18 Power of the Storm

Trudging along, Sif looked to her right where she saw Loki walking with his head held high. Despite the fact they were being escorted by Valkyries after being caught aiding Thor, he still looked prideful and arrogant. She didn't share his feelings, the knowledge that Thor was on a battlefield was still weighing on her mind.

Sif knew he was strong.

She had trained by his side, sparred against him and watched him fight their various instructors. He was strong, that was something she had always known. When most would be unable to continue, Thor would find the strength to get up. He never gave up, constantly striving to be better, to be stronger.

It was what inspired her to train just as hard.

Thor was strong and she wanted to be strong as well. To stand by his side and help him achieve his dreams, just as she knew he would help her achiever hers.

But this was different.

Her brother had told her tales of war, told her of the battles he fought in. She knew that sparring was entirely different to war and that while strong, Thor was still inexperienced. The most infuriating fact about this whole thing, was the Thor knew this as well. He knew that war was entirely different yet he didn't hesitate and she did.

When the alarm had sounded across the city informing the people of Asgard of an impending invasion, Sif had been terrified.

A future warrior she may be, but she was also a child.

Yet Thor hadn't hesitated.

And now here they were, she being escorted to Queen Frigga who stood watching the Asgardian army as it came to the walls, the figure of Thor having disappeared amongst the crowd of soldiers. Try as she might, Sif could not find the figure of her friend, he was well and truly lost to her sight.

"My Queen, we have retrieved them." Frigga turned, looking to both Sif and Loki with a frown on her face. Her right hand raising as she indicated for them to come to her. They did so, Sif shuffling along behind Loki, afraid she would be chastised by the Queen.

But Frigga did no such thing, one hand resting on each of their shoulders, bringing them to either side of her as they looked down from the battlements upon the halted Asgardian army. It was then that Sif could finally see him, the soldiers parting around him and turning to watch as Thor rushed down the hill towards the Dark Gods.

Towards his father.

That was when the crack of thunder overhead made her jump lightly believing King Rugga and his Storm Giants to be preparing another strike, Frigga's hand tightening on her shoulder reassuringly. "I am angry with you, Sif, Loki." Frigga said, the three of them turning to see the clouds gathering overhead. "As a mother, I do not wish for my son to enter a battle at his age."

There was movement around them and Sif watched in awe as the Valkyries clad in their silver armour climbed onto their Pegasus mounts. The majestic beasts spreading their wings wide and seeming to glow brightly in the darkness that had descended upon the lands as a result of the storm clouds in the sky.

"However, Thor is not just my son nor am I just a mother. He is a Prince just as I, am a Queen." She stated firmly, the Pegasus' flapping their wings as they burst off the wall, the Asgardian Army below giving a cheer as they turned back down the hill towards the Dark Gods and their army. "He has always been an odd child, but he has earned the recognition of many for his determination and unusual skill. In a situation such as this, it would take someone like Thor, a Prince of Asgard to rally our army. And he has done just that."

At Frigga's words, both Sif and Loki watched in awe as the Valkyries flew through the air, the flashes of lightning illuminating them.

-X- Line Break -X-

Never letting the pain or exhaustion show on his face, Odin felt Perrikos dump him on his knees, the Union slowly bleeding away into dozens of Dark Gods, King Rugga clutching a bleeding wound as he towered over them all. Their ruler, Majeston Zelia slithering through the air as she came to a stop before him.

The battle had been hard, splitting his attention between four foes was difficult, especially considering their individual power. The Union itself was almost comparable to him, even when he had been using the Odinforce. King Rugga, was a Giant of immense power that enabled him to rule as de facto ruler of Jötunheimr. And while Perrikos and Zelia had been vastly weaker, they had been tricky and still incredibly strong. As hard as he fought, Odinf had eventually been overwhelmed and now here he was, kneeling in the mud as he looked up at the Dark Gods surrounding him.

He may be defeated, but Asgard would not surrender like they so foolishly believed.

