"Thor! What are you standing there for? Get moving already!" Frigga, slumped on the ground, her body covered in blood and her breath completely erratic, shouted at Thor, who stood dazed nearby, seemingly unable to keep up with the current events.
If Odin had been present in Asgard and could transfer the power of the realm's divine energy to Frigga, she might have had a chance to heal her injuries. But with her body pierced by countless deathly swords and the power of death continuously spreading through her body, Frigga was teetering on the brink of death.
Perhaps this was intentional on her part. With Odin's impending demise, Frigga had no desire to remain alone in the vast and desolate halls of the Asgardian palace. She had already made peace with following Odin to the afterlife.
With a hum, the sound of Frigga's voice brought Thor back to his senses. He raised Mjolnir, which surged with boundless thunderous power. The storm clouds of the divine realm seemed to converge into the hammer itself.
This was Thor's full power unleashed. Observers could clearly see that within the endless lightning was an even more terrifying force: Rune Magic. This was Thor's true trump card.
With a deafening roar, the rune-empowered lightning struck Hela. Still affected by the dagger embedded in her chest and unable to heal her wounds completely, Hela had no time to counter the attack. The strike hit her directly.
If it were only Mjolnir, Hela wouldn't have been too concerned. Though Mjolnir's current form was more powerful than when it had once been in her possession, it wasn't enough to threaten her life.
However, the combination of Thor's thunder and rune magic was a different matter entirely. While she could disregard Thor's usual lightning, the rune magic was unlike anything she had encountered before. Hela could sense that this power was intricately linked to the very essence of Asgard, and perhaps even to Yggdrasil, the World Tree itself. But she had no prior experience with this force.
"Odin! You biased old fool! You were hiding this power, and you gave it to him!" Hela roared in fury as the rune magic began to corrode her, inflicting unprecedented damage. Deep within, she felt the sting of unfairness. They were all Odin's children, and as the eldest, Hela's claim to the throne should have been strongest. Yet Odin had given all the best gifts to Thor.
Even Mjolnir, the symbolic treasure of the Asgardian heir, had long ago marked Odin's preference. Before Thor was even born, Odin had already decided that Thor would succeed him.
Now, Hela understood the true reason Odin had acted against her all those years ago. It wasn't merely about seeking peace or facing an insurmountable enemy, nor was it simply that she had threatened his rule. The real reason was that Hela's overwhelming power had posed a threat to Thor's growth.
Imagine a powerful crown prince, armed with a strong army and the people's favor. How could the emperor's beloved second son ascend to the throne in such a scenario?
As for the idea of making Hela the ruler of Asgard, Odin had never seriously considered it. Through his prophetic godhood, Odin had foreseen that Thor was the key to Asgard's future. Only Thor had the potential to lead Asgard through Ragnarok and prevent its ultimate destruction.
Just as Hela trusted her power as the Goddess of Death and Kul believed in his core of fear, Odin's faith in his prophetic visions was unwavering.
With a sharp crack, the terrifying rune lightning completely obliterated Hela's body. The dagger that had pierced her chest clattered to the ground, and it seemed as though Hela had finally been vanquished.
"That easy? Did Mother's dagger unleash some hidden effect?" Thor's eyes were filled with doubt. An opponent as powerful as Hela, especially as the Goddess of Death, should not have been defeated so easily. Killing her was no simple task; otherwise, Odin wouldn't have opted to seal her away all those years ago.
Thor, however, had no time to dwell on Hela's condition. Frigga was fading fast. The deathly aura imbued in Hela's swords was seeping into her body, a force that was lethal to living beings. Even minor wounds inflicted by this aura could lead to a slow, inevitable death. And Frigga had been pierced countless times, her body riddled with the wounds of death itself.
Frigga's own resignation to her fate only hastened the process. She had no desire to continue living. If she had chosen to fight for survival, she might have endured a while longer. As a near Heavenly Father-level deity, she had numerous ways to cleanse her body of the deathly power. As Thor thought, beings of such a level were not so easy to kill.
But Frigga had made her choice. A being who had no will to live could not heal, no matter how powerful they were.
"Mother, please! Heal your wounds!" Thor grasped Frigga's hand, his voice tinged with desperation.
Compared to Odin, Thor's bond with Frigga was far deeper. Even though her ruthless strike against Hela moments ago had left him shaken, Thor's memories of Frigga were filled with warmth. In his eyes, she had always been a kind and gentle mother. He could not bear to see her pass away.
