amaotonovel Chapter 4677 Desperate Escape (49)
Chapter 4677 Desperate Escape (49)
Chapter 4677 A Desperate Escape (Forty-Nine)
Thor knew that Loki was very afraid of pain. In fact, no one in this world is immune to pain. Pain can interfere with thinking and slow down actions. Even if one isn't afraid of the pain itself, one will fear these side effects, because they can be fatal on the battlefield.
However, Asgard is a civilization that does not tolerate weakness. To be precise, their martial spirit dictates that no one can cry out in pain without a conscience. Because if only you are in pain, you might only die, but if you cry out and disturb others, everyone dies together. Everyone must act tough enough not to be a burden to their teammates.
In such an atmosphere, being able to remain vulnerable, to back down, and to cry out in pain is actually a special right. Even if it's only towards one or a few people, it represents a great deal of trust.
Thor couldn't remember how many times he had seen Loki cry. Most of the time it was when they were children, when the two of them would get into trouble together and something unexpected would happen. Loki would cry when he was hurt, and Thor wouldn't scold him for being weak like a typical Asgardian would. Instead, he would comfort him and cover for him, telling everyone that he was the one who caused the trouble.
As Thor grew older, Loki began playing pranks on him, sometimes luring him into hiding places, sometimes hanging him up by vines. Thor's comical antics always made him laugh out loud. Thor thought this was good, because it was always better than seeing Loki cry.
Later, they had disagreements, and their relationship was no longer as close. At this point, Thor even missed Loki's tears a little, because it was better to cry or laugh than for Loki to always stand in the shadows, looking at him with a complicated expression.
This relationship lasted for a long time, even after he ascended the throne. The roles of the God-King and the Prince were hardly close. They each had their own duties and were always busy with their own affairs. Occasionally, when the family gathered, they would talk more about the current situation in Asgard. Perhaps this was the fate of royalty.
But in this instance, it felt like they were back in their childhood. Loki was sometimes angry, sometimes crying. Thor comforted him, shielded him from trouble, and tried his best to cheer him up. Up until this level, everything felt like reliving an old dream.
Unfortunately, the old dream between these brothers, besides their mutual support and shared adventures, was also hindered by differences in status, race, and the dynamics of ruler and subject. They were separated by Asgard, by the roots and branches of the World Tree.
“I’ve had enough,” Thor suddenly said. “I’ve had enough of all this. I think we have to get out of here, Loki.”
"What's wrong with you?!" Loki, still calculating the distance, looked up at him and said, "This is the final test. After we finish, we'll..."
“I don’t want to get through this,” Thor said. “We have to quit.”
Loki stood up, clenching his fists, but clearly enduring the pain as he said, "Yes, now it's my turn to remove the ring from my collarbone, and it might hurt. I can't say I can completely handle it. But like I said, you can't always do this..."
"So? Are you taking away your right to be a hero?" Thor seemed calm as he said, "You know I just hate this atmosphere that leaves you with no choice. If I hate heroes, it's only because of this."
Loki froze. Some distant memories resurfaced. It might have been during a battle, or a duel, when someone wanted him to fight some great general.
Loki wanted to go up. He didn't think he couldn't win because he knew magic. Although the Aesir also possessed divine power, their control over energy was nowhere near as refined as his; even if they had better physical attributes, they might not be able to win.
But Thor firmly disagreed. Not only did he refuse to let Loki play, he also beat up the jeering crowd and Loki's intended opponent.
As a child, Loki had doubts. He wondered if Thor was doing this to suppress him, prevent him from showing his abilities, or if Thor was overly controlling and worried about him getting hurt, which was why he didn't let him play.
Loki had initially thought he had forgotten what Thor had said. But when the same words echoed in his ears, the distant and hazy memory suddenly became clear.
“You know what, Loki? I hate Asgard like this. They’re treating excluding those who don’t belong as unity. If someone has to become a certain way to be excluded from the group, then what are we fighting for?”
Yes, but why? Loki had pondered this question before, but without an answer. Later, he realized that the question itself was the answer—Thor was questioning Odin.
Odin had already said that battles are for victory, for the honor of Asgard. But if Thor agreed, he wouldn't have asked this question. The fact that he asked means Thor doesn't agree with this doctrine.
But Thor always talked about the honor of Asgard, and every day he was devoted to Asgard, the Aesir, and winning the support of the Asgardians. He was even willing to risk his life, and sometimes he could be described as greedy and reckless.
This always made Loki feel very disconnected, as if a philosopher and a battle maniac both resided within Thor's body. He didn't know which one was the real him.
