The clash of steel echoed through the royal hall.
Frigga's short sword blurred through the air, carving trails of light and illusion. It moved so fast it seemed to dance, a phantom edge guided by hands trained in divine warfare.
Malekith faltered.
He had underestimated her… taken her for a ruler of silk and diplomacy, not a warrior.
Each step she took pushed him further back, her sheer presence suffocating.
A flicker of doubt crossed his face.
"What… ferocity…"
Clang!
A sudden twist, a feint, a brutal sweep of her blade and Malekith's weapon flew from his hand, spinning across the marble floor and embedding in the far wall.
Before he could retreat, Frigga stepped in, pressing a dagger to his throat, its icy blade drawing a thin line of blood.
"Malekith." She growled. "You'll leave with nothing but a ragged corpse."
But the Dark Elf's lips curled into a knowing smile.
A shadow moved behind her.
Before she could turn, a massive hand wrapped around her neck and lifted her off the ground with strength.
The air left her lungs in a choked gasp.
"Kurze." Malekith said lazily. "You're right on time."
The cursed warrior, Kurze, hulking and twisted with dark enchantment, had arrived.
Frigga struggled against his grip, but his strength was inhuman, even by godly standards. Her feet kicked the air. Her dagger slipped from her fingers.
Malekith stepped forward, reclaiming the weapon from the floor.
"Where is it?"
"Where is the Aether? Tell me… or you'll never see another dawn."
Frigga's face was flushed from lack of breath, but her spirit burned bright.
"Even if I die… you'll never find it."
Malekith sighed, disappointed. "Wrong answer, my lady."
He drove the dagger deep into her chest.
It pierced clean through chest to spine, until the hilt kissed her ribs. The blade's crimson tip burst from her back.
Frigga gasped, her eyes wide.
"..."
"NO!"
A deafening crack split the air.
A thunderbolt struck Malekith directly, arcing from the heavens, divine judgment. He screamed, his body convulsing under the raw force of Thor's fury. The stone floor shattered beneath him.
Thor had arrived too late.
Rage consumed him. Lightning crackled around his body.
He hurled himself at Malekith and Kurze, a storm incarnate. Mjolnir spun with fury, and its blow struck Kurze square in the chest.
BOOM!
The cursed warrior staggered, letting out a roar of pain, but his corrupted form absorbed the hit, holding firm. He wrapped one arm protectively around Malekith's body and leapt toward the shattered windows.
"Cowards!" Thor roared, hurling another blast.
But before he could strike again, a massive fighter ship emerged from the mist, silent as death. A docking beam pulled Malekith and Kurze aboard in an instant.
Thor threw Mjolnir once more, but the ship ascended fast, too fast. The hammer missed, and the dark vessel vanished into the clouds above.
Thor stood trembling.
His fists clenched. Sparks still danced around him.
Then he turned.
And saw her.
Frigga lay motionless in the pool of her own blood, her golden robes soaked through, the dagger still buried in her chest. Her eyes, once warm and wise, stared blankly at the ceiling of her home.
Thor dropped to his knees beside her, the fury draining from him like blood from a wound.
Moments later, Odin arrived, flanked by guards too many, too late.
He stopped at the threshold, as if the sight had frozen time itself.
Then, slowly, the All-Father walked forward.
His hand trembled.
He knelt beside her, not as king, not as god, but as a husband.
He cradled her body in silence.
"Frigga…" He whispered. His voice cracked.
A single tear slid down his weathered face, landing on her cold cheek. For five thousand years, they had shared the burdens of the throne, the struggles of war and peace, the raising of their sons. They had walked through eternity together.
And now, in one careless moment…
She was gone.
"AHHHHHHH!"
Then, a sound erupted from Odin that shook the very sky.
A soul-splitting grief. The cry of a man who had lost half of himself. His eyes burned red, but no rage could mask the pain etched across his face.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream