For a moment, the sudden silence of the battlefield does not register. Thor hefts Stormbreaker, his eye glowing and crackling with power, ready to smite every one of Thanos' soldiers down to the last man. But there are no more, and as Strange finishes shoring up the shattered riverbank behind him, Thor realizes that it's actually over.
They've won.
He closes his eye and tilts his face upwards, narrow beams of sunlight breaking through the clouds of smoke, free of the shadow of the ship. Of Thanos. Across the entire universe, trillions of lives have been restored, no doubt countless reunions between loved ones who thought they would never see each other again. There are no resurrected dead for Thor, his family and dearest friends gone before the stones had taken everyone else. Just a few hundred Asgardians to add to Asvera's ranks, precious few who now have a future. But that is more than enough, and though it does not erase what he had done, everything that countless trillions have suffered since that day in Wakanda, there is a chance to heal. To hope. To live, again.
It's enough.
He opens his eye again, adrenaline still coursing through veins like lightning, and a cluster of heroes draws his eye. Friends gathered around red and gold armor that lies still, and the sounds of mournful tears reach his ears as he steps forward to join them. The loss of Tony Stark is a cruel final blow, but Thor bears it with a strength he has not felt for ages, the weight of it much lighter for its outcome. Whatever it takes, Stark had said.
But before he can reach them, his attention is drawn by a pair of figures who are not with the others, one kneeling over the other. He would know that blue armor in a heartbeat, the shape of the hammer and shield at his side, and the bowed head of Bucky Barnes tells Thor without asking what has happened.
Three friends lost today, then. A heavy toll, and yet... their deaths were not in vain, not this time. By their actions, they have saved the entire universe, and brought an end to the greatest threat ever known.
Thor waits until Barnes seems ready to tolerate company before he approaches, and kneels at the side of his friend's body, sorrow and gratitude in his eye. And while Steve had asked Thor to tell him to get up, to keep fighting... he knows that no words will heal these wounds. He takes in a breath and reaches out, placing Mjolnir in Steve's hand atop his chest, and his shield resting at his feet. And at the side of the worthiest warrior that Thor has ever had the privilege to know, he bows his head and begins to say the words that have not passed his tongue since the Statesman was destroyed. "Steven Rogers, I bid you take your place in Valhalla, where the brave shall live forever. Nor shall we mourn, but rejoice..."
Under slowly clearing skies, Thor prays for Steve and Tony and Natasha as he would any fallen hero of the gods, those whose stories will be told forever. He mourns their loss, yet for the first time in ages, he believes that one day they may yet meet again beyond the gates of the golden hall. That this is not truly the end.
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They've won.
He closes his eye and tilts his face upwards, narrow beams of sunlight breaking through the clouds of smoke, free of the shadow of the ship. Of Thanos. Across the entire universe, trillions of lives have been restored, no doubt countless reunions between loved ones who thought they would never see each other again. There are no resurrected dead for Thor, his family and dearest friends gone before the stones had taken everyone else. Just a few hundred Asgardians to add to Asvera's ranks, precious few who now have a future. But that is more than enough, and though it does not erase what he had done, everything that countless trillions have suffered since that day in Wakanda, there is a chance to heal. To hope. To live, again.
It's enough.
He opens his eye again, adrenaline still coursing through veins like lightning, and a cluster of heroes draws his eye. Friends gathered around red and gold armor that lies still, and the sounds of mournful tears reach his ears as he steps forward to join them. The loss of Tony Stark is a cruel final blow, but Thor bears it with a strength he has not felt for ages, the weight of it much lighter for its outcome. Whatever it takes, Stark had said.
But before he can reach them, his attention is drawn by a pair of figures who are not with the others, one kneeling over the other. He would know that blue armor in a heartbeat, the shape of the hammer and shield at his side, and the bowed head of Bucky Barnes tells Thor without asking what has happened.
Three friends lost today, then. A heavy toll, and yet... their deaths were not in vain, not this time. By their actions, they have saved the entire universe, and brought an end to the greatest threat ever known.
Thor waits until Barnes seems ready to tolerate company before he approaches, and kneels at the side of his friend's body, sorrow and gratitude in his eye. And while Steve had asked Thor to tell him to get up, to keep fighting... he knows that no words will heal these wounds. He takes in a breath and reaches out, placing Mjolnir in Steve's hand atop his chest, and his shield resting at his feet. And at the side of the worthiest warrior that Thor has ever had the privilege to know, he bows his head and begins to say the words that have not passed his tongue since the Statesman was destroyed. "Steven Rogers, I bid you take your place in Valhalla, where the brave shall live forever. Nor shall we mourn, but rejoice..."
Under slowly clearing skies, Thor prays for Steve and Tony and Natasha as he would any fallen hero of the gods, those whose stories will be told forever. He mourns their loss, yet for the first time in ages, he believes that one day they may yet meet again beyond the gates of the golden hall. That this is not truly the end.
And his heart has never felt lighter.