POV: Baldur.
King's Chamber, Royal Castle, Genosha.
Day of Convergence.
Waiting is not as easy a task as it seems. Days of complete silence only made the tension grow; there was no movement from Malekith that we could detect. There was nothing we could do, as not even Heimdall's senses could discern where he was or where he roamed. And the guardian of Asgard was quite busy working tirelessly to get the Bifrost up and running as quickly as possible, before other enemies of Asgard discovered that they couldn't send their soldiers into battle. The good news was that my father set aside his stubbornness; he ordered Heimdall to tell us where the realm of the Dark Elves was. But attacking their realm without knowing Malekith's movements would be a mistake in my opinion.
All my men were on standby, taking turns. But still, tension mounts among them; my generals and vice-regent are doing a great job maintaining order among the soldiers and civilians, but if this continues, accidents could happen. To make matters worse, space became increasingly unstable in these days, with several reports of objects and even people disappearing all over the world. Fury and Steve, representing the Avengers, came to me seeking explanations, and I gave them a summarized version of what was happening. Unfortunately, I can't do anything for the lost people, as they could reappear anywhere. I also thought about asking the Avengers for help, but they have their own problems to worry about. So, I sought help from another ally.
After another day of standby, and with only seconds left until the convergence, I returned to my room to prepare. Normally, I wouldn't miss such a rare event, but I don't think it's wise to leave my city once again, and the convergence will happen again in five thousand years, a blink of an eye for an Asgardian with the expectation of billions of years of life.
"My prince. The enemy has begun the attack." Suddenly, I hear Heimdall's voice.
(Finally!)
"What are their attacking forces, Heimdall? Are Asgard's defenses holding up?"
"They are not attacking Asgard. They are attacking the other Realms," Heimdall replied, catching me off guard.
"You're saying the elves are attacking several realms simultaneously?"
(It's surprising that they have so many soldiers available.)
"No, my prince. The Dark Elves have allies."
I never would have imagined that. In fact, I never thought anyone of goodwill would choose to aid Malekith in his plans; he is literally seeking to destroy all the realms and those who live in them. What kind of idiot would choose to be a part of that?
"Then tell me, who are their allies?"
So Heimdall told me, and I was paralyzed. First, it was the Fire Demons; I've never encountered them, but I know they are more powerful enemies than the Frost Giants, whose strength has been diminished after so many years of war. The Frost Giants weren't a big surprise, but Heven was something that would never have crossed my mind.
Heven was the realm that Odin banished from the World Tree in his rage; they had the audacity to steal Odin's son. This child was presumed dead, and the All-Father gave them a punishment worse than death. He isolated them with a curse, trapping them in a separate dimension, alone, abandoned to their own devices, and with the life expectancy of angels being as long as that of Asgardians, it was certainly a fitting punishment.
"The situation is dire, my prince. The Frost Giants and the Dark Elves are attacking Alfheim, the Fire Demons and the Angels are attacking Nidavellir."
"If you're talking to me, then has the All-Father devised a plan already, am I correct?"
"The All-Father wants you to aid Nidavellir. Thor and his friends will go to Alfheim."
"And how will we move? It takes too long to get there, even using one of my ships."
"You can use the portals opened by the convergence for that. The All-Father will use his magic to 'drag' one of them to send Thor and the warriors."
After the battle in Genosha ended, Thor made his way back to Asgard, this time with Jane. He thought it was safer for her there, and I didn't protest.
"I agree with the plan; I'm going personally to Nidavellir."
That ended my conversation with Heimdall, and now I have to inform my Generals.
"Alice, open a connection to Nordur and Freyja."
At that moment, two voices, one male and one female, speak to me.
"My King."
"My King."
"We don't have much time for details; Nidavellir is under attack, and we must aid them."
"My King, even at Ratatosk's maximum speed, it will take three hours to reach them," Freyja tells me.
I won't risk sending a ship the size of Ratatosk through the convergence portal. I doubt anyone has tried that before, and I don't want to be the first.
"Then start preparing now; I want an infantry battalion and as many jets and drones as we can take with us."
"Yes, sir," she replied, setting my order in motion.
"I've prepared the infantry battalion immediately, sir," Nordur said.
"I'll leave the city's defenses to you, Nordur."
"Are you going ahead, my king?"
"Yes. The dwarves have always been our loyal friends; I can't wait three hours sitting in a ship when I can get to them faster."
"Understood. I assure you, any attempt to attack Genosha in your absence will end in the blood of our enemies being shed."
Nordur spoke. He knew me well enough not to try to convince me not to go ahead alone.
"Are you ready for another battle, old friend?"
"Lihh!"
I mutter to my mount Sleipnir. It's been a long time since I last used him, as my flying speed is much faster than his. But Sleipnir has some special abilities in traversing the realms; my father used him for that in his youth. He will provide me with a bit more security in crossing the portal.
"Where is the convergence happening, Alice?"
"Right above London, sir."
I mount Sleipnir, who flies, riding through the air high above the clouds. Sleipnir then begins to ascend at high speed, and I witness one of the most beautiful scenes I've ever seen in my life. It's a bit difficult to describe: portals hundreds of meters wide open one after another, displaying various images of different realms. I fly with Sleipnir among them, searching for the right one, and I find it. I have no time to hesitate and cross the portal, reappearing above Nidavellir.
It hasn't changed much since I was last here. It's a realm completely dominated by enormous mountains that would make Everest seem like a small hill. There are no buildings on its surface; the dwarves prefer the underground, where they have built their cities.
