Capítulo 96: Chapter 95: A God and His Hammer (2)
---
"People need to be told they're worthy of being alive by someone else or they can't go on"
- Nakajima Atsushi, (Bungo Stray Dogs)
---
<(Atem POV)>
"Are you coming, Atem?" Coulson asked as he took a glance at the hammer sticking out from the ground. "Or do you want to try lifting it too? Considering you are a... God as well, there is a good chance you can lift it, right?" the agent asked before stealing a quick peek at the sulking Thor being escorted into another room with the others.
"This is a weapon forged for the gods, Agent Coulson. Just being a god isn't enough to be able to wield it. Apparently, you have to be worthy of it too. If one is worthy, then even an ordinary human can wield it while possessing the power of Thor. Truthfully, even you have a slight chance of lifting this hammer... By the way, have you tried lifting it? Maybe you are pure-hearted enough to do it." I asked while bending down in front of the Asgardian weapon.
"No. I have severe back pain from one of my missions. I don't wanna risk worsening it. Plus, I am pretty sure that my heart is not pure enough. Completing missions for Shield isn't always for the pure-hearted." He shrugged helplessly before starting to head into the facility. "You coming, Mr. Atem?... By the way, you don't seem to possess a last name, may I ask why?" He curiously enquired as he stopped after noticing that I wasn't moving.
"I never found a good last name. I tried a lot of names in the past few years. Ashborn, Phoenixborn, Greyhart, Firehart, none of them just seemed good enough. So, I decided last names were not for me. Also, Atem just sounds a lot better especially when compared to stupid names like Rudeus Greyhart or something." I answered before slowly tracing my index finger on Mjolnir's handle.
'I wonder if I am "worthy" by Odin's standards.' I thought while grabbing the handle and applying a tiny bit of my strength, just enough to slightly move it. However, the hammer didn't budge. 'Just as I expected, a hedonistic god with aspirations to be a universal conqueror with a not-so-pure heart can't be further away from being worthy.' I mentally chuckled before channeling the magic in me, using a dozen wordless spells from Harry Potter to counter the runes and enchantments that Odin had cast in the hammer.
I could feel the hammer's magic trying to reject my spells, doing its best to oppose the hold and control I was trying to force on it but currently, it had no master, no one to protect it, no one to stop what I was doing. Even Odin, wherever he was, didn't seem to be actively trying to prevent me from nullifying the enchantments that he had cast on it.
As I increased the outflow of my magic into my spells to the maximum to counter the power of the runes engraved on the hammer, my divine energy slowly seeped deeper and deeper into the weapon, doing its best to "corrupt" it. A few moments of this were all it took for me to finally be able to sense the destructive magical entity sealed inside the core of the hammer.
'So, this is the comic Mjolnir, huh? Well, at least Odin isn't a total evil jackass in this universe, The... living cosmic storm that he seems to have sealed in this hammer doesn't look like some sort of neutral or benevolent entity that a lot of fanfictions make it to be. Instead, the nature of this storm seems to be destructive like it was created as a force of nature to destroy everything in its path and start everything anew. It is a lot like the Phoenix, only weaker and much more devastating seeking to decimate and bring ruin to everywhere it goes instead of facilitating creation like the Phoenix Force.' I concluded.
"Are you done examining the hammer? Can you lift it?" Agent Coulson asked with genuine excitement in his voice as he raised his eyebrows.
Suddenly, a thin lightning stream snaked from the hammer for a fraction of a second before I quickly used my void divinity to erase the last bit of defense that the hammer was trying to put up against me.
Fortunately, Coulson did seem to notice it since my back was turned against him, blocking his view of the hammer while the light from the lightning was just too fast for his eyes to follow, otherwise, he would have started boring me with questions again, questions that I had no wish to answer right now.
"Umm... Atem?" He asked again, this time walking a little closer to me to see what I was doing.
"Nah, it's not for me. To me, it feels like trying to use a toy that was given to the more favorite sibling... It feels like it's someone else's." I muttered as I let go of the hammer, making it slightly tilt from its original position. Of course, I could lift it with my magic and maybe even change the definition of worthy in its enchantments but where was the fun in that? After all, it would never truly be mine. "It is made for someone who actually values it, someone who is stupid enough to treat it just like a lover. I could even feel the... "feelings" it has for its master too. It might not be answering his call right now but even the strongest magic won't stop it from doing so forever... And I am not cruel enough to steal someone else's girl forcefully." I chuckled before getting up and walking towards Agent Coulson. "Let's go, Phil. I have seen what I needed to see. Let's talk inside, the weather seems especially bad today." I said before looking at the sky covered with dark clouds, almost like it was lamenting something.
