Loki had shifted his plan from outright invasion to a cynical exchange: the throne for a false promise of peace. At this pivotal moment, Thor agreed without the slightest hesitation.
Compared to the agonizing, useless exile on Midgard, Thor preferred to return to Asgard, even if it meant imprisonment. Back home, he could still see his beloved mother, Frigga, and his loyal friends. The throne, he realized, was nothing more than a seat of responsibility he had proven unfit to hold.
"I agree," Thor stated, his voice ringing with a conviction born of suffering, not bravado. "I abdicate the throne, effective immediately. My claim is forfeit if you promise to spare this realm and cease your aggression."
Loki feigned satisfaction, offering a small, regal nod. "Very well, brother. We will return and make the announcement to the court." In his heart, however, a venomous thought coiled: "Thor, my brother, you must die now. For the sake of my future, your usefulness has reached its end."
Loki turned to the assembled, defeated army. "Warriors of Asgard! Assemble, prepare to retreat! We have secured Prince Thor, and the mortal champion has yielded the relic."
"Destroyer, return!"
Most of Asgard's warriors were stunned, lying bruised or immobilized. Fortunately, all were only moderately wounded. This was mainly due to the surgical precision and deliberate restraint of Su Yi's power.
Had he unleashed the full, unbridled fury of Mjolnir's divine lightning, the battlefield would have been littered with vaporized remains. Su Yi had acted like a saint, prioritizing peace over overwhelming victory.
Su Yi watched the orderly retreat, an intense flicker of suspicion in his eyes. Loki's sudden agreement felt too easy, too neat. That kid was a ticking bomb of ambition and resentment, and the stakes of this conflict—two realms—were too high to trust his word.
"I wonder what Loki is truly planning. I'll go to the Heavenly Palace to see when the time comes," Su Yi mused, already setting the coordinates for a silent teleportation after the Bifrost closed.
As his thoughts drifted, he suddenly recalled Loki's original plan from the timeline he knew: using the Bifrost Bridge as a weapon of mass destruction. Loki had previously threatened to use the rainbow bridge's concentrated energy to obliterate Jotunheim in a fit of rage.
"Hiss, Loki isn't planning that, is he? To destroy Midgard just to spite me?"
His gaze fell to the ground where he had conducted a small, impromptu test. Before Loki called it back, Su Yi had deliberately dropped Mjolnir onto the chest plate of the Destroyer as he dragged it.
The hammer hadn't crushed the armor, nor had the Destroyer been able to move while the hammer rested there, but it also wasn't magically pinned like a truly unworthy object. The moment Loki gave the recall command, the armor moved, and Mjolnir simply slipped from its body and fell to the desert ground.
"So, Mjolnir can't suppress this thing because it's a machine, not a living being—but it can't lift the hammer either because its purpose is not noble, only obedience," Su Yi concluded. "An interesting technicality of the enchantment."
Su Yi followed the retreating Destroyer toward Loki, his face grave. He had to ensure the Bifrost was not misused.
"Loki!" Su Yi called out, his voice sharp and demanding, cutting through the orchestrated calm of the retreat.
Loki halted, forcing a look of weary tolerance. "Mortal, my brother Thor pleaded for you. As the King of Asgard, I am willing to pardon your crimes—provided you stop your incessant boasting and return our sacred relic. Mjolnir is a treasure of my Heavenly Palace; it must return."
Su Yi sneered, ignoring the pardon. "Your pardon means nothing to me. But Mjolnir can be returned to you, with one condition."
He looked directly into Loki's calculating green eyes, allowing a hint of lethal seriousness to enter his tone. "Loki, you'd best not make any more foolish, destructive plans. You are playing with powers you do not control. If I find you have endangered this world or Asgard again, I will not simply defeat you; I will kill you. Do you understand me?"
Loki showed a flash of genuine, cold fury, but immediately cloaked it in theatrical outrage. "Mortal, I have forgiven your arrogance; do not let it happen again! Do not threaten the King of Asgard!" He then composed himself, eager to leave. "Heimdall, take us back!"
Su Yi, satisfied he had planted a clear warning, lifted Mjolnir one last time. He gave a final, reassuring look to Jane and Darcy, who were watching from the edge of the town, then threw the hammer hard, launching it into the swirling energy of the Bifrost beam. It was the only object he couldn't simply teleport.
