Baldur Odinson:The light of Asgard

Chapter 18: The Leap into the Unknown

Baldur knew what was out there.

Or at least, he thought he did.

His knowledge of the MCU had given him a roadmap, a blueprint of the vast cosmos, but now that he was actually out here, it felt different. More alive. More terrifying. More… real.

The movies had always simplified things. The Marvel universe had been laid out for human audiences, structured around Earth's understanding of the cosmos. But space wasn't just a collection of neatly connected locations and well-defined factions. It was infinite, ancient, untamed.

And now, he was part of it.

Golden light rippled off his body as he propelled himself forward, moving through the endless void with effortless grace. Space was silent, but he could feel the vibrations of the universe—the electromagnetic hum of nearby stars, the low, thrumming energy of massive celestial bodies, the distant shockwaves of dying planets.

This wasn't the Bifrost. There were no rainbow bridges or guided paths to lead him. Out here, there was no Odin, no Asgard, no fate written by gods.

He was on his own.

And for the first time since arriving in this reality, he didn't know exactly what would happen next.

The first planet he encountered was dead.

From a distance, it had looked like a standard terrestrial world, orbiting a mid-sized sun, but as he got closer, Baldur saw the truth.

The surface was scarred beyond recognition. Massive craters stretched across the land, entire cities burned into nothing but skeletal remains. The atmosphere was thin, poisoned by whatever had destroyed this place.

And as soon as he landed, he knew exactly what had done it.

His golden eyes scanned the cracked ground, the scorched ruins. His fingers brushed against a melted structure, his energy reading the lingering traces of devastation.

It wasn't war.

It wasn't natural disaster.

It was extermination.

And he knew who was responsible.

"Thanos," Baldur muttered under his breath.

This planet had suffered the same fate as Zen-Whoberi, Gamora's homeworld. The Titan's forces had descended like a plague, wiping out half the population with cold efficiency. This was the reality of the universe.

The movies had shown glimpses of this destruction—montages, flashbacks, a few lines of dialogue. But standing here, in the aftermath of one of Thanos' culling operations, Baldur felt the weight of it.

The silence was suffocating.

This wasn't just a story. This was real.

His thoughts were interrupted by movement.

A figure darted between the ruins, fast, but not fast enough to avoid his notice. They weren't alone. Shadows flickered across the rubble—at least four of them, watching him.

Baldur exhaled, standing slowly. His golden light pulsed, illuminating the darkness.

"Come out," he said calmly. "I know you're there."

For a moment, there was silence.

Then—they attacked.

Four figures lunged from the ruins, moving with practiced coordination. Their weapons were not primitive—they carried blasters, energy blades, tactical gear that suggested they were survivors, not simple scavengers.

Baldur moved before they could fire.

A flicker of golden light—then he was gone.

He reappeared behind the first attacker, his hand grabbing the barrel of their blaster before they could react. With a flick of his wrist, he crushed it like paper.

The second swung an energy blade at him, aiming for his ribs. Baldur caught the weapon mid-swing, the plasma humming against his palm. It didn't even scratch him.

The third and fourth opened fire, blue plasma bolts streaking through the air.

Baldur barely even moved. He simply tilted his head, letting the bolts bend around him, his light energy distorting the path of the projectiles.

The first attacker stumbled back, their hands shaking. "What the hell are you?"

Baldur smirked. "New."

The fight ended quickly. He didn't kill them—there was no point. Once they realized their weapons were useless, they surrendered.

Now, they sat around a small fire, staring at him with a mix of fear and fascination.

They were survivors. One of the few remnants of this planet's population. Their leader, a woman with tired eyes and a scar across her jaw, spoke first.

"You're not from around here."

Baldur shrugged. "No."

She narrowed her eyes. "You're not Kree, not Skrull. And you sure as hell aren't Terran. So what are you?"

He considered lying. But what was the point?

"Asgardian."

The group exchanged glances.

"Asgard?" one of them muttered. "I thought that was just a myth."

Baldur smirked. "Yeah. I get that a lot."

The leader—her name was Seria—studied him carefully. "So why are you here, Asgardian?"

Baldur leaned back, looking at the ruined skyline. "Because I wanted to see what the universe was really like." His golden eyes flickered. "Turns out, it's worse than I thought."

Seria's jaw tightened. "Yeah. Welcome to the real galaxy."

They told him what had happened.

How Thanos' forces had arrived without warning. How the Black Order had watched, silent, as their soldiers executed half the population. How those left behind had been forced to survive in the ruins of their former civilization.

It wasn't a war. It wasn't conquest.

It was calculated cruelty.

Baldur listened, but he already knew the story.

He had seen it in Gamora's flashbacks, in Nebula's memories, in the fragmented pieces the MCU had shown.

But hearing it from the mouths of those who had lived it was different.

More real.

Baldur exhaled slowly. "And now?"

Seria shook her head. "Now, we survive. And we keep moving."

She looked at him then, really looked at him.

"You could stay," she said. "Help us. With power like yours, we could—"

"No."

The answer came before he could stop himself.

Seria's expression hardened. "Why?"

Baldur didn't answer immediately.

Because he knew the truth.

He wasn't here to fix individual planets.

If he stopped to help every survivor, he would never reach the real problem.

This wasn't about saving one world.

This was about stopping the force behind it all.

He stood, his golden energy flickering around him. "Because I need to get stronger."

Seria scoffed. "Stronger? You're already more powerful than anyone I've ever seen."

Baldur shook his head. "Not enough."

He turned, looking up at the sky. "Not yet."

As he prepared to leave, Seria stepped forward.

"If you're really going after the kind of people who did this…" She hesitated. "Then I hope you make them suffer."

Baldur smirked. "That makes two of us."

Then, in a flash of golden light, he was gone—a streak of radiance vanishing into the cosmos.

And for the first time, he had a goal.

Thanos was out there. The Black Order was out there.

And if Baldur wanted to stand a chance against them, he had a long way to go.