Thor might be stupid and extremely talentless, but it didn't change the fact that he was powerful. Despite not having unlocked his divinity of thunder and having to rely on his hammer like a clutch, it still didn't change the fact that he had an incredible amount of divine power inside him. He might not be able to consciously control thunder and lightning yet, but his emotions still affected the weather nonetheless and even Odin with all his runes and magic could not stop that. That was also the reason why Thor was the best person to wield the hammer. After all, nobody else can ever use a lightning hammer as best as a god of thunder can.
Honestly, I originally intended to steal the hammer for myself but now I realize just how stupid and pathetic that would be.
'No. One day, I would wield a weapon far greater than Mjolnir. It will be a weapon that even Mjolnir will be afraid of clashing against.' I promised myself with determination as I followed Agent Coulson to his office.
[Ding! A new quest has been generated]
[Quest Title: A weapon worthy of a god]
[Quest Description: Defeat one of the greatest weapons in the world or/and its wielder like a great god should, to get your own godly weapon]
[Quest Rewards: A random super-legendary godly weapon with its capabilities depending on your achievement in this quest]
[Quest Penalty: People will laugh at you for not having a cool enough weapon]
[Accept / Reject]
'... The fuck does it mean by a random super-legendary weapon? What type of weapon will I get exactly?' I could not help but wonder to myself after noticing the vague wording of the quest.
Hell, it wasn't even mentioned if it was going to be a unique weapon specially crafted for me or if it was going to be a weapon from some already existing fiction. Was it even going to be a melee weapon or a long-ranged weapon from some sci-fi universe? Absolutely nothing was clear.
"This quest is probably the most vague and confusing quest I have ever received from the system," I mumbled to myself before accepting the quest and entering Agent Coulson's office.
***
<[A couple of hours later in the evening]>
<{Luke's Pub, Puente Antiguo, New Mexico}>
"God, those agents are the worst. They didn't even have the basic decency to ask us for some snacks or drinks while we were there. What is the government even taking our taxes for?" Darcy who was sitting to my left complained with a harrumph while grabbing a couple of French fries and stuffing them into her mouth in anger. "By the way, what were you even talking about with that creepy bald man for so long?" She casually questioned me while eyeing me with mock suspicion.
"Hmm? Well. It was nothing too important. He just wanted to know if Thor or that hammer posed any danger to Earth. I assured him that it didn't. I even took full responsibility for Thor being here. Also, they wanted to be "included" in the research that you guys were conducting here. So, I told them that they were free to do so as long as they were willing to give proper compensation and get all of your consent." I answered. "Anyway, they didn't try to interrogate you while I was not there, did they?"
"No, they just wanted our opinion on some of the energy readings they were getting for the last few days, readings similar to what we ourselves were researching. Honestly, it was pretty helpful for us too since we got a look at some additional stuff that we weren't considering. The head scientist there was so impressed by our work that he even said that he would be referring our names to his boss if they needed an additional opinion on any of the other stuff they were working on, which could be good for us considering that all our grant money is going to run out soon." Jane replied with a small smile. She seemed satisfied with today's turn of events.
"That is indeed impressive, Dr, Foster. Congratulations to you three. Also, I think I'll be referring your names to the organizations under me as well. Meta Foundation and the government of New Genosha are always on the lookout for prospective new talent like you guys. So, expect some offers from them as well." I praised. "And what about you Thor, you all right? You are not depressed about not being able to lift your hammer, are you? I mean, since it was a punishment from your father, maybe you still haven't learned the lesson yet that is required for you to be worthy again." I tried to comfort him, knowing that emotionally, Thor was at his weakest right now.
"No, there is no lesson here. Before banishing me from Agard, my father told me that I was not worthy of being a king, not worthy of Mjolnir. In fact, now that I think about it, I was never worthy to begin with. I always used the hammer for my own selfish reasons. I was childish and arrogant... And now because of that very arrogance, my father has passed away. Because I was a failure of a prince and an even bigger failure of a son. You see, my younger brother, Loki appeared to me while I was alone in the facility. He told me that banishing me was too much for my father. He couldn't take it anymore and... collapsed. Even my mother broke down after that and forbade me from ever returning to Agard in her anger and grief. Truthfully, I don't blame her for that. She had the complete right to do so.
