"Gungnir?"
Thor froze mid-swing, his eyes widening in disbelief. The sight before him was too shocking to comprehend. As the son of Odin, the Thunder God of Asgard, he knew without question what weapon Senju Haruto was holding in his hand.
It was his father's divine spear—Gungnir.
Not only a weapon capable of annihilating all enemies, but also the supreme symbol of power across the Nine Realms.
But how…?
How could that spear suddenly appear in Haruto's hands? This was his first time setting foot in Asgard. He hadn't seen him use the Sling Ring to open a portal and steal Odin's weapon. And even if he had tried, Odin wasn't so easily fooled.
Every artifact in the All-Father's vault was bound by his enchantments—each one impossible to wield without his chosen divine authority.
Mjölnir could not be lifted without a matching godly essence.
The Destroyer could not be activated without Odin's command.
Surely Gungnir was no exception.
Could it be… that Senju Haruto, as the Sorcerer Supreme, possessed a divine essence powerful enough to resonate with the spear of Odin himself?
But wasn't the Sorcerer Supreme still human?
Thor and Loki both stood frozen, unable to make a sound. All they could do was stare as Haruto slowly rose into the air, hovering above the shimmering expanse of the Bifröst. His eyes were firm and resolute, locked on one section of the bridge.
"Gungnir!"
Haruto's voice boomed through the air. Calling out the weapon's true name, he hurled it forward with all his might.
Thor instinctively dove aside, rolling to avoid the inevitable blast. Loki threw himself flat on the ground.
Sif and the Warriors Three had already retreated far behind Haruto's position, aware that what came next could shatter worlds.
"What's going on? How can he use Gungnir?"
"Where did he even get it? That's Odin's weapon!"
"Wait—he's not planning to destroy the Bifröst with it, is he?!"
Their questions were swallowed by a deafening roar.
Gungnir slammed straight into the Bifröst. The impact shook Asgard to its core. Rings of magical energy rippled outward in a blinding wave.
BOOM!
At the spear's point of contact, spiderweb cracks exploded across the rainbow bridge, spreading faster than lightning until they blanketed an entire section.
Thor could only gape in stunned awe as Haruto's power tore through what had been considered indestructible. The fractures deepened, cutting through the structure until—
A blinding white light swallowed everything. The radiance was so intense that Thor and the others had to clamp their eyes shut to avoid being blinded on the spot.
But those present weren't the only ones witnessing this overwhelming power.
Far away, within the royal palace, Odin the All-Father stirred from the Odinsleep.
The instant he sensed his two sons' presence in turmoil, he abandoned his rest and rushed toward the disturbance—arriving just in time to see Gungnir's devastating strike.
"That spear… Gungnir?"
Odin froze, shock flashing through his ancient eyes. Then, as if realizing something, he looked down at his own hand.
There—resting firmly within his grasp—was his Gungnir.
He could feel the divine energy flowing through it. The timeless essence of the World Tree's branches fused with Uru metal—undeniably authentic. There was no mistake.
No one had stolen it.
And yet… another Gungnir existed before his eyes.
"This… this is impossible…"
Odin swallowed hard, his throat dry, forcing himself to look past the fading light.
A massive section of the Bifröst had been obliterated, leaving a gaping void where the bridge once shimmered. When Odin had awakened, he'd already sensed that someone had activated the Bifröst's doomsday cannon. That was why he had rushed here.
And now—Gungnir's power had cleansed the bridge of all its black magic energy, erasing the apocalyptic charge Loki had unleashed.
But the price… was the bridge itself.
The Bifröst was gone. Its structure shattered, its energy dispersed into the void.
And yet, the Gungnir Haruto had thrown didn't fall into the Abyss of No Return. For a moment, it hovered midair—then shot off, streaking through the sky as if flying back to its true master.
Odin's gaze followed its trail until it led him to a figure suspended high above.
A man he had never seen before.
A soul he had never felt within Asgard.
"He is not of Asgard," Odin murmured in his deep, solemn tone, immediately discerning Haruto's origin.
But there was no time for questions. The crisis had been averted. The All-Father leapt across the broken chasm of the bridge, striding forward with divine force until he landed beside Thor and Loki.
Haruto. Odin. Thor.
Three beings of overwhelming power now stood upon the shattered remains of the Bifröst.
And only one of them—Loki—knew what awaited him.
Odin had known everything before his slumber: the deceptions, the manipulations, the betrayal.
There would be no forgiveness.
No mercy.
He wasn't even Odin's true son.
"Father…" Thor breathed, eyes brimming with tears of relief. For him, seeing Odin awake again felt like salvation itself.
"Thor."
Odin's eyes softened as he looked his son up and down. He could sense that Thor had reclaimed his godly power—proving himself worthy once again. A faint smile touched the old god's lips.
But when his gaze turned to Loki, it carried only disappointment.
The younger prince, once brilliant and proud, had let power consume him.
"It's over, Loki," Thor said quietly, his voice thick with sorrow.
"Is it?"
Loki's smile was faint, brittle. He didn't need Thor to tell him what he already knew. Looking at the ruin around them—and at Odin's cold, piercing eyes—he understood perfectly.
He had lost.
All he had ever wanted was to prove he could do better than Thor. To show that he could rule, that he could be more than a shadow in his brother's light.
If Sif and the others hadn't gone to Midgard to find Thor, he might have succeeded. Asgard could have thrived under his rule.
All of this… was because Sif had defied his orders.
The thought hollowed him out completely. His heart went still. He took a step back, lips curling into a strained, almost mocking smile.
Thor's instincts screamed.
"No!"
He lunged forward, sprinting toward his brother, trying to stop him before he could do something irreversible.
But he was too late.
By the time Thor reached him, Loki had already stepped backward—falling silently into the Abyss of No Return.
Even Odin could not walk that path.
Thor stood motionless, staring into the endless darkness below. Despite everything Loki had done, he couldn't see his brother as irredeemably evil.
He had only failed the test of power.
He could have turned back. He could have been saved.
Sif and the Warriors Three stood behind them in silence, their hearts heavy.
Loki should have stood beside Thor as his ally, helping him rule the realm.
But instead—blinded by ambition—he had been devoured by it.
And in the end… he fell.