Prologue - Part 2

From within a burst of rainbow light, a tall, dark skinned man sporting tired eyes and with sweat still running down his shaved head, walked out while gently carrying what looked like a large egg made of flames.

Heimdall cast a glance behind him, futilely hoping that another figure would follow, despite knowing otherwise. As the lights faded and the spinning rings settled down, he turned around with a sad sigh and waved towards the guards, indicating for them to stand down.

Seeing who'd returned, the guards saluted before sheathing their weapons and returning to their stations. Meanwhile, a man with considerably more weight to him and standing over a head taller than the other men nearby, removed his horned helmet and strode forward.

As his braided head of red hair billowed in the wind seeping through the fading lights, he pressed down a large, gloved hand atop his chest to keep his full beard from blowing in his face. A scowl of annoyance flitted across his visage as he glared at the slowing contraption, only to be replaced with a look of confusion when his eyes came to rest on the newcomer.

Instead of exiting the chamber and going about his business as he had countless times before, Heimdall had remained in place, looking downward seemingly in a daze. He gently stroked an odd flaming mass within his arms, seemingly marveling at the way the fire pulsed and churned, yet somehow always retaining it's present shape.

For Heimdall, it was his first time to truly get a good look at what he'd been given charge of back on Midgard. It fascinated him how, despite holding something that should currently be burning his body, he felt no more heat than one would from a steaming bath.

As the warmth seeped into his chest, he subconsciously cradled the fiery cocoon closer. He would've been worried for the young Prince had he not seen the affection in the mother's eyes before his departure. So for now, he's cast his fears aside and rejoice in the knowledge that Asgard finally had another heir.

As he was lost in his thoughts, a tall, rotund figure arrived in front of the absentminded man and hefted the head of their large battle axe over a shoulder. Their eyes quickly roamed over the man's disheveled figure and checked for any noticeable injuries, before ultimately coming back to rest upon the burning orb in his arms.

"Heimdall?" They asked in a deep, rumbling voice that sounded accustomed to both loud, jolly laughter and bellowing war cries. The call seemed to break the dazed man out of his stupor and his whole body quickly tensed, before relaxing as his brain caught up with his ears.

"Falstaff," the weary man chuckled. He tilted his head back and looked up to meet the eyes of the ginger giant peering down at him as a small smile graced his lips.

"Let's go," said Heimdall as he motioned towards the exit and started walking, not answering the previous unasked question. "I have much to report and you should come along."

"Oh?" Falstaff questioned with a raised eyebrow. "And why would you need me with you to do that?"

"I don't, but trust me when I say that you'll regret it if you stay here," Heimdall replied cryptically. "Is the king on Asgard at the moment?"

"Nay," the ginger shook his head. "Isn't due back till at least a month from now, I believe."

"Pity," Heimdall sighed, "but expected. Could you send a man to notify the medical ward of my coming arrival and another to bring me a runner?"

"This have anything to do with that little fireball your lugging around?" Falstaff asked, motioning his free hand towards two random guards who ran to enter a small skiff moored outside.

"Hah!" The shorter man laughed, his previous weariness nearly forgotten and overshadowed by hopeful excitement. As the two stepped upon the rainbow bridge, Heimdall once again avoided the question, opting instead to leave his companion in suspense. "All I'll say now is that you should be joyous, my friend. This is a great day for the whole of Asgard!"

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In the void of space above a burning world, a pair of golden eyes watched on as its first, and last, host in this universe faded to ash. It swiftly latched onto the now disembodied soul that arose from the planet with its ethereal talons and brought it within itself.

For the past week, its host had labored to destroy all life on the world before restoring them to their original state and she'd succeeded, at the cost of her life. One of the few hosts that it knew of that had actually fulfilled the true purpose of the Phoenix.

Sadly, the Phoenix knew that it was a futile hope that humanity could develop on its own without interference and that its host's dreams would forever remain so. Even when possessing extremely limited abilities as an avatar, compared to the main Phoenix entity, it could see how this one world was at the center of the events within almost every universe. It was essentially a beacon for conflict.

It had opted not to mention it though, her actions had indeed made the universe a better place for their son. It might not be able to see the future in this lesser state, but it could see the problems mutants would cause easily enough. In the arms race of the multiverse, they were the nukes. Worse, they were nukes that were won by lottery. This universe was better off without them in its opinion.

Originally, it had planned to remain in this universe far longer, like most of the other avatars out in there. However, the birth of its son had changed its way of thinking.

It could see that none of the other avatars had one of their own. Yes, some of them had hosts that had become an adoptive mother, but none of them had personally created a child.

So, despite knowing that its individuality would fade when merged with the main consciousness, it felt a special pride in being the only parent. It had thus decided to use up the rest of its remaining power to make this universe as safe as reasonably possible for its son, before sealing it off from the rest.

