"Hello."
Thor blinked, caught off guard. He hadn't expected someone to approach him—much less greet him so casually.
Instinctively, he returned the greeting.
Then, realization struck.
He had just spoken to a mortal.
And not just spoken—he'd done so as an equal.
That alone left a bitter taste in his mouth. But the discomfort faded quickly.
Something about the man before him felt... unusual. A strange aura lingered around him—powerful, but quiet. Faint, yet undeniable. Thor had to strain to sense it, but it was there.
On the surface, the man looked like a perfectly normal human.
But that was exactly what made Thor uneasy.
This wasn't someone ordinary.
"Who are you?" Thor asked directly. "Why are you here?"
Zenkichi didn't hesitate.
"Came to see you."
"What?" Thor blinked, unsure he'd heard correctly. He wasn't expecting that. The response threw him off, and his wariness spiked.
His power was gone. If this stranger meant him harm, he wouldn't stand a chance.
"You're not in great shape right now," Zenkichi added, smiling slightly.
"How do you know that?" Thor asked, too quickly.
Then he froze.
He'd just admitted it—without even thinking.
Zenkichi tilted his head. "You don't need to be so tense. If I wanted you dead, you'd already be lying on the ground."
Thor stared at him in silence.
He believed him.
Zenkichi had a calmness that didn't need proving. His power didn't roar—it whispered.
And it was more terrifying that way.
"What do you want?"
Thor's tone had hardened again, cautious, guarded.
"I already told you," Zenkichi said, half-exasperated. "I came to check on you."
Thor furrowed his brow. It still didn't add up. "That's it?"
"There's more," Zenkichi admitted with a shrug. "I could help you... for a price."
Thor's eyes narrowed. "Help me? How?"
Zenkichi sighed. Talking to him felt like speaking across dimensions.
"I could do you a favor. Block someone, for instance."
Thor paused, frowning. "Block someone?"
"You know," Zenkichi said calmly, "from killing you."
"…You're saying someone is coming for me?"
Zenkichi nodded once.
"But that doesn't make sense. I just arrived on Midgard. I haven't done anything yet," Thor muttered, mostly to himself. "Why would anyone come after me?"
"That's something you should be able to figure out," Zenkichi said evenly, meeting his gaze.
He didn't need to spell it out.
Thor wasn't just a god fallen to Earth.
He was a god without power.
And someone had clearly planned it that way.
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