A Time to Die

Centuries Ago

Once there was the void and from it came the stars and the planets. Among those many worlds was the planet that would come to be known as Earth. As the oceans cooled and land formed the planet crackled with energy. From it came Demiurge, the sentient life force of Earth’s biosphere. This entity used its power to create the first lifeforms on the planet Earth that came in the form of the Elder Gods including Chthon, Set, and Gaea among others. The majority of the Elder Gods proliferated across the Earth and warred with one another for supremacy.

The lone exception was Gaea, who created the earliest forms of life in the oceans. Gaea also sought to bring good to the world that she loved so much. She soon mated with the Demiurge itself birthing the first of a new generation of gods, Atum. Atum then set about stopping the endless war of the Elder Gods by consuming them all, transforming into the Demogorge. Most of the Elder Gods were slain but some managed to escape, such as Chthon who transcribed an indestructible parchment to be his touchstone to Earth before fleeing into a neither dimension.[1] With his mission complete, the Demogorge left Earth, seeding the heavens with the “Godstuff” of the Elder Gods. He reverted back into Atum and merged with the sun itself.

Eventually, man rose from the primordial ooze and, touched with divinity itself, their awe and mystery about the sun above tapped into the Godstuff that permeated the world. Their beliefs led to the creation of the various pantheons of gods that have been worshiped over the ages.[2]

Now

A funeral is being held for Nanna who sacrificed her life in order to prevent her beloved Balder from being forced into a marriage with Karnilla, Queen of the Norns.[3] Nearly everyone mourns for Nanna’s passing, even Heimdall who ever faithfully remains at his guard post on the Bifrost Bridge. The only person not saddened by this is Loki, who wishes Sigyn — his own wife — would follow Nanna’s example and kill herself. Balder manages to maintain his composure until Nanna’s body is laid out on a longship on the River Gopul. He breaks down into tears after placing a golden bracelet on Nanna’s arm as this was to be a gift to her on their wedding. With the final preparations made, Thor uses enchanted Mjolnir to summon a bolt of lightning that sets the long boat aflame. As Nanna’s soul rises from the funeral pyre two of the mighty Valkyrie swoop out of the sky on their winged steeds to guide her to Valhalla’s Hall of Noble Women. After Nanna’s soul is spirited off to her great reward, Odin has a stone set on the shores of the Gopul to commemorate her life. Despite the somber moment, Odin is furious that Hela, goddess of death, was not present during the funeral as is her duty.

Little does Odin know is that Hela has left Asgard to meet with other death gods in Hades, the domain of Pluto, the Olympian death god. The various death gods have met because many of them have not had fresh souls in their domains for centuries due humanity’s waning belief in their existence. Mephisto has gathered them all to propose that they merge all of their domains together and consolidate their power so that every soul of the damned becomes theirs together. While most of the death gods are in agreement, only Hela is reluctant reminding them of her own failed bid to take over Valhalla in Asgard.[4] However, since she is the only outlier, she decides to go along with the plan any way despite her reservations.

With that, the death gods all join hands and cast a massive spell that causes all of their domains to shift their dimensional axis and merge together into a unified Hell. Suddenly, they’re all knocked aside by a blast of cosmic energy. Getting to their feet, they are horrified to discover that they have summoned the Demogorge. The god-eater has decreed that they have degenerated and much consume their godly forms. Seth tries to attack the Demogorge but the first god shrugs off his attack and absorbs Seth’s body through an orifiace in his hand. The other death gods watch in horror as Seth’s disintegrating form struggles to get free from under the Demogroge’s skin to no avail. Hela tries to get everyone to work together but they all attack separately in a panic. Soon, the Demogorge consumes everyone except for Hela and Ereshkigal, who wisely flee the slaughter.

