Sif, Freya's Clearing – Midgard

BOOOOOOM!

"Shit!" snarled the former wife of the All-Father, unable to suppress a shudder as she felt the very foundations of Midgard trembling around her.

She couldn't blame her. Never before had she seen her husband fight with such ferocity, and more interestingly, she had never seen him struggle so much to defeat an enemy as he was struggling now.

BOOOOM!

Sif understood immediately. In fact, she could scarcely believe what her own eyes were witnessing. The God of Thunder, her own husband, was one of the most powerful Aesir in Asgard. His hammer was relentless and had claimed tens of thousands of lives, and yet…

That mysterious God, this… Golden Lion, was standing against him with alarming ease.

Both were monstrously dangerous, capable of unleashing forces that could have annihilated entire armies in seconds. One only had to observe the devastation spreading around them to understand the magnitude of their confrontation.

Midgard was… broken. It was as simple as that. There was no other word to describe it. The land itself had fragmented, forming an enormous crater that grew larger with every impact, all to the sound of her husband's laughter.

The earth had been torn apart. Enormous, deep, irregular fissures crossed the frozen wasteland. Mountains trembled beneath the force of the impacts, and massive fragments of rock broke away from the cliffs whenever the two combatants exchanged blows.

Those same colossal fragments flew around the whirlwind left in the battle's wake. The very air seemed to vibrate, saturated with energy so intense that Sif could feel it against her skin, even from the considerable distance at which she stood.

This… would not be an easy fight for Thor.

The blonde woman wasn't even certain he could win, especially considering that although the Golden Lion was fighting, he continued maintaining the golden shield protecting that small patch of woodland.

It was a surreal sight, even for her, a Goddess.

A floating rocky island, a beautiful forest clearing, and a small stream were protected by a magical sphere of the brightest gold, composed of tiny hexagons that formed larger, stronger hexagonal structures.

A little sanctuary of peace while the rest of Midgard went to shit around them, Sif thought with a heavy sigh.

"By the Great Tree…" murmured a feminine voice beside her.

It was a voice the Aesir Goddess didn't recognize, and consequently, it caught the blonde woman's attention.

Sif turned her head slightly toward the stranger.

She was a beautiful red-haired woman with elegant features, although her brow remained furrowed with concern. She possessed a strong, warrior's physique, like the women who inhabited the Nine Realms, her figure combining feminine grace with the musculature of someone hardened by battle.

Slender, elegant, and lethal.

Exactly the sort of woman Sif could respect, unlike those Vanir whores and their disgusting magic.

Unscrupulous warriors, she thought disdainfully.

Then she truly looked at the woman, because Sif was certain of one thing.

She wasn't a Goddess.

But neither was she a mortal.

It was a strange combination, to be honest, Sif thought as she examined the delectable warrior more closely.

She wore a yellow tunic partially covered by thick furs, garments that emphasized her silhouette without sacrificing the freedom of movement necessary to wield a weapon. Her appearance was wild enough to warn anyone that crossing blades with her would be a terrible idea.

In one hand, she carried a battle axe, clearly forged to suit her proportions.

Its blade had been carefully crafted, while its handle possessed dimensions that allowed it to be wielded smoothly and precisely, whether with one hand or two.

It was a weapon worthy of an experienced warrior, although under the circumstances, Sif barely spared it a second glance.

Because the redhead herself seemed to have forgotten she was holding it, too dumbfounded by the sight of the two Gods clashing, sometimes in the heavens, sometimes upon the earth.

After every collision, the ears of every witness were assaulted by an imposing explosion, produced by the impact of Mjölnir against whatever weapon the foreigner was using.

BOOOOM!

Sif grimaced at another thunderous explosion, sighing as yet another section of Midgard collapsed upon itself.

To be perfectly honest, the realm of humans was… rather unimportant to her.

At this point, scarcely any humans remained. The overwhelming majority were either dead or serving along the borders of Asgard's Wall.

Consequently, watching mountains literally being split in half was… largely irrelevant to the Goddess.

BOOOOM!

Another collision shook the world.

The cyan-blue brilliance of her husband's lightning collided violently with the golden radiance surrounding the mysterious foreign God.