I am not worthy of being a god anymore... Sigh For the first time in the last 5000 years of my life, I am not sure of what I am going to do with my life." He sighed sadly as he finished his beer, not even being in the mood to break the glass and ask for more. "Oh, and I am sorry, Atem. It seems that I cannot keep my promise. I am no longer welcome in Asgard, so I won't be able to give you that tour. I hope you can forgive me although I will understand if you don't. After all, I have disappointed almost everyone I have ever met in my life."
"It's okay, Thor. I don't mind. I have other ways of getting to Asgard. I could have tried taking you with me too, but I don't think you are interested in going back there while still being banished, are you?" I guessed, understanding that Thor blamed himself for his father's death and there was no way in hell he was going back to his home with all that guilt weighing him down. So, I could only wait for tomorrow when Loki tries to kill him.
There was a small twinkle of surprise in Thor's eyes upon hearing my words, but he still chose not to reply and just nodded with a sad face.
"Also, you can come with us you know. Once we are done with collecting all the readings for our research, we can go back to the city. You can be one of us. We might not be... godly like your people, but I am sure that you can find a purpose here." Jane gave her response before grabbing Thor's hand in a hold to reassure him.
"How cute and lewd at the same time," Lorna commented with a grin from my right while sipping her beer.
Her comment snapped Jane from the romantic moment and made her quickly withdraw her hand from Thor's with a slight blush.
"Tch, you destroyed the moment. A few more seconds and I could have taken the picture on my phone." Darcy complained with a click of her tongue.
"You are right. Just because I am not going to be king doesn't mean that my life is over. I can do what I always did. I can help people. Maybe, I can even be a doctor like your ex-lover, Donald Blake. Yes, that could be my true purpose..., to help people and to save lives." Thor suddenly got into a great mood again as he nodded his head as if he had finally found the answer to his question.
"But isn't he too old to be a doctor?" Darcy tried to bring him back to reality again but with a small elbow nudge from Erik, she immediately shut up while Jane, on the other hand just muttered something about Donald being his ex-boyfriend, not ex-lover.
"Yes, you are all right. I don't need to be a god to feel good. I might be an Asgardian from heart but there is no downside in living my life as a human if it means that I can be happy. Okay, today, to celebrate my momentous transformation into a human while getting my new purpose, we are going to drink ourselves to oblivion. Servants, BRING IN THE ALE." Thor yelled happily before throwing his beer mug to the floor, breaking it into pieces.
"Oh god!... Sorry guys, he didn't mean it. He ran away from the hospital this morning, and probably even has a very bad head injury." Darcy quickly tried to calm the other customers down who were looking at us like we were lunatics while Erik tried to reassure the people working at the pub that we didn't want to cause any trouble and that Thor was just too drunk to know what he was calling them.
"Lorna, can you give this credit card to the manager? Tell him to ignore everything that we do today and deduct all expenses from this card with a 100% tip for every employee in the pub." I passed on a black Amex card to Lorna, knowing that the broken mug was going to be the first of many, tonight.
'I just hope that he still has the super immunity attribute of his Asgardian physique, otherwise, he is going to face his family with a real bad hangover tomorrow.'
---
(A/N: Also, I haven't been able to update because I have been doing a small internship/part-time job in a company so that my college stops bothering me about getting more experience. That thing is finally over and hopefully, I can update regularly now... It's so good to be back. I can't wait to write more.)
GIVE me POWAH-STONES💎💎💎.
You can join my Discord channel using the link below:
https://discord.gg/WYVfYe2KNS
Also, you can check out my Patreøn page as well to read ahead or to support your amazing author.
patreon.com/God_Doom
Right now, I have about 20 chapters in advance there.
(My Patreon uses the new billing method which means if you pledge on the 15th of this month, you will have to pay again on the day you pledged, i.e., the 15th of the next month. So, whenever you subscribe, you will get a whole month.)
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
God_Doom
God_Doom You can join my Patreon page by visiting:
patreon.com/God_Doom
You can also join my Discord channel using the link:
https://discord.gg/WYVfYe2KNS
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Like it? Add to the library！
Have some idea about my story? Comment on it and let me know.
Powerstones are also very much appreciated.
Thank you.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder