[Special] Disciples in Danger. The God of Thunder Has Dangerous Ideas.
Devastation.
Destruction.
A complete apocalypse of lightning, fire, and explosions.
That was all that could be seen around. Where a vast forest should have stood, there were now only pulverized ashes and a relentless rain of meteors falling from the sky over the surrounding area. The darkness of the night, which should have covered everything, was instead illuminated by the flames of battle, turning the landscape into a burning hell.
Then, something that looked like a projectile carrying an entire storm within it fell from the sky, causing a violent explosion, even more powerful than the previous ones. Lightning tore through the area in every direction, lighting the land with a blinding flash before everything plunged back into darkness. At the point of impact, a massive crater continued to spit out electric sparks, as if the ground itself were alive.
"Hahahahaha."
An excited laugh echoed through the destruction.
A huge, broad-shouldered man approached the crater and grabbed what was completely buried at its center. As he pulled it free, it became clear that it was a gigantic war hammer. There was something strange about it. Its handle was rather short, making it look disproportionate, yet it was still massive, crude, and intimidating, while arcs of electricity danced around it as if they were a natural part of its existence.
"Come on, Miraak. Now that you can't die, I can fight with all my strength without fearing that I'll kill you," shouted the red-haired giant.
Many knew him as Thor, the Norse god of thunder and strength.
"Even if you are powerful, you were never even close to taking my life," another voice replied.
A large amount of shadows began to gather on the ground, moving like living ink. From them emerged Miraak, the First Dragonborn, his expression just as excited as Thor's. In his hands, he held two massive swords, more commonly known as greatswords, weapons that normally required both hands to wield. But of course, trying to explain that to this man would have been pointless.
Miraak looked toward Thor before spreading both swords to his sides, preparing for combat. That simple motion caused a slash of fire to erupt from one of them, carving a blazing scar into the ground, while the other traced a path of ice. Two of the three enchantments in which Miraak was an absolute master. The third had little place in a fight against Thor, as it was electricity.
"Come on. Before the old man shows up to stop us again," Thor said excitedly, lifting his hammer and hurling it straight toward Miraak's face without hesitation.
In an instant, a massive amount of lightning coiled around the weapon, and its speed was such that only a flash could be seen before a huge explosion erupted in the distance. Miraak had narrowly dodged by shifting to the side at the last moment.
But Thor was already moving.
He charged forward with his entire body, the ground shaking violently with each step, enormous footprints being left behind him.
Miraak did not stop to wait for the blow. He swung both swords diagonally, slashing straight toward the giant.
Thor, however, caught both blades with his bare hands.
Then he raised his leg and delivered a brutal kick straight toward Miraak's chest.
Miraak released the swords without hesitation and dropped low. The massive foot passed over him, tearing through the air and displaying the sheer power behind that strike.
From his crouched position, he lifted his head slightly, filled his lungs, and without wasting a second, shouted:
"FUS RO DAH."
The Unrelenting Force burst out almost point-blank. Normally, it would have sent anyone flying far beyond the horizon. Thor, however, was only pushed several meters backward, lifted into the air. In response, he hurled Miraak's own swords at him with all his strength.
Miraak had to leap backward to avoid his own weapons as they slammed into the ground, triggering a combined explosion of fire and ice.
"Hahahaha. You shouldn't let go of your weapons so easily," Thor said with a proud, arrogant grin, spinning effortlessly through the air and using a falling rock as a springboard to propel himself closer to Miraak. Despite his enormous body, he possessed a surprising level of agility in his movements.
"And where is your hammer?" Miraak asked dryly, staring straight at him, clearly annoyed that Thor of all people was the one saying it, after having thrown it at the start of the fight.
"What are you talking about?" Thor replied in a slightly confused tone, as if he genuinely did not understand the question. "It's right here," he added with an almost mocking smile.
He raised his hand, and the hammer he had thrown earlier materialized in his grasp amid golden particles, which he swung proudly.
Miraak stared at him for a moment, a hint of annoyance in his expression, before raising both hands. The swords embedded in the ground were immediately torn free, flying straight back toward him and returning to his grasp thanks to the Telekinesis spell.
"Hey, that's awesome," Thor said, clearly excited, never losing his enthusiasm for the battle as he once again took up a guard stance with his hammer.
"That's enough," a voice suddenly said.
Thor and Miraak turned around, searching for its source. All they saw was a raven that flew up and landed on Thor's shoulder, immediately starting to peck at his face.
"The valkyries are complaining. You're making the entire hotel shake. And on top of that, you're distracting the einherjar who are training," the raven said, visibly irritated, continuing to peck him mercilessly.
Thor did not seem to feel it at all.
"Tsk. And it was just starting to get interesting," he said, slightly annoyed, before looking at Miraak and putting his hammer away, bringing the battle to an end, while ignoring the raven, which kept muttering things like:
"Thor has destroyed the place again. Just as expected. An idiotic being who only knows how to destroy."
Miraak also sheathed his swords, forcing his adrenaline back under control. Both of them knew that if they did not stop, Odin would be the next to arrive.
"Come on, I'll invite you to some mead I stole from the old man. It's pretty good," Thor said with a friendly grin.
"No. I need to go make sure the brat doesn't die. Or I'll have to drag him back from the Underworld," Miraak said calmly. "Ending up fighting the gods who control him isn't in my plans. At least not for now," he added with the same composed tone, though his words made it sound like it was something inevitable.
"So jealous. I'd love to fight one of them," Thor said immediately. Then he paused. "Though… the brat is your champion, huh," he added, thinking about Percy, Miraak's champion, the one who had injured the Greek god of war. Something that had surprised even him. "Hey, if I pick one too and train him to kick your brat's ass, don't you think that would be fun?" he said, the idea growing more and more appealing the longer he thought about Miraak and the kid he was raising.
Miraak looked at him for a moment, raising an eyebrow, before turning around and walking away, stepping through the overwhelming destruction left behind, as if he wanted nothing to do with whatever idea the god of thunder was cooking up.
"Hey. That's a great idea," Thor shouted after him, but obviously received no response. "Yeah, it's a great idea," he muttered to himself with a grin, already thinking about who he could kidnap to train, before vanishing in a flash of lightning.
"Oh oh. The idiot god has idiot ideas. Someone is definitely going to die in his hands," the raven murmured before taking off and flying in every direction, as if it had an amusing and interesting piece of news to share with the Nine Worlds.
And once again, the being with no fate carved into this plane changed the course of the world simply by existing. Not only would he alter the destiny of a god, but also that of a poor young man who had no idea what the future held for him. And this time, he did not even seem to realize just how far that decision would go.