a Realm Beyond
Celeste had seen many wonders in her lifetime, but nothing compared to Asgard. The golden city stood tall, shimmering beneath an eternal sky, the air alive with energy unlike anything she had ever felt. It thrummed in her bones, whispered in her very essence. This was a place of gods, and though she did not yet understand the full truth of what she was, she felt something click into place the moment she set foot in the realm.
She had come seeking answers.
Thor had extended the invitation, sensing that Asgard might hold the key to unlocking her dormant abilities. While S.H.I.E.L.D. had given her structure, it could not provide her with the knowledge of her own origins. So she had accepted, stepping through the Bifrost and into a world that felt both foreign and strangely familiar.
Heimdall was the first to truly acknowledge what she was.
“I see you now, Celeste Astra Vale,” he had said, his golden eyes peering through her as if reading the very fabric of her soul. “Daughter of light. Lost to time, yet never forgotten.”
His words lingered in her mind, stirring something deep within her. But the answers she sought would not come easily. Odin had permitted her stay, though with the silent understanding that Asgard was no sanctuary. If she was to learn, she would have to prove herself.
And so she did.
She trained among the warriors of Asgard, sparring with Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. She studied ancient texts, pouring over forgotten lore with Frigga’s quiet guidance. She stood atop the great cliffs of the realm, reaching out, searching for the power within her, feeling it flicker and pulse like a heartbeat just beyond her grasp.
But control did not come easily. The energy within her was wild, unpredictable, slipping through her fingers like liquid light. Frustration gnawed at her, but she refused to give in. She had spent too long feeling lost—she would not let this battle defeat her.
It was Heimdall who first noticed the shift.
“You are beginning to see,” he told her one night, standing at the edge of the Bifrost. “Not with your eyes, but with what lies within.”
She did not fully understand his words then. But soon, she would.