"I haven't had enough fun yet!" Thor blurted out, his tone sounding like a child being urged to go home.
"There's still so much in Midgard I haven't seen! I haven't been to that Mount Everest! Tony hasn't given me that Flamestrider yet! And hot dogs—I haven't eaten enough hot dogs!"
Heimdall remained silent.
Loki spoke up from the side, his tone much calmer than Thor's, but carrying a rare, uncompromising quality.
"Heimdall, tell Father for me that I also wish to stay a while longer."
Heimdall's voice changed slightly—carrying a hint of surprise.
"Your Highness Loki?"
Loki leaned against the window, arms crossed over his chest.
"My eldest sister is here," he said, his tone as casual as if he were remarking on the nice weather.
"We haven't seen each other in centuries. Now that we've finally reunited, I don't want to leave so soon."
Heimdall was silent for a long time.
Then he spoke, his voice tinged with a touch of helplessness.
"I will inform His Majesty."
The light dissipated.
The living room returned to its normal lighting.
Thor stood in front of the sofa, looking somewhat sullen. He picked up the remote from the coffee table and turned off the television.
Loki walked back to the balcony, picked up his cup of tea which had already gone cold, and took a sip.
Mavuika walked over carrying hot cocoa and placed it on the coffee table.
She looked at Thor. "Don't want to go back?"
Thor sat down, hands clasped behind his head, looking up at the ceiling.
"Eldest sister, I've only been here for a few days," he said with a hint of grievance. "I've just started eating hot dogs, just learned how to use a cell phone, just figured out how to ride an escalator—and you want me to go back?"
He paused.
"And... I want to spend more time with you."
Mavuika sat down beside him and gently patted his shoulder.
Thor turned to look at her, a childlike dependence in his blue eyes.
"Eldest sister, when are you going back to Asgard?"
Mavuika was silent for a second.
"Soon," she said. "Hela is almost out of seclusion. Once she leaves the Underworld, I'll take you both back together."
Thor's eyes lit up for a moment, then dimmed again.
"How much longer will that be?"
Mavuika thought for a moment. "At most a year."
Thor immediately smiled. "A year isn't that long then!"
Loki walked in from the balcony and sat down across from Thor.
Asgard, Golden Palace.
Odin sat upon his throne, holding the Eternal Spear, watching the dissipating rainbow light before him.
Heimdall stood before him, head bowed.
"Your Majesty, the meaning of Prince Thor and Prince Loki is—"
"I understand," Odin's voice was deep and majestic, like muffled thunder rolling across the sky.
His expression was calm, but Heimdall had followed him for thousands of years and knew what lay beneath that calm.
"They do not wish to return."
Heimdall did not speak.
Odin was silent for a while.
Then he spoke, his voice carrying a hint of suppressed anger.
"Thor's trial has been passed, and the power of mjolnir has been restored. What reason does he have left to stay in Midgard?"
Heimdall weighed his words carefully. "His Highness said... he hasn't had enough fun yet."
Odin's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Not enough fun?"
Heimdall nodded.
Odin was silent.
Then he looked at Heimdall. "And Loki?"
Heimdall paused. "Prince Loki said... he wants to spend more time with Princess Mavuika."
Odin's expression shifted slightly.
Mavuika, his eldest daughter.
The daughter he hadn't seen for centuries.
Odin was silent for a long time.
His gaze swept through the hall of the Golden Palace, through the massive floor-to-ceiling window, and fell upon the distant Bifrost Bridge.
The bridge shimmered with rainbow light under the starlight, connecting Asgard to the infinite Universe.
Odin closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Then he opened his eyes and looked at Heimdall.
"Send word to them again."
Heimdall bowed his head. "Yes."
Odin's voice echoed in the Golden Palace, every word like a hammer striking an anvil.
"Tell Thor and Loki—come back when you've had your fun. Asgard needs its princes."
He paused.
"Tell Mavuika—"
His voice changed slightly, becoming less majestic and instead carrying a kind of... softness.
"Tell her, I am waiting for her return."
Heimdall looked up at Odin.
On that face etched with the wrinkles of time, there was something he rarely saw.
Longing.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Heimdall turned and walked toward the Bifrost Bridge.
Odin sat alone on the throne, looking out at the starry sky.
Only the sound of the wind whistled through the corridors of the Golden Palace, letting out a low sob.
New York.
In Mavuika's apartment, Thor had already regained his spirits.
He was holding his cup of hot cocoa, taking small sips, his expression as satisfied as a cat basking in the Sun.
Loki sat opposite him, holding a cell phone, watching an instructional video on chess.
Mavuika sat between them, quietly watching the night outside the window.
Then, the light came again.
The rainbow light once again pierced through the ceiling, landing in the center of the living room.
Heimdall's voice rang out once more, this time with a subtle, measured tone.
He relayed Odin's words exactly as they were spoken.
After the light dissipated, the living room remained quiet for a long time.
Thor looked at Mavuika, and Loki looked at her as well.
Mavuika sat there, her long gold-red hair shimmering with a warm luster under the lights. Her expression was calm, but in those amber eyes, something flickered slightly.
She was homesick too.
It had been centuries; she had always thought she had grown accustomed to life on Earth.
Accustomed to the bustle of Manhattan, the walks in Central Park, and the silent artifacts in the museums.
But at this moment, hearing her father say "he is waiting for your return," she suddenly realized—
She missed home.
She missed the Golden Palace of Asgard, the wind on the Bifrost Bridge, the ring of swords on the training grounds, the tapestries woven by her Mother, and the sight of her Father sitting on the throne.
She also missed Hela.
"Eldest sister." Thor's voice interrupted her thoughts.
Mavuika turned to look at him.
Thor's expression was very serious. "When are we going back?"
Mavuika was silent for a while.
"As I said, when Hela finishes her seclusion. She'll be back soon."
She paused.
"When the time comes, we'll go back together."
Thor nodded.
Loki leaned back in his chair, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"And before then?"
Mavuika looked at him.
Thor laughed. "Before then, can we continue to eat hot dogs, ride escalators, and see the Statue of Liberty?"
"Sure," she said. "We'll go see the Statue of Liberty tomorrow."
Thor cheered.
Loki bowed slightly, a hint of a smile on his lips.
Mavuika stood up and walked to the window.
She looked out at Manhattan, that sea of brilliant lights.
Then she looked up at the sky.
The stars were numerous and bright.
In some distant place unreachable by the naked eye, there was a Golden Palace, and an old man sitting on a throne, waiting for her to come home.
Soon.
Mavuika smiled softly.
Very soon.