After returning through the Bifrost, Thor and the Warriors Three immediately noticed Heimdall collapsed near the observatory.
The ice that had encased him was shattered, but the frost of the Casket of Ancient Winters was no ordinary cold. Even Heimdall — whose senses spanned realms — had been weakened by it.
Thor knelt briefly beside him.
"Heimdall…"
"I live," the gatekeeper replied faintly. "But Asgard does not rest."
Thor stood.
"Sif. Volstagg. Take him to the healers."
Without another word, he spun Mjolnir and launched toward the royal palace.
The golden spires of Asgard streaked beneath him.
His expression hardened.
He already knew where Loki would be.
Odin's Vault Chamber
Bang—
Thor crashed into the chamber.
Mjolnir struck first.
Loki was thrown backward across the floor.
"Thor!" Frigga stepped forward sharply. "What are you doing?"
Her voice carried both authority and pain.
Thor turned to her immediately.
"Mother — Loki opened the gates for the Frost Giants. He sent the Destroyer to Midgard. He tried to kill me."
Frigga froze.
The words struck harder than Mjolnir.
She turned slowly toward Loki.
"Is this true?"
Loki did not meet her eyes.
He could defy Thor.
He could deceive the court.
But Frigga's gaze was different.
Thor continued.
"He meant to destroy Jotunheim as well."
Frigga's hand trembled slightly.
"Loki…"
Loki rose slowly, gripping Gungnir.
"My plan was nearly complete," he said coldly, avoiding her stare. "You were meant to remain in exile."
Thor stepped forward.
"You would slaughter an entire realm for pride?"
"For Asgard!" Loki snapped.
He thrust Gungnir forward.
Golden energy erupted.
Thor was blasted backward.
But Loki did not stay.
He vanished in a flash of seidr and reappeared at the Bifrost observatory.
He drove Gungnir into the mechanism.
The bridge roared to life.
This time, he did not open it for travel.
He locked it on Jotunheim.
The Bifrost was more than a bridge.
It was a cosmic energy conduit — originally engineered as both transit system and weapon.
If held open long enough, its energy could destabilize a planetary body.
The beam struck Jotunheim.
It did not retract.
It intensified.
Thor arrived moments later.
"Loki, stop this!"
"It cannot be stopped now," Loki replied. "Not from within."
They clashed.
Mjolnir against Gungnir.
Lightning against royal force.
Thor was stronger.
But Loki wielded the throne's authority through Gungnir.
The bridge beneath them trembled as energy surged through its core channel.
On Jotunheim, the surface cracked.
Ice plains shattered.
The Frost Giants understood immediately.
This was annihilation.
And their king had never returned.
Thor finally knocked Loki down.
He placed Mjolnir on Loki's chest.
The enchantment held him there.
Thor rushed to the control core.
Energy repelled him.
The Bifrost was locked in maximum output.
From inside, it could not be disengaged.
Loki laughed bitterly from beneath the hammer.
"You are too late."
Thor looked down.
Then he looked at the glowing energy channel beneath his feet.
And understood.
There was only one way.
He lifted Mjolnir.
Loki's eyes widened.
"Don't—"
Thor struck the bridge itself.
Cracks spread through the crystalline structure.
Energy flared violently.
"Are you mad?" Loki shouted. "If you destroy it, you will never see her again!"
Thor hesitated.
Only for a breath.
Then he swung again.
The Bifrost core shattered.
Energy detonated outward.
The beam to Jotunheim collapsed.
The observatory exploded in prismatic light.
As the platform disintegrated, Thor fell.
A hand seized his leg.
Odin.
The Allfather had awakened.
The Odinforce flickered faintly around him — diminished, but present.
Thor grasped Gungnir's shaft.
On the other end, Loki clung desperately.
He looked at Odin.
Not with hatred.
With hope.
"I did it for you," Loki said quietly. "For Asgard. For your approval."
Odin's expression did not change.
"I never wanted a throne," Loki continued, voice breaking. "Only to stand equal."
Odin shook his head.
That was enough.
Loki released his grip.
He fell into the void created by the shattered Bifrost — into the collapsing dimensional rift between realms.
"Loki!" Thor shouted.
The rift sealed.
Silence followed.
Thor stood beside Odin on the ruined observatory.
The bridge was gone.
Travel between realms was severed.
Jotunheim survived.
But at great cost.
Thor later ascended as heir in truth — not by ceremony, but by choice.
With the Bifrost destroyed, he could not return to Earth.
He could only ask Heimdall, once recovered, to watch over Jane Foster and tell him what he saw.
And so, the God of Thunder waited.
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