In front of everyone present, Odin vanished into golden particles of energy, which merged with the light in the air until they faded completely.
"Father…"
Thor shouted in fury and fixed his gaze on Hela.
"Damn you, I'll kill you!"
With those words, lightning began to crackle around him as the sky darkened, covered by storm clouds.
At that moment, the cracks on the hammer widened even more; Mjolnir struggled to contain the power unleashed by its master's rage.
But Frigga stopped him before he could act.
"Thor, stop."
"Why?" he asked angrily, though when he saw whom he was addressing, his tone softened.
"She killed Father, she…"
"I know… but this is something Odin knew would happen."
Frigga took a deep breath and continued calmly.
"Your father had already accepted this fate. From the beginning, he knew his mistake was the origin of it all. For centuries, he could have faced Hela, could have searched for another path… but words were never his strength, and time only turned what was once a wound into a scar impossible to heal. Perhaps there were other methods, perhaps other ways out, but he chose this end as his way of taking responsibility."
She sighed with sorrow.
"Sometimes, my son, the problems we don't resolve turn into storms. And when we finally dare to face them, it is already too late to stop them. Your father knew this… and that's why he accepted it."
Thor's fury calmed, not because he forgave Hela, but because he understood it had been his father's decision.
"You make it sound so noble when in reality he simply chose the easy way out," Hela mocked with sarcasm.
Frigga stood and approached her. For the first time since her arrival, Hela's expression shifted into something more human: she looked nervous, even fearful.
"Despite everything," Frigga said, "I am glad to see you back after so long."
She hugged her. Hela didn't know how to react. Despite everything, she could never hate the only person who had never treated her as a tool, but as a daughter. Back then, trained only for war, she had despised such gestures as trivial… but after centuries of loneliness, she realized they were what she missed the most.
"Is she alright?"
Loki's voice came from behind, drawing both women's attention.
Natasha answered:
"She's fine. She started heating up out of nowhere. I suppose it's connected to the Phoenix, so I put her to sleep."
Loki looked at her, surprised.
"I'm a spy," Natasha explained, "I know how to put someone to sleep without pain or suffering, don't worry."
Then she glanced at Hela for a moment before turning back to Loki.
"You seem to have things to discuss. I'll take her to rest."
"I'll go with her," Jane said, avoiding getting involved in the complicated family matter.
Once only the four of them remained in the hall, Hela spoke with a hint of surprise in her voice.
"The Phoenix is… inconceivable. Just feeling its power for an instant was enough to awaken every survival instinct I thought long gone."
"You will not touch my daughter," Loki said coldly.
"That's not what I want. I was simply surprised."
Hela looked at him with a mix of awe and respect.
"Despite its strength, the Phoenix was contained. Do you realize how lucky you are? Almost everyone who has carried even a fraction of its power ends up consumed, their body devoured by the unforgiving flame. Such is the magnitude of one of the three primordial forces of the universe.
And time… time is not something you can see or a power you can wield. It is a universal constant, immutable and inevitable, even for the most powerful.
For someone to have faced these two forces, which should never have touched or interacted, just to keep your daughter alive… that is extraordinary."
"And I am very grateful to whoever did it," Loki replied, cutting the conversation short. "But we are not here to talk about my daughter, but about Asgard."
"You're right," Hela conceded.
"I've already seen this whole thing of wanting to test me. I don't need your approval, but I don't want to rule a realm that doesn't respect its leader either. So I'll play along, for now."
"They won't follow someone into a meaningless war," Thor answered.
"Asgard has changed; it is no longer a people of warriors who fight only for the sake of fighting."
"Then maybe… such a kingdom is not for me," Hela said, surprising Thor.
"What do you mean?"
"You heard me. I always thought my purpose was war, but I never decided that myself. I only followed what was imposed on me. While you two fight over the throne, I'll take some time to find a true purpose… something mine, not what others expect of me."
She looked at Odin's empty throne, with a firm and serene expression.
"And that throne… either of you may take it."
Without waiting for a response, she moved toward a pillar and leaned silently against it, watching how Thor and Loki would decide Asgard's future.
Thor looked at his mother, confused. She nodded, confirming that Hela was not lying: she did not care about the throne.
Then Thor asked:
"Who will inherit the throne, then?"
The doubt was reasonable. He and Loki had already gone through a trial to decide the heir, but without Hela's participation it had seemed unfair. Now that she stepped aside, the trial became valid once again.
In conclusion: the new king of Asgard was already decided.
But it was never that simple.
"You have both shown that you have grown," Frigga said, "which is why the decision of who will be the new king… falls to you."
"To us?"
"Those were Odin's words," Frigga replied.
Both brothers nodded. Thor was about to speak, but Loki interrupted.
"Let me speak first."
He took a deep breath, as if he had rehearsed those words many times.
"A few years ago, I would never have said this. Since childhood I was taught that my destiny was to be the next king of Asgard… only to later discover I was not Odin's true son, and that he never intended to give me the throne."
"What a lousy father we got," Hela mocked, noting the similarity between their stories.
Loki ignored her.
"As I was saying… I always wanted to be king because that's what I was told I should desire. And also… the other option was you."
A trace of mockery slipped into his voice, before Thor could take offense.
"Back then, you were nothing more than a brain with muscles, picking fights with anyone. I didn't care about the people either, but at least I studied what it meant to lead."
"And yet, despite all I learned, I never had what mattered most: charisma. That natural magnetism of a king, who is followed not out of fear or duty, but out of loyalty and respect. Someone who cares for his people and protects them. Without that, a throne is nothing but an ornament."
"But you, brother… you have it. Even when you were an idiot, people followed you. And now, more than ever."
He paused, his voice softer.
"So… the throne is yours."
"But…" Thor began, though Loki interrupted again.
"It's fine, once I started having my own life, I stopped longing for the one others told me I should desire."
His gaze hardened.
"Besides, I have something a king should never have: selfishness."
Thor shook his head.
"You've changed, Loki. You are no longer the selfish god you once were."
Loki laughed, with that mix of arrogance and sincerity that defined him.
"You're wrong. My selfishness never vanished, it just stopped being only about me. Now there are others within that circle. Believe me: if anyone touched Jean or Natasha, I wouldn't care about the consequences or collateral damage, as long as the culprit suffered."
He returned to his usual, almost mocking attitude.
"I always felt superior to the rest. While everyone else had purposes in their lives, I did not. I wanted to be king. It wasn't just a purpose… it was my glorious purpose."
He lifted his gaze with pride.
"But I am a proud god. No one decides for me how great my purpose is. My life now is perfect as it is… and that, to me, is my glorious purpose."
Thor burst into laughter and gave him a pat on the back.
"Hahaha, yes! That's the proud brother I remember. I don't think I could change your mind anyway.
Even so, I hope your mind helps me, and that you stay by my side as the king's mind."
Loki nodded in agreement, and thus the new king of Asgard was decided in a rather anticlimactic way, without any battle for the throne.
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