Coming up behind Loki, Aaron confirmed that the trickster god hadn't noticed him in the slightest.
The stealth magic at LV5 had already surpassed Loki's own expertise in invisibility. Unless Aaron deliberately revealed himself, Loki would never be able to locate him using conventional methods.
Aaron placed a hand on Loki's shoulder.
The power of the mind activated in an instant!
A golden light flickered in both Aaron's and Loki's pupils.
In a split second, Aaron extracted the information he wanted from Loki's mind—a secret passage leading to Jotunheim.
"F**k, who is it?!"
The sudden touch on his shoulder made Loki jump instinctively. His eyes widened as he spun around in alarm, his illusory duplicate mimicking his movements in an unintentionally comical fashion.
Loki scanned the area carefully but found nothing out of place.
Phantom? Or stealth magic?
Only Aaron could achieve such a level of mastery!
"Come out, Aaron! I see you! No one surpasses me in magic!" Loki shouted indignantly, trying to bait Aaron into revealing himself. His confident tone was almost convincing.
"Still not coming out? You really think I can't break your magic? Hmph! I suggest you reveal yourself now. Otherwise, when I find you, your reputation as a magical prodigy will be in ruins!"
"Hurry up! I'll count down from ten! You're done when I reach one!"
"Ten!"
"Nine!"
"Eight!"
...
"Three!"
"Two!"
"...One and a half! One and a quarter! One and an eighth!"
"One o'clock! One o'clock nine! One o'clock eight..."
Loki's serious expression was beginning to falter. As he continued counting, he subtly scanned his surroundings, attempting to pinpoint Aaron's exact location.
Using psychokinesis, Loki reached out much like Aaron would—but to no avail.
Aaron seemed to be nowhere near him.
Loki's heart skipped a beat. Something wasn't right.
He had been so confident, but now he was unsure how to backtrack from his bluff. The only thing he could do was keep counting, hoping to avoid outright admitting defeat.
Damn it! I'm in trouble!
While Loki scrambled for a solution, Aaron observed his expressions carefully from the shadows.
He needed to confirm whether Loki had sensed the momentary use of mind magic.
So far, it seemed that Loki hadn't noticed anything. His focus remained on invisibility and illusions rather than mental intrusion.
Satisfied, Aaron decided to stop teasing him. He deliberately left faint footprints in the dust—just enough for Loki to detect a "weakness."
"Three and a half!"
"One!"
"I found you, Aaron! There you are!"
Loki stepped forward confidently, his psychokinesis spreading outward as he "easily" located Aaron's exact position.
"You got me, Loki." Aaron feigned frustration.
Loki exhaled in relief but maintained his smug demeanor. "Aaron, I already knew where you were. Your invisibility magic is impressive, but still far from surpassing me!"
"You have much to learn if you hope to best me in magic."
Having finally found an opportunity to gloat, Loki wasn't about to let it slip away. He continued rambling, oblivious to one crucial detail.
Why was Aaron so careless?
More importantly, had Loki even confirmed if this was truly Aaron?
While Loki chattered on, the real Aaron was already outside the Academy of Magic, heading toward the Bifrost.
From Loki, he had obtained the answer he sought.
Since Loki hadn't detected the mental probe, it was safe to assume Heimdall wouldn't either.
Leaving a physical duplicate behind to keep Loki occupied, Aaron had silently slipped away to find Heimdall.
Bifrost
For over a decade, Heimdall had stood as the guardian of the Bifrost, his keen eyes scanning the Nine Realms and beyond.
As Asgard's protector, he wielded his guardian sword and controlled the great portal under Odin's orders.
He was the first and last line of defense against any threat to the Nine Realms.
As long as Heimdall stood watch, no invader could pass unchecked.
His vigilance was one of the reasons Asgard had enjoyed peace for so long.
At this moment, Heimdall continued his duty, unaware that Aaron was silently approaching the Bifrost.
Even as Heimdall occasionally withdrew his gaze from the cosmos to survey his surroundings, he remained oblivious to Aaron's presence.
Aaron moved undetected, step by step, until he was right beside him.
For all his might, the guardian was just another obstacle to overcome.
Aaron sighed inwardly, then activated his mind power, hoping to extract information on the location of the Fountain of Wisdom.
However, the results were disappointing.
Heimdall didn't know its exact whereabouts.
No—perhaps he wasn't truly ignorant.
Just as Heimdall's all-seeing eyes did not actually see everything, his knowledge was not limitless.
There were many things beyond his perception—Loki's invisibility, the secret passageways between the Nine Realms, the hidden storage of the Reality Stone (Aether), and even Kamar-Taj.
Jotunheim, too, had areas Heimdall could not observe.
Aaron already knew one of those places—the secret passage Loki had revealed.
The Fountain of Wisdom, with all its mystical properties, likely lay beyond Heimdall's sight.
All Aaron needed to do was eliminate the known locations where the Fountain was absent, and he would find it.
He withdrew his mind power, memorized the possible locations, and left without hesitation.
Heimdall, the guardian god of Asgard, never realized that someone had silently come and gone under his watch—nor that his very thoughts had been probed and exploited.