driving his hammer through the snake's putrid-green eye.
Set shrieked in agony, writhing and snapping at Thor. He called down lightning to strike the demon. He was dimly aware of Atum shouting something at him, but couldn't make out the words.
The lightning bounced off of Set's sleek scales, multiplying as it shot towards the battle below. Thor cursed loudly and landed on Set's largest head, bringing the hammer down with all his strength. He heard a satisfying crunch of bone, but Set, though clearly in pain, did not fall or even falter.
Another of the heads came at him; with a stunning blow he knocked it back. The fight between Atum and Chthon was more fierce up here; he could feel the heat singeing the hair along his arms. He cursed himself for being distracted from Set when one head snapped perilously close to his head.
"Die, sssson of Gaea!" Set roared.
Son of Gaea. Son of Odin. Son of Frigga. "I may die today but if I do I'm taking you with me!" Mjolnir swung again, shattering another skull as Thor roared in the midst of battle-rage. The fight continued.
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"Frigga, Angrboda, it might be best if you leave," Oshtur said calmly as she faced her brother possessing her sister's granddaughter. "Now." The two lesser goddesses scurried away, leaving the Elders alone.
"What have you done?" Set repeated.
"We have sealed Asgard. Now the destruction will be contained."
"Sssealed Assgard?! But then..."
"We told you. It ends today. This war has gone on for far too long, Brother."
He looked shocked, and almost... afraid.
"Either you and your brother die," Gaea said, her head raised. "Or my sister and I die, leaving you alone with him. Or we all die. It ends."
"And if I refussse all thossse alternativesss?"
"You cannot. There is no escape now." Oshtur's voice was cold as the air she was aligned with.
"Then death it issss. For all of ussss. And all of them."
Gaea's heart lurched at the thought of all these innocent people dying to end this feud, but it had to be done. She nodded. "I'm sorry that this is how it ends, Set. I truly am."
"Not asss sssorry asss you will be with your dying breath!"
Oshtur interrupted then. "We should join Atum and Chthon. We must all end together."
Gaea glanced at her before stepping forward. "Set, you will gain nothing from Nanna now. Let her go. Please."
"Perhapsss I do not wissh to. A humanoid form isss preferable to my current one."
"Please, Set..."
"No."
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Loki grunted in pain as Set kicked him viciously in the chest and head. He coughed, causing a searing pain to lurch through his chest, and hacked up blood. "Balder..." It was barely understandable.
"Balder is unavailable to speak right now!"
The Serpent Crown! Loki mustered all his strength and hurled a fireball at the jade crown.
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Thor managed another cracking blow to Set's smallest head. The serpent reared back and snatched him between its fangs. He gasped. And then a fireball enveloped them both. Set screamed in pain and Thor tumbled out of his mouth. As he fell Set burst into thousands upon thousands of smaller snakes. A blazing ball of fire caught Thor, allowing him time to bear himself aloft. He and Atum landed together, gazing up at the clear blue sky.
"No!"
Thor turned to see Karnilla in full battle gear, her face twisted with fury.
"No! I am the victor!" she screamed. She charged at Thor.
Atum moved quickly, grabbing the witch by the throat. "This is the second time you've threatened my little brother," he said coldly, and then snapped her neck.
Thor watched in horror- it had happened so fast! He stared at Atum in disbelief.
"What?" The sun god snapped.
"You just killed her! We could have gotten information - kept her prisoner-"
"What for? She'd just keep scheming to kill you. I should have killed her years ago."
Thor was about to retort, but didn't get a chance, as thousands of snakes, either Set himself or unfortunate creatures under the Elder's command, swarmed him and Atum, almost burying them within minutes.
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Set glared through Nanna's eyes at his sisters. "I ssshould jussst kill you both right now."
"Then do it," Gaea stepped forward. "Kill me, if that's what you want."
Set took a threatening step forwards... And blinked. He stumbled back, shaking his head. "No!"
Gaea and Oshtur both looked on in confusion as he threw back his head and screamed - and then suddenly stopped. Nanna fell to her knees.
"Grandmother? What happened?"
Gaea moved to Nanna's side warily, in case this was a trick. Nanna blinked rapidly. "I remember... Set had me, he was going to make me... but then..." Her brow furrowed. "The Crown... it's been destroyed!"
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The Serpent Crown lay in pieces. Loki groaned as he pushed himself up, crawling to where Balder had fallen. "Balder? Balder!"
"Loki?" Balder lay, pale faced and unmoving on the floor, his eyes hardly focusing. Blood trickled from his mouth. "Loki? I can hardly see you... is it over?"
Loki gathered him into his arms, tears rolling down his face. "Yes... The crown is destroyed. You're free."
Balder managed a wan smile. "It's over... I'm sorry, Loki."
"Don't be. I love you, little brother."
"Love you too."
Balder lapsed into unconsciousness, but was breathing evenly, so Loki surmised he was just sleeping. He looked up to see the sun shining in the window, tears shining in his eyes. Is it over?