The grand golden hall of Asgard stood in absolute silence.
Because Odin, All-Father, was furious.
No, not just furious. He was on the verge of going full Ragnarok.
Thor, the so-called God of Thunder, stood stiffly under his father's terrifying glare, feeling like a child caught stealing mead from the royal cellar. His usual bravado? Shattered. His confidence? Crumbling like a poorly built sandcastle.
Odin's voice boomed through the hall, shaking the very foundations of Asgard.
"REMEMBER WHAT I TOLD YOU BEFORE?!"
Thor gulped.
He quickly scrambled to respond, trying to maintain some shred of dignity.
"I did!" He nodded furiously. "A wise king never starts a war! But—"
Odin's eye twitched.
"BUT?!"
Thor's bravado shrank three sizes.
"B-But he must always be ready for war!" he blurted out, standing as straight as a spear.
For a moment, he thought that was the right answer. Maybe—just maybe—his father would calm down.
Then Odin's face darkened even more.
Oh no. Oh no no no.
"READY FOR WAR?" Odin roared. "IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL THIS PATHETIC DISPLAY?!"
Thor felt his soul leave his body for a brief second.
"Look at yourself!" Odin thundered, gesturing at the enchanted screen still displaying Thor getting absolutely demolished by Captain America. "Instead of accepting defeat with dignity, you are EMBARRASSED! HUMILIATED! YELLING AT YOUR OWN PEOPLE LIKE A PETULANT CHILD!"
The hall stayed deathly quiet.
Thor could hear his own heartbeat. And it was screaming, RUN.
"What?" Odin's voice dropped, slow and venomous. "Do you want to start beating your own people now? Is that the great King of Asgard you dream to be?"
Thor panicked.
"N-No, Father, I would never—!" He shook his head so fast that Mjolnir rattled on his belt.
But Odin was not done.
Not even close.
"LOOK!" The All-Father jabbed a finger at the screen, forcing Thor to relive his own humiliation. "When you were interrogating your brother, YOU WEREN'T PAYING ATTENTION TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS! IRON MAN BLASTED YOU AWAY LIKE A RAGDOLL BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO BUSY BEING DRAMATIC!"
Thor wanted to dig a hole in the palace floor and disappear.
"Then!" Odin's voice only grew louder. "You had Iron Man BEATEN! DOWN! HELPLESS! A VICTORY WAS IN YOUR HANDS! AND THEN—"
The enchanted screen paused dramatically on the exact moment Captain America's shield intercepted Thor's hammer, knocking him completely off balance.
The humiliation was unbearable.
Thor felt his soul shrivel.
"A careless person like you," Odin spat, "DARES TO DREAM OF BEING KING?!"
Thor broke into a cold sweat. His heart pounded.
He could FEEL the sheer wrath radiating from his father. The weight of the throne of Asgard pressed on his shoulders like Mjolnir itself.
Odin wasn't stopping.
No, he was just getting started.
"AND BESIDES—" Odin's tone turned icy. "Captain America in the video SHOWED YOU GOODWILL."
Thor's stomach dropped.
"He ASKED about your intentions! He WANTED to understand you!" Odin seethed. "And what did you do? YOU FLARED UP LIKE AN ANGRY GOAT WHOSE TAIL GOT STEPPED ON!"
A few Asgardians tried to stifle their laughter at that particular comparison.
Thor's pride cracked.
"WHY?!" Odin roared, slamming Gungnir into the ground. A wave of divine energy rippled through the hall. "ARE YOU AFRAID?!"
Thor's mouth opened—then closed.
Was he afraid? OF COURSE NOT!
But under his father's piercing gaze, the words got stuck in his throat.
Odin leaned forward on his throne, his voice dropping to a menacing whisper.
"Remember this, Thor." His single eye glowed with untold power. "You are THOR. NOT the God of Hammers."
A deep, foreboding silence settled over the hall.
Then Odin spoke his final, crushing blow.
"If I see you behave like this again… I will take away your divine power."
Thor stiffened.
"I will strip you of Mjolnir."
His breath hitched.
"I will cast you into the mortal world."
The walls of the hall seemed to close in around Thor. His entire world tilted.
"And you will NEVER set foot in Asgard again."
Thor's soul nearly fled his body.
THIS WAS IT. THE NIGHTMARE SCENARIO.
His golden palace? GONE.
His divine strength? GONE.
His status, his honor, his everything? GONE.
"F-Father!" Thor's voice cracked like a teenage Midgardian boy. He slammed a hand to his chest, desperately pledging allegiance.
"I—I swear!" His words spilled out in a frenzied rush. "I swear on my life! If I EVER behave like this again, you won't have to do it! I will disperse all my divine power MYSELF! I will throw Mjolnir back to you! I—I will go to Midgard and NEVER RETURN!"
The hall went dead silent.
Odin's icy stare bore into Thor's soul.
Then, after what felt like centuries, Odin narrowed his eyes and gave a slow, deliberate nod.
"Hmph."
The storm finally passed.
For now.
Thor let out a shaky breath.
His legs wobbled slightly.
He felt like he had just been through a battle worse than Ragnarok.
From the corner of his vision, Loki gave a mocking slow clap.
"Brilliant performance, brother," Loki drawled with a smirk. "Truly, the picture of a fearless warrior."
Thor's vein nearly burst.
"Shut up, Loki."
Just as Loki parted his lips to unleash a fresh wave of mockery upon his humiliated brother, the screen flickered.
The golden light dimmed for a moment, and then—
BOOM.
Giant, bold words appeared across the massive screen, glowing with an almost mocking radiance.
[FAMOUS SCENE: LOKI, WHO THINKS HE IS SMART]
Loki's smirk froze mid-formation.
His eyebrow twitched.
"…?"
His emerald-green eyes darted left. Then right. Then back to the utterly damning words floating on the screen.
His heart dropped.
No, no, NO.
Thor, who had been sweating buckets just moments ago, snapped his head up. His shame was instantly forgotten.
A slow, creeping grin stretched across his face.
"Oh-ho… what's this?"
Loki felt a sudden, existential crisis creeping up his spine.
The hall fell into a suffocating silence for exactly three seconds.
Then—
Bahahaha!
A deep, booming laughter exploded from Thor.
The once-cornered God of Thunder threw his head back, his whole body shaking as he clutched his chest.
"OHO! LOKI! LOOK AT THIS! YOUR FAMOUS SCENE!"
Loki's face darkened.
"…Shut up, Thor."
But Thor wasn't shutting up.
No.
He was enjoying this.
Deeply. Profoundly.
With every fiber of his Asgardian being.
Odin, who had just finished unleashing his righteous fury on Thor, sat back in his throne and stroked his beard, his eye gleaming with amusement.
"Hmm." His voice was calm but dangerously intrigued. "It seems that now we shall witness… Loki's moment of wisdom."
Frigga, the ever-dignified queen, covered her lips with her delicate fingers.
But her shoulders shook slightly.
Her son. Her clever son. Her brilliantly cunning son.
About to be absolutely humiliated in front of the entire royal court.
Even Hela, the cold and ruthless Goddess of Death, who barely reacted to anything, narrowed her eyes at the screen and let out a soft, amused hum.
Loki could feel the walls closing in.
His mind raced. He needed an escape.
A diversion. Anything.
"I— I protest!" He pointed dramatically at the screen. "Who authorized this slander?! What evidence do you even have?!"
The screen blinked.
Then—
It began to play.
Loki's stomach dropped.
The worst part?
He had no idea which scene this was.
Thor grinned so hard his face hurt.
"Oh, this is going to be GOOD."
Loki?
Loki was one second away from teleporting to Jotunheim.
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