fiction | Part of the journey is the end

5. Eternity

Gorr and the Asgardian children stood at the Gates of Eternity. There was a long stone hallway with statues including, Eternity, the Living Tribunal, Uatu the Watcher, Death, Eon, the One Above All, and Infinity.

The Avengers' eyes instantly fell on the statue of the Watcher while the Guardians looked at both the Watcher and the One Above All. Wong, Stephen, Clea, and America stared at the statue of the Living Tribunal in awe while Quill looked at the statue of the One Above All with distaste; it was a Celestial.

"That's a group of very powerful and ancient beings," Carol stated, referring to the statues.

"It makes sense why Uatu is included," said Gamora. No one was about to forget the Watcher and Infinity Ultron's multiverse fight anytime soon.

Gorr slammed Stormbreaker into the ground and held it in place using the shadow monsters. He summoned the Bifrost to start to activate a portal to Eternity's Realm.

The color drained from their faces at seeing how close Gorr was to getting to Eternity. Where the hell was Thor?

However, the process damaged the Gates and resulted in the statue of the One Above All falling on the children, but Thor saved the children in time by holding the statue.

There was a collective sigh of relief at seeing Thor and at seeing that the kids were alright because all of them could've been squished.

"I knew he'd come," Axl said. The kids ran out of harm's way of the statue.

"As if he wouldn't," said Peter.

Thor threw the statue aside and told the kids to gather around. He said that they were going to sneak their way toward Stormbreaker and try not to bump into the shadow monsters.

"More like avoid those disgusting creatures like the plague," said Scott.

"Does anyone here have battle experience?" Thor asked. The kids shook their heads. "Well, no time to learn like the present," he said.

The Avengers blinked in surprise.

"Are you being serious? Thor, they're kids," Steve said.

"They're old enough to fight. My mother took Loki and me into battle when we were much younger than them," said Thor. Besides, he wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to let the kids fight the shadow monsters without any protection.

"I'm surprised that they don't have battle experience. They're Asgardians," said Loki.

"I fought many battles by their age," said Valkyrie.

The Guardians didn't see what the big deal was about letting the kids fight.

Thor reminded them they were Asgardian kids and were strong. A Lycan kid, a Midassian kid, and a Falligarian kid said they weren't Asgardian, but Thor said they were for today.

"They're always Asgardian if they stay in New Asgard," said Thor. Korg once said that New Asgard could be a haven for many species around the galaxy and he was right. The Lycan, Midassian, and Falligarian kids were children of refugees from Sakaar who helped Loki and Korg get back to Asgard.

Loki's lips curved into a smile at hearing that. His chest warmed at the realization that the next generation of adopted Asgardians wouldn't grow up as he did; New Asgard was going to be a place where all species were accepted, including Jotunns. They couldn't make the same mistakes that the previous generation did.

The kids decided to use the debris as weapons. Thor told them to present arms, and the children lifted their makeshift weapons and one of them lifted their plushie as a weapon.