For an instant, both forces met at the center of the battlefield, directly above the ancient Temple of Tyr, forming a sphere of light so intense that Sif had to narrow her eyes against its brilliance.

And after the light came the sound.

And with it, the shockwave.

The impact was nothing short of cataclysmic.

An entire section of the terrain gave way beneath the pressure, collapsing upon itself while enormous stones and chunks of ice the size of houses were ripped from the ground by the colossal impact.

The surroundings of Tyr's Temple suffered even greater devastation, causing the fjord to slowly disappear with every successive collision.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

Sif sighed upon hearing her husband's laughter, only to watch a cyan projectile launch itself at tremendous speed toward a golden one.

They collided once again at the center of Midgard, causing the entire realm to tremble.

The blonde watched impassively.

It was impossible for the All-Father to remain unaware of this… incident.

Especially when she noticed the intense interest in Frigg's expression.

Undoubtedly, that was not good news for Asgard.

Sif planted her feet firmly, feeling the ground tremble violently beneath her boots, an impressive feat considering they were flying above what remained of Midgard.

Her long braid whipped about in the currents of air generated by the explosion, while her eyes struggled to distinguish the combatants through the clouds of dust, snow, and magic blanketing the battlefield.

And then she heard it again.

Her husband's voice.

Thor's voice.

He was more… animated than Sif had seen him in centuries.

The God of Thunder laughed with such genuine excitement that his voice managed to rise even above the rumbling of the lightning.

There was no frustration or desperation in that laughter, much less any indication that he was considering retreat.

"HAHAHAHA! BY THE ALL-FATHER! I ALMOST FEEL SORRY FOR KILLING YOU!" he roared.

Only to be interrupted by the foreign God, who moved at such extraordinary speed that Sif was certain not even Heimdall could have seen him.

Within seconds, countless flashes of light appeared throughout the battle, moving so quickly that it seemed this… Golden Lion hadn't even moved from his position.

An entirely mistaken assumption.

In less than the blink of an eye, Sif watched Thor's body being struck by devastating golden fists, each inflicting tremendous damage upon the resilient, nearly invulnerable body of the God of Thunder.

But the Golden Lion was far from finished.

Seeing Sif's husband distracted, he unleashed a powerful shout.

Not one of fury or hatred.

But of excitement.

Much like the one her husband had uttered only moments earlier.

That was the only warning Thor and the spectators received before the Golden Lion delivered a devastating, titanic punch to Sif's husband's abdomen.

A blow so powerful that it forced Thor to do something he hadn't done in a very long time.

Bleed.

"AHHHHHHHHG!" the God of Thunder gasped, his eyes widening as blood erupted from his mouth.

The foreign God regarded Sif's husband with a manic smile, his eyes, now both of them, glowing with a golden brilliance that made her shudder uncontrollably.

And then, smiling, the Golden Lion roared.

He continued the upward trajectory of his fist, lifting Sif's husband, one of the most powerful Aesir Gods, as though he were an old rag.

Thor was hurled into the heavens, crashing through the debris, rocks, and ice still swirling within the hurricane dominating the center of Midgard.

But it was evident that the foreigner still had plans for her husband.

Because this… Golden Lion flew after the dazed Thor, seized him by the throat, and used his face to smash through rock after rock, shattering the Aesir God's features in the process.

Neither of them seemed willing to stop.

On the contrary, they appeared to be enjoying every instant of the confrontation, as though they had finally found someone capable of satisfying their insatiable appetite for combat and blood.

Someone against whom they didn't need to hold back.

Suddenly, Sif watched Mjölnir fly into her husband's waiting hand.

Even with his face shattered, Thor continued smiling.

And the instant the mighty hammer reached the God of Thunder's grasp, he delivered a precise blow to the foreign God's face, sending him hurtling toward a distant mountain at tremendous speed.

"Shit," muttered a young silver-haired human woman, looking worriedly toward the place where the God had been thrown.

Sif couldn't help rolling her eyes.

The blonde Asgardian was preparing to respond when the mysterious red-haired warrior in golden armor spoke first.

"Don't worry, Cirilla. It'll take more than an insignificant hammer to hurt our Lord."

The woman's words caused Sif to frown with concern.

She opened her mouth to ask what the redhead meant.

