Chapter 83: Lessons behind the Torture. 1000 – 1010 CE
Outside the cave, Loki was now sitting in front of a cave, he had changed his pants, but he was still traumatised because of what had just happened. He was hugging his own legs, staring at the crackling fire in front of him.
Meanwhile, there were two other people that were with him. It was Sprite and Pluto, they were snickering at each other, laughing at Loki’s misery.
“How does it feel to be tricked by a mere little girl?” said Pluto in mockery. “Humiliating isn’t it?”
Loki didn’t say anything, he just kept staring at the fire in front of him.
Sprite however, flipped Pluto off because he called her a little girl once again.
She then looked at the terrified Loki, and explained.
“I did that to you because I want to show you that Illusions are no joke.” said Sprite casually. “You used Illusions to trick your brother often, right? Thor said it to Kingo the other night, so we thought, why don’t we do it to you as well?”
Pluto then chuckled at Sprite’s words. “What did you feel when you were running through the forest?”
Loki then looked away from the fire, and stared at Pluto blankly. “I- I thought that I was going to die…”
“Then the illusions worked.” nodded Sprite. “Illusions aren’t just visuals you know? Sounds and emotions could be easily manipulated to your advantage.”
“What does it mean?” questioned Loki.
Pluto then stared at Loki for a second, before continuing. “What do you know about illusions, Loki?”
“I- Mother said it’s the art of deceit, I could change my appearance, sneak into an enemy’s castle by just using illusions.”
Sprite hummed. “That is illusions too. But illusions are much more than that.” she said. “It’s about manipulating your surroundings using your will. The sounds surrounding your enemy, the emotions that your enemy is feeling, you could control all that.”
Sprite was playing with her illusions, showing a map of the forest, and how she did her illusions.
“Can I… do that?” questioned Loki curiously.
“You can.” answered Pluto. “You just need to be smart and thoughtful.”
“Then can you teach me?”
Sprite and Pluto looked at each other, and shook their heads. “We can’t teach you that Loki, you need to learn it by yourself, magic is really versatile, but I’m sure you could do it.”
Loki then thought in his head, he thought that he is a god, and he could do it.
Pluto then chuckled, “It’s quite funny to think that you’re a god, even though you just pissed yourself a couple of hours ago.”
Loki was embarrassed. “H-How do you know what I was thinking?”
“I don’t.” shrugged Pluto. “But I could feel your arrogance right now. It’s painfully obvious.”
Sprite then sighed. “You are not a god Loki,” said Sprite. “Nor me, nor Pluto. It is just an empty illusion.”
“Illusion?” questioned Loki. “We Asgardians are gods, are we not?”
“You may be more powerful than humans, but in the end, there are more powerful beings than you.” added Sprite. “To some, the concept of a god are just mere illusions that they casted to themselves, desperate for power and recognition.”
Loki clenched his fist. He knew what Sprite was talking about, but still didn’t want to admit it.
“It’s okay to feel weak Loki,” said Pluto suddenly. “But don’t lie to yourself.”
Loki was silent, staring at the fire in front of him. After a while, he spoke again. “Can I really do what you showed me today?”
“If you train, you can.” nodded Sprite. “I don’t know magic, but Pluto said that it’s just similar to my powers, so yes, you can.”
Loki just nodded. “Thank you for the lesson today, Uncle… Auntie…”
Soon the campfire was in a comfortable silence, but then, Pluto couldn’t hold back his laugh anymore as he heard Loki called Sprite Auntie, and Sprite, once again, flipped him off.
“Not funny, dude…” Sprite grumbled.
—
Thor was now on the battle ground again, sword in hand, and he was facing Thena, who was staring at him rather menacingly.
“What? Can’t use your magic trick again?” taunted Thena, making Thor mad.
Thor then dashed towards Thena, trying to get a hit on her. Thena once again dodged to the side, and hit Thor’s head rather roughly, making him slammed to the ground.
Thor groaned in pain on the ground, making Thena sighed at the pathetic sight.
“Let’s end it for today, you are quite disappointing…” Thena murmured as she walked away from the battle ground.
“Wait!” Thor shouted. “I can still fight!”
“If you want to fight, go to Kingo.” said Thena nonchalantly. “I don’t want to waste my time on a spoiled prince like you.”
Thor clenched his fist. He stood up, and roared to Thena. “Get back here! As Prince of Asgard, I command you to fight me right now!”
Thena then suddenly stopped, but Thor had a bad feeling, he could feel a cold chill that made him shivers.
Suddenly, Thena disappeared from his sight, and then he realised he wasn’t standing anymore, he was laying on the ground again, a spear almost slashed his neck, and Thena was on top of him, staring with her cold and intimidating eyes.
“Arrogance gets you nowhere, blonde.” said Thena sternly, making Thor gulp. “Next time you shout at me again, I will make sure that you will return to your father headless, I’m sure Loki won’t mind being the crown prince after your death, right?”
Thor was sweating profusely, and nodded vigorously. “Y-Yes A-Auntie… F-Forgive me…”
Thena hummed, and she deconjured her weapons. She then helped Thor stand up, cleaning the dirt off of her clothes.
“If you want to train, you can ask Kingo. I have nothing more to teach you, you already know how to fight using weapons, now you only need to control your power.” Thena further commented. “Also, Pluto told me to tell you this. Being king is not a gift Thor, it is a burden, are you sure you can become king when the time comes?”
“W-What do you mean?”
“You can’t even control your powers, yet you expect the Asgardians to let them control you?” questioned Thena. “The title of king is not a game Thor, it’s a responsibility. You have a kingdom to run, people’s lives to take care of, yet your arrogance is at an all time high, you are reckless, and only care about fighting? You think Asgard will prosper under your rule?”
Thor stared at Thena in shock, not knowing what to say.
“Just think about that.” said Thena again, and turned around, leaving Thor alone on the battle ground.
Thor then stared at the sky, and murmured to himself. “Will I… Really be a good king?”