With what little power he had left from the Odinforce seeping into the ground and widening his senses, he could feel the Dark Gods army coming back down the hill. They obviously believed that with their King defeated, the Asgardians would surrender soon, they would not. Asgard would continue to resist the Dark Gods till it had nothing left to give.

He ignored the taunting and mocking words of Zelia, her words meaning nothing to him.

Withdrawing his power, Odin focused his attention instead on healing the wounds he had suffered. He just needed a singular moment, a moment in which he could strike and kill Zelia. With her gone, the Union would never be able to be formed once more and Asgard would have a chance of surviving this war.

In doing so, it heightened all his senses a hundredfold, his hearing stretching out for miles and while the grating voice of Zelia continued to mock him. The Dark Gods cruelly laughing with every taunt that their ruler gave, Odin picked up on something.

Rumbling.

Not the rumbling of the ground, but the rumbling of a coming storm.

One that did not belong to the Storm Giants whose power over the ancient natural force was impressive. No, this natural force was entirely different, possessing a power that was divine in nature.

And with it, he spared some of his power to reach out to the storm and he could feel it. Odin found himself dragged along the path of power that connected to the storm and found Thor was the cause behind it.

Despite his efforts, Odin couldn't help but let a smile come onto his face. A smile that seemed to infuriate Zelia more than his silence and lack of responses did, her tail whipping round and slamming into his face. Yet despite this, Odin did not humour her with a sound, just letting his face smash into the ground creating a deep crater.

'She is nothing but a fool.'

As her anger grew, Zelia self-awareness disappeared as well. The other Dark Gods in turn watching their ruler warily, all fearful that they would be on the receiving end of her anger. As a result, their attention was not on what was happening behind them nor on what Odin was doing.

None except the Storm Giant King who looked up to the sky in shock, his natural powers attuned to the shift in nature.

Discarding his need to heal, Odin instead directed his power into Thor's young body, strengthening his connection to the storms. The rumbling growing louder and the sunlight disappearing as dark clouds rolled in overhead.

This it seemed, attracted some attention, the Dark Gods looking up in confusion.

"What is this?" Zelia asked, finally taking note of the darkness that had descended on them and the unnaturalness of the storm that was brewing. "What have you done?" She snarled, first turning to King Rugga whose muted shock as he stared up at the clouds proved answer enough as to what was happening. "What did you do?" She turned, gripping Odin's throat as she dragged him back onto his knees.

Odin this time did not hide anything.

His lips curling into a smirk. "You are a fool, Zelia. To believe that Asgard would be defeated simply because you had defeated me. Asgard would never surrender, because there is more than just me for them to believe in, to place their faith in."

It was then they heard a cheer, a loud echoing cry and everyone turned to see the tidal wave of gold cascading down the hill towards them. The Asgardian army that once being retreating rallied as they charged towards the disarrayed Dark God forces. Up above the, Valkyries flew, weapons drawn, their steeds giving powerful flaps of their wings as they galloped through the air.

"Quickly, reform the lines!" Perrikos shouted, waving his arm as the worshippers turned to face the oncoming army.

But it was too late.

Aided by Odin's power, the storm responded to Thor's will as lightning fell from the sky. Hundreds of bolts struck the mass of worshippers with enough force that they left deep holes in the ground, grooves splintering out like a spiders-web and the surrounding area a blackened, charred mark. The bodies struck by the lightning turned to ash, others flung back with deep burns, never to rise again.

Storm Giants throughout tried to deflect the lightning, to wrest control of the storm from the young prince of Asgard, only to fail, some targetted by lightning that struck them down for their impudence.

Thousands were killed and the Dark Gods could do nothing but watch in shock.

Reaching down into the ground, Odin drew what power he could from the surrounding land, using it to replenish some of his fallen power and in one fluid motion, gripped Zelia's arm, holding her in place while summoning Gungnir to him. The golden spear flew towards him, Odin moving so that it pierced directly through Zelia's chest as he caught it in one hand.

