Silence surrounded the God of Thunder. He wasn't sure whether he was alive or dead. Considering what was happening the last time he remembered having thoughts, dead was the most likely answer. Still, being dead would be a welcomed respite to Ragnarok. So much fire, noise, and death had consumed him there. Even to a legendary warrior like himself it was nearly too much to bear.

Through the void he remembered the sight of Surtur standing as tall as a mountain, towering above Asgard. He could feel it when the demon plunged his fiery sword into the heart of his home, ending it in the blink of an eye. Around Thor his friends and family fought valiantly against the invading hordes, but it was all for not. They were not prepared. Ragnarok was not to come for years, yet it had happened just that day.

The faces of the dead floated through his consciousness. The Warriors Three laid hewn on the steps of the palace. Lady Sif slumped over in his arms. His father Odin yelled defiantly as Sutur's blade pierced through the skin of Asgard and into its heart. The Allfather was consumed by blinding light as Asgard was obliterated.

And Loki...Loki was in the great library when the attack came. It was where Sutur's hordes breached the wall. Thor knew his brother had perished, even if he did not see the body himself. Everyone was gone. None of them were left.

Thor had no idea how he survived. He was strong, of course. Possibly the greatest warrior Asgard have ever known. But how he could survive when so many other brave and worthy warriors did not made no sense. He was no more honorable than another Asgardian warrior.

Someone had defied prophecy. Someone had moved the cogs of the universe forward. Whoever had the power to do that was a threat...A threat worthy of a battle with the mighty Thor. Yes. That was what he would do. He would find the one responsible and he would extract revenge. Revenge for the warriors he lost and the destiny that was stolen from him. Asgard and its people were his to protect, and they were taken from him.

A bump into a rocky surface let him know it was time to take stock of his surroundings. Thor cautiously opened his eyes to find himself stuck to a large asteroid in some god forsaken spit of space. The explosion of Asgard was powerful and vast. For all he knew he was on the other side of the cosmos.

Luckily for him, he heard the hum a familiar tool nearby. His heart skipped like a child with anticipation. He may have been nowhere, but he had Mjolnir. The great hammer had never failed him. It was nearly as feared as he was in the Nine Realms. It had taken him from one side of the universe to the other countless times, and had slain ten times as many foes. As long as he had it, he had hope.

Thor stood on shaky legs. He must have been unconscious for longer than he thought. His muscles were far more out of work than expected. It took him a few moments to gain his footing, but then remembered that Mjolnir always made him feel stronger. Holding the hammer would do him good at a time like this.

His hand shot out to the side and he called for the legendary weapon. But it did not come. He waited for far longer than it should have taken, and peered down at his hand.

Odd.

He began a trek towards where he sensed the hammer was. The rocky, uneven terrain of the asteroid made it a tough time, but he had been worse places. Jotunheim was just as rocky, but everything there was also covered in a maddening layer of ice. It made sticking one's feet for a proper blow on a Frost Giant tricky. But he could do that with little effort. Few others could. As far as Thor knew, Odin was the only other one as adept at fighting there as anywhere else.

After a short trek, he saw the hammer's metallic, brick-shaped head glisten in the starlight. Its dragon-leather wrapped handle pointed up like a sign post pointing Thor the way. He could see the runes carved into the Uru metal that comprised the hammer. They were the spells Odin and the Dwarves had inlaid into the hammer at its creation.

The God of Thunder smiled and approached. He bent down to pick up the weapon, but as his hand pulled he felt the weight of the universe pull back against him. Confused, he pulled again but the hammer did not budge. Thor attempted to pull with both arms and still it did not shift. Becoming panicked, he pulled with all his considerable might. His feet began to dig into the hard rock of the asteroid. He felt its crust cracking beneath him.

Yet Mjolnir did not budge.

"Unworthy."

The word slipped from his tongue as a whisper. Mjolnir was not like other weapons. The various spells and incantations that had been placed on it gave it something of a mind of its own. If it did not feel its bearer was worthy, it could not be picked up. And Thor had now been deemed unworthy.

The Asgardian prince fell to his knees in despair.