Meanwhile, Odin sees all of this by observing Hela’s activities through the seeing pool at the foot of the the world tree Yggdrasil. He summons Thor and warns him of the threat of the Demogorge, saying it is more deadly than Ragnarok itself as it will spell the end of all gods. Thor is then dispatched for form an army of gods to face the threat of the Demogorge. He recruits sun gods Tawa, Quetzalcoatl, and Apollo as well as storm god Shongo, Horus the falcon god, and Indra the Indian god of war. As they gather at the portal to the netherworld, Shongo pauses to plant his Ofo Rod. When the plant-made staff withers and dies, he sees this as an ill omen of the battle ahead.

Back in the netherworld, Hela tries to prevent the Demogorge from consuming Ereshkigal and fails. The only one left standing, Hela tries to flee and warn the others gods and arrives at the portal just as Thor and his valiant warriors arrive. She gives them warning moments before being consumed by the Demogorge as well. The others keep the Demogorge busy, Thor leads his fellow storm gods — Shongo and Indra — to higher ground to make their own attack.[5] Holding Demogorge at bay is no easy feat for the others as soon Horus is the first of their number to be consumed. Apollo tries distracting the creature with a song from his golden lyre buying the storm gods time to combine their power and summon a powerful storm. This does little to slow the god-eater when consumes Quetzalcoatl. Shongo manages to hurt the Demogorge by stabbing the monster with his spear but this doesn’t stop it from consuming Apollo and Tawa next followed by Shongo and Indra.

The last god standing, Thor decides to risk his own life by plunging himself into the Demogorge’s maw to try and destroy the monster from within. There, Thor is able to fight off the tentacles within Demogorge that have snared and begun consuming the others. The Asgardian then fights his way to Demogorge’s core where he is confronted by the essence of the god-eater’s godly aspect, Atum. Atum is surprised that he is unable to contain Thor’s godly essence and realizes that it is not time for these gods to die. Atum then spits out the consumed gods, restores their vitality and separates the nether realms in order to restore the cosmic axis. Before departing Demogorge warns them that this is only a reprieve as, eventually, the current godly cycle will come to an end and he will return to consume them all. Reverting back to Atum, the first god then returns to his home within the sun.

Having not learned their lesson, Pluto suggests that the other death gods join him in trying to merge their realms again. This is met with opposition from Thor and his allies and Mephisto agrees to stand down but vows that they will have their victory some day. As all the other gods depart, Hela dreads returning to Asgard to face the wrath of Odin. Thor promises to accompany her and explain how she tried to stop this all from happening to begin with. However, rather than punishment, Odin congratulates Hela for her part in saving the heavens and restoring the natural order. He rewards her with the opportunity to walk the glorious gardens of Asgard and celebrate her victory before returning to her domain.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Council of Godheads (Odin, Zeus, Manitou, Tezcatlipoca, Lusa, Agni, Osiris, Tawa, Quetzalcoatl, Shango, Indra), Hell-Lords (Hela, Pluto, Ereshkigal, Seth, Yama, Mephisto, Ahpuch), Sif, Balder, Nanna, Frigga, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Heimdall, Demiurge, Apollo, Horus, Cthon, Set, Demogorge, Loki

Continuity Notes

1. This parchment would later become known as the Chthon Scrolls and later bound into a the Book of Darkhold. See Silver Surfer Annual #2 and Marvel Spotlight #4.

2. The idea that various gods came into existence due to human belief might not be entirely accurate. For example, Marvel Legacy #1 shows that Odin himself existed as early as One Million BC, long before the rise of man. However, as is the case with all gods in the Marvel Universe, their origins are subject to many mysteries and contradictions and at least at the time of this writing (October, 2021) there is no official explanation for these discrepancies.

3. Nanna sacrificed her life in Thor #306.

4. It was reported that Hela conquered Valhalla in Thor #301. At the time of this story it had been recently liberated by Odin and the Valkyrie in Thor #314.

5. Here, Indra reveals that they posed as Shiva when Thor battled them in Thor #301.