The Bifrost, ancient and radiant, groaned under the strain.
Cracks spidered across its surface like lightning, and with Thor's last thunderous strike, the Rainbow Bridge shattered.
A deafening CRACK echoed across the skies as the legendary bridge exploded in a cascade of prismatic fragments. Starlight shards rained down into the river of stars beneath, the sacred, endless current between realms.
"Be careful!" Heimdall shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos. "Bifrost is broken!"
He thrust his gleaming holy sword deep into the bridge's core, the blade humming with divine power. Sparks flew as he tried to contain the erupting storm of cosmic energy.
But it was barely working.
"The energy's destabilizing… I can't hold it much longer!" He gritted through clenched teeth.
The entire sky rippled as waves of raw force burst outward. Thor and Loki, still mid-battle, were flung off their feet. The winds whipped, the stars twisted above, and the very space around them bent unnaturally.
"Loki!" Thor called, reaching desperately as his brother slid toward the abyss.
They were seconds away from falling into the long river of stars, a realm of eternal drift.
But Heimdall, with every ounce of his divine will, stalled the collapse. The eye of the storm calmed just enough. The bridge groaned, fractured, but held for a moment longer.
Thor landed hard, scrambled, and lunged.
With one hand, he grabbed the edge of the broken Bifrost~
With the other, he caught Loki by the wrist.
"Hold on to me!" Thor yelled over the howling wind.
Loki dangled, one arm stretched toward his brother, the other gripping his scepter weakly. Their eyes met.
A tremor of hesitation passed between them.
Another energy wave surged. Thor cried out as his grip slipped. His hand began to slide across the bridge's shattered edge.
"Ahhhh!"
Another hand caught Thor's arm.
Old, battle-worn, yet impossibly strong.
"I've got you, son."
Odin.
Odin had arrived, fresh from his victory over Laufey, his armor scorched but his gaze steady. He held Thor, anchoring him. He was strength itself.
Loki looked up in disbelief, his face contorted in pain.
"You..." He whispered. "You saved me?"
Odin's gaze met Loki's. Not of anger. Not of pride. But sorrow.
"You are my son, Loki. That has never changed."
A long silence.
Then Loki… smiled, faintly. But there was no warmth in it.
And then, he let go.
"Loki!" Thor screamed.
But it was too late. Loki's fingers slipped from Thor's grasp, and he plunged into the shimmering abyss of the star river, swallowed by silence.
Odin's hand tightened on Thor. Neither spoke.
Back on solid ground, Soren stood calmly, watching the skies begin to clear. The storm was over. The frost behemoth lay slain. Jotunheim's armies had retreated.
Asgard had survived.
And its people were whispering one name above all.
"Soren..."
Thor approached, eyes still heavy with loss. Odin stood beside him, his face unreadable, but respect radiating from him like sunlight through a storm cloud.
"Soren." Odin said, his voice solemn. "You have not only healed me… but helped save Asgard from a war that could've shattered the Nine Realms."
Soren inclined his head. "It was never about glory, All-Father. I do what I must."
Thor stepped forward, more openly emotional. "Still, we owe you everything. Your hands healed a god. Your wisdom restored our hope. From this day on, you are Asgard's honored friend."
Soren smiled. With a wave of his hand, he summoned a floating portal, an ethereal gate lined with glowing sigils.
"I leave this portal in your care," he said. "Should any in Asgard require healing, they may come through it."
Even Odin looked moved. "Such kindness from a mortal is rare."
Thor clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Then, when peace returns, you'll drink with us. I'll bring Asgard's strongest wine. And you'd best be ready, it bites harder than Mjolnir."
Soren smiled. "I look forward to it."
As he stepped through the portal, a golden light wrapped around him and vanished. The sky was quiet. The storm had passed. The warriors of Asgard gathered, battered but victorious.
Odin turned to Heimdall.
"See to it that this portal is guarded at all times. No harm is to come to it."
Heimdall bowed. "It shall be watched without rest."
As the stars calmed and the rainbow fragments faded, the people of Asgard remembered the name of a man not born among them, but who saved them in their hour of need.
And somewhere, drifting beyond time, in the river of stars...
Loki opened his eyes.
He was not dead.
