"Hey, Tyr, my brother! Know who just showed up?" Thor greeted, while Loki stayed silent.
Loki and Tyr weren't close—Loki's role in costing Tyr an arm made Tyr's tolerance saintly.
"Father will tell you before the banquet. I won't spoil it," Tyr said, glancing at Loki, expression neutral. He slung Akanesh, Herald of Justice over his back. Next to Odin's vault, Tyr's side was Asgard's safest spot. A man of unwavering honor, he kept promises at any cost.
"Don't be so stiff! I'll buy you a drink tomorrow," Thor said, slapping Tyr's shoulder, masking awkwardness.
"You drink daily. No need for excuses," Tyr replied, eyeing the banquet workers like a strict boss. Odin had stressed no mistakes, so Tyr was extra vigilant for Asgard's pride.
"I'm curious about that spear. Even Father seemed impressed," Thor said, hands empty. He left Mjolnir in his room or a tavern—only he or Odin could lift it, so no worries. He could summon it anytime, even with a slight delay, in Asgard's safety.
"Loki's idea?" Tyr asked, tone stern, eyeing Loki's wandering gaze. No resentment, but no fondness either.
"It's over, right?" Thor started, cut off by Tyr's raised stump. Thor wouldn't forgive so easily.
"Just curious. Mother lost her cool," Thor grinned sheepishly.
"This spear outshines Mjolnir," Tyr said bluntly. As Asgard's war god, guardian of justice and contracts, his word was truth.
"Brother, you don't lie, but you haven't felt Mjolnir's power," Thor said, face darkening. Without Mjolnir, he was no thunder god—just a hammer god. Tyr could trounce him handily.
"Loki, stop!" Tyr barked as Loki roamed.
"Don't be tense, brother. Just tasting the appetizers," Loki said, chewing fruit, waving another.
"Server, replace that platter. Kitchen, prep a new one," Tyr ordered, glaring at Loki.
"Just a snack," Loki whined, faking innocence. Tyr saw through it, but Thor didn't.
"Tyr! It's just food. Loki's a prince, like us!" Thor said, closer to Loki than other siblings.
"You haven't learned enough," Tyr sighed, directing servers: "Keep everything intact until the banquet. Backup's ready. Finish prep before I return."
He headed to the training grounds, Thor and a smirking Loki trailing. "Rules shouldn't bind brothers, Tyr!" Thor nagged, making Tyr's face tighten.
Asgard's rules applied to all, even Hela, etched in Tyr's mind. "I stop trouble before it starts," Tyr shot back. Thor, the next king, seemed spoiled.
"Let's settle it in combat! You've got that spear you claim tops Mjolnir—no excuses about my weapon now!" Thor called, extending his hand. Mjolnir whistled toward him.
As Loki gleefully anticipated a clash, Mjolnir veered toward Odin's palace, leaving Thor staring at his empty hand.
"I won't use weapons. No more Mjolnir debates. Let's go!" Tyr said. Odin could control Mjolnir, but he hadn't summoned it.
Inside, Odin and Frigga gaped as Bul-Kathos held Son of Odin, its aura identical to Thor's.
Frigga covered her mouth, stunned. Odin, face sour as a plum, racked his brain for drunken misdeeds.
"I came to discuss the demon kings and ask how you birthed a hammer named Son of Odin. It's tied to you somehow," Bul-Kathos said, puzzled, studying Odin.
Thunder sparked on Son of Odin, as if calling out. "Its aura matches Thor's, but…" Frigga began, interrupted by Mjolnir crashing through the door, curving to rest against Son of Odin. The hammers aligned perfectly.
"I… don't know. Maybe I was drunk?" Odin stammered, truly tipsy now. Mjolnir had recognized Son of Odin as a thunder god?
"I'm not curious about that. What kind of being births a hammer?" Bul-Kathos examined both.
Ancient One sipped her crystal bottle, detached. "Odin, what did you do?" Frigga demanded, glaring at her aged husband.
