Sif had long since learned not to listen to Loki's nonsense. She looked at the crystal that had fallen to the ground and asked, "What is that?"
"I don't know either. But it might turn the child in your belly into a black-haired one," Loki shrugged, "and it might become the only black-haired heir in Asgard."
"It is not the heir." Sif noticed that Foster seemed to be caught in some kind of nightmare. She gently laid Foster down and used her divine power to examine her condition, "Helen is."
"Helen?"
"Helene Loki Dotter. Although some insist it should be Helen Stark, I've always stood with Asgard."
Upon hearing this name, Loki's expression went blank for a moment.
It's necessary to mention that the naming rules in Northern European countries are different from the surname rules in most parts of the world. Northern Europeans derive their surnames from their father's name.
For example, Thor's full name is Thor Odinson. "Odinson" is his surname, and the "son" literally means "son," meaning "son of Odin" in direct translation.
And although comics and movies never mention Hela's full name, it's likely "Hela Odin Dottir," where the "dottir" means "daughter," literally translating to "daughter of Odin."
What is peculiar is Loki, whose official full name is "Loki Laufeyson," meaning "son of Laufey," because his biological father is the King of Frost Giants, Laufey.
Generally speaking, this surname rule only applies to biological fathers. That is to say, if parents divorce, and a child gets a stepfather or adoptive father, they would not change their surname to reflect them but would continue to use their biological father's name.
This means that only biological brothers with the same father will have the same surname; stepbrothers or adopted brothers will not.
However, Loki from the Central Universe is different. Odin once called him "Odinson," and his surname was changed to Odinson, meaning, under Asgardian law, he is Odin's biological son and Thor's biological brother.
This is very significant because Asgard does not have a noble class. Asgardians have ranks and positions like generals or officers, but there are no dukes or earls. Even after significant military achievements, they won't receive noble titles.
There's only one exception—the royal family with blood ties to the divine king. Only members related to the Queen of Gods would have noble titles. Precisely because Thor and Loki share the same last name, Loki's title as prince is more legitimate.
If they were still foster brothers with different last names, Loki would be a prince of a different name, making it easy to spark disputes over whether more nobles with different last names should be granted titles based on merit. Especially since at that time, Loki had no particularly outstanding contributions, easily leading to "why grant him a title and not me" issues.
In general, no one dared to oppose Odin and Thor directly, but a lack of action doesn't mean they wouldn't complain. They wouldn't confront Odin or Thor directly, but they'd become increasingly hostile toward Loki. Thus, changing Loki's surname before his coronation could avoid most legal disputes.
And the name "Loki Dottir" already indicates Helen is Loki's daughter, which is not a problem. No rule says Loki can't have children.
But, Sif said the heir of Asgard has the surname Loki Dottir, doesn't that seem off?
Loki's expression was as if, having traveled through millions of timelines via the Time Management Bureau, his brain was overwhelmed with information, performing a facial rendition of "Instantaneous Universe."
It's known, Thor is the divine king, and his child should be the next divine king. Additionally, the next divine king's surname is Loki Dottir. Question: Who are Helen's parents?
"I know what you're thinking," Sif said, "but I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. Helen's father is Stark, yes, Iron Man Tony Stark."
Loki's barely recovering brain exploded again.
He was silent for several minutes before finally saying, "So you're saying that Iron Man and I have a child, and you and Thor decided she should be the next divine king of Asgard?"
Sif nodded.
"Can I ask... exactly what considerations you had..." Loki stammered, "This child isn't even Aesir, she doesn't have a divine bloodline..."
"No, she does. Her divine power does indeed come from Thor. The specifics are complicated, and I can't explain them, but she's a good heir, bringing both destruction and rebirth to Asgard."
"You're truly mad," Loki remarked.
"No, this just skips the part where you kill Thor to succeed him, and then pass the throne to your own child," Sif provided a fresh explanation, "It saves you the trouble, doesn't it?"
"But you... you are the Queen of Gods, the heir to the throne isn't your child..."
"In your universe, isn't the heir to the throne also not the child of the Queen of Gods?" Sif said, "Thor's biological mother is Gaia, not Frigga, and it hasn't affected anything, has it?"
Loki was speechless.
Sif stood up from the bedside and approached Loki, then said, "From thinking black hair is something to ridicule, to finding it crazy that Asgard's heir is named Loki Dottir, Loki, why are you so self-conscious?"
Loki felt as if he'd heard the biggest joke of all time, "Self-conscious?! Ha..."
Sif just stared at him, watching the mockery and sarcasm in those green eyes, and said calmly, "You don't seem to like yourself very much, from your appearance to your identity. You are ashamed of these things, avoiding showing praise and recognition for them. Why do that? Just because you're not Aesir?"
