Isaac was feeling rather hefty as of late, and the smile he wore on his face now came out more pronounced than the service default that used to be on his face for the majority of the time.
How could he not feel this way when he had already blown past half of his quota with his recent batch of sales?
No matter how many times he had done so, the thrill remained the same. It was one of the small joys of being a Merchant. He wasn't jaded or old enough to feel indifferent to these small joys like some of his seniors.
Things were starting to pick up and he couldn't be more happy about it. The organic traffic was showing as much potential as he had thought it would, and while it was a bit slower than his other options, the majority of the sales it produced were one of the most interesting.
It wasn't a stretch to say that he could smell the Trade in the air. Oh no it wasn't.
So when the bells jingled, his only response was the same genuine smile he had gotten so used to.
It was a familiar face – that jawline and hair was anything but unmemorable – and it wasn't hard to guess what he was here for. The resolute expression on his face was very telling.
"Thor, happy to see you again." He said truthfully.
"I don't doubt that you are, merchant." Thor said with a disgruntled frown on his face as he came up to him. It was an expression Isaac was very well used to in his career as a purveyor of goods. It was the expression of someone who was dealing with the moral dilemma and the necessity of a trade.
There was a reason why people had a default natural dislike towards Merchants, both big and small letters.
"So…"
"You know why I'm here, merchant. Don't play coy with me, for the sake of our time if nothing else. Please."
"That was not my intention. Apologies."
"I will take your word for it." The young blond god was such an agreeable man that it was kinda hard to keep a neutral disposition regarding him. "I know a great number of merchants who would be gloating if they were in possession of half the things in your 'humble' shop. It makes it easier to deal with you."
Isaac fully understood. "Unfortunately, not quite the high bar when it comes to my kind. In my humble opinion, most of my peers lack the basic understanding of what is important in a trade."
"Unfortunately." Thor supported.
"Let me get it." Isaac shifted out from behind the counter and into the shop. Thor followed him and quietly observed some of the items on display. Most of them did not catch his eyes, mostly the guns and likewise advanced weaponry, but the ones that did were delicate pieces that he couldn't help but admire.
Some of the armor were mundane, of mortal means, but he could tell that they were finely made. He didn't bother with armor much since any could hardly be compared to the blessed piece he wore. The weapons on the other hand…
Regardless of Thor's pride, there was no denying that his armor and hammer were among the universe's finest. Inside the shop he saw a few weapons that, even if not surpass, could contend.
The sword he saw the last time was one of them. The chained serrated blades that felt as if they were forged in the heart of Muspelheim was another. There was also a staff that emitted divine light, but he couldn't figure out where it came from or who it was related to.
"These weapons, did you pilfer them all from the dead?" He asked. It wasn't a malicious question, but one that held a note of critical curiosity. Who were these warriors?
"A lot of them I purchased from their previous owners. Weapons like these rarely find themselves out of the hands of a welder for long." Isaac said as he led them to the end for the shop where a bunch of ornately designed cases were kept.
He pulled out a box(more of a mini-chest) and set it down on a nearby table.
"There you go." He gestured to Thor.
Thor did not stand on occasion. He unclasped the lock and opened the box, and sitting there, being restrained by faintly glowing Chinese characters, was the hammer in all of its rune-inscribed and golden accented glory. It had a brutality to its image that Thor's Mjolnir did not.
Thor's fingers grazed over its surface but the warding inscriptions prevented him from making contact.
"A necessary precaution given what happened the last time. It's a very temperamental weapon as I'm sure you know." Isaac explained.
The weapon did not have the pseudo-conscience that Thor's Mjolnir did, but it still remembered the bond it shared with the familiar God of Thunder.
"So what will it be?" Isaac asked, interested in the likely outcome of the potential sale. A sale as perfect as this was a rare occurrence even in his long-standing profession.
Thor looked up from the weapon and turned to Isaac. "Two things for you, Isaac. The first one is a token for your fairness – you come with me to Asgard and I will permit you to pick one item of equal value from Asgard's vault."
Even if he didn't show it, there was no denying that he was greatly interested in that option. The amount of treasures that was no doubt in Asgard's treasury promised an interesting trade.
He went for the satchel on his waist and brought out something from it – A corked vial of blood and living lightning.
"A vial of my essence – a god's ichor. My heart-blood. Willfully given." And that just changed everything.
Isaac had a limited supply of divine blood, much less divine ichor, and scarcely one that contained the definite essence of a god. Most of the blood he had were the ones he scraped off the ground or from the body of a dying god – divine blood, sure, but hardly any concentrated essence. And a huge bulk of his supply was definitely not willfully given, which when it came to divine beings, made all sorts of difference. Being in possession of godly blood that contained all three — godly ichor, godly essence(it contains the identity of the god, their memories, their strength, their divinity etc.), and it being willfully given(hands down the hardest to acquire as it grants a layer of authenticity and approval – which are two things they tend not to do – from the gifting god) — was truly a divine feat. Something like this could turn a mortal man into a godling of Thor's divinity, along with all the perks an Asgardian divinity of Thor's lineage would enjoy.
