Lord Shadow

Loki was stunned and then he frowned. He now has time to think

He is trying to understand why this particular scene was shown to him

But no matter how he thinks about it he doesn’t understand. 

He flew back down and landed back on the garden. 

He looks at the sky and there is no longer any scenes showing a great battle between the Gods of Asgard. 

There are only clear blue skies with white clouds that moves peacefully like all he had seen before is a dream. 

‘A dream inside a dream’ he thought to himself

Then suddenly Loki senses some movement around him and he reacted instinctively as he turns his body around and look toward that area

He finally realizes that the fog around the garden had thicken suddenly. 

The fog suddenly moves and it slowly covers the areas, encircling Loki. Loki eyes narrowed and a silhouette could be seen appearing inside the thick fog

‘Teacher?’ Loki said and then a wind blows and all the fog was pushed away revealing a person. This person had scraggly hair, wearing tight outfit with grey robe lined with red on its inner sleeve.

His appearance is thin and pallid. 

But this person eyes are very piercing. Loki instantly recognize this person. Because even though the appearance is different, the soul fluctuation from this person is a soul fluctuation that Loki recognize.

And there is only one person that would be able to appear inside this replica of the primordial garden without Loki not being able to sense anything

It is Loki the Cosmic Trickster, Loki teacher. Loki frowned at his teacher sudden appearance. Clearly, he was not expecting that his teacher would directly meet him. He thought that the message would be relayed to him indirectly just like before.

It is obvious that this time he was wrong. Loki the Cosmic trickster saw his disciple face expression and then with a smile he said

‘You don’t seem happy I am here’ There was silence for a few second before Loki the Cosmic Trickster smiles widened as he could guess what his disciple was thinking 

‘Did you expect me to just give you a puzzle that is hard to solve and let you interpret it?

Loki nodded. 

‘Peter’ Loki the Cosmic trickster said and Loki face fell. Peter is his real name

It is nothing out of the ordinary. Instead it is one of the most ordinary names in Denmark. Loki true name is Peter.

It felt weird hearing his own name. it has been too long since anyone called him by that name. It made him felt a bit nostalgic.

(From this point on, Loki would refer to Loki the Cosmic Trickster)

Loki look at his disciple and smiles

‘You presume too much’

Peter look at his teacher and said

‘Are you helping me? Or are you trying to stop me?’

Loki smiles and instead of answering Peter question, he asks him another question

‘What did you see?’ Peter sighed. he knows that when he spoke with his teacher, he unusually asks more than he answers.

That is also one of habits that Peter had also imitated. Peter then said with a sigh

‘Ragnarok’

Loki nodded and then he asks

‘What did you think that I was trying to tell you by showing Ragnarok to you?’ Peter frowned and then he said with an ugly expression on his face

‘Are you trying to tell me that fate is fixed? That I could not change anything? Odin Allfather knows his fate that he would be swallowed by Fenrir and so he must accept it? Is that what you are trying to tell me?’

Loki laughed. He shakes his head and then he said

‘This is what I don’t like about smart people. Sometimes, just sometimes, they overthink too much’ There was silence for a second and then Loki said

‘I know you. I know that even if that is the message that I want to express to you, it is not like you are going to stop doing what you are doing. You are stubborn that way. I expect no less from my disciple’ But then he waves his finger and said

‘But, that is not what I was trying to show you. And that is not what I was trying to tell you’ Loki sighed and then he asks a question

‘Ragnarok. What do you think of it? Is it real, you think?’ Loki ask Peter. Peter think for a while and then he shakes his head.

‘That is impossible right’ He then elaborate 

‘The scene that you showed must be the Norns prediction or vision of the future right?’ But the moment Peter said it, his expression suddenly changes.

There is a possibility that he had never entertained before.

Before, when he was looking at the battle between the Asgardians and the forces of other Eight realms fighting the Aesir, he was astounded, awed and shocked. But he had never thought that it is something that happened before

He speculated it is the vision of the future. Because Loki had seen Thor and the other Aesir before. And they are still alive.

Odin is slumbering. Thor guarded the Halls of Odin. Surtr is still in Muspelheim. The Ship Naglfar is still chained and so is Fenrir.

Peter speculated that the scene that he seen is actually the vision of the Norns. 

It is a reasonable speculation. After all, Peter also knows Erika. These Seers and Norns all shares the same source which is Borgan which connected all clairvoyants all over the Omniverse.

One of their abilities is that they could also project the exact vision they saw to be projected outside of their minds. 

For the Norns who have powerful clairvoyant abilities, it is nothing for them to do such a thing. But, it wasn’t until Loki ask him that question, that he realized something

Those scenes, those battles, were too vivid and too clear to dismiss it as simply a vision of the future by the Norns.

There is no vagueness, there is no mist or Veils trying to interfere with the vision. And then Peter look at his teacher with incredulity as one possibility enter his mind

‘It is real?’ He asks with a trembling voice. Loki nodded. Then he sighed and with a bitter smile he said.

‘I am on your side, Peter. But, I could not help you. This is something that you should understand. But, what I can do for you, to help you, is to reveal to you some knowledge, some secrets that most people don’t know’

There was a pause on his words. It seems Loki is trying to find the words that could help him explain 

Then he said

‘Asgardians, Olympians, they are not as lucky as you would have thought’ 

Loki said and Peter is trying to make sense of it all. He did not hear what his teacher is saying, only pondering about what his teacher means by nodding his head to his question

‘teacher, what do you mean?’ Peter ask. 

Loki smiles and then said

‘Walk with me’ Then Loki walk forward

As Loki began walking along, a road suddenly appeared in front of him. It is a trail that is enough for two people to walk along the tall grass and the many trees that fills the gardens

Peter frowned but he follows his teacher, walking beside him but quickly catching up and walking beside his teacher.

