"So you ended up in the Realm of Death, controlled by Hela?"
"Exactly. The moment I opened my eyes, I found myself in a barren, silent land, filled with a familiar aura of death. And soon after, I met Hela…"
Green smoke columns slowly rose from the ground, black, smoldering clouds enveloped the land's surface, countless shattered bones and remains washed ashore by the waters of Styx. When Loki woke up, he saw a cloud of black smoke in front of him, condensing into a woman draped in a black robe.
"Well, isn't this the esteemed Second Prince of Asgard?" The woman's low and husky voice echoed in Loki's ears.
As Loki turned to look at Hela, he felt captivated...wait, why would he be captivated?
Loki stepped back twice, shook his head vigorously, and Venom's voice echoed in his mind once more: "Yes, you are captivated."
"What are you up to this time, Venom?"
Ignoring Loki's question, Venom murmured to himself: "Splendid death, this is the scent I've long sought...my love…"
Loki was utterly confused. As for why Venom suddenly had a change of heart, we would have to talk about Deadpool, his first host.
As we all know, Deadpool's girlfriend is Death, that is, the abstract entity, Death.
Previously, when introducing the power hierarchy, it was mentioned that there are five abstract gods in the universe: Oblivion, Death, Infinity, Eternity, and Galactus.
And the goddess Death Deadpool was in love with is the Death amongst these five gods. She is an abstract entity and doesn't strictly exist. The image she manifests is merely the people's imagination of her. Evidently, the image Deadpool conjured in his mind was the goddess he obsessively sought.
Let's not delve into the love triangle between Thanos, Deadpool, and Death. Both Deadpool and Thanos believed themselves to be Death's man. Thanos, to prevent Deadpool from meeting Death, even cast an undying curse on him. As long as Deadpool couldn't die, he couldn't meet Death. Deadpool constantly courts death, just so he can find someone who can kill him, so that he can meet his goddess, Death…
Deadpool was wildly obsessed with Death, and as the symbiote that had once parasitized Deadpool, Venom was also influenced by this emotion.
Although the goddess in front of them was not Death but Hela, all attributes related to death in the universe carry the aura of the Goddess of Death, including Hela's Realm of Death.
If even the host couldn't have the genuine article, wouldn't it be normal for Venom, as a symbiote, to look for a replacement?
Deadpool's obsession with Death carried over to Venom. The moment he laid eyes on Hela, he knew he had fallen in love with her.
His love for Hela was harmless, but he was a symbiote, and he had a host...
"So you..." Strange looked at Lady Loki with a complicated expression, unable to finish his sentence.
Lady Loki's expression was morose. She said in a rigid tone, "I tried to stop it, but I couldn't."
"But..." Strange rubbed his forehead and said, "Alright, even if Venom fell for Hela, he shouldn't be able to charm Hela, right? She is the Lord of the Underworld, a Cosmic Sorcerer, he really couldn't…"
Shiller turned sideways, placed one hand on Strange's shoulder, nodded and said, "He could."
Loki also said, "Although I don't know how, he truly could."
If it is unclear how much charm Venom has after falling in love with someone, consider the charm of Bruce Stark when he sincerely falls in love with someone. Do I even need to say it?
Put it this way, if there were a divine position for being a lady-killer in this universe, the Venom that combined Stark and Bruce, if it weren't for Peter and Eddie who severely dragged him down, would have ascended to the Multiverse level by now...
Of course, this also has to do with Hela's situation. While being the Lord of the Underworld sounds impressive, she is actually confined to a barren, silent land, where there's nothing but skulls and the undead, having been trapped there for many years.
Hela is a sentient being with a soul. It's impossible for her not to feel loneliness. Even though her hatred for Odin outweighs her emptiness for the time being, she would still want some distractions to some extent.
There is no need to mention Loki's qualifications. He is so handsome that almost all girls in Asgard are enamored of his looks. Loki's appearance, coupled with Bruce and Stark's charisma, made him unbeatable at charming ladies. Coupled with Hela being bored and lonely, the two hit it off almost instantly.
"Hela told me about her history with Odin, and that's when I learned that she was the eldest daughter of Asgard, my sister, and also an enemy of Odin. There was no way I could be with her…"
"You wimped out, right?" Shiller bluntly asked.
Lady Loki's expression remained rigid. She did not want to admit and defended in her response, "That was not my intention. I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible…"
On the throne of the Realm of Death, Hela lay on it, and Loki leaned in, his hair falling on Hela's shoulders.
The moment the two of them were about to get closer, Loki repressed the symbiote within him that was making noises, pulled off Hela's cloak, activated the divine power within his body, and with a violent explosion, Loki disappeared.