Isaac looked at Thor, his calm smile completely gone and its place was an expression of serious contemplation that was highlighted with how his eyes glowed.
"That is quite the hefty exchange." He said.
Thor looked at the hammer, at the vial in his hands, and then at Isaac, and nodded in simplicity. "But a fair one, won't you say?"
"So I would." Isaac said as the glow in his eyes receded. He couldn't help but look at Thor in another light. He had introduced the trade to Thor who had taken it and made sure the essence of it remained one of fairness. And how had he done so?
The essence of a god for the identity of another, of which the identity of both gods were the same.
"Which one?" Thor asked, remaining the polite customer even though he knew which one Isaac was going to pick.
"An essence for an essence. A perfect trade, won't you say?" Isaac looked at the box and the sealing binds over the alternate Mjolnir receded.
"You can take the box too, as complementary." Isaac said after Thor handed over the vial.
It was clear that Thor hardly heard him as the boisterous god was more focused on the hammer. He reached out to the hammer that was already brimming with electricity in anticipation, and resolutely grabbed it.
There was no spark show, no cloud storm, no cry of thunder as the shop simply didn't let it. The lack of theatrical display however had no effect on what was happening inward.
It was a short trance as Thor quickly regained his outer consciousness. There was no physical change but it could not be denied that there was one. The young god's eyes had turned weary.
"A word of advice, if you will."
"Give it."
"I'd suggest you take those hammers to the nearest mythical dwarf you know. Having two hammers is good, but having two hammers forged into one is better. It grants a better synergy."
"I know a dwarf." Thor said half absentmindedly, no doubt still reeling himself from whatever trance he had.
"Exquisite." Isaac beamed. "Now will that be all or might I interest you in something else? An armor, or perhaps another godly weapon?"
That seemed to set him right, though the quick shake of his head was unfortunate.
"Unfortunate, but I understand. Thank you for the wonderful exchange. Hope to see you again." Isaac led him back to the counter where he gift-wrapped the box to a thankful Thor, who then promptly left, no doubt off to meet his mythical dwarf for a condensation reforge.
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…...
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[POV: With Thor]
As Heimdall heeded his call and sent down the light of the Bifrost, Thor's mind was occupied with the presence of the second hammer in his hand.
The realized might of the God of Thunder, Storms and Strength. He didn't just get another Mjolnir. He had adopted the identity of another god that was himself. He could feel the strength in his arms, more than he had ever wielded. He could feel the lightning thrumming silently in the full clouds, all waiting for his call.
And then there were the memories. The flashes of unending brutality. His family. His…
His steps felt heavy as he walked out of Heimdall's dome.
"You feel fuller, my prince. Your might is…"
"Exceeding?"
"Terrible, my prince. Your might has grown terrible." Heimdall said with a respectful bow. There was a compliment to his words, but it was mostly caution. Thor supposed he understood why Heimdall said 'terrible'. His brief memories of Thor showed him why that description was accurate.
Even as he crossed the bridge, he could feel it buzzing near his heart. The instinctual knowledge that he could not yet wield the full power of two Thors. He had yet to fully realize his strength, talk less of wielding that of an older and much stronger Thor. He could now channel more power than he used to be able to, but that was it. Stronger, sure, but not as strong as he could be.
"Hmm, I guess the hammers do make the man." He heard his father say the moment he stepped into the throne room. Unlike before, his father was not alone. His mother sat beside him.
"Father. Mother." Without saying another word, he presented the hammer to them.
The hammer floated to Odin's hand and both he and his wife peered into the magic of the hammer.
"No…." Freya gasped in horror while Odin's eye twitched as they read the runes inscribed on the hammer.
One described to the Giants in the way of destruction and calamity. Another plainly described destruction, or perhaps the destroyer, and the waking chaos it bloomed. Another described war and the path it took. The runes told a proclamation, a bloody one, about a destroyer and the path, and the people his destruction upended.
"A talkative hammer, this one seems." Odin remarked dryly as he threw the hammer back to Thor who caught it easily. "What do you have to tell us, Thor? Surely this hammer isn't it?"
"Ragnarök." Thor's simple words turned the throne room cold. He didn't see everything, but the flashes he saw told a clear story. There was more to it than he saw, that much was obvious, but the little he saw held its own importance, one neither his Father nor Mother could dismiss.
He told them all he remembered, all he felt, all he saw, his thoughts, the betrayal, the pain.… everything. It was hours later before they permitted him to leave.
He walked out feeling a weariness that ran down to his bones and his soul.
"Thor, my friend, what is happening? By Odin's beard, you look like a depressed Loki." Volstagg came from behind and shook his shoulders before taking a step back when he saw his pallor.
Fandral, Sif and Hogun came out from the corner, showing that they had been waiting for him to be done with the matters of the throne room to ambush him.
"You look deathly, Thor." Sif said with a frown and then her eyes drifted downwards which promptly made her freeze. The others mirrored her action, as well as her reaction. "And since when did that happen?"
"Sif…" Whatever words he had to say froze as the memory of a woman and the pain of a failed promise came unbidden in his head. "Sif…"
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