They walk a few steps and then Loki began his story.

‘The scene you saw is what happened in the past’

‘In the past?’

‘Yes’

Peter is trying to make sense of something. He was silent for a second and then he asks another question

‘But Odin died’ Peter said as he looks at the side profile of his teacher. Loki laughed and answer him almost immediately

‘he did’

‘I don’t understand’ Peter said. Loki knows he must explain it more.

‘That scene you saw was the first Ragnarok’

‘The first?’ Peter exclaimed for a moment.

There was silence for a few second as they keep walking along the garden. 

The wind blows gently and the scent of the flowers calms one heart. Maybe that is the reason Peter is not yet breaking down.

He took a little time to digest what his teacher is saying. A few second passes and then he asks

‘How many times did Ragnarok happens?’ Peter already accepted that Ragnarok has happened before. 

Loki smiles and laughed

‘You are asking the right person. Six times already’

Six times! Peter was shocked but then he caught something in his teacher words. He immediately asks his teacher

‘You said that I was asking the right person. What do you mean by that?’

Loki clapped his hand slightly. 

‘as expected of my disciple’ Sighing he said

‘There is only a few people in Asgard that retain their memories of Ragnarok each time it happens.’

‘There is me. There is Surtr. Then there is Odin. Of course there are a few others that I would not mention. It is simply because mentioning it would not change what you have to do and what you planned to do. As such, there is no need for you to fixate in the wrong things. Asgard matters….is Asgard matters. In the end, most of the events would happen in Earth Prime. The Battle of the End, the True End would happen in Earth Prime’

Peter nodded. What his teacher said is true. He didn’t need to know the full story. He only needs to know the important part. 

Of course, if the important part did not actually relate that heavily to the Battle of the End, then he must seek the full story

They walk again and time passes again. Of course, Peter also wanted to ask more question. But he wants to make sure that the question he asks shoot straight to the crux.

He thought for a while. 

He still did not understand why this Final Destiny of the Gods had repeated.  there must be a reason why it is repeated. 

It could not be the Asgardian gods is bunch of masochist that wanted to be killed and revived infinitely. There is also the question of reviving.

And from what his teacher said, not everyone remembers what happens. 

He wanted to understand what is happening. He had a premonition that this relates very heavily with what he is planning. 

He then asks his teacher a simple question. Though, it is a simple question, the answer would probably be very complicated. Peter look at his teacher and then simply ask him

‘Why?’ Loki hearing his disciple question, halted his step for a second.

He understood what his disciple is asking him. Why was Ragnarok keep being repeated. Why? This question has many meaning.

‘At least you remember what I thought you? Sometimes, the shorter the question, the more then answerer had to elaborate?’ He said to Peter. 

But, Peter had no leisure to brag about it or feeling good about it. For some reason, he did not think what he would learn would make his heart at ease.

Loki also realizes it and said

‘I would try to explain it as simple as I could’ he sighed and then he began thinking of how to explain this in the perspective of people from Earth

Loki had been to Earth a few thousand years ago for the battle for the fragments of the All Source. 

He smiles a bit. 

‘That was a wild time’ Loki thought to himself. He still remembers he had stolen ambrosia from Olympus, trying to woo Athena and Artemis, fought with Apollo who was jealous.

Apollo had quite the sister complex.  And he also had met with Hades. His daughter, Hel was quite enamored with that Lord of the Underworld, but Persephone was quite the jealous wife.

Of course, Loki had always remembered Hera. He always felt pitiful of her to have Zeus as her husband

But alas, it was not meant to be. Loki might be mischievous, but he also had a heart that could love.

He is a playboy, sure, but most of that reputation was when he was young. He rarely fell in love. And the feeling he had for Hera….it was complicated

It was a different era, and it was an era of warfare. Sometimes, he wished that he had never follow his sworn brother Odin to vie for the All Source fragment. If he did not, he would never have met with Hera, he thought to himself.

It is not all bad. He also remembers how he had competed with Erlang on their arts of transformation.

It was wild back then. 

Everyone was competing against each other for a part of the All Source. And Asgard also got one.

It elevated the Asgardian civilization as one of the most powerful intergalactic civilization in the Omniverse.

So, he knew about Earth. But at that time, humans were still primitive. This concept that he must explain to his disciple is a little bit complicated.

Though, Loki knows that humans had already touch this realm of knowledge…though humanity only touch upon its theories and never had the ability to prove it before.

Loki could not use the terms that he used in the eight realm to explain it to Peter because then he could not make his meaning to come across

Loki sighed for a second

‘Wait a moment’ Loki said to Peter. 

He seeks his memories and he reviews the knowledge of Earth before the Fall happens. It is not hard really for him to do this.

Because there is a study in “that house” that contains all the knowledge in the Omniverse, from time beginning.

It took him a second and then he finally has a way of explaining the matter of Ragnarok to his disciple

He smiles and he stop walking.

He looks forward and he could see that the trail is still long. He still has time he thought to himself.

He fears that what he is doing right now would be frowned upon by the Supreme One. He had tried to be impartial. 

But after all, he has feelings. 

How could it be easy for him to be impartial. 

Peter might not be able to see it but Loki could see that there is a barrier of light in the distance. 

When he reaches that barrier of light, that is when his time would end.

The dream is still stable. 

Inside this dream, no one could even sense that he had contacted Peter. He is not worried about the Supreme One knowing what he is doing. 

He is worried about those ancient beings like Azul, Wargod, and the Destroyer knowing what he is doing

He sighed and then he stopped walking for a second. And as he stopped walking, Peter also stopped walking

He waited for his teacher to speak

And then Loki look at his disciple and said with a smile.

‘Do you know of the Fermi paradox? Do you know the theory of the Great Filter?’

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