Looking at Loki's expression, Schiller guessed, "Are they trying to put you on the throne?"
Loki drew a deep breath and said, "You know, if I hadn't gone up there to take that look, maybe I really would have gotten lost in their sweet talk. When Asgardians truly become warm toward you, you feel that they are so sincere and friendly."
There was a slight tremor in Loki's voice. He said, "That feeling of having power placed before you, of people begging you to wield it, is the most addictive poison in the world."
His arms began to tremble as well. He said, "I overestimated the weight that all those past hatreds held in my memories. I admit it—I wavered once..."
"Because hatred belongs to the past, while power and honor belong to the present." Schiller sighed. "Very few people can truly remember the past. Most are chasing the present."
"But thankfully..." There was a trace of lingering fear in Loki's tone. "Before that, I had seen the sights beyond the universe. I saw the final ending of every story. That kind of despair was far more deeply engraved in me."
"So what did you do?"
"I originally wanted Thor to put me under house arrest, so I'd have a legitimate reason not to deal with anyone, and they would stop bothering me. But that idiot Thor refused no matter what I said." Loki's tone became gritted once more.
"His damned, ill-timed softness and kindness have always been the greatest obstacle to all my plans."
"But you actually enjoyed it, didn't you?" Schiller said with a smile.
"I'm not joking." Loki spoke very seriously. "It was supposed to be a perfect plan. We'd stage a fight, then he'd lock me up. Not only would that spare me a great deal