The green flame flickered, casting a ghastly pallor over the faces of both Lokis, the younger wanting to ask questions while the elder already knew the question.
He even knew what choice his other self would make, for it was through countless choices that he had become who he was today.
The God of Story.
It was a long tale, a mysterious journey, constantly cycling between life and death, all merely a narrative.
Being good or bad no longer mattered; he was Loki, and he had laid a trap for his past self.
"The Cosmos teeters on the brink of destruction, perhaps because someone has informed Mephisto about the Crown of Fear, and he'll soon obtain it, tonight."
The elder Loki watched his younger self standing below, bewilderment etched on the youthful features, as he reminisced about the past.
The Crown of Fear was forged from 'Nightmare,' with the raw material being Loki's thoughts and emotions; he had brought it into this era, naturally also revealing its existence to the Hell Demon King.
A transaction.
Yet in the current situation, only Loki himself could resolve it; he calculated the time Mephisto needed to acquire the crown, after all, the story was authored by him.
Although the subsequent text was merely filled with scribbles and jokes.
"A crown? What's its use?"
"It has many uses, but primarily to collect fear transformed into power; Hell's Satan position has long been vacant, and when Mephisto dons the crown and sits upon it, all realms will become Purgatory."
"Fear? The relentless invasions, the World Tree's fiery outbreak, is all to extract Asgard's fear? Was the Twilight of the Gods merely an illusion?"
"I don't know, perhaps because the first fear birthed by those never afraid before is all the sweeter?"
The young Loki took a deep breath, as the elder Loki responded with a smile that was not quite a smile.
Just as he himself declared, he was the most untrustworthy person, within these answers perhaps only a tenth was truth, yet the young self couldn't discern it.
Young Loki's current knowledge confirmed only one thing, that Mephisto must not ascend to the 'Satan' throne.
The power among the Lords of Hell varied little, thus Hell Plane currently existed in a prolonged state of balance, but any additional power could upset this many-sided balance, serving as the final straw.
To wield the power of fear, meant likely gaining the allegiance of seven Lords of Fear, which was no mere straw — it was adding a mountain to the balance scale.
"There must be other ways, you know a way, don't you?"
The young Loki tugged at his hair, his pale forehead marked red from his grasp, turning his gaze towards the figure in flames.
Old Loki spread his hands, displaying his semi-transparent soul to Loki: "I'm just a fragment of a story, now I'm powerless, but you can stop him, only you can."
"How to do it?"
"The crown is forged from 'your' thoughts and dreams; if they cease to exist, so too will the crown."
The figure calling himself a story lightly spoke the solution, yet this answer left the young Loki momentarily indecisive.
How to erase a person's thoughts?
Depriving an individual of life can't eradicate thoughts, it's necessary to erase an individual's existence from history and story to achieve it.
Loki considered other methods; he wasn't a hero, unwilling to trade his life and existence for some cosmic continuation, wanting to flee to another Cosmos.
"He'll ascend the throne tonight, becoming the new Satan," old Loki said calmly.
"Let me think, it's not too late, I can think of other methods." Young Loki clutched his forehead, the taut skin making his eyes feel like they would burst from their sockets.
"Perhaps not too late for ultimate victory, but too late for Mother and Thor; you might find a way to escape alone, but you can't take them with you."
The elder Loki's gaze lowered, his robe swayed with the flame as if merging with it.
"Let me think..."
"You retain a portion of 'me' in your mind, it's not really you; let it overwrite your soul, change you, then your thoughts will no longer exist, nor will the crown."
"Why not use my thoughts to overwrite yours?"
"Because you can't, just as a stone can crush an ant, a leaf can't cover the ocean." The two Lokis gazed at each other across the space, the young face revealing frustration and doubt, while the elder remained quite calm.
"No, there must be another way."
"Perhaps there is, but you don't have time to find it; neither Mother nor your brother has time to find it, death has long been destined, the Asgardians never had any choice of path."
"A dead me is still me."
"Mm, at least not dying in the Twilight of the Gods, this is a new story."
"So you're trying to change? Coming from the future, to alter Asgard's fate?"
"Of course, but first, we must resolve the current crisis, or no one will get to witness the Twilight of the Gods."
In the underground secret chamber, the two Lokis communicated with identical voices, even unable to distinguish who was speaking.
And the Black Crow, seemingly appearing from nowhere, landed on the stone platform within the circle of fire, perching one claw on the Golden Horned Helmet.
Due to birds' eyes positioned on the sides of their heads, when it stood between the two, despite one Loki being old and the other young, it only saw one Loki.
Young Loki fell silent, weighing options; he didn't care about others' lives, but his mother and Thor...
