From ancient times until now, hardly any dynasty's royal family could dream of escaping succession conflicts throughout their numerous generations. The saying, "the royal family has no kinship", is indeed accurate in this respect.
When there is only one throne, but many potential successors, their disputes are almost impossible to reconcile. No matter how they disguise their ambitions and desires, in the end, everyone wants to be the emperor.
Furthermore, even if one does not strive for power due to their free-spirited personality, they may not necessarily be able to avoid involvement in the power struggle. Even if you don't want to participate, there are plenty of others who want you in the game.
Once the battle for succession breaks out, the dispute is no longer over the throne but life itself. A whiff of turmoil could mean death if one fails to secure the throne.
If one were to ask whether there is a possibility to break through this almost impossible deadlock, Shiller believes there is, though it wasn't easily implementable in ancient human civilizations.
However, the solution lies in doing what Odin did: maintain a single successor from the very beginning, never wavering, telling all others that they have no chance.
Though seemingly cruel and unjust, this is indeed the best solution to avoid bloodshed in succession disputes.
On such matters, giving equal chances to everyone results in never-ending strife until one emerges victorious and all others are eliminated. Isn't it better to announce the victor sooner than later and use the royal resources to sustain several idle princes?
In ancient times, with inadequate human medical conditions, implementing this strategy was rather challenging.
While some wise kings fancied fostering their successors early on, an unexpected incident could bring about total collapse.
However, Asgardians hardly faced this issue. The strength of each individual was formidable. As Odin's biological son, Thor's power was no less than his father's, making the possibility of an accident rather low.
One could say that Odin, the Father of All Gods, had early on found an excellent solution to curb succession disputes, right when the two brothers were still young.
Moreover, this was hardly surprising. Leading the fleet of Asgard, Odin had raged storms in the cosmos for years, rarely suffering defeat.
If not for the limited population of Asgard, and their inability to resort to a militaristic approach, whether the cosmos would be ruled by three or four great empires would be uncertain.
As Shiller opened his mouth to inquire, Odin appeared to have read his thoughts again, saying, "I guess you want to ask why I chose Thor. Is it because Loki is not my biological son?"
"I can tell you, yes."
"I know that you humans may think that blood relation is not essential, as long as you're sufficiently close, given that humans' power disparity is insignificant."
"The difference in strength between the strongest and weakest human is, from our perspective, merely like an ant missing a leg. That's not the case with Asgardians, though. Our power limitations are determined by inborn talent."
"You may have heard that Asgardians grow stronger with age. But the rate at which an Asgardian's strength accumulates depends on their talent. A thousand-year-old individual might have less power than a two-hundred-year-old one. This gap is indeed quite significant."
"Although we are all strong, my bloodline is the strongest in Asgard. Therefore, it's only natural that Thor will be the strongest among the next generation of Asgardians."
Odin let out a deep sigh, rather helplessly covering his yet-to-heal eye, and said, "Indeed, Loki is a Frost Giant, but the very reason for his abandonment was his frailty."
"Although Asgardians prioritize strength, we know very well who we are fighting for. If we can't protect women, children, and the elderly, then what's the need to board the battleship?"
"But it's different with Frost Giants. Those blue-skinned beings have hearts as cold as their body temperature. They believe that the weak do not deserve to live."
"When I rescued Loki, he was on the brink of death." Odin looked aside as he said, "You don't know. His condition was terrible. Frigga and I never believed he would survive."
"The strongest of the Aesir and the weakest of the Frost Giants have a terrifying gap in their powers. Perhaps you think that Loki's mastery of magic can compensate for his lack of strength."
"But the issue is, as time passes, Thor's power accumulation will increase rapidly, while Loki's power will stagnate someday."
Odin, changing the hand resting on his knee, explained to Shiller, "You can't differentiate between Thor and Loki right now because at their age, the disparity in power accumulation is not significant."
"But at the same time, Loki's control over his power is more accurate. So, in terms of performance, the difference between the two doesn't seem to be substantial."
"However, one day, Thor's power will undergo a breakthrough. By then, no matter how skillfully Loki uses his magic, he won't be able to bridge that gap. That day will eventually come."
Odin heaved a deep sigh and said, "When I was young, I had several peers. We could fight thousands of rounds in the arena, evenly matched, sometimes I couldn't even beat them."
"However, after my youth, the speed with which my strength accumulated increased drastically and since then, I have scarcely met a few competitors across the universe. What's more, when I entered old age, the increase in my power was even more terrifying."
"How should I choose Loki in such a situation? What if I elevate him to the throne and he gets killed by someone? Even if he isn't killed, it won't do if he's injured!"
