Jotunheim
A Frost Giant approaches King Laufrey's throne.
"Lord, I bring news from Asgard."
"Speak."
"The younger prince has been banished for disobeying his father's orders."
Laufrey gives a cruel smile.
"The Allfather is even willing to sacrifice one of his own sons to avoid total war. And Utgard-Loki?"
"He has dismissed all his subordinates, waiting alone in his castle."
"No matter if the prince kills Utgard-Loki, he will be killed afterwards by my legion."
"Lord, if Utgard-Loki kills the prince, it would bring him great fame."
"If the prince dies, then my legion will kill him. Either way, both will die today."
"The king is right."
"It is truly a good day."
Unfortunately for King Laufrey, this would be the day when a single prince caused the greatest disaster in Jotunheim.
POV: Baldur
The army of Frost Giants marches towards us from the horizon of the frozen sea. I can see thousands of them walking in an organized formation, marching calmly and efficiently, very different from the savage fools I fought before. The giants do not wear armor; they are armed with spears and swords.
Behind the infantry, four twenty-five-meter-tall ice titans stand, a ridiculous idea from the Thor movies, which depict him and his friends invading Jotunheim without trouble.
(We're talking about a planet, how the hell can six people invade and fight against their king alone!?)
I place Amora on the ground, supporting her with my body.
"Amora, can you teleport us out of Jotunheim?"
"No, the bearded bastard drained my energy, fearing I would escape him."
The odds are not in our favor. I am a bit tired and have lost the movement of one arm during the fight. Even though I can fight against the army, I will eventually tire and be overwhelmed by their numbers.
"We can try to hide in some mountain or cave."
Amora's idea is good; we can hide until she regains her strength and teleports us somewhere safe. The problem is where we are.
"This is their planet; I doubt we can find a safe place."
"So, do we fight?"
I can see fear in her eyes. I know she will try to fight by my side if I choose to.
"It's not time to die yet."
"So, what do we do?"
I look at the small sun created by me still in the sky. After my final blow, the small sun continued burning the elements around it. I make it shrink from one meter to twenty centimeters, flying into the palm of my hand.
The stars are born in balance, but when a star loses its equilibrium by converting all its hydrogen into helium, it rapidly expands in size and heat. When almost all its hydrogen is consumed, there are three paths for a dying star: it can become a white dwarf, a small dying star; it can become compact, where no atoms remain, a neutron star; or it can become a black hole.
What determines which way a star will die is its size, and I don't have the power to do any of these things. Not on a universal scale.
(What if I try to create an event on a smaller scale?)
It's totally against the laws of physics, of course, but so are my powers.
"Baldur, what are you plotting?"
"How do you know I'm plotting something?"
"You had the same look on your face when you discovered your first rune."
"I have an idea. If it works, it will cause a lot of damage on the planet."
"Who cares about that? We only have a few minutes until the army arrives!"
She tells me urgently.
Cruel with her enemies as always. However, she's right, why should I care about the damage?
I'm not going to spend my life worried that some idiot might try to kidnap someone I care about, so a message is necessary, a message for all nine realms.
I look at my little star; the plan is to form a mini neutron star.
"Amora, can you create a magical shield around me? Just to prevent the heat from spreading from me."
She's too weak for planetary teleportation, but she might be able to create a shield.
"Be quick, it won't last long."
After stepping away, extending her hands and speaking some words in a strange language, a three-meter-wide green circle appears around me.
I focus my attention on the small sun in my hand, making it consume all the chemical elements around me and deposit them in its core.
Just at the beginning of the process, I'm already running out of energy, so I use the runes to enhance my powers. It won't last long since I used a lot of energy in the previous fight.
Now I have greater control over the sun; it's in total balance. I need to disrupt that.
I make the sun burn all the hydrogen in its core; naturally, the helium is converted into heavier elements, releasing so much heat around me that the magical shield begins to crack.
"Baldur, I can't hold on much longer."
The converted helium concentrates at the center of the sun, one step away from completing the neutron star.
I glance at my body for a moment. My clothes have been incinerated; there's a golden glow all over my body, the runes on my chest and arm shining in blue. I'm floating a few centimeters off the ground.