It would first start by banishing as many multiversal interlopers from here as it could, before sealing the universe to entry. While it wouldn't effect the beings of the same, or greater power than itself, it would drive out those who enjoy meddling the most. The seal would also allow those too weak for its notice to enter as they would become an adequate grindstone for the boy.

Secondly, it would remove all the multiversal objects of power, items along the lines of Starbrand, the Cosmic Cube, and the Darkhold. It knew of the true origins of its son, something she doubted more than three entities in the entire multiverse did, and didn't want him to fall for their temptation. True power was gained from within, not borrowed from outside forces.

Alas, as only an avatar this was all it could do but through its connection to the others, it sensed their approval. And since no one had come to stop it by now, that meant it also had the unspoken approval of him.

It glanced down at the world below one last time. The globe was covered in a dense mist as constant rain fell upon the earth, refilling the evaporated oceans and dried up lakes. Seeds sprouted from the ground as ashes were washed away and life was returning at a rate nearly visible to the naked eye. For now it was only the simplest of creatures, but by the time the rains ceased, certain primapes should begin to discover the value of tools.

This would normally have been impossible, an entirely glassed world would usually take millions, if not tens of millions, of years to fully recover to its previous stage naturally. The re-evolution of complex life taking up the vast majority of that time.

What most people tend to forget however, is that its flames not only carry the power of destruction, but also creation. The Phoenix is the entity of rebirth and that is what's being witnessed right now, new life born from the ashes of the dead.

Satisfied with the work of its host, the Phoenix avatar flared its power and left out a mighty screech that echoed across the universe and sent chills down the backs of every soul. It spared a longing glance towards the center of what would one day be called the Milky Way by the future residents of the world below, before vanishing from the universe in a plume of fire.

_______________________________

Within an plainly decorated room, packed full with various magical and technological devices, four individuals patiently waited for medical results from a clearly exhausted healer. One of them, Heimdall, had been coming every morning for the past three weeks to check if anything had changed, while the other three had joined him for the first time today.

On the far left stood a beautiful woman who looked to be no more than twenty, but was actually already over two centuries old. She had straight black hair that ran down to the small of her back and piercing dark, green eyes that seemed to glow in the shadows. She was dressed in a custom slim Asgardian armor, all black with custom green markings and twirling a hammer as if it weighed nothing. She was Hela, the crown princess of Asgard.

Draped across her shoulders like a mantle was a young wolf pup. It's fur was as black as night and it's eyes matched those of its owner. They carried within them far more intelligence than one would expect from a beast. Having supposedly taken a liking to the wolf, Hela named her Fenris and brought it back with her from Alfheim.

In the middle stood a proud and noble figure, the mightiest Asgardian of the current age and future ruler of the Nine Realms, Odin. Dressed in full armor with a billowing red cape, a head full of flowing dirty blonde hair, deep sapphire eyes, a thick, full beard, and the legendary Gungnir held firmly in his grasp, he appeared to be the very definition of the word heroic.

"Well," spoke a gruff voice, "what do you have to report today, Eir? What of my son?"

The healer broke out into a cold sweat as she looked down at the records. No matter what test either she or her mother attempted, the results always came back the same, "Inconclusive, my king."

The glare she caught from the corner of her eye had Eir panicked as she hurried to explain, "M-my king, if what Heimdall says is true and this 'cocoon' was created by the Phoenix itself, then we simply won't be able to get any concise readings. The Phoenix is simply too powerful, no equipment would be able to, it's simply impossible!"

*snicker*

Upon noticing the smirk plastered across the Princess' face and hearing the small wolf laying on shoulder laughing at her nervous blabbering, the young healer blushed while looking away in embarrassment.

Before anyone could further shame the girl, a smooth voice came from the right of the monarch, "My king, what the lady says is true. I fear that all we can do at this time is wait for the barrier to collapse on its own."

Eir shot him a thankful look as Heimdall continued, "While we may not know the purpose of this cocoon, we can at least put some faith in the love of a mother for their child. Surely it cannot be designed to harm the young Prince."

The king pondered on the words as his expression relaxed and he fell into deep thought. While he did so, Hela walked up to the flames and cautiously placed a hand on them.

Despite initially feeling uncomfortable from the intense power of Life in the flames, when she came into contact with the fire a comfortable warmth travelled up her arm and spread throughout her body. The sensation was so intense that it took nearly all of her considerable willpower to not collapse right there and fall asleep.

Noticing her master's state, Fenris hopped down to the bed and sniffed the cocoon before tentatively nuzzling her head against its surface. As soon as she did so, her eyes drooped and she instinctively curled around the fire protectively, before passing into a deep slumber.

Odin noticed all of this and sent a puzzled glance towards Heimdall who seemed to have expected this reaction.