Odin touched his beard, saying helplessly, "The invincibility of Asgard's fleet lies in their sheer spirit. They firmly believe that their king is invincible, hence they always bravely forge ahead, never retreating."
"If there ever comes a day when they realize their king can be defeated, it won't just be considered a simple defeat. The entire faith of Asgard might collapse."
"Asgard is about to take a different path, but we must at least ensure that our Divine King is powerful enough--at least stronger than all Asgardians."
"Imagine if Loki halfway through kingship discovers that some ordinary Aesir has surpassed him, what should he do?"
Odin slowly shook his head, "After becoming aware of the prophecy of Twilight of the Gods, I was even more resolved in my choice. No matter what, Asgard must take up a real fight. I cannot select a weakling as king. Even if extremely intelligent, it's all in vain if there's no fighting prowess."
Shiller listened quietly, not offering any response, but to his surprise, Odin raised another topic:
"In fact, of all my children, Hela has the most talent. She is even stronger than her younger brothers, but she is not quite right in the head, perhaps it's due to Frigga and I not educating her properly."
Odin made a somewhat conflicted face, "But you must understand, it was my first time being a father. How could I know what was the right way to educate? "
"I told her to be stronger, more courageous, and more audacious. Little did I know, those were all she would learn in her life."
At this point, all the wrinkles on Odin's face gathered together. He sighed once more:
"You might think that I locked Hela up because she wanted to usurp the throne. But in fact, I would have been more than happy for her to do so. If she could honestly defeat me in battle, Frigga and I would instantly retire beneath the World Tree."
"The problem is, the way she wanted to overthrow me was not by directly defeating me, but by being manipulated by the warlike faction, trying to obtain power in a way that is just not suitable for the King of Asgard."
"Also, defeating me was pointless, as she only learned the part about relentlessly forging ahead in battles, and failed to learn about assessing the situation, cautiously setting up strategies, and when to retreat."
"Under such circumstances, handing Asgard to her would be like giving a ship cannon to a powerless child. She would endanger everyone."
"Anyway..." Odin leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and looked at Shiller, "This is the situation. If you think I did something wrong, feel free to point it out. I won't get angry. Even if I do, there doesn't seem to be much I can do to you."
Then, Shiller took a deep sigh.
Objectively speaking, Odin has done practically everything he could do. If one had to grade his life, he must be scoring over 90.
He took on two roles in his life: being the Divine King of Asgard and the father of the Odin family. He was indeed more successful as the Divine King, but his score as a father was not low, either.
Some might say, his alienation from Hela, mishandling of Thor and Loki's relationship, and failing to avert the Twilight of the Gods, all these point to failure, right?
However, one must also consider the difficulty of his test: dealing with the God Clan, the royal family, the military state, multiple children, and a preordained doom. This is more challenging by far than average human family affairs.
The answer sheet Odin submitted is already quite commendable. Had it been a foolish, shortsighted, and indecisive King taking his place, his prestige and rule would be first shaken by Hela, leading to numerous coups over the next centuries.
Then, setting unrealistic expectations for the two brothers, having them divide their followers into teams and fighting each other till the last piece is left. The dynasty would have collapsed without waiting for the Twilight of the Gods.
The power struggles over the throne are the most deadly. Despite such circumstances, surprisingly, Thor and Loki still have genuine brotherly love. At the same time, both of them love Asgard and are willing to spill their last drop of blood for their country and homeland.
As Shiller thought of this, he believed there was no need to mediate this part related to the royal disputes. After all, no matter how much more mediation is done, it still wouldn't result in a second throne. As long as there aren't two thrones, absolute fairness cannot be achieved.
Shiller took a moment to think, then looked at Odin and said, "I can't guarantee that if I were in your place, I could have done better. However, although the logic and formula are alright, I still need to point out that the details are a bit lacking. For example, consolation, companionship, and comfort. These details, when accumulated, have resulted in the somewhat awkward situation we are in now..."
To Shiller's surprise, Odin simply nodded and said, "Indeed."
"But it's because I knew I would be out fighting wars, lacking time to accompany Thor, which was why I adopted Loki. It would be fine as long as the two of them got along, and it didn't matter if they didn't like me. After all, neither of them can beat me."
Shiller opened his mouth to speak but then closed it again. After a few seconds of silence, he opened his mouth again. Then he looked earnestly at Odin and said, "Your Majesty, there's nothing wrong with you. Please return."
"This is by no means a compliment." Shiller raised his hand to prevent Odin from speaking, "Among everyone who has sought help from me, you're definitely the most open-minded."
"You're so open-minded that you even surpass me, a doctor."