Heimdall warned me that his vision was being obstructed by the enemy's magic, so he couldn't give me the exact location of the battle. So, I head to the location of the largest dwarven city. Sleipnir charges forward, and we arrive at the largest mountain in this realm. Inside it lies the king's city. It's truly another breathtaking sight, if it weren't for the enormous battle happening on the ground.
I could see several humanoid figures with bodies made of flames attacking the dwarves' defenses outside the mountain. The fire demons were elemental beings of pure fire, fighting by shooting their flames, causing great chaos for the dwarves. They also brought with them several enormous dragons made of pure flame, which joined the attack.
The dwarves, towering three meters tall, were doing a commendable job of holding the defense against the fire demons and dragons. However, they couldn't do anything against the army of winged women with angelic wings and silver armor attacking them with swords and spears. They used their wings and great agility to attack the dwarves and then retreated high above, out of their reach. As I was well above them, I went unnoticed, but it's time to make my entrance.
The entire battle was taking place outside the gigantic entrance of the mountain. If the enemies manage to breach the dwarves' defenses, they will completely destroy the city inside the mountain.
"Let's go, my friend!"
Sleipnir then dives at the highest speed possible, passing by the angels before they can stop us, and when we're about to hit the ground, he lifts his body, and I find myself facing a surprised fire demon. Their surprise doesn't last long as I plunge Sigel right into the middle of its skull, killing it and drawing everyone's attention.
"Odin!"
"Odin!"
"Odin!"
"The All-Father has arrived!"
"Victory is ours!"
Some dwarves behind me shout.
"Look well, you fools. He's not Odin, but surely victory is ours!"
The one who realized who I was is King Eitri of the dwarves. I look back and see him with two axes in each hand. He's one of the few who are wielding weapons like that; it's a bit strange, but many are using weapons I've never seen before. I can also see many of them using weapons similar to muskets, but with thicker barrels.
"Baldur, son of Odin, I thank you for your help," says Eitri.
"You can thank me after the battle is over, King Eitri."
I turn my gaze back to the enemy. They have stopped their attack, perhaps also confusing me with Odin, but they soon realize I'm not him, and an angel restarts the attack.
"Finally, a worthy male to be put in the breeding fields!"
This angel then tries to grab my neck, but I'm quicker, grabbing her by the neck first.
"I usually don't like to harm women," I say to her as she struggles in the air, trying to break free.
"Of course, that changes when the women in question are warriors. The greatest respect a man can give to warrior women is to fight with all his might without holding back."
"Crack!"
I break the angel's neck and then let her go. Several of her companions above me dive toward me at high speed. I spin Sigel, releasing a wave of flames upward, turning them into ashes. The flames in the air separate and form several fireballs that rain down on the fire demons like meteors.
"BOOMMM!" "BOOMMM!" "BOOMMM!" "BOOMMM!" "BOOMMM!" "BOOMMM!" "BOOMMM!"
Each fireball creates an explosion where it lands. Unfortunately, my enemies don't seem to have been affected.
"I knew the demons would have some defense against my flames, but I didn't expect them to be completely invulnerable."
"The hard way it is then."
I ride with Sleipnir, spinning my spear and dispatching all my enemies in front of me. The fire demons, standing over six meters tall, make for beautiful targets. The dwarves also take advantage of the space created by the bodies of the enemies I kill to launch a counterattack. The angels then focus all their attention on me, forcing me to leave the attack against the demons and take to the sky.
This was the first time I used Sleipnir in aerial combat, and I must say it's a great feeling. I didn't need to do anything except concentrate on cutting down my enemies; Sleipnir did all the hard work, dodging and chasing my prey. I attacked, slicing through the angels with every blow. When I couldn't hit them fatally, I struck their wings, causing them to plummet to their deaths. An hour later, Sleipnir and I were drenched in blood. But the battle continued without any sign of stopping.
My battle, as seen from afar, seemed entirely in my favor, but that wasn't true. The Angels were probably the best soldiers I've ever fought; they attacked as one, targeting every weakness of mine. They also didn't care about the lives of their comrades; when my spear pierced one of them, the other would pierce her companion aiming to injure me. Their blood covered my body, concealing my wounds from others.
To increase the pressure on me, two fire dragons flew in my direction, working in tandem with the angels. They gave me some trouble, but since my flames couldn't harm them, neither could theirs hurt me, and after a short time, I severed their heads.
"Finally, we're here," I say aloud, so happy I can hardly contain it.
As I was above the ground battle, I couldn't make any large-scale attacks for fear of friendly fire. So, during this hour, I began to slowly move away from the ground battle. Now we were thousands of kilometers away from the ground battle, with nothing around me except the swarm of Angels.
"It's time to end this!"
I raise my hand high, and thousands of light swords appear above me, pointing downward. They all looked like small golden stars illuminating the sky of Nidavellir. The angels looked up and stopped the attack for the first time.
"You have returned as the tenth realm, so accept my welcome gift!"
As I was about to lower my arm, signaling for the swords to fall, I feel a noise coming from my left, not from the sky, but from the ground. A shadow jumped from the ground and reached my height at high speed; the shadow then stood right by my side and swung a sword, trying to cut me in half. With no way to dodge, I stop her attack by raising Sigel. The force of the blow surprises me, and I'm thrown off my horse.
I fall with my back to the ground, and when the dust settles, I see that the person who attacked me was standing over me, forcing her sword toward me, which was being stopped by the handle of Sigel. She was a magnificent woman, with long red hair and a fierce look on her face. I recognize her immediately. It's not every day that someone who has been declared dead since birth shows up. Of course, I knew she was alive, but I didn't expect to encounter my older sister so soon.
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