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ALL THE STARS: PART I

00. prologue

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The horrid sting of smoke filled her nose and made her cough. She squinted against the black clouds, trying to see something. Sparks of hot fire danced in the wind, clinging to her dress but she paid them no attention. They couldn't hurt her because her surroundings were nothing more than a vision. And once that realization set in the tears in her eyes disappeared and the smell of smoke was gone.

Freya had seen many visions in her life and over time, had gotten better at recognising them. The sounds were always dull, as if she was listening to something being said on the other side of a closed door.

Being the goddess of stars had its perks, like being able to manipulate starlight to her will. She loved the feeling of power that coursed through her veins every time she let herself drown in that silver light. Her skin would light up, a bright white light that would make everyone around her close their eyes. It was only then she felt whole, as if a part of her was missing when there were no stars surrounding her. But it had its downsides too.

She was cursed.

Cursed with the gift of being able to read the stars. Their bright light, their patterns and shapes gave her visions. She had no control over it. All she could do was endure watching what was shown to her. Most times it would be something from the past, something that might teach her a lesson and make her understand the world around her. But as she walked through the burning world around her, she slowly started to realize that wasn't the case this time.

Everything felt different than it normally did. Though the sounds were just as dull as always, there was something else. She couldn't explain exactly what it was, but it made her heart beat with unease. Fear was starting to freeze her from the inside out.

This was the future.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she looked around and finally recognised the burning buildings surrounding her. She was standing in the market square, one of her favorite places to come as a child. But the once so colorful flags were now burned to ashes and the golden pillars that kept the roof standing were set ablaze.

Freya didn't understand it. Her mind couldn't think of a single thing that would be able to cause such a horrible fire to her home. She didn't understand why no one was trying to put it out. To contain it before the entire city would be nothing more than ash.

But when her eyes fell on an enormous monster made of pure fire, trying to push its flaming sword through Asgard's surface, Freya finally knew what she was looking at.

Ragnarok, the destruction of Asgard.

She had read the prophecy dozens of times as a kid. She had always been a lover of fairy tales and stories but seeing it happen now, with her own eyes, was the most terrifying thing she'd ever witnessed.

Surtur, born of ash and destined to destroy her home, was walking around the city, making every street light up in bright flames. He was even bigger than the stories made him out to be. His presence filled the sky, impossible to miss and impossible not to be afraid of.

And she was forced to watch.

Even though Freya loved stories, that did not mean she believed them to come true. The prophecy of Ragnarok was something every Asgardian knew existed but no one ever acknowledged to be real. Many prophecies existed and not all of them always came true. And one that spoke of the destruction of her beloved home was one that people refused to believe in.

A loud crack came from behind her, making her spin around. The pillars that held the building behind her standing were breaking down. And even though she couldn't be hurt, she ran anyway, pushing her way through the flames and leaving the market square far behind her. Her breath was loud in her own ears as she sprinted through the streets, trying to avoid falling debris and the flames that were licking at her feet. Her feet carried her across the city as the wind played with her hair and dress.

Sparks danced around her as the heat of the flames was burning her skin. She bit her lip when her eyes started tearing up. It couldn't be caused by the smoke and so it could only be grief. Pain of watching her entire home burn down. Every house, tree, river, rock, completely destroyed, gone forever.

It briefly crossed her mind that she had not seen any Asgardians yet, which only added to her worry. Finally she reached the city's edge and turned around to watch as Surtur wreaked havoc. A sob left her lips. It felt as if her heart was crumbling in her chest, falling down an endless dark pit and taking her with it.

A sudden voice came from the far depths of her mind, making a small frown appear on her features. It was a whisper, coming from behind her, far away and vague, almost impossible to understand. Turning around she could see someone standing on the bridge, far behind her but even though he was far away she still recognised him.

She would always, in every dream, past, present or future, recognise him.

There was an aura around him that was very familiar to her. One she had seen in many visions. It was cold, strong and radiant. The aura of a king.

She was interrupted in her thinking however, upon realizing he was talking to someone, but she could not see who. Freya started making her way forward but suddenly her feet were stuck. A frustrated groan escaped her as she tried to move. But every try to set herself free sent a burning sensation through her legs. Never before had something like this happened in a vision and it awoke a fear in the pits of her stomach.

Frowning in concentration she tried to move her leg but let out a pained scream when a hot flame of pain went through her skin. It almost felt as though the future was trying to prevent her from seeing this one specific thing. But as she stood there, watching Thor Odinson, she could sense it was much more than that.

She was looking at the future and nothing about the future was set in stone. Maybe her vision was trying to prevent her from saying it, because even the stars were unsure of what she would see.

But the fact that she could see the future king of Asgard standing here, clearly present at the destruction of both their homes told her something that she refused to believe.

It could not be true, it was impossible, but what she was seeing here did not lie, her visions never did. And the fear that had come alive inside of her, slowly swallowed her whole. Tears stung in her eyes as she realized the awful and inescapable truth.

Thor Odison would be the death of Asgard and its people.

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Finally the rewritten version of All The Stars has arrived!

There will be some very small changes but nothing too big. Mostly I've just edited the grammer and writing to fit more with where I'm at now. Considering I first published this story years ago, there were many things about my writing back then I don't like anymore.

Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this prologue! If you did, please leave a comment or a vote, it would mean the world to me.

Thanks for reading,

xx nelly