133 CHAPTER 131 - ETERNAL FLAMES

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[Thor Odinson POV]

Thor along with his friends, the fabled Warrior Three, and a fewer squadron of Asgard and Vanaheim's finest, were put through a test of both mental and physical endurance as they faced enemies after enemies not only limited to Surtur's flame demons.

"Haiz, all this fighting and blood is making me itchy, and for once not the type I enjoy scratching." Fandral huffed as he supported his tired self with Volstagg by resting their backs against each other.

"And why don't you scratch it the way you know how?" Volstagg teasingly mocked, fully aware of just how important the suave man valued his looks and comfort and his public image.

"While smelling and tired as a bullsnipe? No, thank you. I rather not have my hygiene and virility wrongly accused and put into question in such a way." Fandral gritted out, clearly tempted but not foolish enough to risk further fatigue in hostile lands and put not only himself, but his friends and fellow warriors in danger.

Not to mention the shame that will come on him and the mockery of his mighty valor even if he survived. He'd rather be cast and bound to Niflheim by the Allfather himself to eternally suffer it's deathly cold and freezing tundra than suffer the likely resulting public shame he'd face that will no doubt make his ancestors cut their beard in shame when he crosses the glorious gates of Valhalla… if he is even worthy to grace his sights upon them by the time he crosses over the great river.

"Arrr, he is lost in his thoughts again. It really spins a baffling tale how someone with such misconstrued priorities climbed the ranks of Asgard's elite warriors, even having the ballads sing his tales." Volstagg pondered out loud and yet still, Fandral showed no reaction.

"Are you under your gourd's influence right now, or do you speak such scholarly words when you are sober?"

Volstagg tilted his head and huffed as saw a silently smirking Hogun leaning against a tree.

The sky rumbled darkly and with it came the white cracks of lightning, which was followed by the natural booming of thunder. It went after its spontaneous, albeit, natural order and brought back the clear sky as well as Thor who calmly walked towards Hogun who looked better than Volstagg and Fandral.

"How was it down there? Must've been hard and painful, for them I mean." Hogun commented as he saw Thor fell a tree to use as a stool.

Thor answered nonchalantly, looking fine except for the dirt and soot all over his body. "I cleared the valleys and the mountains three lakes over. They are nothing but charred crisp and ashes at this point. You guys don't look too bad yourself."

And there was the boasting streak that Thor oh so much loved. It wasn't as worse as it had been for as long Hogun could remember before his short-lived exile, but it still came out every once in a while.

"They look like they are about to grant each other company to the great banquet: that's how 'good' they are." Hogun softly whispered which Thor heard but only smiled and said nothing else.

"Why did you think to send Sif with those Midgardians? It would have been better them a reliable guide and us Sif's strength to help hold out longer." He mostly silent warrior asked his friend and future king.

Thor looked up at the sky as if trying to peer through the clouds to see space's perpetual star-filled night.

"I'd go with them if not for my duties and sending someone who can par up to Vision and Wanda to a respectable degree and capable of aiding them in the event of a fight is the best I could do without going myself." Thor simply said without putting much thought to it.

By now, Volstagg and Fandral were silently listening to Thor's words and it certainly pricked a peculiar way even if they didn't mind all that much.

"You doubt Sif, your oldest friend and sworn sword. You doubt her strength and capability in measuring up to them?" It was Fandral who asked, flabbergasted at what he perceived as Thor severely downgrading Sif's strength, who was arguably the strongest amongst them Thor excluded.

"Hahahaha, their display against the flame demons in Gorag certainly was a spectacular sight. I doubt Thor would so blatantly doubt our strength except if they are true." Volstagg fell into a violent coughing fit that he quickly got under control.

Thor laughed at Volstagg's misfortune but affirmed his words nonetheless. "Vision is strong. How strong I have no idea of, but he is more than capable fighting me blow for blow. Wanda and Pietro were a lot weaker when I left them with Vision who had promised to keep them safe, and now one is an established sorceress that even mother wants her under her tutelage, hahahaha, when even Loki had begged for it. As for Pietro, though the obvious weakest, his speed is slowly but steadily reaching that of a divine god of speed."

