With your hands on the edge of the table, you stood in front of the window and stared into the blue emptiness of the sky.

Your whole body trembled. It felt like electricity was flowing through your veins.

"That bastard!", you growled. "That fucking..."

The words got stuck in your throat.

A shivering sigh rolled from your lips as you squeezed your eyes shut and wiped your face with both hands.

Sweat covered your forehead.

You couldn't remember the last time you had been so desperate.

When Tyr had told you that he had to leave soon?

When he actually disappeared overnight?

No, you remembered the only day you thought your heart would explode in your chest and make you overflow with blood from the inside.

It had been the day Thor had turned his back on you for good and had asked for Sif's hand in marriage.

All at once tears blurred your vision. You had to bite your lips to swallow a scream.

How bitter the past tasted. And now you had to bear all this bitterness all over again.

At least until fate decided what you could do for it.

"Shit.", you hissed and hit the table with your fist. "Shit, shit, fucking shit!"

The last blow hit the wood with such force that a vibrating pain shot through your arm. It was as if the bone shattered like glass.

Gritting your teeth while groaning curses, you held your wrist to numb the pain.

Then you suddenly remembered that you still had the ring in your hand.

Slowly your fist opened.

Blood appeared.

The rounded edges of the ring had dug into your palm and caused the skin to burst. Like wine, the elixir of life ran between your fingers and dripped onto your boots.

The sight alone is enough to bring you back to reality.

Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes and concentrated on the smell of iron.

"Like a thunderstorm...", you murmured, letting the ring dance back and forth in your palm.

It felt like lightning licked over your skin, crept into the cuts, through layers of flesh and bones until it reached your very inner most to make it tremble.

For a moment, that's what you wanted to feel.

Pain.

You wanted to know what it was like to be struck by one of his lightning bolts.

Would it have been a quick end?

Or would every fibre of your body have begged for mercy?

The beating of a heart pressed into your palm. It was stronger than before, clearer, as if it had been filled with new life.

Your eyes opened a crack.

And there it was, the ring. Smeared with your blood and soiled with rage, the jewel slumbered in your hand.

A long breath pressed between your slightly parted lips.

There was a lightning in the stone. Gone was the dull sheen. Instead there were clouds, a storm, and in the heart of it lightning raged so blue that it could have come from Thor.

The sight was hard to accept.

And yet.

Without thinking about it, you put the ring on your finger.

Why did it feel like it was made for you?

The size was not intended for the ring finger but it fit your index finger perfectly.

As soon as your skin was embraced by the cool metal you felt a strange force in your chest. It was as if someone was taking your hand.

"Am I such a bad liar?", you asked yourself with narrowed eyebrows. "Have I already failed my task?"

Your eyes wandered out of the window.

Tyr had left you precise instructions. Thor was inevitably part of the plan. And if the visions were to be believed, then you could not resist either.

It was your task to convince the God of Thunder not to participate in Ragnarok. At least he was not allowed to fight for Odin. Only then would the greatest harm be prevented.

And it seemed Thor knew that, too.

But there were doubts that gnawed at you.

You hadn't been able to rely on him when the Allfather had done you one of the worst evils imaginable. Instead, he had pulled his tail in in front of his father and gone to Sif.

Not once had he stood by your side.

If he already failed in such a simple matter how could you trust him with an entire prophecy?

Even if Tyr had seen the future, that didn't mean there wouldn't be complications. You could do without another betrayal.

And yet.

Annoyed, you frowned and began to chew the inside of your cheek.

Thor had something that had been denied you thanks to Tyr's sudden disappearance.

Pure power. Experience in battle.

You weren't a god of war, just an apprentice. If Odin was to face you in combat, you'd be dead. You needed the Thunder God.

And if not him, then at least his strength and the weapon he carried. Even the Allfather would not be able to lift Mjolnir. He had made sure of that with his own short-sightedness.

A sigh made your chest quiver.

"Very well...", you mumbled and turned to walk towards the door.

If you wanted to proof yourself worthy of your masters legacy you needed to at least try.

Tyr had always said that someone who didn't even try could only lose. On the other hand, the one who tried had at least a small chance of succeeding.

You had always hated his sermons, but now, after centuries of experience, you had to admit that he was right. Of course he was, after all he was not only the god of war but also the god of wisdom.

You pulled a face in annoyance.

If he would have had a chance to notice that you agreed that he gave good advice, he would have lost his balance laughing. Tyr had been a serious god with a sense of duty and yet there had always been a little schadenfreude in him. It would have amused him to see you slowly come to the realisation that not everything he had taught you was silly.

A growl got stuck in your throat.

Frustrated, you smashed your hand against the frame of the door.

"You knew, didn't you, you bastard?", you hissed with a grim gaze.