However, the Asgardian received her answer a second later.

Her husband was hovering above the center of Midgard, still disoriented and attempting to regain his composure after the tremendous beating he had received, when…

It happened.

A golden flash manifested behind Thor, giving way to the imposing figure of the Golden Lion.

His expression radiated excitement, even happiness.

And that was the only warning Thor received before the Golden Lion sank his fangs into him once again.

"HAHAHAHA! FINALLY! A REAL OPPORTUNITY TO STRETCH MY LEGS!" the black-haired God roared, his eyes shining with overwhelming divine power.

Then he unleashed another series of blows against Sif's husband's body, each moving as swiftly as light itself.

Dozens.

Perhaps hundreds.

It hardly mattered.

Every punch the Golden Lion landed upon Thor's body caused tremors throughout the entire realm, until one particularly vicious blow sent Sif's husband hurtling toward the ground like a fucking arrow.

But the Golden Lion didn't remain still.

The rival God's body became enveloped in golden radiance before he launched himself at tremendous speed toward her husband.

His power was so overwhelming that he left a trail of golden divine magic in his wake, so potent that the very reality of Midgard struggled to maintain its own shape.

"What the fuck is happening?" asked the strange… axe-wielding woman, looking around with her eyes wide open.

Frigg answered, surveying their surroundings with concern.

"Midgard… Midgard is collapsing. The power unleashed by this clash between Gods has weakened the realm's stability. If they don't stop…"

Frigg swallowed with difficulty, only to watch the black-haired God intercept Thor, who desperately attempted to use his hammer to free himself from his enemy.

Evidently without success.

But unlike before, the foreigner responded with his own weapon.

A golden sword that shone with such monstrous power that it made Mjölnir look like a cheap trinket.

Merely looking at it caused something deep within Sif to tremble.

And apparently, both Frigg and the mysterious redhead noticed the same thing, because all three women stared at the sword with unnatural intensity.

And then…

The Golden Lion struck.

The ethereal edge of the terrifying golden sword kissed Sif's husband's skin, slicing through it like goat's butter and leaving a wound extending from Thor's lower abdomen to the base of his neck.

The result was instantaneous.

A scream of pain escaped Thor's lips as the terrifying golden sword pierced his defenses and carved a deep cut along his chest.

The God of Thunder gasped in surprise, his eyes opening impossibly wide as a completely unfamiliar sensation coursed through his body.

For an instant, even the lightning dancing across his shoulders seemed to lose its intensity.

Something that genuinely worried Sif.

"That was a clean cut. He opened him up like a pig, from belly to throat," remarked the red-haired axe-wielder.

Her words filled Sif with tremendous fury, but the beautiful Aesir remained focused on the battle.

She wanted to see how this situation ended.

Sif expected Aesir blood to begin pouring from the wound.

Nothing unusual, really.

The Aesir were made for war, and a little blood wouldn't make much difference.

But to Sif's astonishment, that didn't happen.

Not a single drop of blood emerged from Thor's body.

Instead, a strange wound stretched across the God's chest.

A luminous, unnatural injury that refused to close.

Its edges glowed with an unnatural golden light, the product of the Golden Lion's magic, while tiny particles of energy slowly escaped from within, rising like embers carried by an invisible current.

"What the fuck is that sword?" Freya asked, utterly dumbfounded, swallowing as she witnessed the… peculiar effect the weapon had upon the God of Thunder.

Nobody answered her.

Everyone was far more interested in the battle.

Thor was on the ropes.

Apparently, the foreign God had stopped playing.

And everyone knew it.

Sif watched with growing horror.

She had seen her husband suffer terrible wounds, witnessed countless battles, and knew perfectly well the superhuman resilience possessed by Odin's son.

Nevertheless, she had never seen an injury like this.

It didn't resemble an ordinary wound, but something far deeper.

As though the sword had managed to sever something beyond the flesh itself.

As though, somehow, that blade had cut into the very divinity of the God of Thunder.

But the truly disturbing thing wasn't the wound.

It was Thor's expression.

The savage excitement that had illuminated his face throughout the battle vanished almost instantly.

His smile disappeared.

And for the first time since the confrontation began, Sif saw genuine concern in her husband's eyes.