"Go well, Thor," Su Yi said, watching his friends and the captured Destroyer vanish. "I'll see you shortly."
Loki and the remaining party materialized on the Bifrost Bridge. Loki immediately dismissed the injured warriors, ordering them to the healing rooms, and then turned to Thor, who stood with his four loyal companions.
"Guards! Take Thor into custody first!" Loki commanded, his voice sharp with authority.
Sif stepped forward, her armor scuffed but her posture rigid. "My King, we can escort Thor ourselves. We are his guards and his friends."
Loki thought for a moment. This was perfect. If the four of them escorted Thor, they would be far from the main force, making the coming assassination simpler and more discreet. "Very well. I hope you understand that this is the King's command. Escort your former prince to the Royal Dungeon immediately."
After delivering the warning, Loki watched them leave. Everything was proceeding precisely according to his revised plan.
He then moved to the center of the control room, where Heimdall stood, his gaze fixed on the cosmos.
"Heimdall," Loki said smoothly, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "Mjolnir will be placed here for now. Keep a close eye on that mortal champion, Su Yi. I do not wish for him to trespass into the Heavenly Palace. He has proven to be an intolerable threat."
Heimdall, his face a mask of suspicion, had already seen enough. "My King, his abilities allow him to reach here without using the Bifrost Bridge; I cannot stop him. And I believe you have other intentions, ones that do not serve Asgard."
Loki's expression hardened. Heimdall, with his all-seeing eyes, was too dangerous.
Just as Heimdall braced himself for an argument, Loki moved with lightning speed. He didn't use Gungnir; instead, he pulled out the long-hidden, dark Casket of Ancient Winters.
A surge of cold, primordial Jotunheim power erupted. The chill was absolute, instantly engulfing Heimdall. The usually stoic gatekeeper gasped, frozen mid-breath. Caught entirely off guard, he was instantly encased in a thick shell of blue-black ice, an imposing sculpture in the center of the bridge.
The power of the Casket, though not instantly fatal, paralyzed him, and the chilling cold began to invade his vital organs, damaging his body and rendering him immobile. Heimdall stared fixedly at Loki, his golden eyes wide with horror, but he was powerless, silenced, and trapped.
Loki smiled a cold, triumphant smile, then moved to the Bifrost controls. He activated the bridge, but instead of sending out a beam, he locked the controls, creating a momentary, stable portal. When he saw the silhouettes of the Frost Giants appearing through the shimmering portal, Heimdall finally understood the full, shocking scope of Loki's treachery.
Heimdall couldn't figure out the real reason; he could only assume Loki had betrayed Asgard.
The Bifrost alarms blared across the palace, signaling an unauthorized, hostile breach. Loki, his eyes alight with dark satisfaction, rushed towards the Heavenly Palace, leaving the frozen guardian behind.
He would now proceed with the final part of his plan: protect Odin, protect Frigga, and kill the invading Laufey, securing his place as the Savior King.
At the same time, Thor, led by Sif, Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun, was walking down a secluded corridor toward the dungeon. The alarms suddenly shattered the silence.
They were immediately ambushed.
A dozen massive, blue figures with glowing red eyes—Frost Giants—burst from shadowed side chambers. Their sheer number and the coordinated nature of the attack made the small group feel dread.
"So many Frost Giants! This is impossible!" Volstagg bellowed, drawing his battle-axe.
Fandral, ever the dashing cynic, cried out, "How could this be? With Heimdall guarding the Bifrost Bridge, how could so many of them be allowed into the Heavenly Palace? This reeks of treachery!"
"Now is not the time to discuss Loki's motives!" Hogun growled, already locked in a grim fight with a giant.
The group fought desperately, but this was a ferocious, calculated attack by shock troops. Thor, having become a simple, ordinary mortal, was a liability. He could only stumble backward, pushed behind Sif's shield.
Sif yelled, her sword ringing against the thick ice of a giant's club. "Protect Thor and get him out of here! Hogun, cover the rear!"
As a warrior, Sif didn't want to leave the fight, but Thor was the priority. Fandral took up a flanking position, his rapier darting like a wasp, trying to peel the giants away from the center mass.
