The Loki in the image was also stunned, staring at the drawer filled with Infinity Stones. "What is this? Infinity Stones?" he asked, his voice trembling.
He couldn't believe his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things. Ever since entering this godforsaken place, he felt his intellect had dulled, his mind growing sluggish.
Otherwise, how could he be seeing a drawer full of Infinity Stones?
To be precise, since joining the Time Variance Authority, every event had made him feel like a complete fool.
All his pride, all his convictions, seemed like a joke under the TVA's relentless scrutiny.
Especially after Agent Mobius had revealed that everything he did was monitored and controlled by the TVA.
Any ripple he caused would immediately alert the TVA.
This made him feel utterly ridiculous, like a clown performing on the street while people pointed and laughed.
But he wasn't a clown!
He was stunned, disbelieving, and dumbfounded, clearly sharing the same reaction as the people watching from beyond the screen. It felt as if the world had collapsed and his entire worldview had shattered. He could barely stammer out, "How... how... how did you get these...?"
The Infinity Stones, which everyone in the universe desperately pursued, the very things Thanos, the terrifying Cosmic Overlord, had to go to such lengths to collect—these stones with their unimaginable powers—were here in such abundance?
Could they not be true Infinity Stones, but merely imitations?
*Right, these can't be real Infinity Stones! They must be fakes!*
The irony was crushing. He had once schemed to gather the Infinity Stones and conquer the universe, only to find them piled here like trinkets. In other words, even if he had painstakingly collected them all, what difference would it make? If they said he wasn't fit to be the Cosmic Overlord, then he wasn't. His fate simply didn't hold the power to become one.
What could he possibly do about that?
And the worst part was, this was just a low-level Time Variance Authority employee—so stupid he couldn't even tell what a fish was, and so weak he surrendered the Space Stone at the first threat.
If the Avengers had been this foolish back then, he would have already conquered the world and never ended up imprisoned here.
But unfortunately, the Avengers were simply too powerful and too clever.
*Wait, if I had ruled the world, I would have been captured here immediately.*
After all, the Time Variance Authority was the law enforcement agency for countless timelines. They would never allow someone like me to rule the world.
"Oh, we've got plenty of these!" said clerk Casey. "Yeah, some people use them as paperweights! Some!"
Loki was dumbfounded, and the Avengers watching the scene from beyond the screen were equally dumbfounded and bewildered.
*Infinity Stones! These are Infinity Stones!*
They desperately wanted to deny everything. No matter how much they had mentally prepared themselves, these were Infinity Stones!
These six objects that had only appeared at the dawn of the universe were apparently kept in a drawer here and used as paperweights.
What made it even worse was how casually this idiotic clerk had said it.
It made them question their own sanity.
After all, the Space Stone in their S.H.I.E.L.D. facility was guarded 24/7 and rarely allowed anyone near it.
Yet here at the Time Variance Authority, these Infinity Stones could be used as paperweights.
This event was undoubtedly a massive shock to their worldviews.
Even Loki was stunned. He picked up a Time Stone and stared at the scene before him, unable to deny what he was seeing.
Only then did he stand up and survey his surroundings, truly acknowledging this place for the first time. This wasn't a trap set by a weakling to deceive the strong; this was a place that could truly rule the entire multiverse.
This time, he truly believed it.
But the conclusion was far from welcome. If he had been brought here as a clown for someone's amusement, at least the captor had valued him, making him the center of attention. Now, he was just one of countless ants.
Even more tragic was the fact that he, a supervillain who had broken free from his predetermined life script, was now being dealt with for deviating from it.
"Is this the most powerful energy in the entire universe?" Loki had fully accepted the reality now, or rather, forced himself to accept it.
Those watching beyond the scene also pondered, "So this is the most powerful law enforcement agency in the entire universe?"
Though the Time Variance Authority had only shown a fraction of its power so far, many aspects still seemed clumsy and unpolished.
The staff weren't as competent as they'd imagined, and were riddled with all sorts of fools.
