Silence, after Su Ming finished speaking, Loki could only remain silent.
His eyes kept darting around as he pondered whether these were truly the truth; sometimes the words spoken by Deathstroke could be extremely misleading.
As if afraid of being seen by someone.
Although Deathstroke doesn't directly communicate with imagined audiences like Deadpool, he seems to have similar symptoms, except he prefers deceit or concealment, as if avoiding some higher level 'Watcher' brought forth by his imagination.
He doesn't talk to himself or attempt to communicate with so-called audiences, but he always hides certain things from nonexistent spectators, as if performing magic...
Loki suspected this was a hereditary condition of the Wilson family, a form of paranoia?
As he was contemplating, Deathstroke spoke again, his deep voice ringing in Loki's ear.
"Have you ever thought that we are all paper people? Living on paper or in movies, manipulated by invisible hands?"
Loki had confirmed that this was indeed some kind of illness, as only three people in the entire universe had said this to him.
One was Deadpool, whether in the past or future, he'd always claimed he was an actor, with many people watching his every move, requiring him to focus on his performance.
Sometimes he would suddenly disappear, claiming to find an editor to revise the plot and introduce more voluptuous female villains.
He viewed the entire world as a stage where everyone was acting, and nothing was real, seeing death merely as leaving the stage after getting a boxed meal.
This made him fear neither life nor death, living recklessly, as prominent actors in the crew never had to consider others' thoughts.
The other was Thanos; the paper people hypothesis changed him from a tyrant to an idyllic poet, leading him into puzzles.
Exploring whether everything is real, and what is illusion?
What is the relationship between the existence of the universe and higher dimensions?
These philosophical dialectics, unsolvable problems, led Thanos to put down his weapons and pick up a hoe, as if realizing that no matter what he did usually, he would be the universe's eraser when the 'editors' wanted.
The last one, then, was Deathstroke.
In the original history, his meeting with Deathstroke occurred in the distant future, only after Deathstroke had thwarted another appearance by Thanos that he spoke such words to Loki.
And now, the timeline had advanced significantly, the story indeed seemed to have changed in this regard.
Yet the words spoken had not changed, not a single character had.
Can this really change the world?
Even if repeated a thousand times by fools, Loki would not believe it. For instance, regardless of what lofty principles Thor preached, Loki would not be convinced.
But if at a critical moment the same principle was spoken by different intelligent people, and it related to the essence of the world, it inevitably made Loki think more deeply.
"Are you saying that above the God of Gods are unknown existences, and they are also driven tools?"
Loki's mind was quick; with just a brief reflection, he immediately grasped the meaning of Deathstroke's current words.
Su Ming removed the cigarette from his mouth, spat to the side: "Just a speculation, but from your reaction, my future self likely still hasn't found evidence."
"Then what is our purpose for existing? Clowns for entertainment, or fuel for some super engine, or bacteria within a Giant with self-thinking?" Loki removed his helmet, gently placing it beside him, calmly questioning the Mercenary.
"Why ask about meaning?"
Wade tilted his head and interjected, wasn't he here to chop heads? How did the topic become like a university lecture?
"Ultimately, you still want to break out of an unseen circular boundary, but what you should do first is find where the circle is, then you can apply force, right?"
Su Ming glanced at Wade and thought having no care in the world sometimes is truly good. He then looked at Loki's somewhat thoughtful face, recalling his situation.
Like him, a Transmigrator; no matter how visible and tangible everything around was, there was always a sense of unreality.
It was like something originally three-dimensional suddenly becoming two-dimensional.
Perhaps indeed someone eating instant noodles at home suddenly transmigrated, immediately accepting reality, taking the stories read before as reasonable and embarking on a heaven-defying journey in the New World without a care...
But that should only be possible for novel protagonists, right?
Yet reflecting on his experiences, Su Ming felt a chill...
He had always been pondering if he had 'become a protagonist,' trapped by some unseen black hand. Due to this reason, he had probed several times and the answers only made him more alarmed.
But what exactly did he discover? He wouldn't say, he wouldn't even think of it in his mind; he relied on contemplating using the many residual personalities of Deathstroke within his body.
It was a truly hidden world, a purely white world, in which what numerous personalities were thinking remained unknown.
With this trait, he could ascertain his situation, while devising some plans, but like the birthday wish before blowing candles, saying it out loud would make it ineffective.
"Circle... is it a circle?"
Loki murmured, realizing something. Wasn't this a vicious cycle? The fate of the entire Asgard was always a circle!
Foolishly believing that changing time could break free, yet unable to see clearly, and now it was too late.
"Figured it out? Then I'll send you on your way now."
No matter how Loki struggled, above the God of Gods lay layer upon layer of other stories; Loki's current actions are futile, he hasn't found a fundamental solution to the problem.
The Parallel World might have been achieved, but it remains under the unknown's control. To leap out of this circle, the required power is far from merely a story.
Su Ming took a deep drag on his cigarette, snuffed it out for safekeeping, and pulled out Godslayer from his waist.
"Uh, the way? Didn't you say you wouldn't kill me?" Loki was suddenly awake.
"Really, not kill, this is just physical anesthesia; I need to turn you back to your former self." The electric-light flickering Godslayer transformed into a massive hammer, which Deathstroke spun in his hand.
"Hoo..."
The dagger, engraved with a large-eyed owl, slipped into Deadpool's chest again, its blade exuding a faint black glow, making the bird stand out in the night.
"I... uh..."
Wade had 'passed' again, collapsing like a wooden stake.
And just within the brief moment of his falling, Su Ming whispered something to Loki that no one else could hear, widening Loki's eyes.
"Really?"
"I said nothing, and you heard nothing." Su Ming denied flatly.
"Alright, it seems I wasn't so damned after all." Loki let out a long sigh, closing his eyes: "Do it then, as you said."
Su Ming flexed his fingers, raised the big hammer, for knocking on heads without cracking them open is a technical task.
"Wait, can I say something to my son?"
Just then, the real Odin rode in on the Eight-legged Celestial Horse, its hooves leaving a series of crisp sounds on the Rainbow Bridge.