Thor felt a wave of crushing powerlessness at this moment, a realization more damning than his exile. He had been banished for recklessness, and now, his rash, arrogant past had returned to haunt him—not on a distant planet, but here, in his own home, attacking his friends.
The Heavenly Palace was a battlefield. His friends were in mortal peril, fighting to protect a man who could no longer lift a common sword. He could hear the distant alarms and wails, realizing his parents might also be in danger.
Thor listened to the alarms within the Heavenly Palace, his heart burning with anxiety, yet he was helpless.
Suddenly, a massive Frost Giant, seeing the unarmored, frail figure of the exiled prince, broke through Fandral's defense and lunged.
"STOP!" Thor roared, instinctively stepping forward.
"I started all of this! Tell your King that I, Thor, am willing to bear it all!" Thor extended his arms, facing the towering giant, his mortal body completely exposed. "I am willing to sacrifice my life for the peace of our two races! Take me! Leave my friends!"
But why would the Frost Giants listen? This was the arrogant prince who had swaggered into Jotunheim demanding war. They were here for blood and revenge.
The enormous Frost Giant, contempt etched on its blue face, didn't hesitate. It raised its massive, icy club and brought it down with the power of a falling meteor.
"Thor! NO!" Sif and the others screamed, unable to reach him in time.
The club smashed into Thor's chest with a sickening, audible crack. The sound of his bones fracturing was instantly followed by the thunderous echo of him hitting the stone floor. He was just a step away from death.
On the brink of life and death, as his world dissolved into a blinding white pain, Thor saw everything.
His vision wasn't of glory or Valhalla, but of cold, stark truth. The pain was unbearable, yet the sheer mental clarity was absolute. He saw the path of ruin he had forged:
He saw Sif and the Warriors Three by his side die tragically, crushed beneath the weight of overwhelming numbers, their sacrifice a monument to his failure to protect them. He saw the anguish in Sif's eyes as she fell, not fear for herself, but heartbreak for his reckless destiny.
He saw his beloved mother, Frigga, weeping over the body of his father, Odin, who had died not in glorious battle but assassinated in his sleep by Laufey, the King of the Frost Giants. He realized the real reason Laufey was here: the very conflict he had instigated had weakened Asgard's defenses to the point where Odin was vulnerable.
He saw the Heavenly Palace engulfed in a brutal war, with wails of agony everywhere—not just the warriors, but the innocents of Asgard. He saw Loki, his treacherous brother, stand victorious over Laufey's corpse, hailed as the Savior King—but a King whose throne was built on a mountain of lies and two world wars. The chaos was all Loki needed to cement his control.
And he, Thor, the supposed Protector of the Realm, the God of Thunder, was powerless.
"I was a fool," the thought echoed in the emptiness of his fading consciousness, sharp and cutting like glass. "I was a vain, arrogant, simple-minded fool. I valued battle over peace, glory over wisdom, and my own pride above the lives of my people."
He realized the true meaning of Odin's banishment. It wasn't merely a punishment; it was a desperate, final lesson. He had craved power, but Mjolnir had taught him the power he sought was meaningless. He had craved war, but Midgard had taught him the horror of unnecessary conflict.
His ultimate realization was not about his strength, but his purpose. The worthiness Mjolnir demanded was not the ability to fight, but the capacity to protect. It was not the readiness to rule, but the profound willingness to sacrifice everything—power, status, even his own life—for the sake of others.
"I am willing to bear it all... I am willing to sacrifice my life for peace."
That final, desperate, selfless act, stepping in front of the club to save his friends and the world, was the pure, crystalline thought of a true King. He didn't offer his life for glory; he offered it for quiet, simple peace.
It was this moment—broken, mortal, and defeated, yet utterly selfless—that the enchantment of the Allfather, which bound Mjolnir's power, finally acknowledged.
His broken body lay silent on the cold stone, the Frost Giant's club poised for a final, finishing blow. Thor Odinson, the exiled Prince, was dying.
And he had never been more worthy.
The final act of self-sacrifice has been achieved. The condition of worthiness has been met. How will this change manifest, and what will be the immediate repercussions for the Frost Giants, Loki, and the powerless hero?