In Asgard, within Loki's bedroom at Asgard Palace, Thor glared furiously at his brother Loki. Loki, however, casually admired the newly forged crown in his hands. Thor said in a low voice,
"Loki, do you really know what you're doing?!"
His chest heaved as though he were forcing all his rage down into it. He swung an arm and said in a tone of utter incomprehension, "You know exactly what they're trying to do! You know they're leading Asgard toward destruction, yet you still chose to stand with them!"
Loki sat on the rug by the window, idly turning the dazzling, ornate crown in his hands as he said lightly, "Yes. Only recently did I realize that I had been wasting my time all along."
"Thor." Loki looked at him and said, "I realized that instead of waiting for you to learn everything a monarch should know, I might as well do it myself."
"You..."
Loki set the crown aside, rose to his feet, and walked up to Thor. Looking into his eyes, he asked, "What are you angry about?"
"Thor, you keep saying that as long as someone can save Asgard, you're willing to pay any price. What, now that it's the throne, you can't bear to let it go?"
Thor stared coldly into Loki's gemstone-like eyes. "Do you think you can save Asgard? By joining forces with that pack of lunatics who know nothing but destruction and war?"
"Loki, haven't you already seen the sights beyond the universe? Didn't you decide to stand with me?!"
"That was what I thought before. But Thor, do you know? In recent days, I have never received so much praise..."
Loki turned and began pacing around the room. Tilting his head back, he wore an expression of enjoyment as he said, "Those