The familiar buzz of magic coursing through my veins steeled me to continue on; energy pulsing with almost dizzying energy. I shrouded myself in an illusion, disguised as a common citizen of Valhalla.

I could see the main gates looming ahead of me, guarded by Valkyrie warriors that seemed to be loyal to Hela. Mother had mentioned that some of the Valkyrior were killed before Hela had finished off the last of them in her attempt to escape from Niflheim. Those warriors were either unaware of Hela's involvement in the death of their comrades or spies whose loyalties never lied with the throne. Plenty of Asgardians weren't in support of the monarchy back when Odin was in power. I figured that some probably still weren't.

One of the women, with short, choppy blonde hair, drew her sword as I approached.

"Who are you? You have no business here. Especially not this late at night."

I shrugged.

"Oh, I was just passing through. I'm new to Valhalla, you see, and I thought I'd explore the city a bit."

"The main gates are not for exploration." Her partner responded with a sneer.

"Right. Well, I'll just head back then."

I backed away slowly, my eyes never straying from the black hole in the center of the gates growing larger and larger by the minute. When I was a good three yards away, I saw a flash of light breaking through the darkness and a body falling out of the black hole.

Without a second of hesitation, I slammed my hand against the ground, releasing a burst of energy that knocked the guards off of their feet. Before they could recover from the fall, I was already running towards the black hole.

"Going somewhere?" A voice from behind me asked.

"Damn you, Hela." I seethed.

The darkness was shrinking along with my window of time. If I didn't make it now, then I would never have another chance.

I whipped around and charged at her without thinking. She dodged the dagger I threw at her head and flipped me onto the ground.

I jumped to my feet, ignoring the pain shooting through my legs and back.

"Actually, yes. I was just leaving." I shot back as I slammed the palm of my hand into her nose, pushing upward.

With any luck, it should've shoved the cartilage in her nose up into her skull, but luck wasn't on my side. She wiped her hand across her face and pulled it back covered in blood. I tried not to panic as I glanced at the darkness at the gates and realized that I only had about two minutes left.

With one last ditch effort, I grabbed her by the horns and pressed my hand to her forehead.

My head swam with her memories as I pulled them to the surface of her mind. Flashbacks of a battle with Odin on the rainbow bridge and her exile to Niflheim. Members of the Valkyrior and Asgard's elite soldiers holding her back with flaming swords and chains. It was horribly gruesome and painful to witness, and I couldn't pull my hand away soon enough.

She stumbled backward with a gasp.

"You vile little snake!" She screamed, cradling her head in her hands and desperately trying to shake away the memories.

I took the opportunity to cover the remaining distance between me and the darkness and hurled myself through the gates to the sound of her earsplitting screams.

Chaos echoed through the darkness that surrounded me on all sides. Her screams grew faint and distant as I fell farther and farther through the seemingly endless tunnel of pitch-black nothingness.

Every muscle in my body ached from my escape, and my breaths were short and ragged. It didn't help that I was almost nauseous from the constant motion of falling. It brought back memories from long ago of letting go of Gungnir on the rainbow bridge. Thor had cried out in horror as I fell into an abyss. At least then, I had a nice view of stars and nebulas in an infinite galaxy.

Now, all I had was empty space.

Eventually, though I don't quite know when, I stopped falling. I just floated for a while. It was almost peaceful; ethereal.

Air filled my lungs as I took a deep breath, preparing for whatever awaited me in my Second Chance.

Soon, I would be with Thor. Fighting alongside him. I would see Brunnhilde again. Run my hands down the curves of her body and let her set me on fire with the burning sensation of her lips on mine.

There was still so much left for me to do. So many wrongs to right. So many different paths to take.

A change in the air suddenly jolted me out of my dream-like state. Something was about to happen. I could feel it.

"I'm coming home, brother," I whispered.

A horrified scream ripped through my lungs and out of my lips as I began to plummet through the black abyss.