The spear, forged in the heart of a dying star by a being beyond comprehension, hummed with malevolent energy. Loki, his usually mischievous grin replaced by a grim determination, clutched it. The obsidian shaft felt strangely warm against his skin, a perverse comfort in the chilling weight of his betrayal. He'd been promised power, a chance to finally surpass Odin, to prove himself worthy. The price? The life of the Allfather.
Odin, his silver beard dusted with cosmic stardust, stood before him, his eyes – usually twinkling with wisdom and mischief – clouded with a deep, almost unbearable sorrow. He didn't raise his hand in defense. The weight of millennia, of countless battles won and lost, rested heavily on his shoulders. He knew what was coming.
Loki lunged, the spear a blur of darkness. It pierced Odin's chest, a sound like tearing silk and shattering glass echoing across Asgard. Odin didn't cry out. Instead, a single, fat tear rolled down his weathered cheek, followed by another, and then a torrent. He wasn't crying out in pain, but in the crushing weight of his son's treachery, a betrayal that pierced deeper than any weapon ever could. Then, he crumbled, the authority power that had held Asgard together for eons extinguished.
Loki, momentarily stunned by the sheer finality of the act, stood over his fallen father, the spear still embedded in his chest. The shield given to him by the entity – a being from a reality beyond human comprehension – pulsed faintly, masking his presence from any but the most perceptive. He believed he had won. He thought he'd finally proven himself.
But he hadn't accounted for Thor.
Thor, the God of Thunder, felt it before he saw it – the ripping of the fabric of reality, the chilling absence of his father's authority strength. He arrived on the scene not as the boisterous warrior, but as a raging storm, a force of nature unleashed. He wasn't merely a god; he was an apex authority, a true boundless being, his power rivaling, and perhaps exceeding, even Odin's. The evil god hadn't predicted this – two such beings in a single omniverse was an anomaly even it couldn't comprehend.
Loki's shield flickered, its power failing against the sheer fury emanating from Thor. The roar that erupted from Thor's throat wasn't just sound; it was a psychic earthquake, shattering the shield and leaving Loki exposed. Tears streamed down Thor's face, a mixture of grief and incandescent rage. He discarded Mjolnir, an act of restraint, as if even the mighty hammer was insufficient against the pain consuming him.
Thor moved with a speed that transcended time itself – a speed that only another authority being could comprehend. His fists, honed by eons of battle, connected with Loki's jaw, ribs, and solar plexus. Each blow, while unleashed at only boundless strength holding back, was still enough to send lesser gods screaming to oblivion.
"Loki!" Thor roared, his voice a thunderclap that shook the very foundations of Asgard. "You damned maniac! You don't understand how much Father and I loved you! We both loved you, Loki!"
Loki, gasping for breath, tried to retaliate, but Thor's blows continued, a relentless storm of fury. "I… I wanted… to be worthy…" Loki sputtered, his voice barely audible.
Thor's blows slowed, but the fury in his eyes remained. "Worthy? You think this proves anything? This… this… carnage?" He paused, his voice cracking with pain. "You don't understand this feeling, Loki! The loss of our father! Me… me beating you like this… it pains my heart, Loki!"
He finally stopped, his shoulders slumping. The weight of grief was almost too much to bear even for a authority being. He looked at his brother, his face etched with sorrow and fury. He picked up his hammer again as he looked at the Elder Gods, the beings who watched over all of creation, their presence a palpable weight in the air.
"I will imprison him," Thor announced, his voice heavy with anguish. "Not until he understands the weight of his actions... Elder Gods… please, contain him in a prison where he can reflect on what he's done."
The Elder Gods, their faces unreadable, nodded. They had witnessed the devastation, the betrayal, the heartbreak. They understood the burden Thor carried.
"We are very sorry, son of Odin," one of the Elder Gods said, their voice echoing with a sorrow that matched Thor's. "We couldn't believe Loki would betray you after all this time… after faking his… repentance."
Thor merely nodded, his gaze fixed on his fallen father's lifeless body. "It's fine," he whispered, though he hardly believed it. "I'm here. I'm an authority… now." The weight of responsibility, of leadership, settled on his shoulders, heavier than even the might of Mjolnir. He was now the protector of Asgard, not just as a god, but as a true Boundless being, carrying the unimaginable burden of his father's legacy and his brother's unforgivable betrayal.