After a night of rest, Thor felt alive again. The last time he'd felt this way was on his five-hundredth birthday—right after a brutal hangover.
He stepped out of the bedroom and into the living room.
There, sitting on the couch and studying a black feather, was his partner—Yujin, the man who provided both his shelter and his meals.
Thor frowned slightly. "Why are you always staring at that feather? What's so special about it?"
Yujin didn't answer. He simply tossed the feather toward him.
Thor crouched down, catching it with some effort. It felt surprisingly heavy in his hand. "Doesn't seem that special to me."
"Of course, it doesn't—at least not when you're just looking at it."
Yujin stood up.
The next second—his wings burst open!
Seeing a pair of wings sprouting from a man's back, Thor instinctively took half a step back. "You're not human?"
"I am human," Yujin replied calmly, retracting the wings. "But tell me, isn't it stranger that someone can throw a hammer and let its pull drag him through the sky?"
Thor narrowed his eyes. "How do you know all this about me? Who exactly are you?"
"I already told you," Yujin said, his tone even. "All I want is Asgardian magic. Everything else doesn't matter. But first—"
He looked out the window, where Black Widow was waiting beside a running car. "Shouldn't we go check on the hammer?"
Recently, New Mexico had become crowded with curious onlookers.
A week ago, a hammer had fallen from the sky, crashing into the desert.
The first brave soul who tried to lift it failed, but word spread fast—and soon people from all over the country came to see if they were worthy enough to pick it up.
Cars, excavators, even cranes were used to try to move it.
All failed.
When Black Widow drove Yujin and the God of Thunder to the edge of the crater, Thor stared blankly at the sea of people lining up, one by one, to try their luck.
Deep inside, he felt something stir—something he didn't want to face.
What was this supposed to be?
Thor had never imagined this kind of nightmare.
It was like coming home after a long, exhausting day—only to find people lined up from the elevator all the way to his front door.
And when he finally rushed inside, there she was—his beloved "Miss Hammer"—doing the splits in the bedroom, welcoming guests from every direction.
Thor panicked.
He yanked open the car door, jumped out, and charged straight toward the densest part of the crowd.
But when he finally pushed his way through, his eyes widened in disbelief.
At the center of all that chaos wasn't some divine artifact, but a Mexican taco stand.
For a moment, Thor just stood there, dumbfounded.
And looking further down the street, he saw even more people lining up. The sheer number of them was absurd.
Yujin and Black Widow caught up soon after. Seeing Thor's crushed expression, Yujin couldn't help but laugh.
"What's wrong? You want a chicken wrap too? Then get in line."
"Yeah, that's right!" a few burly white men nearby jeered as they rolled up their sleeves. They looked like strongmen—people who'd come to test their strength by trying to lift the hammer—but after waiting in line for so long, they decided to grab a taco first.
"Move it, kid! Look at you—think you can lift that hammer? Go home to your mommy!"
"You—!"
Thor's teeth clenched in fury. But after being beaten down so many times recently, he knew full well he couldn't win against half these people. He could only stomp his feet in frustration, shaking the ground beneath him.
Black Widow leaned closer to Yujin and whispered, "Are you sure he's fifteen hundred years old? He acts like he's sixteen at best."
"Thirteen would be generous," Yujin muttered. "Anyone who can hang out with the Guardians of the Galaxy has to be more childish than you can imagine."
While the two of them exchanged their snarky remarks, Thor had already started following the crowd toward the front of the line.
It seemed he had thrown away all sense of decency and was ready to cut in line—just to retrieve his hammer.
Unable to resist, Yujin opened their team's chat group and began typing.
"You think Thor's gonna lose it when he sees his precious hammer getting pulled by a hundred strangers? The best part is—he can't even lift it himself anymore."
Uchiha Yujin: "That's a solid hell joke. I approve."
Pirate Yujin: "Keep going. I love it."
After twenty minutes of slow walking, they finally reached the end of the line.
And there it was—Thor's hammer.
Being "humiliated" by a stream of eager hands trying, failing, and trying again.
The sight made something in Thor snap.
With a furious roar, he charged straight at the hammer.
"Hey! Stop him!" someone shouted.
The local security team, who had been managing this spontaneous "Pull-the-Hammer" event, immediately rushed forward to stop him.
"Out of my way!!!" Thor bellowed.
Thor roared and shoved his way through the crowd, but a few burly men — each twice his size — roughly pushed him to the ground, face-first in the dirt.
"Get in line! What's wrong with you?!" one of them shouted.
Thor glared at the man in fury. "That's my hammer! That's my hammer!"
The big man laughed loudly. "Your hammer? Hah! If that's really your hammer, then I must be the Father of All Gods!"
"You dare insult me, mortal? You will pay for those words!"
The burly man clenched his fist and swung it toward Thor. "How about I make you pay right now!"
Smack!
The punch that was supposed to send Thor flying never landed.
A thin, black-haired young man had appeared in front of Thor, calmly raising an arm to catch the burly man's fist in midair.
"And who the hell are you? Is that your hammer too?" the man growled.
"Sorry," the young man — Yujin — said with a polite smile. "We're in a bit of a hurry. Won't take more than a few minutes."
"Get lost!" the burly man cursed and tried to pull his hand back — only to realize he couldn't move it at all, as if it were clamped in an iron vise!
"Come on," Yujin said softly, still smiling. "Just give us a little space. We'll be gone soon."
Before the man could reply, several event organizers stepped forward angrily. "Even if you line up, you're not touching that hammer! Now get out!"
"Heh."
Yujin's smile faded. Without another word, he exerted his strength and flung the burly man aside like tossing a sack of grain.
The sheer force left the crowd stunned. Dozens of people pulled out their phones to record the scene.
That guy weighed at least three hundred pounds — and he just got thrown away with one hand!?
The crowd instinctively took a few steps back.
Among strength fanatics, there's only one rule: the strongest one is always right.
Just moments ago, everyone had been yelling at the line-cutters — now, all eyes were fixed on Yujin, filled with awe and anticipation.
Let's see if this strong young man can actually lift the hammer.
Only now did Thor realize — without Yujin, he wouldn't even be able to touch the handle.
The people ahead stepped aside, clearing the way. In front of Yujin, Thor, and Black Widow, the space opened up wide and empty.
The moment Thor saw the hammer he'd been yearning for, he strode forward eagerly. But before he could reach it, Yujin placed his hand on the hammer first.
What guy hasn't dreamed of lifting Thor's hammer?
Yujin gave it a gentle tug. The hammer didn't budge an inch.
Thor snorted, elbowing his way in and shooting Yujin a look. "Watch and learn!"
Then he grabbed the handle, strained with all his might—his face turning red from the effort. Yet the hammer remained as still as ever.
Yujin chuckled. "So many people have tried pulling it out… it's already worn out. Even when its rightful owner shows up, it just sits there like dead water."
****
Support me on my ko-fi account and read upto 15 early chapters,
https://ko-fi.com/aayume