The God of Thunder briefly lowered his gaze toward his chest, unable to understand why the injury wasn't beginning to heal.

The Golden Lion gave him no time to discover the answer.

He had scarcely completed the first movement before his sword was already positioned to execute the next.

The weapon traced an elegant, precise arc, leaving a trail of golden light behind it, while its wielder advanced at a speed almost impossible to follow.

And in the blink of an eye…

The foreigner moved behind Thor.

The sword descended again.

This time, it traced a horizontal slash that crossed the entire upper portion of the God of Thunder's back, cutting across both shoulders with terrifying precision.

Another explosion of golden particles erupted from the wound, accompanied by a scream of agony that made Sif's blood run cold.

"THOR!" the Goddess cried, involuntarily taking a step forward upon the immense rocky outcrop.

She swallowed as she watched the assault continue, desperately wishing for the entire ordeal to end once and for all.

But the Golden Lion wasn't finished.

Taking advantage of his opponent's imbalance, the foreigner pivoted slightly on one leg and delivered a brutal kick against the God's body.

The impact produced a sharp thunderclap, followed by a violent shockwave that hurled snow and fragments of rock into the air around both combatants.

Thor was sent flying, leaving a trail of golden particles behind him.

He was completely dazed, incapable of even raising his hands to defend himself.

Sif had a terrible feeling about whatever those particles were, but she was certain they meant nothing good for her husband.

His enormous figure hurtled across the wasteland like an arrow.

The once-mighty lightning enveloping his body began flickering intermittently, weakening with every passing second.

And that wasn't even accounting for the disturbing golden particles that continued escaping from his wounds.

His velocity was so tremendous that the witnesses to the titanic battle barely had time to blink before Thor's body crashed into the center of Midgard.

Directly into the Temple of Tyr.

Sif barely had time to follow him with her eyes before hearing another scream of pain.

A terrible, heart-rending cry, filled with an agony she would never have imagined hearing in her husband's voice.

The Goddess remained motionless, her heart hammering violently against her chest, her eyes wide and incapable of processing what she was witnessing.

She simply couldn't believe what her eyes were showing her.

Only moments earlier, Thor had laughed with happiness at the prospect of facing an opponent worthy of his power.

Now, however, his body bore two wounds that refused to heal.

And the God who had inflicted them continued wielding that radiant sword, which became increasingly disturbing and hypnotic the longer Sif stared at it.

The terrifying weapon continued shining in his hands, the last luminous particles drifting from its edge before disappearing into the freezing air.

His expression was calm.

Completely controlled.

An interesting contrast to the agony twisting her husband's face.

"This is over," the foreign God declared, the edge of his sword kissing the ground of Midgard as he regarded Thor's broken body buried within the crater of Tyr's Temple.

"He won't kill him, will he?" Frigg asked, swallowing as she looked toward the red-haired warrior.

The woman merely shrugged.

"I don't know. His quarrel is with the Lord of the Hanged, not his son. I wouldn't be surprised if he spared his life, although with the Scarlet Cut he's been given, a warrior's death would probably be best," the woman replied.

Her words filled everyone present with disbelief.

Sif turned furiously toward the redhead, more than willing to defend her husband fiercely.

But then the Golden Lion spoke.

"You fought well, son of Odin. But this is over," the foreigner declared with complete naturalness, raising his sword and placing its edge against her husband's throat.

Thor returned his gaze defiantly.

There wasn't the slightest trace of fear upon his face.

Sif's husband spat, sending blood spilling from his mouth.

"What are you waiting for? Fucking finish it! We're Aesir! This is what we were born for!" he snarled.

Even in defeat, he desperately moved his hands, attempting to summon Mjölnir back into his grasp.

And as though he could somehow read his mind, the foreigner spoke.

His voice was calm and neutral, as though the entire battle had been nothing more than a routine matter.

"It won't come. You no longer possess enough power to wield it," he declared coldly.

Her husband stared at the foreigner in surprise.

Surprise that slowly transformed into fury and hatred.

Thor attempted to stand.

He tried to fight, to die with a weapon in his hand.

But the foreigner, this… Golden Lion, responded with cold precision.

"It's over," he said simply, placing the tip of his sword against Thor's throat.

