Loki frowned, clearly displeased.
A mere mortal dared to stand in front of him? Did this fool really think everyone was like the Hulk?
"…"
Smack!
A sharp crack echoed, and Loki spun a full 720 degrees before slamming into the ground, eating a mouthful of sand.
The sting on his face was nothing compared to the confusion clouding his mind.
He lifted his head, spat out sand, and glared with wide, furious eyes.
"You dare strike me? Do you have any idea who you're dealing with—"
Smack!
This time, the blow snapped him fully back to reality. His earlier arrogance—thinking he could just escape—was gone, replaced by a hand clutching his face and the fearful thought that his luck had truly run out.
No matter where he teleported, he somehow always ended up facing someone incomprehensibly powerful.
Two slaps in a row… it was enough to make anyone's head hurt.
Russell nodded in satisfaction.
Sure enough, only slapping Loki could make him feel better.
"It's your turn next," he said casually.
Loki didn't understand, but his eyes widened when he saw the other man take out a green gem.
The Time Stone? Holding it directly in his bare hand? What kind of monster was this? Was he not afraid the Stone's energy would corrode his body?
A dazzling green light burst forth as intricate magic circles formed around the gem.
The TVA had suppressed the creation of new time branches—so Russell simply forced ten branches into existence at once.
As the green light spread, the space around them shimmered like a mirror.
One less figure stood in the reflection.
The glow of the Time Stone danced in Loki's eyes as he got to his feet, looking around in confusion.
He felt like he had forgotten something important.
An instant later, an orange time doorway suddenly opened, and a squad of TVA Minutemen marched through.
Their leader—a tall Black man—said nothing before punching Loki to the ground. The soldiers behind him quickly bound the god of mischief and dragged him through the portal.
Far from their sight, another orange time doorway opened in the void at the same time.
Russell glanced toward the sky.
Just as he suspected—
The TVA wasn't locking on to him directly. Instead, they had routed the exit point of all their time gates into the Dark Dimension… Dormammu's domain.
That meant, if the TVA could open a time gate here, so could he.
Russell kept watching the sky in silence.
Sometimes, the right opportunity just needed patience.
Days later, a burst of rainbow-like energy ripped through the air, and a figure plummeted from it.
It was Loki—freshly captured and dumped back.
Russell's eyes glowed green, and four shimmering illusions appeared.
Classic Loki. Boastful Loki. Kid Loki. And… Crocodile Loki.
The illusions solidified, bowed to Russell, and ran toward the bewildered trickster.
Next, Russell would recreate the events of Loki Season 1.
It was simple—the TVA's sacred timeline was already written by He Who Remains.
On the barren plains of the Void, everything Loki encountered would be staged—a one-man show—until Sylvie and Mobius finally appeared.
In the grand curtain call orchestrated by Classic Loki, Loki and Sylvie would confront Alioth and open the gateway to the Citadel at the End of Time.
Russell looked at the frozen time-beast, the corner of his mouth curling upward.
As he expected, with just Loki and Sylvie's power, they could never control Alioth—not even if they burned themselves out trying.
That beast belonged to He Who Remains.
The next second, green light flashed—
The End of Time.
Loki and Sylvie stepped into the looming castle.
In the darkness, a sudden flash of orange light appeared.
"Wow wow wow wow…"
Miss Minutes' voice echoed strangely, and then she appeared, bowing cheerfully.
"Well, hey y'all! The boss is waitin' for ya. Please, follow me~"
The two glanced at each other, but Sylvie suddenly spun around and slashed at her with her blade.
Unfortunately, the strike passed right through Miss Minutes' projection, hitting nothing at all.
Miss Minutes just hummed and floated ahead without another word, leading the way.
Along the walk, Loki noticed the castle walls were covered in strands of golden thread—sometimes even seeming to flow like living things.
A chill settled in his gut, though he couldn't explain why.
They stepped into an elevator, which stopped on the fourth floor.
The doors slid open to reveal a room styled like a classical study.
Bookshelves lined the walls, filled not with history or magic, but with advanced texts on physics and mathematics.
By the window stood a man in a deep purple robe, casually setting down an apple before clapping his hands.
"Well, welcome, welcome!"
He Who Remains smiled warmly as Loki and Sylvie entered, weapons raised.
Sylvie's gaze sharpened.
"You're the real one in charge of the TVA—the one who prunes every other timeline!"
He Who Remains nodded simply.
"That's right. That's me."
Without warning, Sylvie lunged forward, blade aimed at his throat—
—but in an instant, she froze mid-motion, turned into a living statue.
Loki's eyes widened.
Not just frozen—there was no heartbeat, no breath. Time itself had stopped for her.
He Who Remains set down a small time device and sighed.
"What a shame. According to the original script, you would have killed me."
Loki's voice was sharp.
"What script? What are you talking about?"
He Who Remains tilted his head, smiling as if the answer were obvious.
"Hard to grasp? Since the moment you entered the TVA, every step you've taken—every choice—was designed by me. I even gave you that little romance with… yourself."
Loki's disbelief burned into anger.
"You said Sylvie was supposed to kill you in this 'script'—but that didn't happen! You're lying!"
He gave a short, bitter laugh.
"Heh… what's wrong? Afraid?"
He Who Remains scratched his head casually.
"You know… you're partly right. I am afraid. Because in my original plan, when Sylvie killed me, I would've transferred most of the temporal energy hidden in the Time Loom directly into your body."
His smile sharpened.
"When the timeline was freed, all but the Sacred Timeline would collapse. Simple."
He waved a hand dismissively.
"But something… unexpected happened. Several timelines have been anchored. Once they're released, those irritating Sorcerer Supremes from Kamar-Taj can use resonance to anchor tens of thousands of timelines. Only a few thousand would be destroyed in the end."
He shook his head.
"That just won't do."
Then he raised his eyes, meeting Loki's with a knowing grin.
"Wouldn't you agree… Mr. Russell?"
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