Thor shifted uneasily, gripping the heavy stone tablet with both hands. It pressed down on him like an anchor, heavier than it had any right to be.
His arms strained a little even under his godly strength.
"Soren, what now?" Adjusting his grip and scowling at the thing as if it had personally insulted him.
"You take the tablet back to Asgard. Let the elders poke around, translate whatever old runes they can."
"I'll meet you there soon."
Thor opened his mouth to argue, but Soren was already striding away.
"Ah? Oh, fine," Thor muttered, shifting the tablet awkwardly under one arm.
As he did, a realization hit him, the damn thing was heavy.
Really heavy.
Mjolnir didn't feel like this.
He grunted under his breath, flexing as he shifted the stone to a better position.
"Soren!" He bellowed after the retreating figure.
"Make it quick, aye? Soon as this mess is sorted, we're having a feast! Drinking till we see three moons in the sky!"
Soren lifted a hand in acknowledgment without turning around.
Thor snorted and shook his head.
"Mad bastard." He muttered fondly, before turning toward the Bifrost gate.
Everlife
Soren's boots echoed sharply against the marble floor as he passed the rows of gleaming instruments, past the empty recovery chambers, until he reached a heavy, sealed door.
He pressed his palm against the scanner. The door hissed open.
The Genetic Laboratory greeted him with a cold, sterile hum. Inside, rows of containment units pulsed with dim, green light.
Suspended within were vials, each one labeled, categorized with meticulous care.
Soren crossed to a particular section marked with a single sigil: Dark Elf Specimens.
He grabbed a syringe, the liquid inside an iridescent, nearly black shade of crimson.
Heimdall said blood was the key, Soren thought, rolling the vial between his fingers. Fine."
"I'll make my own key."
Without a second thought, he slammed the syringe into his arm and depressed the plunger.
A cold shock flooded his veins, spreading like liquid fire. His fingers twitched. His vision sharpened, colors brightening unnaturally — the sterile whites of the lab became painfully vivid. Somewhere deep inside, something ancient stirred.
Soren grimaced, gripping the table for balance.
"Damn, that's a kick..."
He'd prepared for this. His genetic scaffold, fortified by the Extremis serum, adjusted and fought to stabilize the alien intrusion. Cells meshed. DNA strands twisted, writhed, and settled.
Soren straightened after a moment, flexing his fingers experimentally.
… he felt it.
A strange hum at the edge of his senses, the whisper of dark magic, no longer foreign, but familiar. His blood, his body, now carried the signature of the ancient race.
He pulled a small, sleek scalpel from the nearby tray, the genetic modifier, the failsafe. If things had gone wrong, he would've carved the infection out of himself without hesitation.
But he wouldn't need it. Not this time.
Grinning sharply, Soren slid the scalpel back into its case.
"Now... let's see what secrets you're hiding."
Asgard
"Soren! About time!" Thor called out, his voice booming against the high arches.
In front of him, gathered around the heavy stone tablet, were a group of ancient Asgardians, their backs hunched with age, but their eyes clear. The faint shimmer of magic clung to their fingertips as they carefully copied the inscriptions onto long rolls of parchment.
"These old fossils." Thor said with a grin, clapping Soren's shoulder hard enough to jostle him.
"They've been around since before I could walk. If anyone can crack these markings, it's them."
Soren offered a polite nod toward the elders, though his real focus was locked onto the stone.
The pull was stronger now, a vibration through his chest, tugging at the dark elf blood simmering inside him.
Steady, he told himself. Not yet.
He stood rigidly as the elders continued their work, carefully rubbing and copying every rune from the ancient surface.
After a time, one of the elders, a bent old man with a braided white beard and runes tattooed on his hands, turned to Thor and Soren.
"The rubbings are complete." He rasped, like dry leaves scraping stone. "But heed me well, many of these symbols are warnings."
"Dangers meant for those who act without wisdom. Best leave the tablet untouched until the full translation is ready."
Thor offered a bow low enough to show respect but not so low as to strain his pride.
"Our thanks, wise one. We'll be careful."
As the elders slowly filed out, Thor leaned close to Soren and muttered, "Not sure if you noticed, but some of those old goats were giving you funny looks."
"They feel the dark magic on me." Soren's lips twitched with a smirk.
"Can't be helped."
Thor squinted at him. "You planning something stupid?"
Soren just smiled.
Instead of answering, he stepped forward, toward the stone.
"Soren. Soren. Let's not poke the angry dragon, yeah? Elders said not to~"
"I already have the key." Soren said softly.
Before Thor could stop him, Soren reached out, fingertips brushing the cold, ancient surface.
At once, the stone blazed to life.
Golden and black light poured from the inscriptions, swirling like a living storm around Soren's arm. Thor stumbled backward with a curse as a wall of force exploded from the tablet, slamming him against the far corner of the hall.
He grunted but stayed on his feet, blinking furiously against the searing brightness.
"What in Hel's name?" Thor growled, trying to push forward, but the force kept him pinned.
Across the room, Soren stood perfectly still, bathed in writhing shadows.
Dark tendrils of magic curled around him, linking him to the stone.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream