Eternal Thor Part IV

It was silent.

All those within the camp said nothing as they slowly stepped out of their tents. Each looking to the sky in shock as they witnessed the freak storm suddenly beginning to form. Powerful winds ripped through the camp, uprooting tents and carrying them away.

No one made an attempt to give chase, each flinching as they saw the flashes of light followed by the loud cracks of thunder. Dark and vast black clouds rolling in and seemingly swirling together.

It was a storm, unlike anything they had witnessed before.

And from the centre of the swirling clouds, a figure shot down. His form nought but a blur as he rushed towards their camp, many tensed but none so much as attempted to intercept this figure.

They could feel the power laid within the storm, the vast amounts of cosmic energy laying within. It was unlike anything they had felt before, beyond even Kronos. Ouranos was amongst those stunned by the power he was laying witness to, even more so when he watched the figure slow his descent, landing feet first upon the ground.

Without even meaning to, people parted around him, Thor walking through the crowd to come to a stop directly before him. "Ouranos." Thor greeted shortly, the man in question struggling for words.

"D-Donar. You've grown strong." Ouranos murmured in shock, struggling to recognise the young child he had remembered mere decades ago from the man who now stood before him. Kronos and he were well into their third century and yet Thor who was not even half a century old possessed more power than either of them. 'Though I do remember he always being gifted with his powers.'

But as the shock began to subside, ambition took hold, a smile growing upon his face. "Did you come to join me, Donar?"

Thor shook his head. "No, I came to put an end to this war." Ouranos frowned, many around him, those had initially supported him shifting in preparation for a fight despite clearly remembering the power Thor had showcased. Though the sudden increase in lightning flashes and cracks of thunder seemed to act almost as a warning. "Don't try it."

"You expect me to simply surrender?" Ouranos questioned. "I have come so close to finally succeeding and then we can finally do what the Celestials asked of us. Bringing an end to the Deviant scourge once and for all! Whether you ally with your father or not means little, I won't stop now when I'm so close!"

"Is that what you believe the Celestials want?" Thor replied. "That they want the extermination of the Deviants?"

"Why else would they abandon the Deviants, forcing them to hide in the caves out of sight. We are their success, they the abominations, the failures. It is our duty to remove that stain from the great legacy!" His proclamation was met with many cheers.

Thor however was undeterred, much like Ouranos. "I would argue how that is not what the Celestials want, but I have learned my lesson. Nothing I say will change your mind. So instead, I will simply ask you this, why if you are fighting to remove the 'stain' of the Deviants are you slaughtering Eternals? Seems to me like you're doing the opposite of what you set out to do."

Ouranos though seemed ready for such a question. "Your father will never allow it. This war between our peoples must exist lest we be fighting each other and the Deviants. If we solve this crisis, we can be united against our enemy."

"Perhaps, but in turn, this war is weakening us and I have no intention of joining with you. Not when your side is responsible for the death of Daina." She was a death Thor thought he could ignore, much like all the others. But seeing her lifeless corpse laid out before him, something within him stirred.

She was a kind woman, loving and caring. Daina was a mother who truly loved her children and family, that was something he could not abide by. If he was going to join the Eternals war, it was not going to be with the side responsible for her death, as irrational as such a decision might be to those much smarter than he. But Thor had never pretended to be smarter than he was, he knew what he was.

Ouranos at the very least seemed understanding of his reasonings. "So either I surrender or we face you upon the battlefield." More than a few turned to look at the sky, Thor at the moment triggering the rain to fall down heavily.

A stark reminder of not only the power but the control Thor possessed over this storm.

"No." Thor intoned, eyes began to glow, electricity arcing off his body. "You will not face me upon the battlefield. Either you surrender now, or I take your head and end this was right now."

There was an instance, a moment in which no one dared moved or even breathe.

Then it all came crashing down in an instant.

-X- Line Break -X-

All around, destruction and chaos raged freely.

Thousands of grotesque beings rushed across the field, weapons waved in the air and blasts of energy firing up into the air. Some were large and thing, others small and muscular. Others walked on two legs, others on six.

Up above, powerful majestic beings rushed through the sky. Blasts of energy striking and exploding against the ground, all those engulfed within it being reduced to ash. Some flew down and barrelled through the hordes using great strength to send others flying through the air in broken heaps.

And then, breaking through the chaos, a single bolt of lightning smashed into the ground with a concussive force so powerful the ground erupted. Black clouds rushed in overhead and the Eternals shot into the air, flanking the figure of Thor who had just arrived.

Glowing energy gathered around his hand and Thor thrust them forwards. Powerful energy in the form of lighting rushed out, fusing together into one large beam that struck the ground. Thor drug it along and reducing all those who came into contact into nothing. As soon as the energy subsided, Thor and his Eternals allowed the effect of their sudden attack upon the Deviant horde to hit those below them.

"Kill them all," Thor murmured quietly, unheard to the Deviants below.

However, the Eternals heard him clearly, each rocketing to the ground upon his order. Thor meanwhile remained floating in the air, watching the battle coming to an end in a matter of moments.

This was something he was familiar with, war.

It was where he had honed his skills for centuries, where he pushed his powers to the limits in new and imaginative ways. War was where Thor learned his greatest lessons and those experiences enabled him to in the space of a few decades reach a level of power that had previously taken him centuries.

Thor was not a diplomat, he was not a King, but he was a warrior and a leader of armies. He knew how to win a battle whether it be through the strength of arms or through superior tactics.

Fighting in a war so soon was not something he had planned for, but he supposed that expecting everything to go his way was always going to end in disappointment. No plan survived the first contact with the enemy after all. The time that he had wanted to spend in seclusion, training and expanding his powers was now being spent leading a war.

Unlike many, war was not an experience that could help him expand his powers. He knew more about storms than most ever would, he knew how they acted, how they thought, how they felt. They were living things and one simply couldn't just control a storm, one had to direct it, guide it, nurture it.

With that understanding, learning to use his powers became simple.

War would be of no aid to him, but he needed to do this. As Death had told him, if the Eternals died, it would throw the universe out of balance and put his people in greater danger.

That was not something he could allow.

-X- Line Break -X-

"So, you are the first Eternal, Makkari?" Thor questioned, arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the man across from him. Around the room, Kronos, Zuras, A'Lars and other leading figures of the Eternals forces were gathered.

The newest addition to their ranks being the first of their kind.

"I expected someone stronger." He murmured, his words earning outraged noises throughout. Though by this point it was much more muted, many having grown used to the disrespect Thor showed to many around him. The power he wielded and the fact that he was the only one proving to make any headway during their war against the Deviants ensured that no one made too much fuss.

On the other hand, Makkari reacted completely opposite to how the vast majority had, or how they had expected.

He laughed.

"I imagine in comparison to your father and to you, the power I wield is not all that impressive, Donar," Makkari replied easily, a smirk upon his face. "But alas, you're right, my power has waned massively over the years, a result of my own hubris."

"And what did you do to weaken yourself to such a degree?" Thor asked.

Makkari's smile strained. "Speed has always been my greatest asset. Just as you have tried to push the boundaries over your control of storms. I tried something similar with speed, but in doing so, I crippled myself."

Thor nodded his head in understanding, he had done what Thor had nearly done to himself many times in his old life. He didn't understand speed fully and therefore, had been wandering in the dark as he tried to expand the horizons of his power. Much like Thor had done with the storms, but whereas Thor had Odin and even Freyja to restrain him from pushing too far too soon, Makkari did not have that.

"Understandable." Thor agreed. "However, I wonder why you've come now of all times. You're powerful, but you've also crippled yourself, this is the limit of your strength. As strong as you are, the sheer number of Deviant soldiers is too great. Not to mention that there is Tantalus and his Inner Circle of powerful Deviants. Our numbers are vastly smaller, they also require rest and despite winning numerous victories, it means little."

Many around the room nodded at Thor's words, it was a harsh reality many were being familiar with. Winning victories upon the battlefield was certainly great, but it didn't always mean winning the war as well.

Their numbers were small and while they were being reinforced with thousands of human soldiers rebelling and resisting the Deviant hordes, it was not enough. They needed more and Thor could tell that many had hoped Makkari would prove to be that extra bit they needed to win the war. However, Thor had squandered that hope by revealing Makkari had crippled his power, further enforced by Makkari backing it up.

However, Thor would not allow false hope to lead them.

It was a double-edged sword and at this point, would be more detrimental to them in the long term. "So what are our plans for the future?" Zuras asked. "We can't allow the Deviants to continue pushing through Valusia. If they do, there will be nothing left stood between them and the last remaining stronghold of Atlantis."

Many in the room looked towards Thor for answers. He was the only one to have made any serious headway towards victory, actually halting and pushing back the advance of the Deviants in the south. Mainly those forces entering through the kingdoms of Farsun, Verulia and Kamelia.

Despite his youth, Thor was not only the greatest warrior amongst the Eternals but also their greatest military leader.

"We need soldiers, that's a simple fact of the matter. I have tried to get in contact with Ouranos and his colony, but they are not answering." Thor stated, Kronos, Zuras and A'Lars frowning heavily at the mention of the exiles. "We are on our own and many of the humans are not willing to rebel against the might of the Deviants. So that gives us only one option. We take out their leading figures."

"Tantalus?" Kronos questioned and Thor nodded his head.

"And his Inner Circle. Take out them and remove any power structure within the Deviants and they will fracture. The Deviants will be so busy fighting each other for power that we will be able to easily push them back." Thor explained.

"Does anyone even know the names of his Inner Circle, or what they look like?" A'Lars asked a question the earned many murmurs of agreements.

Tantalus' Inner Circle was something he had kept secret. They had met many imposters posing as Inner Circle members, but that was purely a decoy. The actual members of the Inner Circle were unknown to any of them.

"I know of them," Makkari spoke up, all turning to him. "There are his sons, Pelops and Lucian. The former ruler of the Deviants, Phraug. Tantalus' elite soldiers, the Peacekeepers, Wraath, Toxin Lady Trident and Bristle. But I think the most worrying besides Tantalus is the very Deviant that was endorsed by Tantalus as the future of Deviant kind, Vingthor."

As the council erupted into conversation, Thor meanwhile fell silent as he heard the last name being muttered.

Vingthor, meaning the thunder hurler.

That was a name he had once possessed. 'Does that mean this Vingthor is the other me present in this day? Is he the one pushing from the north and the one bringing about the imbalance of the universe?'