The Guardian chosen by the Moon

The chaos of battle raged around me. As Thor clashed with Kurse, I continued to fight the Dark Elf warriors, using my staff to summon freezing gusts and immobilize their weapons. My movements were fluid, my body reacting before my mind could make a conscious decision. A blade slashed toward me, and with a swift motion, I conjured a wall of ice that shattered the weapon on impact.

But these opponents were relentless. For every Dark Elf I took down, two more took their place. I fought with intensity, using the wind to dodge and reposition myself, my attacks striking with razor-sharp precision. Yet, despite my agility, I could feel fatigue creeping in.

Then, I turned toward Kurse.

He was raw power incarnate, a colossus whose strength surpassed anything I had ever seen. His battle with Thor was a titanic clash. Every strike echoed like rolling thunder, each impact sending shards of stone and dust into the air. I knew Thor was strong, but Kurse… he was something else. I tightened my grip on my staff, frost forming between my fingers, and launched myself into the fight.

I attacked Kurse from the side, blasting him with a wave of frost in an attempt to slow him down. Ice quickly spread across his armor, cracking under the biting cold. Kurse turned his gaze toward me, his eyes burning with a menacing glow. I braced myself, dodging his first strike just in time. He swung again, and I barely evaded, letting the wind carry me out of his reach.

I counterattacked, swinging my staff down onto his arm, hoping to unbalance him. The impact resonated like a hammer against stone. A shockwave traveled up my arm, and before I could react, Kurse retaliated. He grabbed me by the throat and hurled me violently against a boulder. Pain exploded in my back, and my vision blurred for a moment. I tried to stand, but my body refused to cooperate.

I watched helplessly as Kurse turned his attention back to Thor. Despite his immense power, Thor struggled against the brute force of his opponent. Each blow seemed to shake the very earth beneath us.

Then, Loki intervened.

He appeared behind Kurse, plunging a dagger into his back. The stone giant paused for a moment, but instead of falling, he grabbed Loki by the collar and lifted him off the ground. The blade Loki had driven into him pierced through his own torso, impaling him.

A heavy silence fell over the battlefield. Thor, frozen in place, watched as his brother was thrown to the ground, fatally wounded.

Loki, gasping for breath, still had the last word. With a trembling hand, he activated one of Kurse's black hole grenades. "I'll see you in Hel," he whispered before the grenade activated, consuming Kurse in a swirling void.

Thor rushed to Loki, falling to his knees beside him. He held him carefully, his expression filled with deep anguish. The god of mischief was pale, his breaths shallow, his eyes searching desperately for something in his brother's face.

"I will tell Odin what you did," Thor murmured, his voice shaking.

Loki lifted his gaze slightly, a faint smile on his lips. "I didn't do it for Odin..." he whispered weakly. His skin turned ashen, his features softening as his eyes slowly closed. A gray tint settled over his face, his breath fading into nothingness, leaving Thor's anguished cry echoing in the storm raging around us.

A distant rumble of thunder rolled across the sky. A storm was approaching.

Thor slowly stood, closing his eyes for a moment before turning away. He lifted Jane, still weakened by the Aether, and carried her toward a nearby cave for shelter. Without a word, I followed.

The cave was dark and damp, the air charged with static from the approaching storm. Thor laid Jane against the rocky wall and sat beside her, visibly exhausted.

A heavy silence settled between us, broken only by Jane's ragged breathing. After a moment, I decided to speak.

"Loki is probably still alive."

Thor looked up at me, but I continued before he could respond. "Think about it. This is Loki. The god of trickery. Do you really think he would let his own death be so… heroic?"

Thor didn't answer immediately. He turned away, deep in thought, then shook his head slightly. "If he is... then he has chosen to disappear."

Jane, despite her weakness, barely opened her eyes. "If Malekith… uses the Aether… he will destroy everything. I saw it."

Thor placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault."

Before she could respond, a strange sound echoed through the cave. A cell phone ringtone.

Thor frowned as Jane, with a trembling hand, reached for her phone. Her expression shifted drastically as she saw the name on the screen: Richard Madison.

"How is that possible?" she murmured.

Curious, Thor asked, "Who is Madison?"

Jane sighed lightly, still weak, before answering, "He's… someone I dated after you left."

Thor straightened slightly, looking perplexed. "You mean you found someone else?"

Jane gave him a tired look. "You were gone for two years, Thor. Two years with no news, no explanation. What was I supposed to do?"

Jack, observing the scene, raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Two years, for beings like us, is barely the blink of an eye. But hey, that doesn't excuse everything."

Thor crossed his arms, clearly torn between frustration and understanding. He rubbed his temples and let out a deep sigh. "I suppose I struggle to see time the way you do."

Jane nodded, a faint smile on her lips. "Welcome to the world of mortals."