"It's alright, Thor. It's time. We Asgardians are not true gods," Frigga said softly, shaking her head as she gazed at Thor. "Besides, death is just another form of rebirth. We have the Hall of Heroes in Asgard. Your father will be joining me there soon. I need to prepare it for his arrival; otherwise, he might find it uncomfortable."
"No, Mother! You still have me! You still have Loki!" Thor's voice trembled as Frigga's complexion grew paler and her breath weaker. "You still have Loki!"
With a hum, Mjolnir flew from Thor's hand, carrying his will and rune magic as it shot toward Asgard's prison. The hammer smashed open the doors with sheer force.
"Huh? What's going on? Wait, why is Mjolnir broken?" Loki, inside his cell, stared in shock at the shattered state of the hammer as it entered. His pupils contracted, and he let out a cry of disbelief.
Loki had always coveted Mjolnir—not for the hammer itself, but for the status it symbolized as the heir to Asgard. Even setting aside its symbolic significance, Mjolnir was an unparalleled artifact. Seeing it in this broken state was enough to leave Loki stunned.
But amid his shock, Loki was also confused. Since his imprisonment, no one but Frigga had visited him. Neither Thor nor Odin had come. Odin had even decreed that Loki would remain locked away forever. So why had Thor sent Mjolnir to him? Had Thor defied Odin's command?
Before Loki could puzzle it out, his body suddenly froze as a fragment of Mjolnir's shattered pieces wrapped around him, lifting him into the air. The Loki who had been standing in his cell turned out to be a mere illusion, which vanished instantly.
"No! Let me go! Thor, what are you doing?!" Loki struggled frantically, but his power was far too weak to break free from Mjolnir's grip. Helplessly, he was carried to the palace.
"What is this?" Loki's eyes widened as he arrived in the throne room. He immediately noticed the radiant form of Odin's power clashing with an elderly figure he didn't recognize. The stranger's body was shattering under the assault yet stubbornly refused to fall.
But what caught Loki's attention most wasn't the battle. It was Frigga, slumped in Thor's arms, her body bloodied and weak. Thor's expression was filled with grief. At that moment, Loki understood why Thor had defied Odin's command to bring him here.
"Mother! What's happening to you?" Loki cried out as he stumbled toward her, his voice trembling.
Though Frigga was not his birth mother, Loki's bond with her was deep. In many ways, it was stronger than Thor's. Frigga's genuine love for Loki had always touched him. Unlike Odin, who favored Thor, Frigga had given Loki extra care and attention, knowing that Asgard's future belonged to Thor while Loki was destined to lead the frost giants.
"Loki, it's alright," Frigga said softly, raising a trembling hand to touch Loki's face. "It's alright. I'm just going to prepare the Hall of Heroes. Your father will be there soon, too. You and your brother must take care of Asgard on your own."
"You two must work together, Loki. No more fighting. Promise me, alright? I don't want to see you two at odds anymore," she said with a weak smile.
"I promise! I promise I won't fight anymore!" Tears streamed down Loki's face as he nodded. Power and ambition meant nothing to him in this moment. All Loki had ever wanted was recognition, to prove himself as more than just Thor's shadow.
But now, none of that mattered. If he could, Loki wished he could go back a thousand years, to a time when his family was whole, and Thor was still the naive, gullible brother he could trick with ease.
"Mother, who did this to you? Who hurt you? Who is that man?" Loki's eyes burned with hatred as he looked around the throne room, his voice shaking with rage.
"Was it that person?"
Before Thor could answer, his expression changed abruptly. The rune lightning around him flared as he struck toward Frigga's side.
With a deafening crash, Hela's figure was blasted away. Though she appeared weakened, her injuries were far less severe than they should have been.
"Hela! You're still alive!" Thor exclaimed, his eyes narrowing.
"You thought you could kill me?" Hela sneered. "If your power were a bit stronger, maybe you could have. But as you are now, you're still too weak!"
Turning her gaze to Frigga, Hela's lips curled into a cold smile. "And you, Frigga... If not for your deathly aura spreading so freely, maintaining my strength would have been much harder. I should thank you, really—"
Hela's words were cut off as she abruptly frowned. Her hand shot to her side, grasping at the air—and she caught a figure mid-strike. It was Loki, who had concealed himself and attempted to ambush her.
"Frigga, is this your protege?" Hela mocked as she looked at Loki struggling in her grip. "Too bad he's far too weak. He hasn't mastered your tricks at all. Hmm... Frost giant bloodline? Asgardian prince?" She examined Loki with a mixture of disdain and intrigue.
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