Thor, Unable to Show His Face; the Duel Seemed Rather Unfair

"Your silence tells me you can't guarantee it." Aaron shook his head with a light laugh, then said scornfully, "Because of a momentary impulse, you dragged your good friends along to their deaths. Is this the King's successor of Asgard?

"I'm sure the Warriors Three aren't afraid of death, but dying like this would be laughable—and completely meaningless."

Thrór shut down. The overwhelming guilt weighed on him so heavily that he could not lift his head.

"Even if you succeeded—if you killed Laufey, fought a bloody path out of an encirclement of countless Frost Giants with your companions, and made it safely back to Asgard—

would you proudly tell your father, Odin, that you had defended Asgard's honor?

"Even if it started a war between two realms, even if Asgard and Jotunheim suffered countless casualties, the lives of the people would be worth less than honor, right?"

"No." Thrór immediately explained, "I never thought that."

"But that is the consequence of your actions." Aaron said seriously, "A few Frost Giants infiltrating Asgard's treasury was indeed no small matter.

"But you are Asgard's heir. The first thing you should have done was uncover the truth, not start a war on your own based on your temper."

"I already know I was wrong."

"I believe you do, but..." Aaron paused and gave him a meaningful look. "As someone who has been through it, I must solemnly warn you: there are some mistakes you cannot afford to make.

"Loki deceived you, but since you chose to believe him, that meant you considered his lies might have been true.

"Think about how you felt then. Don't you regret it deeply?"

Thrór nodded almost imperceptibly. For the first time in over a thousand years, he understood what despair was, what it meant to have his