[New Asgard, Norway]
This place had originally been a small fishing village. After Asgard was destroyed, the survivors came here and established a new settlement in the village.
It was very rudimentary compared to the old Asgard, which had been filled with temples and countless statues.
New Asgard was practically a refugee camp.
After the threat of Thanos was eliminated, Thor led the surviving members of his people here and settled down.
They made their living by fishing.
Recently, however, in an effort to develop the economy, someone proposed turning New Asgard into a large theme park.
The idea was to use Asgard's various legends as a selling point to attract tourists from Earth and obtain funds for development.
At present, the supporters and opponents were evenly split, and every day they argued endlessly in a small plaza in the fishing village.
Today was no exception.
As the King of Asgard, Thor fled the small plaza as if he were running for his life and went alone to the seaside.
He sat on a reef by the shore, gazing out at the sea with a helpless expression.
"I really am not suited to being a king. Maybe Loki was right from the beginning. He's more suited for this position than I am."
Thor threw a stone into the sea.
Something drifted past the corner of his eye. Thor turned to look and saw that it was his battle-axe.
The battle-axe, forged by the Dwarven King of Nidavellir, turned a corner and flew over to Thor.
"Hey, don't worry. I'm not feeling down. I was just thinking about some things from the past."
Thor smiled and spread his hands as he spoke to the axe.
The battle-axe seemed to understand him, but it apparently misunderstood something. An arc of electricity leaped across its blade and struck the rock beside Thor.
"Whoa, whoa! What are you doing? Why are you getting angry with me?"
"Am I not allowed to reminisce about the past?"
More electric arcs suddenly appeared on Stormbreaker, crackling like a jealous woman.
Thor hurriedly raised his hands, "Calm down."
"Don't get the wrong idea."
"I'm not missing Mjolnir."
"All right, I admit I think about it occasionally, but I wasn't thinking about it just now."
The electrical arcs on Stormbreaker immediately grew denser.
BOOM!
A thick bolt of lightning struck the reef behind Thor. The rock exploded, and fragments scattered across the ground.
"Hey, I was just thinking about an old friend from the past."
"All right, Mjolnir is in the past. We're the best partners now, okay?"
Thor hurriedly tried to soothe the axe.
Only then did the electric arcs on Stormbreaker diminish considerably.
Thor shook his head and said, "What I was thinking about just now was my brother, Loki."
"I was thinking that if he were here, he could probably help with a lot of things."
"Do you know Loki?"
"He has black hair and green eyes. He's very clever and skilled at illusions."
"We grew up together and were very close, until he discovered that he was descended from the Frost Giants."
The electric arcs on Stormbreaker flickered, forming a question mark in the air.
"You're confused too, right? Wondering why an Asgardian like me has a younger brother with Frost Giant blood."
Thor laughed, "It's a long story, so I'll have to keep it short."
"Once, my father led an expedition to Jotunheim and brought back an orphaned baby from there."
"Loki grew up in Asgard. He wasn't bad at all when he was young. That only changed after he discovered that he wasn't an Asgardian."
"But I can understand why he acted that way. He wanted to earn the recognition of my father, Odin, the All-Father."
"Back then, he was really troublesome. He did a lot of bad things."
"He was deceived by Thanos and led an army to invade Earth, but I captured him."
"He also tried to use the Destroyer against me. He stabbed me here, and here, and here..."
Thor pointed to various places on his body.
"I tried to trust him, but he betrayed my trust time and time again. Still, he wasn't completely evil."
"Because there were people he loved too. That was my mother. Our mother."
"So you see, he wasn't beyond redemption."
"But now, I don't know whether he's alive or dead."
"Ever since the battle in Wakanda last time, I haven't seen him again."
"Maybe he's already dead. Or maybe he's somewhere causing trouble again."
After finishing the story of himself and Loki, Thor let out a long sigh. Just then, someone on the shore called out to him.
"Your Majesty."
"Telephone."
"You have a phone call."
Inside a small supermarket in the fishing village, Stormbreaker was resting on the counter. Thor picked up the corded telephone lying there.
"This is Thor."
Colonel Rhodes's voice came through the phone.
["Oh, thank God, I've finally found you."]
["For God's sake, can't you buy a cell phone?"]
Thor scratched his head, "I'm not used to using one."
"Do you need something?"
Colonel Rhodes immediately became serious.
["I received a message not long ago."]
["It was sent by Loki."]
["He warned us."]
Thor immediately tensed up and asked, "Loki?"
"Are you sure?"
["It's hard to say, but the message was definitely signed by your brother,"] Colonel Rhodes added, ["Also, the message came from somewhere in Africa."]
"Africa?"
"That place that's all grassland?"
"What did Loki go there for? He doesn't like herding sheep at all," Thor was puzzled.
Colonel Rhodes cleared his throat, ["I don't know about that, but he warned us."]
["He said the Conqueror has returned."]
Suddenly, an image flashed through Thor's mind: a man with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a red cape.
Blue sparks immediately flickered in the God of Thunder's eyes.
"Did Loki really say that?", he pressed.
Colonel Rhodes replied, ["Yes."]
["I've already notified the other Avengers."]
["Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Dr. Banner, and Falcon."]
["But I can't find Wanda."]
["So in the end, I could only notify you. Maybe we should prepare for battle."]
Thor immediately looked at Stormbreaker beside his feet, "That's great news."
"I can finally teach that bastard a lesson with my own hands."
Colonel Rhodes warned him, ["Don't act rashly, Thor."]
["The Conqueror is powerful, and he also has the Infinity Gauntlet."]
["I've already sent a message to Carol, but she's not on Earth. I'm afraid she won't be able to return anytime soon."]
Thor said in a low voice, "I don't need that girl to help me."
Colonel Rhodes had no intention of continuing to argue with Thor about that, so he changed the subject.
["Regardless, the Conqueror is powerful. I hope you won't act alone."]
["Besides, we still don't know his exact location. I'm using some channels right now to trace the source of the signal from Loki's message and see if we can obtain intelligence from the surrounding area..."]
Colonel Rhodes was explaining his plan over the phone.
But Thor heard a series of gasps and cries of surprise coming from the village plaza.
He hurriedly put down the phone, picked up Stormbreaker, and rushed toward the plaza.
["Thor?"]
["Thor, are you listening?"]
["Hello?"]
["Hello!"]
Inside the supermarket, Colonel Rhodes kept calling out through the receiver, but Thor didn't respond.