But when Loki encountered the multiverse and learned that the vast majority of Thors chose to become Thor, staying on Earth to join the Avengers, rather than inheriting the throne of Asgard, he understood that Thor still refused to follow Odin's path. These seemingly incredibly similar father and son ultimately proved to be on completely different paths.
Compassion, Loki thought, that was the biggest difference between them. Odin was like a god because he lacked compassion, Thor was more like a god because he possessed compassion.
What is the purpose of fighting? Odin believed it was for the realization of self-worth, and victory for honor. Thor, however, believed that fighting was for the protection of the weak, and that fighting was meaningless if the weak were not allowed to exist.
Thor's fierce charge into battle wasn't because he truly agreed with Odin's teachings, but because he had Loki by his side. If he allowed Loki to be weak, then he needed even greater strength to protect Loki.
“I don’t like this,” Thor repeated. “Everyone is so powerful and calm, as if no one even noticed that their collarbone was being broken. And then they say, ‘Your turn, Loki.’ Am I supposed to stand here and listen to them say that?”
Loki flinched, even a little scared. He reached up and touched his collarbone, instinctively taking a step back, leaning against the wall and looking at Thor, saying, "The dungeon limits pain; the worst it'll hurt is probably just getting hit in the foot. Actually..."
“Loki, on this matter, you will always be the one to give in first. You are the one who truly values Asgard. It’s such a pity you’re not an Aesir.”
Loki couldn't stand Thor speaking to him like that, because it was practically a reprimand. But he was already feeling guilty and couldn't think of a rebuttal for the moment, because Thor was right. In resisting the Spartan atmosphere of Asgard, he was often the first to back down, while Thor always fought to the end and never yielded.
The others, who had been watching with great interest, realized the seriousness of the situation after Thor's words. Thor's ambiguous tone indicated that he was genuinely angry.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Harley slammed her fist on the patio partition. "Hey! You guys can talk all you want, but don't drag us into it! We never said you were definitely going to be involved in the plan!"
“That’s right,” Pamela shouted towards the cave entrance. “You think we all agreed to the plan, which is why we were able to watch them break their collarbones, but actually, it’s because there are only two people on one floor, and I couldn’t hold this lunatic down! If I could beat her, would I have let her do this?”
“Exactly,” Lucifer at the top chimed in. “It’s not that I agreed to him doing this, I just couldn’t stop him.”
“You know I’ve never been able to stop Eric,” Charles said. “I’ve never succeeded in all these years.”
"The others are one thing, but you?" Thor went to the cave entrance to confront him. Loki also couldn't accept Charles's remarks.
"Can you two just shut up and stop causing trouble?" Loki said. "I won't criticize you for not being able to stop him here. But you can't stop him outside either? Who are you kidding?"
"You know, he has a helmet..."
"That helmet is utterly useless!" Thor berated him. "He built you a brainwave amplifier the size of a planet, and then only built himself a lousy helmet. The paint on the sides of that helmet is peeling off. Was Washington still alive when it was made?"
"How dare you say that about us?" Eric couldn't take it anymore. "We're not related by blood, and we're even of different genders. We haven't gotten married in thousands of years. You know what the problem is."
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Thor continued to rant through the small window. "That's my brother! We're not the kind of gods you humans make up in mythology who only think about their lower bodies all day! I can't even be bothered to talk to you two. What, did the movement to legalize homosexuality start too late, and that's why we missed you two?"
"What did the gay rights movement do to you?!" Pamela practically wanted to stick her head out and yell at them. "Gods, mind your own business!"
They were exchanging heated words, completely unaware that another member of their group had quietly retreated. Ultimately, Anatoly stepped in and ended the endless argument.
"Alright, that's enough!" Anatoly shouted. "You want to quit, right? Fine, but after you quit, immediately write a bad review..."
“You don’t need to tell us, we’ll write it ourselves,” Thor said. “We’ve followed the entire process, but we’re inexplicably stuck. Of course, we deserve a bad review!”
"So, what on earth did those two go about?" Harley asked, puzzled. "Even if they were trapped, they shouldn't have been trapped for this long, right? With their abilities, they should have..."
Suddenly, with a "whoosh," all the lights went out. A slight vibration followed, and the sound of the winch turning became faint until it stopped completely.
"A power outage?" Harley asked, somewhat surprised. "Did someone cut off the power supply?"
“How is that possible? When we went to the central energy control room, didn’t we find that the power supply was protected?” Harley frowned and said, “There’s no switch on the outside of that thing, so there’s no way to turn it off by normal means. The organizers might need to use a remote control or something to turn it off.”
“Batman,” Anatoly said, “They can’t just give up like this; they’re definitely going to investigate the leads.”
"As expected, Batman will save the world again in the end?" Pamela said with some emotion. "He truly deserves to be called the savior."