Sparking Soul: Ch.24

Sparks flew as Odin shot out a blast of Odinforce from Gungnir, Malekith easily absorbing the blast to the Mirror Dimension while rushing in with both blades in hand.

Opening with slicing in a scissoring motion at Odin's knees, the All-Father placed Gungnir in the path of one blade while trapping the other with a stomp.

Both blades were shattered instantly and Malekith leapt back to dodge the burst of Odinforce the god unleashed, clapping his hands together before spreading them wide and making the world around them shatter.

“Is this your vengeance, Malekith?”, Odin asked as he looked at the Mirror Dimension forming around them, Asgard breaking and shattering around them as Malekith snarled.

“All this bluster and yet you wield your hatred like a child flailing in the dark,” Odin spoke with narrowed eyes and Malekith dropped his hands as the two beings stood on the shattered remains of the Rainbow Bridge.

“You dare mock me even now, Borson? When it was your precious father that consigned my people to rot in the shadows of Svartalfheim?”

“I mock you because you deserve it. You led your people to ruin by wanting to turn the universe to darkness. Now, you blame Asgard for the ashes left when you turned your kingdom into a crypt and dared call it sacrifice.”

“It was Asgard's greed for our Aether that ignited the war, Borson, and you know it! Your father and his golden fools drowned in the light and pretended the darkness was vanquished. When we decided to show them what the Dark Elves were truly capable of, they feared what it could bring so they buried it and buried us and dared to call it a victory.”

“You forget yourself, elf. The All-Father before me granted you mercy when he should have brought extinction and now you crawl from the depths of obscurity, thinking you can threaten Asgard and its people?”, Odin asked as he strode forward, the Odinforce linking up the pieces in between them and forming a bridge as scarlet red energy gathered around Malekith's body.

“Asgard will burn, Odin Borson! I will see your golden towers fall and your people beg in the dark where they belong!”, With a howl of rage, Malekith pushed his hands forward, a torrent of corrosive energy slicing through the air.

It was not enough as Odin slammed Gungnir down, a wave of Odinforce washing over the dimension and straining it to its limits while Malekith frowned as his attack was repelled to the sides.

“MALEKITH!!”, Before they could continue, both Odin and Malekith paused as a guttural roar echoed in the dimension with the sound of deafening thunder.

The All-Father's eyes widened and Malekith turned with a sadistic smirk as a dark void opened in the skies above before lightning tore through the splintered sky.

However, this was not the usual controlled lightning of Thor's that slithered like that of the World Serpent.

No, this was wild lightning, fuelled by both grief and fury as if the storm itself had lost something it could never replace.

A moment later, the source of the chaotic storm fell through the portal, Thor coming down upon the splintered dimension like a meteor and unleashing a shockwave that ruptured the dimension with his impact.

The god stood up slightly from where he had landed, the cosmic energy of the Infinity Stones exuding from his chest and Jarnbjorn that he held in his right hand.

Thor didn't say anything as he looked to Mjolnir, the hammer having flown through the portal that he came through without him having needed to call it to him.

'She died holding you, didn't she?' Thor thought as he stared at the hammer hovering at his side with a regretful gaze, Odin feeling shocked and lowering Gungnir as he could feel the anguish resonating between Thor and the hammer.

Never in his long life has he felt or seem the hammer forged from Uru do what it was currently doing, watching as his son raised his left hand and wrapped it around the hilt of the hammer before turning a burning glare towards the grinning Malekith.

“So, I see Alflyse has done as she was ordered. How does it feel knowing that you are responsible for her demise. If you had simply left the stones where they were, none of this would be happening,” Thor didn't say anything as he raised his weapons to the side, thunder beginning to rumble around the Mirror Dimension as Malekith raised an eyebrow.

“You think your two weapons will be enough to get to me?”

“I'm not here to get to you,” Thor whispered, making Malekith narrow his eyes as the Space Stone glowed and wrapped around the edge of Jarnbjorn.

“I'm here to end you,” In the blink of an eye, Thor shot forward in a blur of lightning and vengeance, hurling Mjolnir through a portal and making it appear behind him.

The dark elf barely dodged the hammer before it flew around Thor and up into the sky, the god leaping through the air with a roar before swinging Jarnbjorn down upon Malekith with a vengeance.

The elf was quick to create a shield out of the same corrosive energy that he used to attack Odin with, but his eyes widened as the axe completely ignored it and nearly cleaved him in half had he not jumped out of the way.

He did not escaped unscathed and stifled a pained scream as his right arm fell to the floor, Mjolnir's lightning coming down and eradicating it instantly as the god turned his head with a glare.

“You will fall. Not because I am stronger. Not because I hold the Stones,” Thor spoke as he stepped forward, lightning exuding from his shoulders like a cape as Mjolnir flew to his outstretched left hand.

“But because I've lost far more than you could ever hope to take from me,” Malekith roared as he flung chains of energy towards Thor, the air screeching as they drew near before the god raised Mjolnir.

With a lunge, Malekith's eyes widened as space itself froze, the blue hue of the Space Stone folding the dimension to his will while Mjolnir flew from his hand and slammed into the elf with the force of a planet.

Malekith wanted to scream, but his body was frozen still, unable to anything as Mjolnir continued to push deeper inch by inch while Odin frowned as Thor held Jarnbjorn in a loose grip.

Strands of the Power Stone shot from the axe and impacted Malekith's body, tearing the skin from his flesh while the Reality Stone's red hue forced the energy from his body.

The corrosive energy gave way to Thor's control as he raised a hand, turning it into jagged chains that slowly wrapped around the dark elf and locking his body in cruel agony.

