THE FUNERALS started the next day. Asgardians lined their rocky shoreline, each carrying a light that they would then release in honor of their fallen dead. Odin, Frigga, and Thor led the procession, followed by Sif, Volstagg, and Fandral.
“I like this not,” Volstagg said. “War is not the time for public ceremonies. Or lights,” the warrior said. But this was the Asgardian way. They would pay their respects for the ones they lost, then the battle would begin again. A battle for Asgard. And now that Jane Foster was involved, a battle for Earth.
In the back of the procession, among the surviving Einherjar, was Jane. She had all the eyes of Asgard upon her.
As the ceremony ended, Thor walked over to Jane, kissed her hand, and assured her that everything would be all right. He then moved away and spoke to Odin, Sif, and his fellow Asgardian warriors. Thor was forming a war council, and he was going to take the battle to Malekith, and all the way to Svartalfheim, if need be. The Dark Elves would not triumph, and Malekith would pay for his crimes. Thor swore this to himself, to his war council, and to the people of Asgard.
Thor spun his hammer faster and faster until he was rocketed up into the sky. He overlooked his home world and thought about what had happened and what was about to happen. Tomorrow a new fight would begin: a fight for Asgard, for Earth, and for the universe. And at its center would be the Mighty Thor.
Thor gripped Mjolnir and allowed a small smile to come to his battle-worn face. It would be dangerous, but the battle would be glorious, and Thor would not stop until he—and Asgard—were victorious. But that is a tale for another day.…