Amidst the swirling dust, Thor's body stood frozen, unmoving.
His gaze was locked intently not far away. Steve was helping a terrified Jane Foster to her feet, carefully checking her for injuries while continuously offering words of comfort.
That mortal soldier was covered in dirt and had some scrapes on his face, but in his blue eyes, there was no trace of fear, only pure concern.
"...When your head hasn't even figured out what to do, your body has already rushed forward for you..."
Steve's words echoed repeatedly in Thor's mind.
He considered himself to have lived for fifteen hundred years, witnessed countless brutal wars, and believed he was Asgard's bravest Warrior. Yet, he had never seen such a scene.
No war drums, no cheers, no glorious charge.
Just a mortal, in an unseen corner, without a second thought, using his own body to shield an unknown, vulnerable woman from mortal danger.
At this moment, Thor felt a shame he had never known before, searing his soul like a branding iron.
Dragging his heavy feet, he shuffled step by step until he stood before Steve.
Looking at Steve, this soldier he had clearly overpowered in their earlier fight, Thor's throat went dry. It took him a long moment to squeeze out a single question: "Why?"
Steve was taken aback for a second, then understood what he was asking.
"No reason," Steve patted the dust off his clothes, speaking calmly as if discussing the most ordinary thing. "I saw danger, someone needed help, so I went. That's all."
"That's all..." Thor repeated the words in a low voice, the confusion in his eyes slowly turning into understanding.
On the other side, Lin Huai watched the interaction between Thor and Steve with considerable satisfaction. Odin's "metamorphosis" plan seemed to be working well; Thor's transformation had reached its most critical stage.
Just then, the private communicator in his pocket suddenly vibrated urgently. The caller ID read — Tony Stark.
Lin Huai answered the call. Before he could even speak, Tony's voice roared from the other end, a rare mix of anger and anxiety.
"Lin!! We have a problem! My mansion is under attack! All of Jarvis's defense systems have been taken down by some unknown virus. Pepper's locked herself in the underground bunker, but they're trying to break the door down!"
"Fury says it's HYDRA. They know we're not in Malibu. I suspect they're after my arc reactor data."
A flash of insight struck Lin Huai's mind — a massive mechanical construct, the arc reactor.
"Coulson!" Lin Huai immediately roared at the Agent beside him with an uncompromising tone. "Prepare the quinjet, at the fastest speed possible. I need to get back to Malibu right now!"
He glanced at the distant Thunder God lost in thought, then at the hammer quietly embedded in the ground.
"Steve," he walked up to Captain America, his expression more grave than ever. "Watch Thor for me, don't let him out of your sight. This place... I leave it to you."
He didn't have time for lengthy explanations. Trustingly patting Steve on the shoulder, he turned and ran toward the quinjet, which was already warming up, without looking back.
The jet roared into the sky. Lin Huai stared out the window at the rapidly receding desert, his mind focused on a single thought: Faster, even faster!
As the quinjet faded into the distance, the noisy scene fell back into silence.
Thor sat on a bench in the rest area, elbows on his knees, staring blankly at his rough hands.
Steve stood silently beside him, fulfilling Lin Huai's request, his eyes scanning the surroundings with vigilance.
Suddenly, the clouds in the sky began to churn unnaturally. A bizarre light, a mix of eerie green and gold, flashed through the night and vanished.
A slender figure appeared silently not far from the two of them.
"Brother."
Loki's voice rang out, tinged with just the right amount of sorrow and urgency. He was dressed in Asgardian finery, but his face was etched with exhaustion.
Thor jerked his head up. Seeing the newcomer, the confusion in his eyes was instantly replaced by surprise and excitement.
"Loki! How did you get here? Father, he..."
"Father... has passed away." Loki's voice dropped low, his eyes reddening. "Because of your recklessness, the Nine Realms were thrown into chaos. Father exhausted himself trying to quell the fighting, and in the end... he literally worked himself to death."
"No... impossible!!" Thor staggered back as if struck by lightning, his face instantly turning pale.
"Mother is in grave danger now. She sent me to bring you back." Loki took a step forward, looking at Thor with "sincerity" in his eyes. "Laufey of Jotunheim has allied with the Dark Elves. They could invade Asgard at any moment. Brother, we need you. Asgard needs you, its new king!"
The lie was woven seamlessly, filled with a desperate sense of truth. Thor's mind went blank, crushed by immense grief and the sudden weight of responsibility.
"Wait."
Steve Rogers took a step forward, blocking Thor. His star shield gleamed with steadfast light. He didn't understand their language, but he felt an intensely dangerous falseness from this suddenly appearing "brother."
"Who are you?" Steve asked in English, his eyes sharp as an eagle's.
The sorrow on Loki's face vanished instantly, replaced by the cold annoyance of an interrupted performance.
"A noisy insect," he said contemptuously, a golden scepter materializing in his hand.
"Never mind, I'm done acting. Goodbye, brother!"
He gently tapped the scepter on the ground.
"BOOM——!"
Above the sky, the light of the Bifrost Bridge shone once more. But this time, the light was no longer dazzling; it was filled with an aura of destruction and cold killing intent.
A massive metallic figure, trailing a fiery wake, plummeted from the sky like a meteor and crashed heavily onto a small town road not far away!
It was a humanoid battle armor made entirely of unknown metal, standing three meters tall. Its surface was engraved with ancient runes, and a searing beam shot from the single-eyed visor, instantly melting a roadside car into molten iron.
Destroyer!
"Forgot to tell you, brother." The smile on Loki's face became incredibly eerie. "Mother believes you are the traitor of Asgard. She sent me... to clean house."
He raised the scepter, aiming it at the Destroyer.
The Destroyer lifted its visor, locking onto the distant Thor. Then, it took heavy steps towards the town center. Everything in its path was incinerated to ash by the destructive beam from its single eye.
"No! Loki! Stop!!" He roared as he watched the Destroyer turn everything along its path to ash!
But he had already lost his divine power and could only watch helplessly.
"Captain!" Coulson rushed over with a team of Agents. Looking at the unstoppable metal Monster, his face turned pale. "The civilians aren't fully evacuated yet!"
Steve didn't hesitate for a moment.
"Everyone, cover the civilian evacuation! I'll hold it off!"
He glanced at the despairing Thor, then at the war hammer embedded in the dirt in the distance. Holding his star shield in front of him, he resolutely charged towards the metal Monster.