While the god-king Odin helplessly sighed, within the treasure vault of Asgard's god-king, Loki, referred to by Odin as "the third son," made his way here. On his journey, he disregarded all other treasures, for they meant nothing compared to the truth Loki sought to uncover!
The story begins with Loki's earlier plot against Thor. Loki had long coveted the position of the king of Asgard. Yet, he felt that Odin seemed more concerned with Thor, even though he, too, was a born heir to Asgard—a prince of Asgard and a son of Odin!
Having grown up alongside Thor, Loki knew him well. He was aware that Thor, the brute, was only fit to be a general who expanded territories, definitely not a refined king.
Thus, Loki schemed against Thor, luring him to Jotunheim, home of the frost giants, triggering a war that shattered the longstanding peaceful standoff between the realms.
Loki's plan did work. Thor proved to be more mindless than Loki anticipated, yet Loki derived no joy from it, even after Odin banished Thor to Earth.
While in Jotunheim, Loki was captured by a frost giant. The horrific frost powers of the giant did not freeze Loki; instead, they awakened a similar frost power within him!
At that moment, Loki was incredibly alarmed—a feeling that never faded, for it suggested that he might not be of Asgardian descent but instead bore the bloodline of a frost giant!
This was unbearable for Loki, who had always considered himself an Asgardian, the son of Odin, the future heir of Asgard. He secretly competed with Thor, striving to outshine him and gain Odin's recognition...
But now, if he truly carried the bloodline of a frost giant, then all his efforts seemed like a joke—Odin would never allow a frost giant to rule Asgard!
"It must be a mistake, perhaps it's just the magic within me..." At that moment, Loki approached the Frost Casket in the vault, a relic passed down among the frost giants, containing almost infinite frost energy. Fully activated, it could freeze an entire planet, transforming the environment into one preferred by the frost giants.
Moreover, the frost giants had once nearly succeeded in transforming Earth into an icy world, only to be thwarted by Odin and the Asgardian army.
Later, Odin led his forces into Jotunheim, defeating the frost giant king Laufey and seizing the Frost Casket, which then became a part of the treasure vault...
The reason Loki now stood before the Frost Casket was simple—if he truly was a frost giant, then he could harness its power!
As Loki, the god of lies, clung to his self-deceptions, touching the Frost Casket ended all pretense. Its power surged into him, awakening the frost giant blood within. His face began to turn blue as if he were an avatar.
"Sigh!" Just then, Odin appeared beside Loki, sighing helplessly, at a loss for words, especially upon seeing Loki's pained, confused, resentful, sorrowful expression—Odin couldn't even begin to speak.
At that moment, Odin questioned his parenting, wondering if his approach had somehow flawed his children, perhaps it wasn't the children who were the problem...
"Are you here to mock me?" Loki, hearing movement, turned and tensed up, his body's changes forcibly suppressed, unwilling to let anyone, even Odin, see him as a frost giant.
"Why would I mock you? You are my child," Odin said with a pained look.
"Haha! I am not your child; I have never been the son of Odin, nor an Asgardian; I am a son of a frost giant!" Loki's response to Odin's affection was a furious roar, "All these talks of being born a king, they were just your lies, I was nothing but a pawn to create a sense of crisis for Thor!"
"I never planned that..." Odin, watching Loki, slowly shook his head and softly said, "Being born a king wasn't a lie; you are my son, and you too are entitled to the throne..."
"Then give me the throne!" Loki angrily interrupted Odin, but soon realized something was amiss. He stared deeply into Odin's eyes, his expression turning bitterly sarcastic as he trembled slightly, barely managing to stand firm as he looked at Odin with a mix of grief and despair.
"So, this was your plan, haha, 'born a king,' what a plan, Odin! You've played a fine game, raising a son of a frost giant to eventually conquer Jotunheim with the Asgardian army, making me king of the frost giants and Thor the king of Asgard. That was your plan, haha, hahahaha..."
As Loki spoke, he laughed maniacally, no longer hiding his anomaly, letting the power of the frost giant bloodline
fully manifest, presenting himself as a frost giant before Odin.
Hearing Loki deduce his original plan, Odin looked stunned, watching Loki descend into madness, his heart also in pain, unable to prove his words, knowing sometimes, not even sincerity can solve problems, and a bit of strategy is necessary...
"Uh!" Odin, watching Loki transform, showed a pained expression, then suddenly turned pale and collapsed, his breathing becoming rapid.
