One of his eyes was covered by an eyepatch, yet his remaining eye held the wisdom and calm of someone who had seen through the vicissitudes of time.
"Father..."
Thor looked at the old man, his voice trembling slightly.
Odin looked at Thor, covered in wounds, and smiled gently.
"You look terrible, my son."
Thor staggered forward and fell to his knees before Odin.
"Father... I failed." Thor lowered his head in anguish. "I couldn't protect Midgard. I couldn't even protect the person I loved. I lost Mjolnir... I don't have the strength to defeat that monster."
Odin reached out and gently placed a hand on Thor's shoulder.
"Thor, tell me. Are you the god of Hammers, or the god of Thunder?"
Thor froze, then looked up at his father in confusion.
"That hammer, Mjolnir." Odin calmly guided Thor. "It was never the source of your power. It was merely a tool, a tool to help you control and focus the power within you."
"When you rely too heavily on a tool, you forget who you truly are."
"The power inside you comes from the bloodline of the Asgardians, from your determination to protect what you love, not from a piece of metal."
"But Father... that monster is too powerful..." Thor still hesitated.
"Listen to me, my son. A true god is not someone who can never be knocked down."
Odin turned slightly, his gaze fixed on the vast ocean.
"It is when he rises again after being knocked down, for everything he cherishes, that he truly becomes a god."
Odin withdrew his gaze and looked at Thor again, a proud smile appearing on his face.
"You are stronger than I am, Thor. You have merely forgotten how to unleash it."
"Now, feel the storm flowing through your blood. Listen