Loki, who had manifested as the Goddess of Glory, did not hold back. The halos behind her seemed to harbor a power that hit their mark no matter how much Thor tried to dodge.
The tide of battle was slowly changing, and everyone was terrified by this turn of events.
Before this, no one believed that Loki could actually overpower Thor. In their minds, this little prince, who was always hiding behind the frontline, casting magic, was merely a distraction. They were expecting Thor to soon force Loki into a desperate retreat, followed by a rallying cry of "Everyone, attack!", kicking off a massive melee.
But the current situation was far from what was expected. With the halos behind Loki simultaneously lighting up, she nearly pinned Thor down. The new king's power, which had been a source of awe for them, seemed insignificant facing this unstoppable force.
As the course of the battle shifted, so did the mentality of certain Loki followers.
Previously, they believed that even if the little prince ascended to power, he would merely be a puppet. Without a substantial power, it meant there were opportunities to manipulate the situation.
In Shiller's words, it wasn't about ideology but business as usual. The benefits of puppeteering a king were many, with greater power came more profits, flourishing families, and bigger reigns.
Everyone who sided with Loki thought so. But, clearly, things don't always go as planned. They had underestimated the power of the Glorious Goddess Loki.
But now, they knew that if they crown such a princess, she would certainly be more formidable and ruthless than Thor.
Everyone witnessed her performance at the Gateway of Asgard. Facing the palace guards who she saw every day, the comrades and subordinates who were once loyal to her father, Loki didn't hesitate to take their lives. Who knew who would be next in line to be pierced?
As many started to waver, Loki finally exploded.
Countless halos behind her resembled a sun-like disk. She spread her arms wide, and with her hair flying in the wind, lifted the disk into the night sky of Asgard, illuminating all the buildings.
When the light fell and hit on the metal, it emitted a melodious sound like a musical instrument. Everyone knew that it was not just light but an irresistible surge of power.
Loki stood beneath this sun, saying: "Thor, during your time on Earth, what you should understand isn't just about kindness, bravery, or the king's responsibility."
"You should understand that it is not the sun that shines the brightest, but the brightest one, who is the sun."
"If the Asgard you are leading is destined to be destroyed according to the prophecy, then only I have the power to change it."
A dense web of lightning enveloped Thor who didn't say a word, intending to silently bear the blow.
A dazzling beam of light exploded into a massive particle jet, shooting straight out from the center of the halo behind Loki, directly hitting Thor.
The moment it touched Thor's lightning shield, Thor was like a falling star, streaking across Asgard's dark night sky. The only beam of light on the deep blue canvas, just like the first flash of lightning illuminating the cosmos, beginning the flame of civilization.
And it was just as the torrent contacted Thor, Loki's eyes widened because she found that Thor had not resisted.
She stood there, stunned in mid-air, murmuring to herself:
"...he chose me???"
"He didn't choose Asgard..."
"He chose me..."
"He also chose me..."
The wails and cries of grief echoed in her ears. The Asgardians were in tears again, mourning for the fratricidal tragedy, and for the fall of the newborn lightning in the universe.
Loki slowly descended to the ground, her expression still somewhat blank. She put away the intimidating halo, without the energy to shapeshift, and after a while, she gestured to the people on the ground: "Find Thor... he didn't die, throw him into the dungeon."
After that, Loki stood on the steps of the Fairy Palace. She watched as two tall guards carried the severely injured Thor. She wore dazzling jewels, a magnificent royal robe, and her eyes were like sparkling gemstones.
As for Thor, he was at death's doorway, covered in charred marks. His armor had fallen off, just like when he was banished to Earth.
The moment they crossed paths, Loki heard Thor whisper in her ear: "...Have a good dream."
In a place where the guards couldn't see, Loki's expression crumbled. Her throat trembled violently, and she pressed her lips together as if desperately trying to suppress her emotions. It took her several minutes to regain her composure.
She stood at the top of the Fairy Palace steps, looking up, listening to the generals report the situation below. One fleet after another was broken, and one defense zone after another was invaded...
He stood so high and so far away that no one saw the faint mockery in his eyes when he heard the news. It was as if he were a ruthless spectator watching a farce from an auditorium, a farce that wasn't involving him.
Finally, a tall and handsome general knelt before her, one knee to the ground, raising the crown above his head, and said to Loki in front of him:
"Your Majesty, the new king..."
