### Chapter 175: Still Ongoing
Nick Fury nodded deeply, feeling the weight of the words. Yes, looking back at world history and the development of mankind, it was just as Aetheris had said: fortunes rise and fall. The once-mighty British Empire, proclaimed as the empire on which the sun never set, had its moment of glory. But how long did that glory last before it was surpassed by the rising powers of Germany, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States? Now it had declined into nothing more than an old capitalist power.
Meanwhile, the Eastern lion, the Han nation, was rising rapidly. In just a few years—or perhaps a decade—it would not only catch up to the United States but might even surpass it, becoming the world's foremost power.
And yet, who would have thought that just a hundred years ago, that very ancient nation of the East was crying out in agony under the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance?
Nick Fury had intended to refuse the cigarette Aetheris offered him, but in that moment, smoking truly felt like the only way to ease the tangle of emotions inside him. So, the one-eyed man, who had quit for more than ten years, borrowed a light from Aetheris and took a hard drag. The harsh smoke rushed into his lungs, filling him with a long-forgotten sensation.
So satisfying. A real man should drink hard and smoke deep. Without these thrills, wouldn't life be as bland as plain water?
After a few drags, Aetheris continued.
"So, in order to stop Loki from destroying Jotunheim, Thor personally used Mjolnir to shatter the Bifrost."
"What?!"
Fury, enjoying the cigarette, jolted so hard that the ash spilled onto his pants.
"He destroyed the Bifrost? Damn, what a waste…"
Remembering the incredible power of the Bifrost, Fury felt like he wanted to offer up his own head for Thor to hammer. The thought of losing such a divine artifact hurt too much. Who wouldn't feel the same? To Earthlings, an object that could transport someone anywhere, anytime was nothing short of a miracle.
It was a treasure that transcended time and space, the very thing countless Earthlings dreamed of possessing.
Seeing Fury's look of regret, Aetheris smiled.
"There's no need to feel bad. The Bifrost can still be repaired. Besides, we have something even greater—the Space Stone. You'll see for yourself in the future."
Relieved, Fury exhaled. Yes, the Space Stone was still in their hands. In the near future, perhaps Earth could have its own version of the Bifrost.
Aetheris went on.
"Since the Bifrost was destroyed, that's why Thor broke his promise. Otherwise, he would never have left. His girl was still on Earth, and he hadn't even shared a bed with her. Do you think he'd give that up so easily? So don't blame him. What we need to focus on now is Loki. He's our real number one enemy."
Fury frowned.
"Loki? From what I just heard, he's nothing more than a pitiful war orphan. He was fed the wrong ideals as a child and only wanted to prove himself worthy of being king. How dangerous could he really be?"
Hearing this, Aetheris suddenly understood. When watching the movies, fans had also loved Loki's character. Thanks to Tom Hiddleston's performance, Loki was portrayed like an eternal second princess of Asgard—proud, mischievous, playful, yet not inherently evil.
Deep down, he still regarded Odin, Frigga, and Thor as family. He still considered Asgard his true home and belonging. Though he once sought to rule and destroy, when Asgard was in danger, he would surely rise to defend it.
That was the impression the films gave the audience. But from the perspective of Earthlings, Loki was the one who sent the Destroyer to obliterate Earth. If not for Thor stepping forward, ready to sacrifice himself, and if the Destroyer had landed anywhere other than a remote town, the devastation would have been unimaginable.
Not to mention, in *Avengers 1*, Loki brought the Chitauri invasion. Countless people died, and even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agent, Coulson, was personally stabbed to death by Loki. With just that alone, could Loki ever be forgiven?
And who was Coulson?
A noble man. A pure man. A moral man. A man free from lowly pursuits. A man devoted to the people.
Such a man, loved by every Avenger, was stabbed from behind with Loki's scepter. On that point alone, not a single Avenger would ever forgive him.
And beyond that, after leaving Asgard, Loki allied with Thanos. Controlled by the Mind Stone, he became no different from the Winter Soldier—brainwashed, stripped of his will. Yes, in *Avengers 1*, Loki was acting under Thanos's control.
The detail was subtle, but it was there. Loki's natural eye color was green, yet in *Avengers 1* his eyes were blue. After he used the scepter to control Hawkeye and Dr. Erik Selvig, their eyes turned blue as well. It was clear—Loki's actions were not his own, but those of a puppet under Thanos's influence.
Still, Aetheris felt no sympathy and no hesitation. It was like Iron Man facing the Winter Soldier. Even knowing Bucky had been brainwashed into a killing machine, one who had murdered Howard and Maria Stark against his will, it changed nothing. Once you become a weapon, you cannot complain when someone decides to destroy you.
It was like the problem in today's society with dangerous mental patients who commit murder. Is a mentally ill person's life more valuable than a normal one?
Why should they be absolved of responsibility after killing someone, simply by waving a psychiatric evaluation? What are ordinary people supposed to think then? Wouldn't executed criminals rise from their graves crying injustice?
And this loophole keeps showing up in the news—kill someone, claim insanity, walk free. It's absurd.
The law ends up protecting the aggressor, while the victim's family is left to endure unbearable loss. Who shoulders their pain?
Since when did mental illness become a get-out-of-death-free card?
Every life matters. The lives of Earthlings matter, the lives of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents matter, and my life matters. If Loki dares stir chaos on Earth, Aetheris will kill him without hesitation, no matter how many adore him.
What others dare not do, I, Aetheris, will do. What S.H.I.E.L.D. won't touch, I'll handle. If S.H.I.E.L.D. can deal with it, I will too. If they can't, then I must. Perhaps that is the very meaning of my coming to the Marvel world.
These thoughts had already run through Aetheris's mind countless times. Having watched most of the Marvel films, he had formed his own perspective on the universe and its characters. Some he admired, some he disliked. For example, Captain America always struck him as excessively noble and righteous. Aetheris simply could not believe such a person could exist in reality.
*(End of Chapter)*
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