Asgard.
"Ragnarok? What is that?"
Staring at the screen that displayed the event titled Asgard Destruction, Thor's beard and hair bristled as he roared like an enraged lion:
"Who? Who destroyed Asgard? Was it Thanos? I swear I'll kill him!"
Seeing his furious son, Odin let out a long, weary sigh.
"Calm yourself, Thor. This has nothing to do with Thanos."
When Thor looked at him with confusion, Odin said helplessly:
"This is my burden. I spent my entire life trying to stop her. But once my end draws near… she will emerge from Hel."
Earlier, when Odin saw the vision of himself fading into golden light, he already had his suspicions. Now, they were completely confirmed.
"Her? Hel?"
Thor was baffled.
"The Goddess of Death—Hela."
Looking at Thor, Odin suddenly seemed far older, more worn.
"She is my firstborn. Your sister."
"Sister?"
Thor's face changed drastically, disbelief written all over it.
Wasn't he Odin's eldest son? How could a sister suddenly appear out of nowhere?
Calmly, Odin explained:
"Before you were born, Hela once fought beside me, conquering the Nine Realms and winning countless victories."
"But later, her ambition grew beyond control. I had no choice but to imprison her."
"Once I die, the seal that binds Hela will be broken. When that time comes…"
Odin's tone was full of concern, but Thor suddenly laughed boldly:
"Hahahaha, so that's how it is!"
Swinging Mjolnir with a carefree flourish, Thor said with absolute confidence:
"What's there to worry about? As King of the Gods, your life span must be thousands of years yet to come."
Watching his son's careless attitude, Odin could only smile bitterly in his heart.
He had long felt, faintly, that his life would not last much longer. That was why he held the coronation ceremony—to pass the throne of Asgard's God-King to Thor.
But seeing the information displayed in the livestream, Odin now realized… his end might come far sooner than he had ever imagined!
And within the files Loki had glimpsed on the screen—even just a few lines were enough to make Odin's heart tremble.
The destruction of a planet.
The extinction of an entire civilization.
Even though Odin had always known of the prophecy of Ragnarok, he never imagined… that this event would bring such terrifying consequences!
Yet amidst his shock, Odin was puzzled.
Hela's desire should have been to replace him, to sit upon the throne of Asgard as queen.
But if she destroyed Asgard itself—what meaning would that hold for her?
[The recording continues.]
[Loki stared at the file detailing Asgard's destruction, his expression suddenly becoming extremely grim.]
[Without hesitation, he clutched the file to his chest, left the library, and headed straight for the TVA cafeteria.]
[Finding Mobius, Loki sat down at his table and immediately spoke his conclusion.]
["He's hiding in the apocalypse."]
[Without asking, Loki reached over and grabbed the salad Mobius was eating.]
["Let's assume your salad is Asgard."]
[Loki picked up a salt shaker.]
["I could go to Asgard and, before Ragnarok wipes out everything, do absolutely whatever I wanted."]
["For example, throw the Hulk off the Bifröst."]
[He sprinkled salt into the salad.]
["Or burn down the palace."]
[Watching his lunch get ruined like this, Mobius looked visibly pained.]
["No! Stop! Don't burn down the palace!"]
["Do you see?"]
[Loki leaned forward, his voice full of excitement: "I can do anything I want, and it won't have any impact."]
["It wouldn't violate the Sacred Timeline, because…"]
[Loki grabbed a juice box from Casey's nearby table and poured it right into Mobius' salad.]
["Ragnarok! No matter what I do, Surtur will destroy Asgard."]
"Surtur?"
In Asgard, Thor's whole body trembled, murderous rage flaring in his eyes.
So it was you… you're the one who destroyed Asgard?
Raising Mjolnir high, Thor roared toward the heavens:
"Surtur! No matter where you hide, I'll find you and kill you—for Asgard!!!!"
Seeing Thor's bloodshot eyes and the killing intent pouring off of him, Odin only sighed softly and closed his eyes.
Enough.
This son of his… there was nothing more he could do.
…
[The recording continues.]
["Ragnarok wipes out the salt. It wipes out everything else too."]
[Loki set the juice box aside, a smug grin spreading across his face.]
["It doesn't matter what kind of apocalypse it is—it could be a tsunami, a meteor, a volcanic eruption, or even a supernova."]
["If a place's people, events, and objects are all destined for complete annihilation, then no matter what I do in that timeline, there will never be a branching timeline."]
["Which means… that variant Loki is most likely hiding within the apocalypse itself!"]
~~----------------------
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