All the warriors underneath knelt on one knee, the trembling harshness of their armor and shout ringing together: "The new king!"
When the orderly roaring echoed in the Asgardian night sky, Loki just stared at the night sky in front of her. The warrior holding the crown for him looked up at the expression of the princess and couldn't figure out what she was thinking.
Loki thought, Thor was crowned in the full glory of daylight, accompanied by flowers, clear springs and praise, while Loki was crowned in a night without a glimmer of light, accompanied by ruined walls, blood and death.
Perhaps this is the destined fate of the two brothers. Only the brightest one is the sun, but there is no sun in the night.
Loki took a deep breath, just as everyone stood up, intending to end this farce, suddenly, a violent fluctuation of energy swept over Asgard.
A huge snake's head emerged from the void, its cold vertical pupils staring dead at Asgard. His wicked and indifferent voice echoed in the Asgardian sky:
"Asgard! The day of vengeance has arrived! Prepare to meet your destined doom!"
Loki stared deadly at the snake head, and then said, "Jormungand of the Dust World? How did you get here?"
Jormungand spat out his forked tongue and said, "Thank you for the stupidity of you two brothers. The prophesied Thor, who is doomed to die with me, is now severely injured. I will destroy Asgard today!"
Instantly, Asgard was thrown into chaos, the prophecy sinking too deeply into people's hearts.
Thor, who was in the dungeon, also heard Jormungand's words. The original lying down on the ground, he rolled over and knocked down the guard at the door with one move. Just as Loki had discovered, Thor had not used all his strength.
He ran out of the cell and climbed up the stairs, but when he got to the dungeon door, he found a magical barrier blocking his way. The glow on this magical barrier is exactly the same as the glow of the halo behind Loki.
Thor cursed and started to attack the barrier with his power, but no matter how he attacked, the barrier was unbreakable, with no response at all.
Through the barrier, he saw Loki charge up toward that giant snake. He exclaimed, "No! Come back!"
Unfortunately, Loki didn't hear him, and Thor watched helplessly as Loki started fighting the giant, unthinkable snake.
He heard Loki say, "It's not Thor who is destined to perish with you, but the king of Asgard, who is destined to face all of this."
Thor slammed his fist against the magical barrier, only then realizing that Loki didn't just want a beautiful dream, he really wanted to save Asgard.
"Let me out! Loki!" Thor kept shouting, but the dungeon entrance was too far from the gate of the fairy palace, no one heard his voice.
The impacts of various energies practically turned the entire central plaza of Asgard into ruins. Countless Asgardians fled in panic. Thor suddenly realized that this once belligerent people, when faced with a prophecy they deeply believed in, which doomed their destruction, was so vulnerable and crumbled at the slightest touch.
The battle situation between Loki and Jormungand was extremely tense, but soon, Loki gained the upper hand. The inevitable hitting glow of her halo seemed to be a weapon of causality. As long as she wanted to hit, she could definitely hit, regardless of how the opponent defended or dodged, it would cause a certain amount of real damage.
Jormungand, meanwhile, was getting beaten up and feeling groggy. Just as he thought to shout, "Loki, didn't you say we were just going to pretend to fight?", he found Loki suppressing a sly smile and said, "Shut up."
Jormungand suddenly found that he couldn't speak, his anger at being tricked overwhelming him. The energy of this giant python was fully turned on, and the two fought at a stalemate.
The battle went on for a long time, and the sky of Asgard began to brighten. However, due to the energy masking, no one could see any light, and Asgard seemed to be shrouded in a perpetual night of hell.
In the midst of boundless fear, they waited for a long time. Finally, the sun belonging to Loki's glory rose again, using all its strength to beat back the giant snake.
Shattered and battered, Jormungand couldn't even leave a harsh word. He could only tuck his tail and flee.
Loki extinguished her glow and fell from the sky. The final blow had drained all her power. She fell heavily to the ground. The group of people who had just acclaimed the new king did not catch her.
The place where she fell was right in front of the dungeon where Thor was.
Then, Thor saw a general wearing splendid armor walk up to Loki. Just as Thor heaved a sigh of relief, thinking he was going to help Loki back to her room to rest, this general raised his spear high ——
And then thrust it into Loki's chest.