They hardly resembled a colossal power capable of ruling the universe. But when that drawer full of Infinity Stones appeared, everyone believed it was the most terrifying force in the cosmos.
What ordinary people would consider divine artifacts were here reduced to mere paperweights.
Once they accepted this reality, they understood why Lin Feng was so wary.
At that moment, the Black Female Officer and her team were closing in, but Loki had already returned to the original room.
He'd used a controller to instantly teleport himself back.
Loki got up, sat in Agent Mobius's former chair, and began playing the video.
The footage started with Queen Frigga's death—the very scene he'd intended to watch but hadn't yet.
Just the thought of his mother dying because of his own prank made his tears well up uncontrollably.
Next, he saw scenes involving his father, God-King Odin.
"I love you, my children!"
He saw Odin express his love, a rare sight, at least in Loki's memory.
He watched his father's approval, watched his father fade before his eyes.
He finally broke down in tears, a pain he had never felt in his life.
In that moment, he was no longer the so-called king who sought to rule Earth and the Nine Realms. He was just a child longing for everyone's acceptance. But what did he see?
His parents were dead, dying right before his eyes, and he had done nothing.
He was an orphan now. When he killed his biological father, he had felt nothing, because Laufey had abandoned him in a temple as an infant. How could that count as a father?
But witnessing the deaths of Odin and Queen Frigga was the first time he truly felt like an orphan.
Now, both his parents were gone. Though it hadn't happened yet, if Agent Mobius was right, this was his predetermined fate.
It hadn't happened yet, or rather, he hadn't experienced it yet. But in truth, it had already happened countless times, and it would happen again and again, endlessly.
So Loki had no real choice. He was already effectively orphaned, and his escape was merely a minor hiccup.
Especially after witnessing his parents' final moments—they hadn't shown the favoritism he'd always imagined—a tremendous warmth filled his heart.
Since learning he was a Frost Giant, he'd desperately wanted to prove himself, to seize an opportunity to demonstrate his worth. But he'd never been given the chance, which had driven him to resort to all sorts of underhanded tactics.
He didn't know when his obsession with the throne had begun, but at its core, it was simply his desire to prove to his parents that he was superior to Thor, that he was the true heir to Asgard, not that muscle-brained oaf.
But now it all felt meaningless. With his parents dead, who was left to prove himself to?
The scene continued to play, showing footage from *Thor: Ragnarok*. As he watched Thor and Loki's conversation, hearing his brother's genuine approval of him, tears welled up even more.
He'd never imagined his brother felt this way about him.
The approval of his parents and brother—things he'd once desperately longed for but could never attain—he had now received them all.
Even though it was in the future, and likely not *his* future as this Loki, he had ultimately obtained those things. He finally understood that he had truly been treated as family, not looked down upon for his Frost Giant blood.
At this moment, Loki finally found peace—peace with the obsession that had tormented him.
The Loki of this moment was smiling through tears.
Then he saw his own death: his failed attempt to deceive Thanos, and the crushing defeat of the Hulk, whom he had hoped to use as his trump card, a stark demonstration of Thanos' terrifying power.
Witnessing his entire life unfold before his eyes, from birth to death, filled him with profound emotion. After all, how many in this world could truly see their own demise?
He watched his brother collapse onto his corpse, weeping. Asgard was gone, his parents were gone, even his newborn sister was gone. All the obsessions of his life had turned to ashes.
As the archival footage ended, displaying the words "Archive Complete," he finally couldn't help but laugh.
The smile held both relief and a hint of self-mockery.
So this was it. The self-proclaimed Cosmic Overlord, the ambitious schemer, had amounted to nothing more than this.
His life's script had merely cast him as a clownish villain, nothing more.
Just then, the Black Female Officer had caught up to him. Instead, Loki effortlessly fastened the collar around her neck. With a press of a button, she vanished before his eyes.
Though Loki couldn't use magic and had repeatedly been outmatched by Thor and Hulk, he was still a god, far beyond the capabilities of mortals.
-----------------------
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