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The sea wind carried Odin's fading presence away. Golden motes of light drifted into the horizon as the All-Father finally surrendered to time, leaving his sons alone on the cliffside.
"Father…" Thor's voice cracked. Rage and grief burned in his chest. He whirled on Loki. "This is your doing!"
Loki sneered, though his eyes betrayed sorrow. "Don't be a fool, brother. Did you really believe you stripped him of his power? Father chose his end. Even the spear of eternity was but a plaything in his hands. He was humoring us, nothing more."
Before Thor could answer, the sky darkened. A rift tore open behind them, and a figure strode forth, cloaked in shadows.
"Shame," the woman said, her voice smooth as poison. "I would have liked to see him die with my own eyes."
Hela, Goddess of Death, emerged from the void. Her gaze swept across them, sharp and merciless.
"You must be his sons."
Thor lifted Mjolnir instinctively. "You're Hela?"
A dark smile curved across her lips. "So rude. Call me sister… or queen." She flexed her hands, obsidian blades forming with a crack of bone and steel. "You look nothing like him. You—" her gaze flicked to Loki "—perhaps a little. But frost giant blood? Odin truly was blind."
Thor's fury boiled over. "I won't let you insult him!" With a roar, he hurled Mjolnir.
Hela caught the hammer with one hand. "How quaint. This used to be mine."
The air detonated with thunder and then shattered. The sacred weapon that had been chosen by Thor splintered into fragments in her grasp.
"No!" Thor fell to his knees, staring at the shards. His anchor, his legacy gone.
Loki's instincts screamed at him. "We must retreat! Heimdall opens the Bifrost!"
Before the words could finish, another voice echoed calmly through the storm.
"No need to run."
A ripple of space folded, and Nolan the Supreme Sorcerer appeared between the brothers and Hela. Thor's eyes widened. "You! The wizard… Supreme Sorcerer?"
Nolan's tone was steady, cold. "I promised Odin I would protect you. Leave this to me."
Hela tilted her head, studying him. Power coiled around her, ancient and predatory. "A Midgardian sorcerer? This doesn't concern you. Leave now, and I might spare your life."
Nolan's lips curved into a faint smile. "You're standing on Earth. If anyone should leave, it's you, Asgardian."
Her eyes narrowed. "You dare?" Shadows surged, twisting into serpents of black mist the death force of Hel itself. They lunged to devour him.
Nolan raised his hand. Blue light flared. The sky cracked like glass, shards of space cascading around them. The mist disintegrated as if consumed by an unseen maw.
Hela's expression finally faltered. "The Space Stone… Odin's relic. Why is it with you?"
Nolan's smile hardened. "Your father entrusted it to me for moments exactly like this."
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