Thor x Reader

Forty-Six

Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes as magic coursed through your body.

This time, however, it did not require blood. All you needed was your voice.

You and Tyr were bound by a bond that was not remotely close to the one between you and Thor. You were like no other pair and yet it was not physical love that drove you to call out to him.

Even though he had been gone for ages, you couldn't help yourself.

Glowing sparks rose from your eyes and mouth as you spoke his name.

"Tyr...", you whispered softly, as if you were embracing a brother again after an endless time. "I call to you. Answer me. Do not leave me alone. For this is your promise to me, sealed by blood and eternity."

The ground beneath your feet trembled as the knife in your hand began to hiss with heat.

The blade turned a bright, fiery red. As if possessed by something, it leapt from your hand into the air and began to dance.

"Take me to him.", you breathed an icy breath against the blazing metal. "It shall be your last service to me."

For a long moment, nothing happened.

Your master's knife simply hovered in front of your face as if your words had been spoken magically into nothing. The metal was already beginning to melt on the tip. It would not be long before the last memory of Tyr would be gone.

The magic that build up in your body screamed with frustration. Tiny cracks appeared around your eyes. Every breath felt like the driest yet coldest mountain air there was in all the nine realms.

It hurt to have to bear the pressure inside your head. You could already smell blood flowing in your nose.

The hope in your heart was already extinguished when the knife finally moved. And indeed, like an arrow sent on its path by the bow, the blade now began to seek its target in the maze of the mine.

You were about to follow when exhaustion pulled you to the ground all at once. A surprised gasp escaped you.

Thor caught you before your knees could hit the hard ground and splinter like shards of ice when thrown into the frozen surface of a lake.

"I'll hold you.", he said and gently pulled himself into his arms. "If you allow me."

Eyes heavy with effort, you managed to nod wearily. A thin thread of blood dripped from your nose and wetted your lips with the taste of iron.

"There is... not much time...", you gasped, barely able to breathe. "We must follow... Tyr's knife before the blade melts."

Quickly, Thor and Atreus exchanged a look.

"You will be better able to navigate through the mines.", the God of Thunder said as Mjölnir hovered in the air beside him. "Follow the knife. I will follow you."

"No...", you whispered. "He is still..."

"I will make it.", Atreus assured you as he squeezed your hand with confidence. "I will be as fast as I can."

"I trust in you.", Thor insisted.

"Be... be careful...", you had to swallow hard. "Loki..."

"I will be!", the boy assured. "I'll bring your master back."

A soft chuckle made your chest feel like it was filled with shards of glass.

Without wasting time, Atreus turned on his heel and ran after the glowing trail of the knife. A weary smile warmed your lips as stiffness spread through your limbs.

"He is so full of life...", you murmured, your head leaning against Thor's chest, listening to his heartbeat. "We used to be like this..."

"Fate has not yet broken him.", Thor replied, snapping his fingers to give Mjölnir a silent command.

Swinging without a hand to guide it, the hammer lunged and smashed one of the green doors not far away. Dust and wood filled the air.

"Nothing...", disappointment could be heard in your tired voice.

"Did you expect anything else?", Thor asked, following the path Atreus was on.

Slowly, you shook your head. The beat of your heart snuck into your ear like a song you could have recognised even if you had been deaf.

"You remember these doors, don't you?", he asked as green-painted wood appeared again in the face.

Again he snapped his fingers for Mjölnir to destroy the door.

A shuddering breath made you cough. You could barely move your fingers.

The spell to call for Tyr was not one that required a sacrifice of blood or life. What was needed was a connection between those who sought each other. You wanted to find Tyr so the knife had absorbed a part of your soul to create a compass. Only when Tyr was found would his soul redeem yours and you would become whole again.

This was the pact your master had asked of you. He knew that one day he would have to disappear. And yet he wanted you to find him when you needed it most.

"These doors...", you whispered with a bitter smile and eyes so heavy you could barely see clearly.

"They are the very doors Allfather used to tear us apart.", Thor said with a scowl. "His most cruel trick so far."

You huffed.

"He did not... tear us apart... He played for time... We... wasted our time...."

Exhausted, you collapsed, your chin dropping to your chest. From a distance you could hear Mjölnir smashing something for the third time. But you were not sure if it was another door or the skull of an uninvited troublemaker.

"Get some sleep, my quill.", he breathed a kiss on your head. "I will be there when you awake."

With the last of your strength you managed to raise a hand to strike him on the chest. It was not a strong blow, more meant to tease him.

But he understood what it meant.

"This... is not an attempt to punish you...", you whispered as darkness crept into the corners of your eyes. "I am... not resentful... Not anymore... It's..."

"Our destiny...", he finished the sentence with empty eyes. "I know. I know that it is the consequence of my own actions."

"And... the sum... of our choices..."

"Choices that cannot be undone. Even if I'd give everything for it."

A soft chuckle made you smile.

"Everything..?", you asked.

He hesitated.

"Almost...", he admitted.

"Very well... What a good father you became... Pumpkin."