Chapter 12: Eternal-Deviant Thor Part II
War.
Life and all its sentient creatures always found a way to quicken their journey to the eternal grasp of Death. An endless struggle for power and meaning that ultimately resulted in nothingness. Death did not reward those who lived great lives filled with heroic deeds. Nor did it award those who lived their lives enjoying all of life's pleasures whether they be good or bad.
Death was the one true fair force in the universe. It judged all equally and took no favourites. Yet now things had changed, Deaths interest in the Cosmos was peaked, much like it had been during its first creation. Many watched anxiously upon the actions it could take, wary of what she could do. After all, Death and Life existed in a delicate balance. But back in the First Cosmos, Death had acted freely, actively seeking to cause as much death as possible.
It disturbed the delicate balance of the universe leading to its inevitable destruction and later, the creation of the Living Tribunal. A cosmic being stronger than all but the One-Above-All, the creator of all. A force of pure power that ensured the laws and balance of the universe remained stable.
Deaths actions while understandable were a cause for worry by all who could sense her movements. The ascension of the Aesir survivors, those who shrouded themselves in shadows, they controlled their kin and openly insulted Death. It was only natural for offence to be taken and one did not insult Death lightly.
Much like all entities aware of the cosmos and the power within it, he could see things others could not. Death had already made changes, the first cycle of Ragnarök had happened in the distant future, Thor Odinsons soul being split and cast back in time to the present day. Long before the Aesir began their conquest of the Nine Realms when Bor Burison still ruled as King of Asgard.
His name was no longer Thor Odinson but now lived as Donar, Champion of the Eternals, the Storm King. Yet he was opposed by another, Vingthor, the Red Beast of the Deviants.
Two figures, so similar yet with minuscule differences that separated them. On opposite sides yet in the face of overwhelming odds, came together and became one.
Leaning away, Antiphon the Overseer watched as his servants, the Watchers completed the task he had given them. They were a race he had not created himself but instead preexisting. They possessed a first for knowledge and Antiphon had gifted them with such, all in order to create a group to oppose the Celestials and their interference with younger life forms. Not openly after all, much like him, his servants did not interfere openly. But would instead provide others with the means to battle against their enemy, biding their time until the moment in which someone could come.
Was it wrong to force someone with no business with the Celestials to battle against them? Perhaps, but Antiphon had no choice. The Celestials had existed in the First Firmament, a creation of the One-Above-All before even the First Cosmos was created. Their power was vast, numbers large and their goals dangerous.
Antiphon needed aid from those willing to fight and with his aid, Thor Odinson may be able to free his people from the grasp of those shrouded in shadow. But in turn, Antiphon would need Thor to aid in combatting the Celestials and their Master.
Only then could the Cosmos truly be free to develop naturally.
As the Watchers moved away, their task complete, Antiphon looked upon their work. It was done well, their knowledge from studying the Cosmos and the teachings they had mastered from him had enabled them to truly do something wondrous.
The defeat of a Celestial at the hands of a mortal had sent a shockwave throughout the Cosmos, even if it was an Unnamed Celestial. Its defeat alone had drawn many eyes to the planet of Gaea, or Midgard as the Aesir would call it. Thor's power after the fusion had not been stable, still growing and it was that fact alone that enabled him to win. That unstable cosmic energy released upon the Celestial caused it to implode yet the release of energy that made up Celestials should have killed Thor.
It would have had Death not intervened, taking Thor gently into its arms and nursing him to health.
Thor Odinson was clearly the one Death had chosen to be her Avatar. Not an extension of her like the Death Gods of the Godly Pantheons were. But a true Avatar to follow her bidding, unencumbered by the shackles put in place and enforced by the Living Tribunal.
Antiphon had been aware of all this and had reached out. He was wary of his position, even as a Cosmic Being, he did not exist upon the same level as Death.
Respectfully, careful not to insult or offend Death, he offered a deal and Death accepted. Thor would be given to him to help in the current crisis taking place within the ranks of the Proemial Gods. In turn, Antiphon would provide all the aid he could to Thor and by extension, Death in ensuring that the balance between Life and Death remained constant.
And now, as he looked upon the Celestial armour reforged and fitted upon Thor's frame, the remnants of Celestial power within it funnelling and empowering Thor further. Antiphon knew that he had a weapon he could utilise to bring order back to the Proemial Gods and in turn, direct it upon the Celestials.
-X- Line Break -X-
It was a surreal feeling he felt upon awakening from his slumber.