The elder Loki urged him with a calm tone: "The more you delay, the harder it'll become to salvage, but witnessing the endless suffering of billions across the Cosmos, watching your mother and brother turn to ashes in the Hellfire, for someone like you, perhaps that's a kind of pleasure?"
"Shut up! You know it isn't!"
Old Loki smirked: "Change is my sole purpose, and I suspect, Loki would only sacrifice for saving Loki."
Sacrifice, a strange word, was never in Loki's dictionary.
But when it suddenly became the only choice, young Loki could face it calmly; he was a Prince of Asgard, and this seemingly unfamiliar word was never distant.
He figured some things out and smiled, a cunning smile as always.
"By Odin, I just realized how much I hate when I play word games, you want to replace me just for my good reputation, you need a clean prince identity to do some things."
"Oh, I really haven't thought about it."
"Don't lie, we are both Loki."
"Haha, alright, I know what you want to do, you want a real farewell, then consider it my last gift to you. You can find three people to talk to privately, but everything about here and the future must be kept secret." Old Loki smiled, maybe it's history, maybe it's a story, but it's all supposed to be.
Back in the day, he agreed to the conditions of his future self, and even remembers which three people he found very clearly.
He pursued change, but reality didn't change at all. This contrast left him with no expression but laughter.
"I promise you."
The young Loki nodded to agree, decided and must execute immediately, time was urgent.
A gap appeared in the fiery circle behind, young Loki turned and left, while the once illusionary green flames somehow showed its true face, it was the genuine Netherworld fire, deep green Hell.
If Loki didn't believe his future self's words, couldn't reach the agreement, he wouldn't be able to leave.
And now old Loki allowed him to leave after the agreement was reached, indicating that the things old Loki said were true; young Loki was free to verify.
As long as he didn't mind delaying time, letting mother and brother die...
Loki felt the flames icy and bone-chilling, but had no heart to care about old Loki's prank, he had to find his brother.
He didn't completely trust his older self, at least couldn't trust completely, he must leave a safeguard for the future.
.........
"Stop chasing me, you fool!"
"Stop running, I'm going to teach you a good lesson today!"
In a corner of Asgard, here was a garden affected by the war, cursed warriors almost dismantled all the buildings here, leaving only large trees and shattered flower beds among the ruins.
Earlier, Loki used a clone to divert Thor, leading Thor to fall into mud pits, crash into haystacks, knock over bee hives, and run into women's toilets.
Now Thor was extremely embarrassed, covered in black mud, straw turning him into a hedgehog, bees and those women making his face red and swollen.
Thor was ashamed and angry; he just wanted to catch Loki and give him a beating.
But suddenly, the Loki in front of him vanished, a new Loki emerged from behind a tree.
Thor hesitated a little, unsure if this was real; having been tricked by illusions for thousands of years, he's somewhat experienced now. He immediately looked at the grass between the two, wondering if there was a dung pit or spiked trap.
But Loki suddenly ran over and hugged him, the real tactile feeling left Thor even more confused.
"Loki? What's wrong?"
His hand holding Mjolnir was placed down; Loki seemed to be crying, his body trembling.
Loki was indeed crying, not as tall as Thor, so when he raised his head, Thor saw his face covered in tear stains.
Loki didn't want to die, didn't want even his existence to be erased, but it was the only way.
"Thor, promise me, if one day I become evil, you must kill me."
"..."
Thor frowned, throwing Mjolnir aside, looking at his brother's strange appearance, why suddenly say such things? Wasn't he having fun just now?
"Loki, I... absolutely won't."
"Thor, you don't understand..."
"I don't need to understand, you're my brother, I will protect you."
Thor interrupted Loki, placing a big hand on Loki's shoulder, squeezing it hard, like trying to convey confidence to Loki.
"We all know how the story ends, in the Twilight of the Gods, I will cause all your deaths."
Thor patted Loki's head, decisively said, "I won't let the story happen that way, nor will you, I will never give up on you."
Loki rubbed his eyes, his purpose failed, but for some reason, he was very happy.
"Thor, you're truly the biggest fool in the Nine Realms."
Loki, with tears in his eyes, embraced him, patted Thor's armor, looked at his face and beard, as if trying to remember everything.
Then he suddenly lifted Thor's cloak, covering his head, and slipped out of Thor's arms, casting a Water Magic turning Thor into a drenched chicken.
Wet cloak and long hair tangled together, Thor struggled to free his head, watching Loki turning to make a face and swiftly escaping.
"Haha! Tricked you? Come chase me!"
"I'll beat you to death today!"
Thor roared, liquid spouting from his nostrils, unclear if it was water or snot, he grabbed Mjolnir from the ground and chased Loki.
After the two figures grew distant, the real Loki emerged from behind the tree, holding onto a broken branch, letting tears slide down his face.
"Goodbye, brother..."