Thor closed and opened fists a few times and for the first time doubted the rate at which he grew stronger.

There were thousands of races out there in the stars who lived not a tenth of the average Asgardian yet produced warriors and fighters that could give the average Asgardian and even some of the elites an equal battle despite being younger and less experienced.

"I understand you, Thor." Volstagg's voice broke the prince out of his inner musings. "Complacency is the greatest enemy that every warrior falls to and that is what a longer life leads to most times that not. Maybe this is good, maybe not – but one single fact prevails; we lose if we are weaker, we are victorious only when we are stronger."

With a heavy grunt and a monstrous force that caused the ground below him to spread meter-wide cracks, the gigantic Asgardian pushed himself up and hoisted up his great axe. "Aye, Hogun, Fandral. The prince you swore your oath of arms to just called your century-old prowess in combat weak in comparison to Midgardians who haven't even lived past their third decade – the equivalent of an Asgardian child in his wee youth."

"I'll swing my axe through you if you continue resting against the ground. The ground is only a place of rest for the dead and homeless!"

Though they were not the ones being addressed, the nearby warriors who too had been resting pushed themselves off their support and gripped tight their weapons, standing ramrod with a straight spine.

The battle spirit of an Asgardian is said to immortal, burning so bright that not even the shadows of death can stop it as its fiery blaze remains alit, burning as a beacon as it searches for it fellow comrades of battle until it arrives in the great halls of Valhalla where it rests, wines and dines with legendary Asgardian warriors until the horn of battle is once again sounded.

All it needs to be an eternally burning flame is something to kindle it from a warm comforting wisp to a blazing inferno that not even Hellheim's deathly frigid winds can snuff it out.

How could Odin be one of the mightiest gods to ever exist since the first light and go on to win ten thousand wars and conquer the nine realms if he ruled over normal people?

Literally seeing the resolve of his people burning bright before his eyes, as their future king, it was his duty to make sure they never lose the burning flames of passion in their hearts.

"HEIMDALL!" The son of Odin and god of the sky raised his voice in a great shout that turned the bright day sky to looming darkness.

"Until our last strength leave our bosoms and we collapse of exhaustion, I order you not to withdraw is from the battles ahead."

The world fell silent; the winds ceased to move, the animals and forest critters released no sound fearing they might lose their life if they did.

Under the dark clouds, Thor and his warriors remained staring at the sky, waiting, waiting and waiting, until it came.

The riding stars of Asgard that could be seen all across the nine realms – the light of the Bifrost – tore through the dark clouds as it descended on the waiting warriors, taking them to battles that would only end until every last strength is sapped from their bones as decreed by Thor Odinson.

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[Asgard]

Having been watching every single second of Thor's campaign since he stepped foot outside the Bifrost's light, Heimdall, like the nigh eternal gatekeeper and watcher he was, bore witness to all the events that led to this moment.

"My King…"

His voice rang directly in Odin's ears and the Allfather's sights peered through the cosmos to gaze at Thor as he gave Heimdall an imperial order the gatekeeper was duty bound to obey unless Odin decides against it.

He never got a reply from Odin but the events that followed were all the answers they needed.

Without Heimdall commanding it, the Bifrost's light slowly came alive and shone through the stars, ignoring the physically untraversable distance, to shine it's light on Thor.

After that, the Bifrost turned off and a huge primordial rune that covered the whole dome came to life.

Its function? To prevent the Bifrost from being turned on by any other person, Heimdall included, except the Allfather wills it.

Seeing this, Heimdall sighed, his impassive gaze never leaving Thor's location. Watching and waiting to witness the results of the resolve they threw at Odin's sights.

"How brash, this younger generation…"

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I don't know if you consider this a filler but it came to me a lot easier to write than Vision's group's POV and I felt like something like this is needed, being here than further later down the chapters.

Never knew it'd take the entire chapter but it be like that sometimes. Hoping you enjoyed it.