God Loki

Luca looked up instinctively.

Only then did he realize that the entire world seemed to have been hit with a pause button.

The expressions of panicked people were frozen on their faces.

The flames that had been dancing moments ago now looked like crude, flat special effects, and the water sprayed from the fire truck hung silently in the air, with crystalline droplets clearly visible.

In this completely stilled world, only one person was walking slowly toward Luca with a smile on his face.

The "tap-tap" sound of the newcomer's footsteps seemed incredibly abrupt in this time-frozen world.

Luca swallowed instinctively, a bead of sweat sliding down his temple.

He wanted to open his mouth to say something, but found that his throat couldn't produce a sound.

"Hmm~ I think there's really no need for you to use that toy~ don't you?"

The man pointed at the Monkey Bomb in Luca's hand, his tone very gentle, and his speech carried a hint of playfulness.

However, although the other party's behavior seemed to express goodwill, Luca dared not relax in the slightest.

He gently set down the Monkey Bomb, rubbing his brow with a sense of headache.

He spat out a name.

"God of Stories! Loki!"

Yes, although the Loki before him was wearing the green Asgardian armor from the first Avengers movie, and his hair was even a bit disheveled with his clothes stained with dust—looking rather disheveled no matter how you looked at it.

But judging solely by the fact that he had frozen time for the entire world, this Loki was undoubtedly the one who had taken the final step, becoming the "God of Stories Loki" who governed the entire MCU timeline—or rather, "God Loki"!

It was laughable that Luca had risked so much to rush to Stark Tower, wanting to stop Loki from taking the Tesseract and entering the Time Variance Authority.

He had hoped to ensure that his own timeline would not be affected and destroyed.

Yet, what appeared before him now was the final form of the character who had already completed the entirety of both seasons of Loki.

The Loki before him didn't seem to notice Luca's complex emotions, or perhaps he did, but simply didn't care.

He still smiled and spread his hands, looking somewhat interested.

"God of Stories? A nice title~ So, is that what people in your world call me?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Luca, who had only just calmed his emotions, felt his pupils dilate in shock once more.

"Your world"—the simple words pierced directly through Luca's identity as an outsider.

However, Luca thought about it; if it were God Loki, he was essentially the ceiling of the Marvel world.

Knowing his origins didn't seem like something worth being surprised about.

"Surprised? Actually, an existence like you isn't exactly a unique case~"

"Let me think~ in a certain world before, there was a girl named Gwenpool who was just like you, also from the real world~"

"..."

This time, Luca didn't even have the strength to be shocked.

Good grief, not only did he know he came from another world, but he even used terms like "real world."

However, Luca had never heard of the "Gwenpool" that God Loki mentioned.

"Since her name is Gwen, it doesn't sound like she comes from the same place as me, does it?"

Luca, whose heart was already somewhat numb, hesitated for a moment and stopped dwelling on the other's "omniscience," instead asking directly.

"So... do you know that the world you are in is... is a..."

Luca didn't know how to put it.

Should he just say, "You're a movie character"? Or, "Actually, your real name is Tom Hiddleston, nicknamed 'Loki'?"

He couldn't risk the other party misunderstanding him; if he said too much, he might just annoy this near-omnipotent being.

However, God Loki himself seemed completely unconcerned, speaking with calm composure.

"You want to say a TV show? Yes, yes~ I know~"

Loki pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow, speaking in a natural tone.

"Don't take these things too seriously; the operating mechanism of the world isn't as simple as you imagine~"

"Perhaps you can think of the real world I mentioned as, hmm~ a universe where superpowers are turned into film and television?"

"Since there are zombie universes, Spider-Man universes, and flat two-dimensional universes~ then it shouldn't be hard to understand that there is a world without any supernatural abilities, where these things are just treated as entertainment, right?"

"Or, how can you be sure that the 'real world' you believe in isn't just a movie or a novel in the eyes of people from other worlds?"

Looking at Loki's casual tone, Luca found himself unable to refute.

This was a level of philosophy that Luca couldn't quite grasp, let alone discuss with a god who held the timelines of countless parallel universes in his hands.

However, he noticed the point of Loki's words and immediately followed up.

"Since you know about the real world, then can you..."

At this point, Luca's words suddenly stuck in his throat.

He had intended to ask if God Loki could send him back to his original universe.

However, halfway through the sentence, Luca suddenly realized that he had long since left nothing behind in his original world to hold him back.

Compared to returning to that past world, having a brilliant adventure here—even if it meant enduring various crises or even dying along the path of this adventure—did not seem like such a bad thing.

Yet, God Loki seemed to have caught the implication behind Luca's words and merely said indifferently:

"I cannot."

"In truth, even as I am now, I am far from being omniscient or omnipotent; my abilities still have their boundaries. What you desire is, at least for the current me, impossible."

Hearing this, Luca only nodded calmly.

For a moment, he could not tell whether he felt disappointed or relieved.

Nevertheless, another question surfaced in Luca's mind.

"Since you aren't planning to banish me from this world, then why have you appeared here?"

Seeing him ask again, God Loki did not answer immediately this time; instead, he turned his head to look at the lobby on the first floor of Stark Tower.

There, in the frozen world, another Loki in handcuffs stood rooted to the spot like a statue.

For some reason, Luca caught a glimpse of something almost imperceptible in the eyes of the God Loki before him... envy?

"Someone entrusted me to give you a chance to choose~"

"Additionally, I am to give you a... hmm, identity verification? I suppose that is the way to put it~"

God Loki quickly turned his head back to look at Luca, the strange expression in his eyes vanishing as if it had never existed, replaced once more by that playful smile from before.

Yet, the words he spoke left Luca frozen in place.

"Huh? Someone could actually ask a favor of you? And... what chance? What identity?? What are you talking about, big shot?"