Odin was silent for a long time, while Frigga clasped her hands, her eyes filled with unbearable pain and worry.
"Isn't it too early now?" Odin hesitated and said, "He is still so young..."
"It is precisely because he is young." Mavuika said softly but firmly: "His worldview has not yet fully solidified, and his ability to accept things is stronger. If we wait until he grows up and discovers the truth from others or by accident, that feeling of being deceived and kept in the dark might cause deeper harm and estrangement."
She looked at Odin: "Father, you adopted Loki with the hope that he could become a bridge between the two races, not a phantom kept in the dark. A bridge needs a solid foundation, and the truth is the most solid foundation."
Odin finally nodded: "You are right, Mavuika. Lies cannot build a high tower. Tell Loki, in the most appropriate way."
Thus, on a sunny afternoon, Mavuika took Thor and Loki to the quiet garden behind the Golden Palace.
She let Thor go aside to practice throwing his small wooden hammer first—Thor went off happily—and then pulled Loki to sit on a stone bench.
Loki seemed to have a premonition of something, his ice-blue eyes looking quietly at his sister.
Mavuika did not beat around the bush. She held Loki's small hand, her palm warm and steady.
"Loki..." She spoke softly: "Today, sister wants to tell you a very important story about you."
She began to tell it.
From the ice and snow of Jotunheim to the ice cave on the edge of the battlefield, to Odin's decision, to Frigga's embrace...
She recounted everything calmly, without beautifying it, nor deliberately playing up the sadness.
She told Loki that his bloodline came from the Frost Giants, that his skin was once pale blue, and that there had been the prototype of ice crystals on his forehead.
She also told him how Odin and Frigga treated him as their own, how Thor treated him as his own brother, and how she herself had decided from the very beginning to protect this small, innocent life.
Loki listened quietly, his little face expressionless.
But Mavuika could feel that the hand he was holding hers with was trembling slightly.
When the story was finished, the garden was silent.
Only the faint sound of Thor practicing his throws, "Hey-ha," could be heard in the distance.
After a long while, Loki lowered his head and looked at his own hands.
"So..." His voice was very soft, carrying the tremor of a child trying hard to suppress his emotions.
"I am not an Asgardian? I am... an enemy?"
"No, Loki." Mavuika lifted his face, making him look into her eyes.
"Bloodline is just a part of you, not your whole. You are a child of the Odinson family, Thor's brother, Hela's brother, my brother, and Mother's most beloved youngest son. You grew up in Asgard, as a son of Odin; this is your home."
She wiped away the tears silently sliding down the corner of Loki's eyes, her voice even gentler.
"Knowing your roots is not meant to make you suffer or feel lost, but to let you know yourself more completely. You possess the bloodline of the Frost Giants, and you also possess the upbringing of Asgard; you may be naturally sensitive to frost, while also learning the warmth of fire."
"This makes you unique, Loki. You can understand the languages of two Worlds and can become a bond connecting the two races... if you are willing."
Loki was silent for a long time.
Confusion, sadness, and a hint of grievance at being kept in the dark flashed in his eyes, but in the end, under Mavuika's unwavering, warm gaze, these emotions gradually settled and dissolved.
He threw himself into Mavuika's arms, hugged her tightly, and began to sob softly.
Mavuika gently patted his back, letting him vent his emotions.
She knew that this intelligent and sensitive child needed time to digest all of this.
Thor seemed to sense something. He ran over holding his small wooden hammer. Seeing Loki crying, his round face was full of confusion and anxiety: "Loki? What's wrong? Who bullied you? I'll help you beat them up!"
Loki raised his head from Mavuika's arms and looked at Thor's silly face, which was full of concern and righteous indignation. He suddenly burst into a "pfft" laugh, tears still hanging on his face.
"No one bullied me, stupid Thor." He wiped his face, his voice still a bit stuffy: "It's just sand in my eyes."
Thor scratched his head: "Oh... do you want me to blow on it for you?"
Watching the interaction between her two younger brothers, Mavuika also smiled.
She knew the most difficult hurdle had been passed.
Loki accepted the truth, and Thor... he didn't care about what bloodline his brother had; he only cared that this was his brother.
In the days that followed, Loki did have a period of silence and contemplation.
But Mavuika was always by his side, answering his questions, guiding his emotions, and leading him to turn his attention in a more positive direction.
For example, how to use his natural perception of frost to assist Asgard's environmental transformation plan for Jotunheim.
Or how to combine Asgard's magic with the ancient techniques of the Frost Giants to create something new.
Slowly, Loki came out of it. He became more composed, but also deeper.
He began to take the initiative to understand the history and culture of Jotunheim, and even, with Mavuika's encouragement, began to learn the ancient language of the Frost Giants.
He was still the same Loki who liked pranks and had an agile mind, but deep in his eyes, there was an added layer of complex weight that belonged to someone who knew the truth.
As for Thor, after learning about Loki's background, his reaction was simple and direct: "Oh, Loki is a Frost Giant? So what? He's still my brother!"
Then he turned around and forgot about it, continuing to drag Loki off for "adventures."
Mavuika watched the growth of her two younger brothers, who were completely different yet wonderfully complementary, and her heart was filled with relief and anticipation.
Thor was like the Sun, hot, bright, full of power, straightforward, and would be an indestructible Thunder Hammer in the future.
Loki was like moonlight, cold, sharp, good at transformation, meticulous, and would be an invisible yet deadly, treacherous dagger in the future.
Mavuika would often stand on the Star-Gazing Platform, looking toward the direction of Helheim.
She could feel that deep in the distant Helheim, that familiar Death Divine Power was resonating with the foundation of the underworld in a slow but firm way.
Hela had already started working.
Then, she could not fall behind on her side either.
While accompanying her younger brothers as they grew up and handling government affairs, Mavuika was also quietly advancing her own plan.
In-depth research on the adaptation of the Resurrection Poem and the Reverie Rule to the energies of the Nine Realms, and deducing the best location and timing to ignite the Holy Fire in Midgard.
The peace of Asgard was not static; it was a deep and fertile soil, gestating the next era, which would be more glorious and also more arduous.