"I don't know!" Odin cried, frantic. Ancient One stayed calm, craving a bowl of rice.
"This flying hammer's interesting. Crafted with care. Similar to Imperius's Solarion, Spear of Valor? Metal encasing a dead star's core, with a branch to hold a domain?" Bul-Kathos said, familiar with Son of Odin but intrigued by Mjolnir.
Solarion wasn't powerful itself—Imperius's strength made it legendary. Mjolnir, forged with a star's core and a domain-bearing branch, broke under Diablo's strike but fascinated Bul-Kathos.
"Father, why'd you take Mjolnir?" Thor stormed in, unbothered by the intrusion's weight compared to Tyr's thrashing.
Without Mjolnir, Tyr floored him easily. "I tried stopping him," Loki said, stifling laughter.
Bul-Kathos ignored them, lifting Mjolnir with three fingers. Common materials, mediocre forging—worse than Lasuk's work. The domain-bearing branch piqued his interest.
"You lifted Mjolnir!" Thor roared, furious and nervous.
Odin and Frigga, reeling from Son of Odin, didn't respond. "Learn to be quiet," Bul-Kathos said, studying Mjolnir's handle, dismissing Thor.
"Give it back!" Thor lunged for the handle.
"Maybe make that hammer thunder god. It's your kid too," Ancient One teased Odin. Thor's rudeness could earn a beating from Bul-Kathos, with no recourse.
"Thor!" Odin shouted as Thor hit the floor, pinned by Bul-Kathos's casual press. Sparing Odin's son, he didn't harm him.
"This branch is rarer than the hammerhead," Bul-Kathos said, tossing Mjolnir down. Son of Odin sparked, and Mjolnir veered to stick to it.
Thor, face pinned, eyes red with rage—a public cuckolding? "This your son too?" Bul-Kathos asked Odin, nodding at Thor.
"Yes," Odin admitted, face greening, accepting the "too." Son of Odin's aura matched Thor's perfectly—denial was impossible.
"That one doesn't resemble you," Bul-Kathos said tactfully of Loki, adoption still secret.
Odin's face purpled. "Yes!" he choked out.
Loki, piecing things together, paled. "No wonder Father favors Thor. I'm not his!" His teeth ground, but he added, "At least I'm Mother's!"
"We should move to another dimension," Ancient One said, lowering her bottle. As onlookers gathered outside, she enveloped them in a pocket dimension.
"Why, Mjolnir!" Thor wailed, ignoring the revelations, fixated on the hammers' bond.
Bul-Kathos barely pressed, but Thor, unawakened as a true thunder god, couldn't rise. Son of Odin, fully empowered as a legendary weapon, outmatched Thor's claim, drawing Mjolnir.
"Please release my son," Odin said, steadying himself.
"Sure, if he stops charging. I'm not the villain," Bul-Kathos frowned, releasing Thor and hesitatingly offering Son of Odin to Odin. It was his "son," after all.
Ancient One sipped quietly. Frigga's face was a mask of pain, her grace marred by hurt. Odin nearly choked, taking both hammers.
"Father!" Thor rose, mistaking Odin's complex look for guilt. "You won't make that hammer thunder god, right?"
Odin, grimacing, nodded apologetically to Ancient One, then erupted, knocking Thor out, tearing the dimension, and tossing him to Tyr.
"Father, I don't blame you," Loki said, face tragic, gazing lovingly at Odin and Frigga. "You'll always be my…"
Odin cut him off, knocking him out too, leaving a bruise. Loki joined Thor with Tyr, who'd hopefully balance their awakenings.
Odin chugged Bul-Kathos's liquor, pain searing his heart. Frigga, trembling, drank too, tears mixing with the barbarian brew she refused to spit out.
Betrayed by her pillow's secrets, she swallowed her sorrow with the wine.
------------------------------
Thank you for enjoying my stories! If you want to go further and support my work, Patreon is the best way to do it — many of the newest chapters will be posted there!
👉 pat*eon*com/DaoistRoeoNQ