Thor stopped mid-air, chest heaving. "She didn't even know you. Not by name. So how do you know so much about her?"
"Have you already forgotten?" Michael asked, his tone sharp as he summoned a spear made of aura and hurled it at Thor. Thor raised his hammer to block it, but the spear exploded on impact, sending him flying backward through the sky, his body scorched and smoking.
"There is an Infinity Stone tied to time," Michael continued, his voice echoing through the air. "And it allowed me to see the future—the one that comes when Odin dies. In that timeline, Hela returns, destroys Asgard, and even breaks your Mjolnir."
Thor's eyes widened in disbelief as he struggled to recover mid-air.
"It was a lesson I needed you to learn," Michael said calmly. "You must become stronger. If you don't… you will die."
Thor steadied himself, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His expression hardened as he launched forward with renewed fury. "Then continue to fight me!"
The sky cracked with thunder as Thor charged again, Mjolnir sparking wildly in his hand. He hurled it at Michael, who raised a single finger, and with a flick, the mighty hammer was knocked off course, sent spinning into the distance.
Michael didn't move—his aura flared brighter, dawn-colored energy coiling around him like a living serpent. Thor didn't stop. With a roar, he summoned lightning through his body and struck downward, fists crackling with divine fury.
Michael raised his hand, palm open. The lightning crashed into it—and stopped.
A ripple echoed outward. Earth shattered beneath them as Michael's hand absorbed the full brunt of Thor's attack.
"You're still holding back," Michael said. "Why? Because I don't feel like a villain to you?"
Thor gritted his teeth and leapt, fists raised. "Because I want to believe you're not!"
They collided mid-air, exchanging brutal blows. Thor's fists crashed into Michael's barrier, each strike a thunderclap. Michael moved with graceful precision, dodging and countering. His aura shifted forms—first a flowing cloak, then a shield, then a whip of energy lashing out at Thor's legs.
Thor grunted as he was caught mid-spin, flung through a nearby cliff face. The stone exploded outward, rubble falling like rain.
He rose quickly, blood on his lip but defiance in his eyes.
"You think I'm weak because I feel!" Thor shouted, summoning Mjolnir back to his hand with a magnetic shriek of air. "But that's what makes me a protector! A True KING!!"
He raised Mjolnir to the sky. The clouds parted in reverence.
BOOM!
A bolt of lightning ten times thicker than anything seen before tore down from the heavens. Thor caught it and hurled it—an entire storm compressed into one explosive shot.
Michael's eyes narrowed. "Fine."
His aura condensed into a blinding core. He raised both arms—and with a wave, tore open a rift in the energy stream, absorbing the lightning and redirecting it into a pulse wave that exploded outward.
Thor was flung back, crashing into the earth with a groan. Craters formed around him. Smoke and steam hissed off his armor.
Michael floated down, standing over him. "You're not weak because you feel, Thor. But you are reckless when you refuse to understand."
Thor coughed, chuckled bitterly. "And you're... smug."
A pause. Then Thor reached out—not for Mjolnir, but for Michael's wrist, yanking him off balance. In a flash, he rolled, got to his feet, and headbutted Michael with such force that it blasted the air around them.
"That was your ace?" Michael asked, only slightly dazed from the powerful strike, as he smirked and shook his head. Then he yanked Thor back toward him—and this time, he delivered the headbutt. Thor staggered, the blow echoing through his skull as he was knocked back from the unexpected counter.
"Come on, Thor—fight with the might of an Asgardian prince!" Michael said as he even mockingly made a frame out of his hands, holding it like a camera, pointing it at Thor. "I'm willing to test who you truly are," he added.
Thor gritted his teeth, gripping Mjolnir tightly in his bloodied hand. His eyes burned—not with rage, but from the blood trickling down his forehead, clouding his vision. Yet his stance remained unshaken.
Michael smiled coldly. "That's more like it."
Thor roared, summoning the storm. Lightning crackled through the sky, drawn to him like a beacon. Mjolnir spun in his grip as the thunder god launched himself at Michael, the force of the wind and thunder behind him.
Michael didn't move—not until the last second. His eyes gleamed, and with a subtle shift, he sidestepped Thor's hammer swing, raising a single hand. From his palm burst a wave of dawn-colored energy, crashing into Thor mid-flight and sending him spiraling across the clouds.
Thor recovered mid-air, skidding back upright, his armor scorched but spirit unbroken.
"You're holding back," Michael called across the sky. "You think that's going to be enough when she returns?"
"I don't need to unleash everything to beat you!" Thor growled, hurling Mjolnir at full force.
Michael clapped both hands together, and the space between them shimmered—Mjolnir collided with the barrier and froze mid-flight. Then, with a flick of his fingers, Michael redirected the hammer upward, forcing it to spiral into the air.
Thor blinked, momentarily stunned.
Michael used the moment. He flashed forward, his aura flaring behind him like wings. His fist slammed into Thor's gut with enough force to create a shockwave that burst clouds apart. Thor coughed, breath stolen, and was sent hurtling toward the ocean far below.
But before he could hit the waves, Mjolnir returned—slamming into his hand, halting his fall.
"I've faced stronger opponents before," Michael said, now hovering above. "But you… you're a king in training. Still looking for your throne. SO, show me might of an Asgardian Prince"
Thor steadied himself in the air, blood on his lips. "Then let this be my trial."
With a cry, he soared upward again—clashing with Michael mid-sky, thunder against dawnlight, two titans locked in battle above the Earth.
*******
Like it?
Read More at :- patreon.com/be_king