There was no pain, only weight, not crushing but heavy. A feeling was prevalent across his body and Thor was left wondering as to why he felt this way. But slowly, the fog of unconsciousness began to fade away, memories of what had happened to return and Thor shot upright.
His body was tense, prepared to battle against anything and anyone that so much as attempted to attack him. Yet nothing did, in fact, his surroundings were empty of life, the room he found himself within more of a stone chamber. Certainly not anywhere upon Midgard that he had been and certainly not a battlefield between Celestials.
Warily, Thor went to rise only to notice something strange, his body was encased in a strange armour of some kind and he looked down. There, glowing with a certain light was a dark grey armour, stronger and firmer than even his Uru forged armour he had worn in Asgard. Not only that, but he could sense the power within it.
'What is this strange metal?' He wondered, looking upon it. The metal-encased nearly his entire form, leaving only his head exposed to the world and Thor was left wondering who had given this to him.
"I did, Thor Odinson." Spinning around, Thor gathered his energy and prepared to release it only to stop himself at the last moment. "I thank you for allowing your curiosity to get the better of you. Dying is not something I wish to experience at this time."
"Who are you?" Thor questioned, unsure of the figure before him.
The blue-clad figure with a much larger head than the norm continued to walk forwards. "My name is Antiphon the Overseer. I am part of the Pantheon of Cosmic Entities, the Proemial Gods. Though by the time you were born and the time of your father, Odin Burson is King, we will be gone. So our existence will be unknown to you."
Still wary, Thor did not relax, continuing to scrutinise him closely. "What do you want? How do you know of who I am? And what did you do to me?"
"Allow me to answer those questions out of order," Antiphon replied. "I know who you are because while not blessed with great power, I am blessed with great knowledge and insight. I can see further into the future than most cosmic entities can and so I know of who you are and why Death split your soul. As for the armour you wear, it belongs to the Celestial you destroyed or at least the fraction of it which you wear. As for what I need, I require your aid."
For a moment, Thor said nothing but eventually shook his head. "I have no interest in helping you. I have to return to Midgard."
"To aid the Deviants and Eternals from the battle between the Celestials." It was not a question, Antiphon knew what fuelled Thor. "You need not worry, the Celestials battle against you and Tiamut the Communicator has caused enough destruction to the planet. There are Deviants alive, hidden away upon a drifting continent. The Eternals have also managed to survive."
"And the Celestials?" Thor didn't know what to make of Antiphon, but he appeared to have answers and Thor needed that. Whether it was truth or lie, he couldn't tell but at this moment in time, it was better than nothing.
"Have retreated. Many eyes have been drawn to Midgard one such belongs to a being even the Celestials are wary of crossing. The energy surrounding the planet has now attracted the hunger of the World Eater and his Herald, the Fallen One who are now approaching the planet." That earned a reaction, Thor's eyes widening in horror.
"We must do something!" Thor exclaimed the loyalty that Vingthor held for the Deviants deeply rooted within him. Even the later loyalty that Donar developed for the Eternals also motivated him. Midgard was no longer simply a place to wait till his father arrived, it was now a place he had a connection to.
He couldn't let it be destroyed.
"We will, after all, there is a weapon there awaiting you. My Watchers have discovered the location of Mjolnir. It is upon the floating continent that the remaining Deviants have taken refuge upon." Antiphon explained. "But even if you were to reclaim Mjolnir and armoured with Celestial Armour, your power would not be enough to emerge victoriously."
Thor looked to him, recognising something within his gaze. "And what's your plan then?"
"The Proemial Gods are currently divided. Upon our creation, we were given tasks to help guide the Cosmos in preparation for what was to come. Many of us had fulfilled those tasks and sought new purpose in life, unaware that their deviation from the course ensured the undoing of their work. Those who remained attempted to force those who deviated back onto the proper course."
Thor didn't need to head anymore, he already knew where this was going. "They resisted. And now you're suggesting that we what? Direct the warring Proemial a gods towards Midgard?"
"Yes." Antiphon nodded his head. "The Celestials are beings of pure energy, the armour they were contains that within them and ensures that they do not disperse across the Cosmos. You're destruction of the Unnamed Celestials Armour dispersed it far and wide. Some attached themselves to you, some spread out across the Cosmos, some recollected by the Celestials before their escape. But the vast majority was absorbed into the veins of Earth, Gaea using it to rebuild her damaged body. And that energy has attracted the attention of the World Eater."
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