I am Thor

Back in Asgard, after Thor's departure, Heimdall had been keeping a vigilant watch over Nidavellir.

"How is His Highness faring?" Sif asked anxiously. Though Thor had told her not to worry, she couldn't shake the memory of the solemn look in his eyes before he left. It had been over a day, and her worry only grew with each passing hour.

"He's holding up," Heimdall replied. "He's taken some minor injuries. Their numbers are few, and they haven't brought an army, but one of them is exceptionally powerful. He's likely the mastermind behind the invasion of Midgard—an opponent whom perhaps only Odin could defeat here in Asgard. But His Highness is no weakling, and he has strong allies with him."

Sif's heart sank at Heimdall's description. A foe nearly as powerful as Odin? Odin could destroy entire armies with a single strike! The more she thought about it, the more determined she became.

"No," she said firmly. "We can't leave His Highness to face such a powerful enemy alone. We need to go support him!"

"I agree," Fandral said at once. "No matter how strong the enemy, we've always fought by his side. We can help, even if only to take some of the pressure off him."

Heimdall hesitated. Thor had specifically told him to stick to his plan, but Sif and Fandral's reasoning was hard to ignore.

"Wait!" Loki interrupted, his tone serious. "Heimdall, if my brother were to send a message, how quickly would it reach us here in Asgard from Nidavellir?"

"There'd be no delay," Heimdall said, casting him a questioning glance.

"Then we should follow his arrangement."

"No!" Sif protested. "If it were just an ordinary enemy, maybe. But this time is different—we can't leave him in danger!"

Fandral chimed in, his tone accusatory. "Loki, I know you're always at odds with Thor, but that doesn't mean you should let him walk into his death!" Given Loki's record, the Asgardian warriors weren't inclined to trust him.

"You have no idea!" Loki snapped. "You're only going to make it worse by barging in!"

"Thor could take on all three of you in his sleep! What are you hoping to do there? You'd only slow him down, or worse, become hostages. And the enemy didn't bring an army, so ours would just be a needless sacrifice. If he needed backup, he'd have called by now. If he hasn't, it means he doesn't want any interference."

The three Asgardian warriors fell silent, momentarily chastened.

Heimdall nodded thoughtfully. For once, Loki's logic was sound.

Meanwhile, back in Nidavellir, the battle had reached a tense standoff.

Thor stood in the center, Carol on his left, and Wanda on his right—perhaps the strongest "Big Three" ever assembled. Opposite them, Thanos, with Ebony Maw and Corvus Glaive, and Proxima Midnight offering backup.

Thanos' expression was grim. Though it seemed like he had the advantage in numbers, the three before him were tough opponents, and his own side was far from unified. He silently cursed himself; if he'd known it would come to this, he would've abandoned the mission entirely. The plans to forge the Infinity Gauntlet had been destroyed in the fight's aftermath, and even a temporary victory wouldn't change that. Today's operation had been a failure, and Thanos knew it.

But his situation was complicated. Cull Obsuduab, his longtime ally, had been killed. He had also just learned that Supergiant—who had disappeared decades ago—had died at Thor's hands. If he retreated now, he'd risk undermining his leadership. If even the Black Order doubted him, it would only be a matter of time before other allies, like the Chitauri and his various vanguard forces, began to question his strength and waver in their loyalty.

Without a powerful leader to rally behind, his forces would scatter. No one wanted to follow a leader who couldn't protect his own.

On Thor's side, the tension was equally thick.

The rest of the Black Order were minor threats, but Thanos himself was incredibly resilient. He and Carol had tried numerous attacks, but Thanos seemed almost impervious to their blows. He had torn through the Sorcerer portal with brute strength, and Gungnir, the eternal spear, could only pierce his skin slightly, barely wounding him.

Thanos' injuries looked severe, but Thor knew better. Thanos was like a warrior king from ancient Asgardian legends, able to keep fighting with half his body crippled. For a being like Thanos, who had fought and survived in the harshest corners of the universe, this level of damage was trivial—if anything, it made him more relentless.

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