As for Freyr's inner reverence and thoughts, Thor would never know. For him, who had spent years engaged in brutal warfare against the frost giants, this was just another very ordinary battle. Among his many glorious achievements, this wasn't even worth mentioning. Compared to these things, he valued other matters more.
He looked around, then asked in puzzlement:
"Where's Loki?"
Although Thor and Loki were nominally uncle and nephew, in reality, the straightforward and masculine Thor unexpectedly got along quite well with the mischievous and unorthodox Loki. When it came to adventuring, treasure-hunting, or even playing tricks on each other, they were often the first to think of the other. Sometimes cooperating, sometimes opposing each other, it could be considered quite miraculous.
Loki's offspring had stirred up trouble, causing him to spend nearly half a year fighting a bloody war against the frost giants for no reason, and even his own palace was consumed by flames in Jormungandr's rampage. But no matter how displeased or even furious Thor was, bellowing in rage about ripping that restless serpent to shreds, he still intended to hear what Loki had to say.
However, the gods looked at each other helplessly, not knowing what to say. Just as they were about to reply to Thor that Loki had not returned to Asgard, suddenly an enthusiastic and hearty voice came from outside the palace.
"Aren't I here?"
Following the voice, they saw a tall and handsome young man with a smile on his face, opening his arms and walking in through the golden palace's main door. His pace was neither fast nor slow, the smile on his face extremely cheerful, making people involuntarily feel close to him.
And looking at his countenance, the gods had various expressions - friendly, peaceful, calm, hesitant… a myriad of different looks.
As an important figure in this controversy, the fire god Loki had finally appeared. As one of the twelve leaders, his opinion would greatly influence the outcome of this dispute. But Loki seemed to be unaware of all this, only smiling brightly at the gods.
The handsome young man walked over to Thor's side and said to him enthusiastically:
"Hey, Thor, is the war over? The frost giants must have suffered heavy losses this time."
But Thor's only response was to roll his eyes at him and snort disdainfully.
However, Loki didn't mind Thor's cold response and just laughed it off. Then he said to a handsome male god sitting on his divine seat:
"Njord, long time no see. Whenever I see you, I can't help but think of the wet and salty sea breeze by the coast… Oh, and that delicious seafood. Next time I go to the seaside, you must let me have a taste."
Hearing this, the gods couldn't help but burst into laughter, while Njord, the god of the sea who lived by the coast and was not good at socializing, looked at Loki and smiled a bit shyly.
"Certainly, certainly."
Then, Loki turned to look at Tyr, the god of war, whose face still showed some anger. His smile faded, and he thumped his chest in salute with a somewhat solemn expression.
"Tyr, victory be with you."
Even Tyr, who greatly detested that serpent, had to temporarily suppress the anger on his face and similarly thump his chest in salute to Loki, nodding solemnly.
"Baldr…"
"…"
Whenever Loki spoke a god's name, the one called would respond to Loki in some way, whether friendly or somewhat dissatisfied. Even Heimdall, the guardian of the gods, rolled his eyes at Loki, not hiding his disdain for Loki's frost giant blood. But Loki paid no heed, always smiling.
After greeting all the gods, Loki finally turned to look at the one sitting at the very top of the palace, the one who had been silently observing everything - Odin, the king of the gods.
Looking at Odin before him, Loki's expression turned extremely solemn. He lowered his head and slowly, deeply bowed in salute, saying:
"Lastly, I salute our most revered ruler of the nine realms, the lord of Asgard, king of the gods, Odin… my brother."
He didn't straighten up immediately, but stared at the wooden floorboards before him, pausing for a few breaths.
"Clang…"
Then, in Loki's peripheral vision as he bowed, a pair of feet covered by iron boots stood up. The owner of the iron boots moved, his armor making soft clinking sounds as he left the throne, walking step by step to stand before Loki.
When he stood in front of Loki, he stopped and spoke in a deep voice:
"We are brothers bound by blood. I will never drink alone the mead brewed for us both."
"I salute you, my brother."
With those words, a powerful hand reached out to him.
Hearing that ancient oath, Loki abruptly raised his head, looking at the one-eyed king of the gods before him with some surprise. Odin's face was aged, but his eye was bright. Loki smiled.
Then another hand reached out, and the two hands clasped tightly together, their eyes reflecting the trust in each other's gaze.
…
"So, what exactly is the situation now?"
Loki asked casually as he lounged on his divine seat, eating an apple he had pulled out from who knows where, looking at the gods before him with a relaxed expression.
The gods looked at each other, and then Baldr, the god of light, spoke:
"The holes in the dome of the sky have been mostly patched up; the heavy snow and cold are also being adjusted, it won't last too long; the withering of the forests is recovering, the situation is fairly optimistic, no major issues; it's just that in the great sea… too many stars have fallen from the sky into the ocean. Old Aegir was just complaining about this matter. He didn't even wait for the discussion to end before returning to the sea."
"Other than that, the impact on rivers, mountains, and animals is not too significant. The savage beasts that have been rapidly breeding and multiplying, einherjar warriors have already been dispatched to exterminate them. It's still under control, but if it goes on for too long and the beasts keep increasing, then it will be troublesome. As for the gardens tended by the elves, they have suffered quite a bit. The king of the elves has already pleaded with me several times…"
Baldr spoke in a gentle tone, his kind and benevolent nature making him deeply sympathize with this situation.
Unlike other mythologies, for the gods in Norse mythology, the entire universe was created by their own hands, like their own domain. Diligently tending to these lands was their inescapable duty.
And it was precisely because of this that they were revered as gods, simply because they were the creators and guardians of the order of this universe. All mortals respected them, thus worshipping them as deities, nothing more.
"In other words, if there's no sun, even if we can barely maintain things now, it won't last long."
At the end, Baldr concluded.
"Is that all?"
Loki looked at him, puzzled.
Baldr hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
"Not just that, there's also…"
As he spoke, he subconsciously glanced outside the golden palace, where ruins and rubble lay everywhere.
"Too many of the palaces have been destroyed. We can't keep having the gods rest in Valhalla."
He shook his head, sighing deeply.
But looking at Baldr, Loki instead seemed pensive, then the corner of his mouth curled up in a confident smile.
"Simple, I know just the solution."