“You will not be remembered,” Thor whispered softly as he walked towards the dark elf, dragging Jarnbjorn along the cracked diemsional floor and sparks of lightning licked at the sky.

“There will be no songs…no stones…and no legends,” Raising Jarnbjorn, Thor forced Malekith to look at him and the dark elf bore witness to the burning rage of a man in grief.

“No grave,” With those final words, Thor dropped his hand and the axe cleaved through the dark elf's chest, the burst of cosmic energy shattering the Mirror Dimension as the elf gave a bloody grin.

“Ragnarok…will come…and I…will cherish the moment…when you destroy Asgard…”

“Until then, rot in the depths of Hel,” Thor growled as the Space Stone's energy wrapped around him before the elf was crushed to oblivion, the only thing he left being the bloody stain on the Rainbow Bridge that was swiftly burned away.

Only silence remained as the father and son stood on the bridge, the sounds of battle dying off in the distance as Thor stood still, the thunder booming above as clouds formed before the rain poured down.

Odin stayed silent as Thor dropped to one knee, resting Jarnbjorn besides him before gently taking Mjolnir with both hands and placing it softly on the bridge.

'The thunder is gone…and only the rain remains,' Odin thought with a solemn look as he watched his son kneel, the storm weeping down upon them.

He wished to mourn for the loss of his beloved and the loss of his daughter in all but blood, but the All-Father forced himself to stay strong as he stared at Thor.

“I told you once, my son. The burden of kingship is not power, but sacrifice,” Odin spoke, his voice softer than ever before as he took a step forward even as Thor didn't raise his head.

“I never wanted this, Father. I…I only wished to help, but now…”, Thor couldn't finish his words as he felt far too much anguish to do so, raising a hand to wipe the tears away.

“And now you understand why I did not pursue the stones more than I needed to.”

“Darcy, she…she died fighting…and I-I…I wasn't there to protect her. Mjolnir, it's the last piece I have left of her.”

“Then, let it be the foundation you rebuild from, not a relic of loss,” The clouds rumbled faintly above, the storm beginning to calm as Odin knelt besides his son.

“Ragnarok may come and it may result in the end of Asgard, but…we will the memory of your mother and Darcy be meaningless. Let the fond memories you have of them be your compass, not your anchor.”

“…I will,” Thor nodded and the All-Father smiled before he stood up.

“I have never feared for Asgard as I do now, my son, but we will be look upon this day as we emerge triumphant from the coming war. For your mother. For Darcy,” Odin spoke as he began walking towards the castle and Thor looked at the man leaving before looking back at both Mjolnir and Jarnbjorn.

Grabbing both weapons with a determined gaze, the god of Storms stood up, lifting both him as he took a deep breath and nodded.

'For Darcy and Mother…and for the loving children we would have had. Let Ragnarok come. The storm will devour it nonetheless.'

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The battles have long since ended and we had emerged victorious, but as I stood alongside Father at the port, I felt nothing but emptiness as I stared at the numerous longboats resting on the water in front of us.

Behind us stood a long procession, everyone having solemn expressions on their faces and even Hulk looked a bit down as I looked out at the great abyss in front of us where the waters met the stars and the spirits of the honored dead were sent to sail into the embrace of the cosmos.

One of the two longboats at the very centre had the crest of the Asgardian Royal family along with a witch's hat to signify Mother while the second had the crest of an interwoven hammer and starlight around it to signify the Midgardian who had become a daughter of Asgard.

Father stood besides me, dressed in his ceremonial armour and I could see the All-Father keeping himself together with struggle as his one eye shimmered with unshed tears before he stepped forward.

“I have lived a thousand lifetimes, but never will I forget the years I shared with you, my beloved Frigga. You led with wisdom, loved with courage and reminded me that true strength comes not from power alone but from the compassion one has for others. Rest, knowing that your legacy will live on in Asgard until the end of time,” Father spoke as he looked at Mother before turning his gaze to Darcy, Mjolnir sparking as it rested at her side.

“And you, Lady Darcy. Though you were not born of Asgard, you gave more than any could ask. You stood with gods with no fear in your heart and died a warrior's death. As such, you are honoured as one,” Taking a step back, he looked to me and I exhaled softly as I walked forward to where Darcy was lying with a peaceful smile on her face.

“I…I used to think I understood storms, but it was not until I met you, Darcy Lewis, that I learned that even in the eye of one, one will find laughter and light. You were my calm and I will never forget the woman that showed me what fun a life without battles could be,” I finished with a soft smile, raising my hand as the longboats were set of.

Dozens of Asgardians stepped forward before notching their bows, each arrow wrapped in flame as they aimed and Father nodded with a solemn smile.

“Fara með friði (Go with peace),” I said softly before letting my hand fall, arrows soaring through the air and striking the boats as a line of golden fire erupted near the end of the waters.

With a thump on the ground from Gungnir, a surge of Odinforce flew across the surface of the waters and wrapped around each boat, the flames and boats turning to golden motes of light that rose up into the starlit-void.

“We were all born from stardust and to the stars we return. May you all shine brighter than ever before,” Father spoke softly as he bowed his head, all of us doing the same before I looked up and caught sight of the smiling woman in the stars waving at me.

'Goodbye, Darcy Lewis. I will never forget you.'

A/N: Wanted to do a whole entire part after this with Loki, Odin and Thor, but I decided to save that for next week as I want to make next week's chapter longer in apology for this one being so late.

Also, sorry for this one being late, but the boss has been pushing spreadsheet after spreadsheet onto me so I've been busy all day.

Anyway, next chapter: The father and sons and the wayward daughter.

As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!!