The fury that had reignited Thor's soul was a magnificent thing to behold.
He was the Prince of Asgard, a warrior king betrayed, and his rage was a palpable force that seemed to crackle in the dry desert air.
But it was a rage without a weapon. He was still mortal, still powerless, his divine strength still locked away in the hammer that lay miles away.
"We must return to Asgard at once," he boomed, turning to his friends. "We must stand with Heimdall and my mother, and cast Loki from the throne!"
"We cannot," Sif said. "Heimdall defied the King's command to send us. The Bifrost is now closed to him."
The reality of their situation crashed down on Thor.
They were trapped. Four of Asgard's finest warriors and their powerless prince, stranded on a backwater world with a usurper on the throne of their home.
It was in that moment of dawning horror that the second sun was born.
High in the twilight sky, a pinpoint of golden light appeared. It descended with unnatural speed with a silent intensity.
It struck the main street of Puente Antiguo a hundred yards away from them, impacting with a sound like a giant bell being struck, a resonant GONG that vibrated through the very bones of the earth.
The dust and sand were instantly incinerated, leaving a glowing circle of fused glass on the asphalt.
In the center of that circle stood a figure of unknown metal.
It was ten feet tall, its form humanoid but utterly devoid of grace, a brutalist sculpture of overlapping plates and seams that glowed with a molten fire.
It had no face, only a sealed helmet from which a horrifying beam of golden light could erupt.
"By the All Father's beard," Volstagg breathed, his jovial face pale with a fear Thor had never seen on him before. "He sent it."
The Destroyer stood motionless for a second, its head swiveling silently as it assessed its targets, its gaze finally locking onto Thor.
The intent was unmistakable.
"Thor, you must run!" Sif yelled, drawing her sword and shield, her voice a commanding crack in the sudden silence.
She and the Warriors Three instantly formed a protective perimeter around him, their bodies a living wall between their prince and the god killing machine. "You are mortal now! We are not! This is a fight you cannot win!"
"She is right, my prince!" Fandral added, his rapier flashing in the dying light, his usual smirk replaced by a grim determination. "Go! Hide! We will buy you what time we can!"
Thor's pride, his very soul, rebelled at the thought of running, of cowering behind his friends.
But he looked down at his own hands… the hands of a mortal.
He looked at their determined faces, at the unshakable loyalty in their eyes.
For the first time, he understood the true duty of a king: to ensure the survival of his people.
"Go!" Hogun grunted, spinning his heavy mace.
With a agonized look, Thor turned and ran.
The Destroyer took a ponderous step to follow him. Volstagg met it head on, his massive axe swinging in a powerful arc.
"You face the Warriors Three of Asgard, automaton!" he bellowed. "You will go no further!"
The axe, forged in the heart of a star, struck the Destroyer's chest with a deafening clang. And shattered.
Volstagg stared in horror at the splintered haft in his hands. The Destroyer's faceplate clicked open.
Before Volstagg could even raise his arms, a blast of golden energy erupted, hitting him square in the chest and sending him flying backward like a ragdoll, crashing through the facade of the diner and disappearing in a shower of wood and glass.
Fandral moved in, his rapier a silver needle seeking the seams in the Destroyer's armor.
He was impossibly fast, his blade darting in and out, striking at the joints of the neck, the elbows, the knees.
But each strike produced nothing more than a screech of metal and a shower of sparks.
The Destroyer swatted at him with a dismissive backhand. Fandral, for all his speed, couldn't evade the blow entirely.
The impact caught him in the side, the sound of his ribs cracking audible even over the chaos.
He was hurled through the air, tumbling end over end before crashing into a parked car with enough force to crumple its roof.
Hogun attacked next. He slammed his weapon into the Destroyer's leg, again and again, the impacts echoing like hammer blows in a forge.
He managed to dent the armor, to make the machine take a single step. It was a victory that lasted a second.
The Destroyer simply turned, its massive metal foot lashing out in a vicious kick that caught Hogun in the chest, lifting the stoic warrior off his feet and sending him skidding a hundred feet down the asphalt street, where he lay motionless.
Only Sif remained.
She was fighting a perfect defensive battle, her shield deflecting its clumsy blows, her sword darting in to strike at the glowing lines of power that ran along its limbs.
She was magnificent, a valkyrie holding back the apocalypse. But she was just one warrior against an engine of infinite power.
The Destroyer was tired of the game.
It ignored her sword, letting the blade screech harmlessly off its arm, and simply walked forward, its sheer mass and momentum driving her back.
It swung its fist, and she met it with her shield. The resulting impact sent a shockwave through the street.
The shield, a masterpiece of Asgardian smithing, buckled and tore, and the force of the blow threw Sif backward, her body skipping off the ground like a stone on water.
She landed in a heap, her shield arm bent at an unnatural angle, unconscious.
Thor had stopped running. He had watched it all from the edge of town, his heart breaking with every blow his friends took.
He had watched them, the finest warriors he had ever known, be broken and cast aside for him.
His cowardice, his flight, had bought him nothing but their pain.
He saw the Destroyer, its immediate targets neutralized, turn its emotionless gaze back towards him.
He saw it begin to march, its heavy footfalls the sound of his own doom.
And in that moment, something inside him, the stubborn ember of his arrogant pride burned away by a love for his friends that was more powerful than any thunder he had ever commanded.
He walked out from the cover of the buildings, into the center of the street, directly into the path of the approaching machine.
He held his empty hands out to his sides, a gesture of absolute surrender.
"Brother!" he yelled, his voice raw with a grief and a sincerity that he prayed could somehow reach across the stars. "Loki, if you can hear me... stop this!"
The Destroyer paused, its head tilting slightly, as if listening to a distant command.
"Whatever grievance you have, it is with me!" Thor pleaded. "This is my fault! All of it! Let them be! My life is yours... just let them live. Tell Father... tell him I am sorry."
He closed his eyes, accepting his fate.
This was it. The final lesson. A king did not live for his own glory. He died for the lives of his people. And these were his people.
PS: You can read five chapters for free right now just by joining as a free member. There are also over 150 chapters already available on the Patreon for those who want to read ahead. www.patreon. com/Drrajnovel