The army of Frost Giants is about a hundred meters from the cliff.
"Go as far as you can."
Amora understands that if she stays close, she'll end up dead like the jotuns. The ground beneath her feet begins to levitate, carrying her away.
Carefully, I toss the small star towards the jotuns; it stops a few inches from them, on the frozen sea.
With one final push, the star explodes in a brilliant burst of golden light that covers everything.
From the ocean to the cliff, everything is engulfed in a golden glow emitting light and heat like I've never seen before.
A supernova. It occurs during the final stages of evolution of some stars, some of them shining brighter than a galaxy; my sun can't cause such an event.
The temperature vaporizes anything the moment the golden light covers everything; the army simply disappears, as does the frozen ocean, and Utgard-Loki's castle is swept away too.
This is just the beginning. The sun begins to spin at an alarming speed, creating a gravitational force that sucks in all the ice not reached by the supernova and incinerates it. The supernova now spins with the star, resembling a small universe; the cliff I was on no longer exists, and I'm falling into the immense hole surrounding the star.
The gravitational force is so powerful that it's sucking in everything around, be it Earth, ice, or air. From now on, only the star remains, suspended in a huge round crater, so deep that I only see darkness.
(I really need to find a way to fly.)
The heat and gravity don't affect me, but that doesn't mean I won't fall into the massive hole around the star. I have a ridiculous idea that's worth a try.
I throw my spear in the opposite direction of the star. As it leaves my hand, I grab the end of its handle. I'm not flying like Thor with his Mjolnir; I'm more like being dragged.
During the journey, I can see the damage outside the affected area. The ice has melted, revealing a burnt black ground. The gravitational force doesn't reach so far, but the heat does. I'm being dragged for hundreds of meters until I see Amora levitating on a rock, with her mouth open and a shocked expression.
I release the spear, falling to the ground a little after her.
Amora seems to notice me and approaches.
"What did you do? This thing will destroy all of Jotunheim!"
I stand up, and my spear, which was still flying, returns to my hand.
"It won't destroy all of Jotunheim, just about 25% of it. The supernova will disappear over time, but the heat and gravity will last a bit longer, melting another 25% of Jotunheim."
Amora looks at me strangely now, blushing with her eyes wide open.
"What's wrong?"
"Your clothes."
She says, turning away. True, I forgot I'm naked. I use one of the spear's abilities to rebuild my armor, without the royal cape.
"You can turn around now."
She turns to me, a little disappointed.
"Shall we go home now?"
"We can't."
"Why not?"
As I'm about to respond, I hear a familiar voice behind me.
"Why? he banished from Asgard"
Turning around, I see my favorite brother.
"Loki!"
We both are surprised by Loki's presence.
"Loki, why was Baldur banished?"
"I'm glad you're not hurt, Amora. Regarding the banishment, it was the only way for Baldur to come to Jotunheim and save you without starting a war. He knew that, of course."
She looks at me with a mixture of compassion and guilt.
"Why did you do all this for me, you idiot?"
"Someday I'll tell you, but not now."
I see tears welling up in her eyes. She turns away and falls silent. It's best to give her some space.
"Loki, what are you doing here?"
Turning my attention back to Loki,
"Do you think I would leave my younger brother trapped on this giant ice rock they call a planet?"
Being banished from Asgard, I can't use the Bifrost. I was in such a hurry that I forgot to formulate a plan to return.
"I really thought about helping you in your heroic rescue, Baldur. I never thought you'd destroy part of Jotunheim. Now all nine realms will know how terrible the wrath of the sun god can be."
"That was the intention."
"So you did it wonderfully, brother. How about making another one of those stars and finishing off the planet? I doubt anyone would complain about it."
"Loki, do you think it was easy for me to do that? I'll spend over a week recovering my energy."
Loki laughs at my misery.
"So, brother, where do you want to go? I can take you anywhere in the eight realms."
This catches Amora's attention. She turns to us, still crying.
I really don't know where to go now. I could go back to Nidavellir; the dwarves would welcome me with open arms. Unfortunately, it's not a good place for Amora. There's only one place where we can build a new home for ourselves.
With a smile on my face, I say,
"Take me to a certain island in Midgard, brother."