Like all the other victims who had been deceived by Loki, Hela's furious roars echoed in the Realm of Death, "Loki!!!!!"
"Well, that's indeed a big mess, offending the Lord of the Underworld..." Strange shook his head in the reception room.
But Lady Loki kept her demeanor, stating: "It's not only that."
Just as Loki, who had teleported back to Earth with the help of the cloak and Divine Light Power, breathed a sigh of relief, he found himself surrounded by the omnipresent Power of Death.
Hela almost sprouted from the Underworld, appearing on Earth to chase after this wretched thief who deceived her emotions and even stole her cloak.
At first, Loki was running like a headless chicken, but soon discovered that Hela could not directly enter Earth - she seemed to be wary of some power.
But even though she can't come directly, the skulls regenerated and bodies resurrected by the ubiquitous Power of Death continue to surround Loki, constantly harassing him.
Loki was unable to effectively control the Power of Light within his body and hence, couldn't handle these nuisances effectively. He knew he couldn't bring these skulls and undead to densely populated places, or else, the Supreme Magician of Earth would teach him a lesson.
In the end, he ran out of options and could only summon her out at the mark left by Hela, and negotiate with her.
Loki returned the cloak to Hela and apologized sincerely, even promising her a part of the Sanctum's benefits.
Hela hadn't lost anything. She also knew she couldn't rage on Earth. And as Loki's apology seemed sincere, she didn't hold onto it any longer and returned to the Realm of Death with her cloak.
However, there's an emotion in this world called, "patience only leads to more frustration, retreat only leaves a sense of loss".
The fury of being deceived was a strong emotion that Hela had not experienced in a long time. This emotional clash stirred up her other emotions as well.
Returning to the Realm of Death after a short but tumultuous emotional roller coaster ride, Hela was restless and couldn't get Loki's face out of her mind.
It wasn't exactly love for him. Rather, it felt more like the resentment of a duck that flew away just when she was about to taste it. Even when Hela was a princess in Asgard, she was used to having her way and being surrounded by Asgardian warriors. So, when has she ever before experienced this humiliation?
After considering it thoroughly, Hela felt she couldn't let Loki off easily. "You claimed to have fallen in love with me, didn't you? Then stay with me, in the Realm of Death."
Therefore, Loki, who thought he had escaped, was pursued relentlessly by Hela once again.
Loki was really frustrated by her persistent actions, firstly because he was currently weak and couldn't use his typical deceptive tricks, and secondly, he knew he was in the wrong.
Running away midway through an intimate moment and, in addition, stealing her clothes - if this was revealed, Loki would have no place in the Nine Major Kingdoms. All the goddesses of Asgard would give him a slap.
Unable to confront Hela head-on, Loki had to think of a different solution. This was when Venom, who had finally recovered from the frenzied state, gave him a rather unscrupulous suggestion: "Why don't you turn into a woman?"
For the first time, Loki was rendered speechless out of anger.
However, he had to admit that, logically, this was the quickest and most effective method. As long as he could distract Hela from her frenzied emotions, she would likely stop harassing Loki.
Moreover, Loki wasn't repelled by the idea of turning into a woman. The reason for this dates back to his time living in Asgard.
In the official setup by Marvel, Loki's gender is fluid, i.e., whether he turns into a male or a female is considered normal, although this rigid setup seems somewhat forced.
If a reasonable justification is needed, it's mainly because Loki was also tired of the Viking-like machismo of the Asgardians.
In the eyes of the Asgardians, all men should resemble Thor - strong, rugged, muscular, with a bearded face, holding a shield in one hand and a long spear or an axe in the other, charging forward in battle with loud battle cries, consuming large chunks of meat and gulping down pitchers of mead.
On the other hand, they were very repulsed by men not fitting this image, such as Loki. They felt that wearing robes, holding a Magic Wand, and hiding behind the lines casting magic were things goddesses should do, unrelated to Viking male warriors. Therefore, Loki was an outcast in Asgardian society.
In contrast, Queen Frigga, who held the title of the foremost mage of the Nine Realms, was highly revered because the Asgardians felt she did the best a woman could do - caring for her husband, loving her son, and possessing great Magic Power.
This stark contrast in attitude had made Loki contemplate becoming a woman. Hence, when he actually did turn into a woman, he didn't feel disgusted or hateful. Instead, he experienced novelty and the thrill of defiance.
Thus, with the help of Divine Light Power and Venom, Loki transformed into a divine girl.
At the same time, Loki received a piece of good news, and a piece of bad news —
The good news was, Loki had turned into a woman.
The bad news was, Hela couldn't care less about male or female.