"Father?!" Seeing Odin's condition, Loki's expression drastically changed, instinctively rushing to him, puzzled by Odin's sudden weakness, having never seen him like this—Odin had always appeared robust, his current frail appearance concealed only by his clothing.
"Loki, protect Asgard..." Odin managed to grasp Loki's hand and speak before fainting.
"Guard! Guard! Come quickly! Father has fainted!" Loki, shaken by Odin's words, loudly called out to the guards outside the treasure vault.
The news of Odin's collapse spread throughout the celestial palace, Asgard's healers quickly examining Odin's body, with a worried Frigga and a silent Loki by his side.
"What happened? Why did father faint?" After a moment, Loki stared at the healers and asked.
"His Majesty is very old, even gods are not immortal..." The healer shook his head and softly said, "Asgardian gods can enhance their divine power over time, but their bodies do not share this trait; instead, they age, increasingly burdening His Majesty's body..."
"Moreover, from our examination, His Majesty has been emotionally unstable recently, showing signs of exhaustion, probably due to sudden emotional excitement leading to his collapse..."
"When will he wake up?" Loki asked, looking at Odin, who now appeared nothing more than a critically ill old man. After a silence, he spoke again.
"We don't know; His Majesty needs to enter Odin's Sleep to heal himself, any external intervention could weaken him further..." The healer shook his head apologetically, "We're sorry to disappoint Your Highness and the Queen..."
"No matter, you may leave; I will take care of Odin... It's alright..." Frigga slowly shook her head and softly said, "Loki, you should go too; with Thor absent, you are Asgard's only heir, Asgard needs you to stabilize the situation, go, do not disappoint your father..."
"I understand." Loki, not expecting to receive the kingship he had long coveted so abruptly, could only remark on the fickleness of life. Even though this meant he would finally inherit the throne of Asgard, serving as its sole ruler in the short term, it still required him to act as a true king for Asgard, the only voice in the realm for the time being.
"When do you plan to wake up?" After Loki left, Frigga shook her head, holding the unconscious Odin and softly asked.
"Let's see, at least until Thor regains the approval of Mjolnir..." Odin paused, observing Thor, who had begun training in combat skills, and whispered.
"Is it really okay to deceive Loki like this?" Frigga's eyes flickered as she softly reminded.
"What choice do I have? Even after living so long, I couldn't think of another solution at the time..." Odin sighed helplessly and quietly said, "He was already in a frenzy; whatever I said, he wouldn't have believed, so I had to resort to this tactic to divert his attention..."
"What if he finds out the truth later?" Frigga's eyes showed a hint of concern as she softly asked.
"Do you think he hasn't guessed it?" Odin shook his head, looking at Loki now sitting on the throne and said, "At first, he would definitely be worried about me, but now, he might have already guessed the truth, he's always been smart..."
"Even if he has, it doesn't matter, that's exactly what I want to tell him. I did indeed want him to become the king of the frost giants, to lay the groundwork for Asgard to conquer the nine realms, but now, I'm willing to let him be the king of Asgard, as long as he truly earns my approval!"
"I'm just worried he'll still be fixated on Thor..." Frigga's eyes flickered, softly sighing, "After all, he has always seen Thor as a rival; it's not so easy to change that quickly..."
"Let's see... Hmm?" Odin was speaking when he suddenly paused, then sighed softly, "As expected!"
"Loki, with His Majesty critically ill, should we call Thor back to Asgard?" At that moment in the celestial palace hall, just as Loki grasped the eternal spear, feeling the immense authority of the Asgardian god-king, Loki's and Thor's friends, specifically Thor's friends, the three warriors of the palace and Sif, walked in and spoke to Loki.
"Who are you speaking with?" Hearing Thor's
name, a chill flashed in Loki's eyes as he gazed down at the four below, gently tapping the eternal spear on the ground and sternly said, "Answer me while looking at my Gungnir!"
"Sorry, Your Majesty..." Hogan bowed slightly to Loki and softly said, "We just think that under these circumstances, it's not suitable for Thor to be out training; it's better for him to return as soon as possible, especially since the people of Asgard do not wish to see Thor absent at this time..."
"I'm glad you recognize me as your king; then, my first command as the god-king of Asgard is to forbid Thor's return to Asgard! Because it was this unfilial son who caused my father to end up in this condition!" A smile appeared on Loki's lips as he looked at the three warriors and his sister-in-law and sternly said, "Who supports my command, and who opposes it?"
___________________
(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)
If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters
Read Ahead
Patreon.com/INNIT