Aside from her ambition for the throne, Arthur chose not to mention Hela's other strange fascination.
After all… when someone is coveting your looks, that kind of personal information needs to be carefully guarded.
Loki and Thor were both stunned into silence. They glanced at each other, both realizing this revelation was completely different from what either of them had anticipated.
Thor rubbed his face, feeling as though his entire worldview had just been shaken. "Arthur, it's not that I doubt you, but… you're seriously saying we have an older sister?"
"It's you who has an older sister, not we!" Loki corrected him immediately, eyes wide.
Thor ignored him and looked straight at Arthur.
Arthur could only sigh wearily. "To explain this… we truly have to start at the very beginning. Honestly, this is clearly your family's business, so why am I the one who knows the entire history?"
He began explaining everything from start to finish, meticulously sorting out all the complex relationships and events as clearly as possible.
In truth, the relationships themselves weren't complicated; it was the numerous, dramatic events woven in between them that made the story so dense.
Odin's chaotic parenting, Hela's terrifying ambition, Loki's emotional turmoil, and Thor's hard-won growth, all the threads were tightly intertwined.
When Arthur finished his detailed explanation, Loki finally reacted after a thoughtful half-minute. With a strange look of genuine awe, he said: "Whoa! Cool!"
Thor's face darkened with frustration. What in the nine realms was cool about this entire situation?
An older sister imprisoned in the void, waiting for their father to die so she can jump out and violently take over all of Asgard.
And to top it off, Arthur had known this for a long time, and due to Odin's ridiculous machinations, Arthur had even gone on multiple "blind dates" with Hela. Of course, their blind dates were the kind ordinary mortals would never survive.
They usually ended in a city-level brawl!
"So what you're telling us is, all our fighting is meaningless. According to you, our sister is overwhelmingly powerful. Even if Loki and I teamed up, we wouldn't be a match for her?" Thor looked at Arthur, his mind reeling. "And you've already fought her several times? And even made an agreement? A three-round match, and you've completed how many so far?"
"The second one." Arthur admitted plainly. "There's still the final round. If I lose, then she'll be coming straight for the two of you."
"I fear nothing!" Thor roared, flexing instinctively. "But I would have preferred to know the truth from the very beginning!"
"Hear, hear!" Loki instantly raised his hand in agreement. Then he asked, with sudden pragmatism, "But one thing, if you lose, doesn't that mean Thor and I permanently lose Asgard?"
"Obviously," Arthur confirmed with a slight nod.
Loki thought for a brief moment, then turned to Thor with sudden sincerity. "In that case, I think you are definitely the most suitable heir to the throne!"
"…GET OUT OF HERE!!!"
Thor was absolutely furious, his eyes flashing.
Arthur waved a hand to settle the tension. "I'm telling you all this not to make you despair about the future. In fact, having fought her twice, I'm almost certain that in the third battle, my chances of winning are very high. Once that's handled, the whole succession issue ends.
What I truly want you to understand is this, Asgard is not just a simplistic game played between the two of you…"
Thor frowned and looked accusingly at Loki.
Loki casually whistled and looked up at the ornate ceiling, completely unconcerned. For some strange reason, after hearing about Hela's existence, all of his earlier dramatic emotions instantly evaporated.
He said absently, "Well, I'm certainly done playing my part, then."
"This isn't about playing," Thor insisted, turning back to Arthur. "I want to meet her."
"You'll have your chance," Arthur promised. "And compared to the impending threat she represents, the petty grudges and rivalry between the two of you are utterly trivial."
"Then what is truly important for us right now?" Thor asked, feeling strangely adrift.
Initially, he believed that once the truth was revealed, he would finally reach a clear-cut ending. Whether that meant continuing that pointless game with Loki or moving on to something new, anything felt better than their current stalemate.
But judging from the present situation, reality had vastly exceeded his expectations.
Hela.
An Asgardian goddess whose power was overwhelmingly extreme!
So powerful that even though Arthur had fought her repeatedly, almost every attempt ended in utter failure.
Thor might not fully comprehend how terrifying Hela truly was, but he understood Arthur's strength intimately.
This was the man who had climbed, step by step, to a peak that defied imagination right before Thor's eyes. By now, Thor couldn't even gauge Arthur's true limits.
Faced with someone like that, Thor didn't even harbor the ambition to challenge him. And yet Hela, a being capable of defeating Arthur, what kind of monster must she be?
He let out a deep, defeated sigh, his entire posture conveying helplessness.
"I am not telling you all this to make you feel discouraged."
Arthur surveyed the two of them before continuing, his voice firm. "Before Odin left, he hoped Asgard could secure a perfect future. Whatever his actual motives were back then, he dragged me onto this ridiculous ship with him. And foolishly enough, I agreed, I actually became a working member of this damn family business. I promised him I would protect Asgard. And I intend to see that promise through to the bitter end. Whether it's Hela or anyone else, even the two of you, you are not allowed to turn Asgard into a ruin right under my nose!"
"I'm telling you this because I want you to understand that Asgard is far more than a simple game of succession. There are greater crises, greater possibilities. Do you really believe all the threats to Asgard have already vanished? They haven't, have they? If the two of you continue fighting each other like this, what do you honestly think the future of Asgard will look like? Have you even stopped to consider that consequence?"
Arthur's long, impassioned speech left Thor stunned for a moment.
He slowly turned his head toward Loki. Loki frowned thoughtfully and then asked, "In his script… is there even a place for me to exist?"
His voice wasn't loud, and he seemed somewhat lacking in his usual confidence, but he still spoke clearly, straightening his back as he waited for the answer.
Arthur nodded reassuringly. "Although they never said it directly, I know they hoped to fundamentally change Asgard's fate… to rewrite the legendary, doomed cycle of Ragnarök."
Ragnarök.
The word itself rang out harshly and soberingly in both their ears.
Thor shook off his daze and straightened his imposing frame. "Then what exactly should we do?"
Arthur smiled faintly. "Unite. The two of you, one unmatched in cunning, the other unmatched in raw strength, and add to that the bottomless well of power that is Hela. Are you truly worried that Asgard's future can't be changed? In the complex puzzle that Odin and I put together, the two of you were always considered indispensable pieces. And likewise… Hela is too."
(End of chapter)
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