Loki sacrificing himself for Thor was, frankly, hard to imagine.
But it was a fact.
Even if Loki himself looked disdainful, even incredulous, it didn't matter whether he believed it or not. Noah believed it. Thor believed it too.
No matter how many times Loki insisted that it wasn't him from this world, Thor's gaze never changed.
That alone drove Loki nearly mad.
But after thinking about it carefully, he had to admit something uncomfortable.
If he were truly pushed into that kind of corner, he might actually do it.
There was just one prerequisite.
Thor had to be the King of Asgard.
That thought alone was enough to depress Loki to no end.
It meant that in another universe, he had still lost.
Again.
"What's next?" Loki finally asked, clearly unwilling to dwell on it any longer.
If nothing unexpected happened, he'd probably lose in this universe too. Noah had already explained the reason long ago. Loki hated it, but there was nothing he could do.
And perhaps that also proved something.
Asgard really did need a king who led from the front, not one like him.
"Next?" Noah rubbed his chin, pretending to think. Then he continued casually.
"Next, Thor got rescued. A Peter happened to pass by and saved him."
"Unfortunately, in that world, you hadn't met each other yet. Still, they helped you."
"It was after that you obtained Stormbreaker. Because of your brother's death and your father's departure, your lightning power fully awakened. After long training, you pushed it to its peak."
"In the final battle, you nearly killed Thanos with a single axe."
"And later, you really did behead him with one swing."
Noah finished recounting it, visibly satisfied.
Spoiling like this felt great.
As for how he knew all this, Noah could always blame the Time Force within his domain. Time itself was already mysterious. A domain built on it was even more so.
Compared to Noah and the Ancient One, who could already touch the Time Force, its manifestations weren't that dramatic. Observing the future, peeking into the past, occasionally altering certain inevitabilities-nothing more than that.
But domains introduced far too many uncertainties.
Even though Noah's and the Ancient One's domains were both rooted in the four elements, the abilities they expressed were completely different.
So Noah wasn't worried about causing trouble by saying this.
Besides, this was probably how history was supposed to go.
It only went wildly off-track because of him.
"Wow!" Thor, who had been feeling heavy just moments ago, instantly perked up.
"Sounds like I did pretty well in the future, Noah."
"Idiot," Loki said flatly, rolling his eyes.
"If it were that simple, why would people from a parallel universe come here hunting Infinity Stones?"
"Uh..."
Thor was momentarily choked by that, but he didn't care. His mind was still stuck on beheading Thanos and Loki sacrificing himself.
"You did kill Thanos," Noah said calmly. "But that was later."
"The first time, you could've killed him outright. You didn't cut off his head."
"He snapped his fingers."
"Six Infinity Stones. One snap. Half of all life in the universe disappeared."
"What?!"
"Yes," Noah nodded. "That's exactly what happened."
"After that, drowning in guilt, you killed Thanos. But he'd already destroyed the Stones."
"That's why people from a parallel universe crossed over, looking for them."
The room fell silent.
The message was clear.
If you're going to strike, finish the job.
Leave nothing behind.
"They want the Stones to resurrect the dead?" Thor finally asked.
"Exactly," Noah nodded.
"The Stones killed them, so only the Stones can reverse it."
"If that's the case..." Loki looked at Noah strangely.
"Why are you still going? And why take Thor with you?"
"To watch other people reunite with their families? Or to see his other self from another world?"
Noah almost laughed.
He wisely chose not to tell Thor what his counterpart looked like in that universe.
"Of course not," Noah shook his head.
"My teacher told me something."
"When those people from the parallel universe start gathering the Stones, it may draw the attention of others."
"People who are also looking for the Stones."
"And who are terrifyingly powerful."
"Thanos."
Thor and Loki said it at the same time.
No hesitation.
There were many who coveted the Infinity Stones, but this name surfaced instinctively.
Noah nodded.
"It's him."
Thor clenched his teeth.
"So if we go, we'll run into him?"
"Almost guaranteed," Noah spread his hands.
Nebula would be found.
The two Nebulas would switch.
Thanos would be brought through.
A full-scale battle would erupt.
That was the trajectory.
"I'm going with you!" Thor stood up without hesitation.
"Let's go see this damn Thanos. I want to know how strong he really is!"
"If you go in your current state," Noah said lazily, "you'd just be cannon fodder."
"And I don't even have the coordinates of that universe."
Thor froze.
"Then why did you come tell me all this? Didn't you want me to go?"
"First," Noah raised a finger, "the coordinates are with my teacher."
"Second, time between universes is relatively fixed. As long as we set the arrival point, there's no issue."
"Third," Noah looked at him seriously,
"you need to talk to your father."
This wasn't a trip.
It was a real expedition.
Against a fully powered Thanos.
Without Odin's approval, Thor wasn't going anywhere.
Thor slowly sat back down.
"...That makes sense."
"I'll talk to my father. And I'll train."
"It's probably best if I don't leave Asgard during this time."
Not leaving Asgard?
Noah's expression turned strange.
Everything was looping back again.
In the original timeline, Thor vanished during major events.
Back then, he went adventuring.
Now, he'd stay and grow stronger.
"What's with that look?" Loki asked.
"Nothing," Noah shrugged. "It's late. I'm heading back."
"Think carefully. Don't rush. Get past your father first."
"And raise your strength."
"Of course," Thor nodded firmly.
"I'll convince him. And I'll get stronger."
Noah nodded and opened a portal.
"Wait."
Loki suddenly spoke.
"I want to go too."
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