But something else had found him.
In the quiet hum of his medical hall, nestled between time and worlds, Soren finally exhaled.
Gone was the thundering glory of Asgard, replaced by the gentle soothing light of the herb garden blooming in his side lab.
"Back to where I belong." He chuckled, stretching his arms overhead.
"No screaming warriors. Just me, and a whole bunch of work."
He plopped onto his old leather recliner with a sigh, the familiar squeak under his weight grounding him.
But then, he remembered.
"Wait… what about my mission points?" he muttered, opening the system interface.
[Task Points: 10/500]
"Only ten?!" Soren groaned. "I saved Asgard! I treated the All-Father himself!"
He quickly tapped open the Mission Panel, hoping for better news.
[New Task Requirements:]
1. Complete 500 Task Points
2. Treat 1/3 A-level or higher individuals (1/3 complete)
"What? They want me to treat two more A-tier super-beings?" He rubbed his temples.
"Does the system think these people show up at clinics like regular flu patients?"
Still, as frustrated as he was, he couldn't help but smile.
"Well, it's the Marvel world. Catastrophes are a dime a dozen here. Someone's bound to show up with a shattered spine or radioactive lung."
He flipped to his Ability Panel, and the sight was… oddly comforting.
Current Host: Soren Macaluso
Abilities:Potential Awakening Lv 10 / Super Speed Lv 7 / Teleportation Lv 7 / Psychokinesis Lv 5 / Mental Shield Lv 8 / Enhanced Reflexes Lv7 / Hulk Strength Lv 7 / Healing Factor Lv 5 / Regeneration Lv 9 / Wisdom Lv 9
General Skills:Firearm Proficiency Lv 8 / Language Proficiency Lv 6 / Management Lv 3 / Piano Lv 7 / Mechanical Engineering Lv 4 / Wilderness Survival Lv 5 / Energy Research Lv 8 / Fighting Proficiency Lv 8
System Items:
Gene Modification Scalpel: A surgical tool capable of modifying, repairing, or deleting genetic sequences. Can stabilize cellular viability, remove defective genes, and perform microscopic genetic operations.
God-Level Business Card Case: Stores the host's business cards: Any holder of the card can instantly teleport to Everlife Medical Center by crushing it.
Gene Laboratory: Introduction: Provides a platform and data for genetic experimentation. Allows for research on various biological genes.
Pharmaceutical Laboratory: Introduction: Provides a platform and data for drug experimentation. Allows independent research and production of medicinal substances.
Herb Garden Base: Radius 30km – Generates rare herbs tailored to your Pharmaceutical Lab's needs. One-time placement
Space Portal: Can place up to 5 portals linking to the Everlife Medical Center. Two-way travel. Limited durability.
Soren whistled, scrolling through his arsenal.
"At least I'm stacked." He muttered, grinning. "You'd think I was a one-man X-Men roster."
And then it hit him. His eyes widened.
"Wait... the lab!"
He bolted up, nearly knocking over a tray of syringes. Sprinting past the herbal tanks and AI-controlled med-bots, he reached a steel door sealed with triple biometric locks.
It hissed open.
Inside, cold mist spilled out as rows of containment tubes glowed softly. In the center, a gene fusion pod, still humming.
One day later, Soren's face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning.
He studied his work with cautious awe, heart thudding.
"Please tell me you held together…" He whispered.
[Fusion Complete – Status: Stable]
[Specimen: Frost-Eye Fusion Genome]
Genetic Sources: Frost Giant (Cold Core Variant) + Abomination Strain + Electro (High Voltage) + Anaconda (Extreme Elasticity)
Soren let out a victorious laugh.
"Hahahaha… YES! I did it!" He pumped his fist. "Cross-species stability confirmed. Genetic drift within acceptable margins. Fusion integrity holding at 98.7%..."
He turned to the recording console.
"Log this. I'll call it… 'Genesis Protocol: Variant Zero.' A perfect blend of power, durability, and adaptability."
"We're talking frost-based durability from the Jotuns, gamma-muscle density from Abomination, bio-electricity from Electro, and the reactive physiology from Anaconda."
"Amazing…"
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
Dare you peek into my other tales? The opening three chapters of select stories are free to all.
PhantomDream