The Purging of Asgard

Chapter 25

"Don't cry." He whispered, his breathing already labored, "Let me die with honor."

"No," you argued stubbornly. "I will save you. Let me save you." He took your hand from his chest, already coated in deep red, letting his blood run freely.

"It doesn't even hurt anymore." He assured you softly and you watched the life fade from his eyes and he breathed his last.

Now you kneel in the common, Balder's still form across your lap; no matter how close you held him, how tightly you hugged him, you couldn't make him stay. You can't bring yourself to move, numbness paralyzing you, you tried to stop it; you wanted so badly to stop it, but every vision so far has been unchangeable. You were foolish to think you could do anything. You watch the slashing swords biting flesh, swinging hilts chipping bone, you hear Loki cry out as Hela's sword connects with his shoulder. Maybe you can do something after all.

"Rest well in Valhalla, dear Warrior." You whisper over him, kissing his forehead. Regardless of being above you in court and rank, he had always seen himself as your protector. You let a few tears fall for him before shifting him to the ground, folding his arms across his chest.

You stand slowly, turning toward Sif and Loki as they battle Hela's hulking form, and you charge forward.

You feel the rumble begin in your bones; a deafening thunder cracks through the sky, roaring through the air around you. Your step falters from the vibration and you see splinters of light crawl across the gathering clouds. You watch the sky.

A blinding flash disorients you when a bolt of lightning strikes the common between you and Hela. You're knocked to your back, vision clearing just in time to see Hela stumbling, temporarily blinded. In her confusion, Sif skewers her shoulder, followed by Loki piercing her back, running her through with his twin blades, and pushing her to her knees, they stake her to the ground, holding her firm as she writhes and bellows, her appearance slowly rearticulating, transforming back into the half-corpse form you saw in your dream.

As you start to pull yourself to your feet, a hand is offered to you. You accept, and are tugged to your feet, coming face-to-face with Thor. He looks at you in momentary confusion, but then you see a flicker of recognition.

"Sigyn." He breathes, "Lady Sigyn, my sister! You're alive!" he gathers you up into a crushing hug, lifting you off the ground, "I saw you fall, how can this be?"

"It's a long story that we don't have time for now."

"What a lovely reunion." Hela snarls,

"You will take care what you say, devil." Thor commands her, "I am inclined to condemn you without allowing you a defense, and every poisonous word you hiss chips away at my generosity."

"Do not bother trying to negotiate, Thor. She is beyond reason." The Enchantress speaks, groaning and leaning heavily on Odin as they join you. Her eyes have lost much of their fire, now sunken and ringed with dark circles; blood is smudged from her nose across her cheek. Her protection of the vicinity from the skirmish had left her drained and powerless, though at the rate she is regaining her breath she seems to be recovering quickly.

Hela, still staked to the ground, continues to writhe.

"You have deprived me of my standing," She barks at Thor and Odin, "stolen my rights and my honor. You wrenched it from me, for what? You don't even want it. You left me with less than scraps; while the righteous enter Valhalla, out of my reach, I get the cowards and devils, the dishonorable dead. Have you no respect for the daughter of a prince?" Loki, standing nearby, hangs his head. "The daughter of a would-be King?" She bucks against the swords, feeling one of them shift.

"Hela," Loki says quietly, "my daughter, this is wrong. I was wrong. I was never intended for Asgard's throne... and you were never going to get anywhere near it." She looks him in the eye,

"Wasn't I?" she bucks one more time, the smooth blades jerking out of the loosened soil. She rears back, onto her knees, pounding her fists into the grass, causing a ripple-effect to radiate through the park; it knocks you all off of your feet, jars the trees, and splits through the park fountain.

Thor is the first to his feet, reaching Hela as she pulls the last sword from her back. With a powerful swing, he knocks her back, Sif trips her and she falls to the ground. Thor stands over her, pinning her down with Mjolnir.

"Even your mighty hammer cannot kill me."

"Yes, darling, we know." Loki says, wielding the Nightsword. He raises it over his head, ready to end the battle.

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