"Shut up, you crazy woman!" Loki bared his upper lip, squeezing his words through his teeth, "Does Thor know you're slandering me like this?!"
"I'm not slandering you," Sif said, "This makes you very different from the Loki of my universe. He wouldn't have such self-loathing like you. Why is that?"
"Don't act like you know me well," Loki stepped back, his gaze as cold as ice, "If you provoke me again, I'll take you and that little one inside you and..."
"Crack!"
A bolt of lightning struck down, and Loki was lying down again. Sif placed Mjölnir aside: "I don't know you, but your brother knows you very well, that's why he gave me this."
After she finished speaking, she no longer paid attention to Loki and went to check on Foster. Foster was already mostly stable, her breathing became calm, and then she slowly opened her eyes.
"Sif?... Is that you, Sif?"
Sif nodded and said, "It's me, have you regained your memory?"
Foster still appeared somewhat dazed, she blinked and said, "I feel like I had a very long dream."
"That wasn't a dream," Sif sighed, "it's all that you truly experienced. I know this universe's God Clan brought you a lot of harm, but..."
Foster suddenly grabbed her hand, turned her head to look at her, and asked, "Where's Thor? Where is he?"
"You..." Sif hesitated a little, unsure of Foster's attitude. Although considering what she went through, she had valid reasons either way to love or hate, but if she was still filled with resentment, Sif wasn't sure she could persuade her.
Foster lay on the pillow, her gaze somewhat unfocused, but soon she looked at Sif again and said, "You saved me, for Thor."
"Well..." Sif didn't really want to dwell on this, she could only admit that this universe's Sif indeed had a bit of a love-struck mindset.
"I'm glad I regained this part of my memory," Foster said, "Forgetting Thor might have been blissful for me, but then I'd never know about you sacrificing yourself to save me."
Sif breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed Foster's love-struck mindset had healed quite a bit, perhaps because she was simply too exhausted from her many experiences, she finally seemed like a normal person again.
"It's like this, Jane..." Sif briefly explained the current situation, then added, "Asgard owes you a lot, but Thor also has his duties. I won't ask you to forgive, I just don't want you to be used by someone with ulterior motives, as it could greatly impact your future life."
"I won't say that it was Thor who was at fault," Foster slowly sat up from the bed, "I believe the one at fault from the beginning was Odin."
Sif wanted to open her mouth to comfort, but when she heard the name "Odin," a flash of inspiration sparkled through her mind.
Yes, Odin, a name that typically wouldn't be on Sif's suspect list, appeared here so unexpectedly, making it impossible for Sif to ignore it as she had before.
Instinctively, Sif wouldn't think the Father of All Gods was wrong, for two reasons. On one hand, loyalty to the Father of All Gods is an instinct for every Asgard Warrior. They have received such education since childhood, so their beliefs are hard to change. On the other hand, Odin indeed never made mistakes, his life is almost perfect, at least in Sif's eyes, it is perfect.
So, when she considered this universe's Thor's emotional experiences and Loki's actions, she did not think in Odin's direction. But now it seems, Odin might actually be the source of all these tragedies.
So-called disharmony among children is often due to the elder lacking virtue, this saying applies perfectly to these three. Sif couldn't imagine how this universe's Odin raised Loki to be both self-abased and arrogant, and how he managed to turn his son's emotional life into such a mess, with no one ending up happy in the end — choosing wrongly on all counts isn't common.
"Even so, I won't say much," Foster said, "I really enjoy my current peaceful life, and I don't intend to change it, nor do I want to have any more involvement with the God Clan. Ah, except for you, Sif, we can be friends, but that's it for anyone else."
"As for those who want to use me to slander Thor, I won't let them succeed. When the superheroes fought a while back, my family and I were on edge, and we can't withstand it happening again. I just hope Thor can be a good Lord and not let ordinary people fall into the flames of war again."
"I will pass this message to him," Sif said.
To avoid attracting the attention of Foster's family, Sif quickly left with Loki. Before leaving, she also took away the strange crystal, planning to investigate what it was, perhaps to find the behind-the-scenes manipulator.
She threw Loki in the alley behind the hotel and, after finishing up back in her room, lay in bed lost in thought. Thor turned over and cuddled her, asking, "What's wrong? Why so sullen?"
"I was thinking," Sif said, "Do you think the Father of All Gods is partial?"
"What? Partial about what?"
Sif also turned over to look at him and said, "Standing separately in your and Loki's shoes, would you feel that the Father of All Gods is partial?"
Thor seemed a bit surprised by her question, he thought about it seriously for a while, then said, "I think we would only feel that he has done his best."