"That is something you will never understand." Funnelling as much as he could, he fired a powerful beam of energy from the tip of Gungnir. The beam so large that it dwarfed the size of the Asgardian walls and stretched on for miles, swallowing dozens of Dark Gods and thousands of their worshippers.

All the while the Asgardian army smashed into the worshippers, cutting through them with ease. Their disorganised formations and general shock of the situation as a whole left them incapable of properly defending themselves.

And the Dark Gods were no better.

Perrikos watching as his mother and dozens of his fellows were wiped out in an instant and with it, any hope of turning the tides once more. Snarling angrily, he nodded his head to Adva who summoned two portals beneath them, letting them escape.

Leaving the rest of their compatriots to be slaughtered by the Asgardian army.

-X- Line Break -X-

Despite Zelia's deaths and escape of Perrikos and Adva, arguably the next two strongest Dark Gods, they did not surrender. D'Chel picking up the pieces and trying to fight the oncoming Asgardian army with what he could. Even as King Rugga retreated with what remained of his army, D'Chel kept fighting, unwilling to surrender now that they had come so far.

Odin was lost to him, a large detachment of Asgardians having cut a swathe through their ranks, led by a blonde man with a rapier to arrive by their kings side. Protectively defending the weakened Odin with their lives and more were joining them by the minute. So D'Chel was forced to abandon that route for now.

Instead he stood with Tokkots, watching as more and more Dark Gods and their worshippers were killed. The Asgardian's second wind proving too much as their weak attempts at countering them was met and defeated with laughable ease.

But this was not a time to be laughing.

'What do I do?!' He raged internally, looking around madly for anyway to regain control. With Perrikos gone and Zelia dead, now was his time to take control of the Dark Gods, if he did and was able to take Asgard then there would be no one who could deny him the right to rule.

And he deserved to rule!

It was he who killed Majeston so that Zelia could ascend to the Throne. Majeston had proven himself weak when he was defeated by Odin and then weaker still when he signed a truce with the warmongers.

And it was all so he could earn the favour of Zelia.

It worked.

He was her trusted right hand man, her advisor and the man she trusted to carry out any order. But it was not enough, he had hoped that she would marry him. Let him become the King and slowly, under her nose would take control of the Dark Gods. She would rule in all but title while he would be the true King.

And now all those plans were on the brink of ruin.

He would not let that happen.

Not now when he was so close.

As his gaze searched across the battlefield for anyway to take control, his eyes landed on an unusual sight, a young boy. Blonde hair, blue eyes, two swords too big for his body but wielded as if they weighed nothing and with unusual skill for someone so young. But the most important fact for D'chel, was the garbs the boy wore.

There was not a hint of armour upon him, just a simple tunic and pants. Despite the numerous cuts and holes in the garbs, it was of fine make, better than anything their slaves wore.

"Protect the Prince!" One Asgardian, Heimdall if he was not mistaken shouted as he moved to stand in front of the exhausted boy who had dropped to his knees. Many Asgardians forming up to do the same.

'The Prince?!' He repeated, a savage smile coming onto his face. 'So it was you, boy. You that ruined all my plans.'

Stepping forwards, D'chel grabbed Tokkots and pushed him towards the Prince.

As Tokkots fought against the Asgardian's he now found himself fighting against, sprouting off a few more clones to aid him, D'Chel moved round to a better position. And as he watched the Asgardian's fight, he found exactly what he was waiting for, an opening.

With a victorious smirk, D'Chel let his body fade into shadows as he burst forwards. This was all he needed, this singular opening and he could turn the tide of the battle in his favour.

Except, his presence had not gone unnoticed.

From above, a beam of light slammed into the ground, intercepting his path and forcing D'Chel to back off. As he reformed, looking up, he found himself watching as Sigrún descended to the ground slowly, her Pegasus, flapping its wings as to slow it descent.

"Sigrún!" D'Chel snarled out, looking at the Valkyrie Queen, the woman who he had fought and lost against time and time again in the previous war between their two pantheons.

"Dark God, you will go no further." She spoke, her voice never wavering as she regarded D'Chel with contempt and disgust.