"My king," he said. "This is the only thing we've been able to observe about the cocoon, beyond the obvious. Everyone who's come into contact with it so far has felt both an extremely comfortable warmth and an almost instinctive desire to protect it."

"That's right!" Seeing Odin's thoughtful look, Eir excitedly spoke up, "Our best guess is that the Phoenix did this to ensure that the prince was not left neglected while he remains in that form. It probably didn't want him to be forgotten after no changes are seen for a time."

"And why would that be an issue," asked the king. "Surely no one on Asgard would abandon a child, let alone the Prince."

"Well…" responded Eir, twiddling her fingers as her previous nervousness returned. "Since the Phoenix went through the trouble to include such a feature in something so important…"

Eir gulped at the knowledge of what her next words could do to the famously ill tempered monarch before continuing, "We can assume that the prince's current state won't be coming to an end anytime soon."

The room fell silent. Although Heimdall had already thought of this possibility and assumed along the same line as the healers, it was the first time the two royals were learning anything of the sort.

Hela continued to stroke the cocoon idly as her thoughts wandered to the disappointment she'd feel if her new little brother missed out on the war.

Fenris remained unmoved at the reveal for she was asleep, and a wolf.

Odin face remained blank, none in the room could tell what he was thinking. He remained silent, rooted in place for a long moment before making his way over to his son.

He gently placed a hand atop the flames however this time, instead of a warm feeling and desire to protect welling within him, a flash of pain spread across his hand and he jerked it away.

*Hisss*

The skin of his palm was sizzling while it blistered and smoked. The smell of burning flesh filled the room and the occupant curled their noses in disgust as their eyes widened in shock at the events.

Odin forced a thin smile upon his face as rage bubbled up within him. Right before his hand left the cocoon, an intense feeling of utter loathing and contempt had flooded his mind.

He wasn't an idiot, he knew these feelings didn't come from his infant child. No, these were left behind by the Phoenix. The same damn bird who'd always despised him, from before they'd ever even met it had already decided to work against him. He truly believed that if it hadn't interfered with his relationship with Firehair, he'd have a loving wife and Asgard would have the first queen of his rule.

Pushing those thoughts aside and clamping down on his growing wrath, Odin clenched his burnt hand into a fist and placed it behind his back. "How long," he asked Eir.

"W-wha…" the young healer stuttered. "H-how long what, m-my king?"

The rising pressure being released from Odin in response to his anger was nearly suffocating. Eir's legs were shaking at this point and her face had lost all color.

"How long until my son is free of this damned cocoon, Eir?" The king asked calmly, but with an undertone of anger.

"Years!" She shouted, unable to speak normally in this situation. "Most likely a few! We believe no less than ten!"

Right as she gasped out the last word, the healer slumped to the ground in a heap as a trail of blood seeped out from her nose.

Odin ignored this as he turned and walked towards the door. If he stayed here, his pressure would build to the point that it would most likely kill the weak healer. "I'm returning to the camp," he said as he left. "Heimdall rest for at least a week, your eyes have grown pale. Do not return until they've regained their original hue, it wouldn't due for you to overwork yourself into blindness."

"I will do as you command, my king," Heimdall replied.

"Good, continue to check on the status of the Prince at least once a week and assign Eir as his permanent attendant," Odin carried on. "Hela, you can either return to Alfheim or remain on Asgard until the assault on Niflheim. Your choice."

"Yes father," she nodded. "Then I will remain here, my men can wrap up Alfheim on their own."

"Very well," the king whispered, his tone cold. His pressure slammed into the two doors, blowing them open so forcefully that they fell off their hinges and crashed to the floor.

*BAM!*

*Ba-BAM!*

As he faded from view of the three conscious individuals of the room, Hela and Heimdall shared a glance before she smirked. She gently patted the cocoon once more before picking up the now awake Fenris by the scruff of her neck and placing her back across her shoulders.

Heimdall sighed as he watched her leave the room, idly thinking that the previous situation was pretty funny now that it had passed, not that he'd ever admit it out loud.

He walked over to pick up the passed out Eir and wiped the blood off her face with a rag. After setting her down in one of the few chairs in the room, he sat down next to the cocoon and placed it on his lap.

As Heimdall idly thought over the events of the past few weeks, he stroked the fires, taking comfort in the warmth they spread through him. "Wake up soon young prince," he whispered. "I can guarantee the outside world is a far more exciting place."

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Author Note:

And that's it, we're done with the prologue! Next chapter we'll get to meet our mc and the story will begin.

Points to anyone who can guess the origin and background of a certain character in this chapter. I don't have any real plans for him atm, just thought it was a fun way to make an oc that was needed for the scene.

As always, the chapter will come when it comes. I'm just writing this for fun so no scheduled release dates.