The God of Thunder was incapable of moving, staring helplessly at his executioner.

Sif's breath caught in her throat as she watched her husband about to be slaughtered like an animal.

Midgard had been completely devastated, the realm collapsing upon itself.

Although, to be fair, it wasn't as though anyone remained alive in this damned desolate wasteland.

However…

Just as the sword's tip was about to pierce Thor's throat…

It happened.

The foreigner hesitated.

An almost imperceptible movement of his head.

And in an instant, his body disappeared at the very moment Gungnir's blade manifested behind him, emerging from a breach in Yggdrasil.

Saving the God of Thunder's life in the process.

At the sight of those actions, the red-haired warrior and the ash-haired human shouted indignantly.

Treachery.

Cowardice.

That was what they called it.

Although Sif knew perfectly well that the All-Father couldn't care less.

He emerged from the rift accompanied by Heimdall, Magni, and every fucking warrior of Asgard, along with a damned army of Einherjar.

"The Lord of the Hanged," the redhead declared, drawing her sword and releasing a crimson aura so suffocating that merely standing near her filled Sif with a certain revulsion.

What kind of forbidden, rotten magic did these people command? the blonde wondered as she watched the foreigner reappear.

But that thought vanished from Sif's mind the moment the Golden Lion manifested once again.

That cursed sword was shining even more intensely than before, while several lesser Gods struggled to lift a dying Thor.

The All-Father stepped forward.

Gungnir glowed with Bifrost magic, ready and eager for blood.

"It didn't have to end this way! I offered you hospitality!" the All-Father snarled.

The foreigner snorted with thinly veiled mockery.

"Your cursed coin? Or perhaps you're referring to when you tried to stab me in the back with your spear like a fucking coward?" he replied with obvious amusement.

Indignant looks and whispers began spreading among the Aesir troops.

The All-Father frowned, taking a step forward and opening his mouth to speak.

However, the new God didn't allow him.

"We'll meet again, Lord of the Hanged. But for now… you have more pressing matters to worry about," he declared with amusement, raising his gaze toward the heavens.

Where…

To the absolute terror of every Aesir present, Sif included, they watched Mjölnir plummeting toward Midgard.

The aura radiating from the hammer was monstrous.

It resembled a falling star more than a weapon.

And it was hurtling at tremendous speed toward the enormous crater the battle had left behind.

"We'll meet again, Lord of the Hanged. Assuming you survive, of course," the God remarked before leaving the battlefield.

And reappearing beside Sif.

The Asgardian warrior let out a startled scream before blushing with embarrassment beneath the God's amused gaze.

"Let's get out of here," the Golden Lion declared.

At the same moment, the sphere began glowing, preparing to travel, although Sif had no idea where they were going.

"YES! LET'S GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE BEFORE THAT DAMNED HAMMER KILLS US ALL!" shouted a deep, rough, masculine voice.

The young human woman jumped in surprise, letting out a scream before looking behind her.

A pair of… dwarves had appeared upon the floating piece of rock.

"Sindri? Brok?" asked the warrior who had captured Sif's interest.

But the dwarves merely shook their heads.

"This ain't the time for chatting, Faye! We need your new boyfriend to get us out of here before that fucking hammer kills us all!" the blue-skinned dwarf declared.

"Apparently, even Odin realized stopping the hammer was impossible," Frigg remarked, satisfaction evident in her voice.

She watched as the All-Father and all the Asgardian troops began retreating.

Sif sighed in relief upon seeing Magni dragging Modi toward a rift, while the All-Father's ravens carried away her dying husband.

And although every Asgardian managed to evacuate…

The same couldn't be said for the remaining troops.

Mjölnir struck Midgard.

Directly upon the Temple of Tyr.

Its power was so atrocious and voracious that reality itself seemed to collapse.

An immense cloud of dust rose into the heavens, and all of Midgard began tearing itself apart, consumed by enormous fissures of Bifrost energy.

"LET'S FUCKING GO!" the little dwarf shouted.

At that exact moment, the sphere protecting the small clearing erupted with a powerful golden radiance…

Blinding every member of that peculiar group for an instant.

And unknowingly carrying them toward a curious new land.

One that was…

Familiar to a certain young human woman.