Loki's mind was a tangled mess. He instinctively felt that he had fallen into an enormous whirlpool, like an ant struggling to survive in a vast river. Whether he advanced or retreated now would have far-reaching consequences.
The many Celestials seemed to be awaiting some command. Loki clamped his mouth shut, refusing to make even the slightest sound.
Clang! With a crisp ring, Mjolnir made a light, close-range contact with the enormous Celestial before them.
Loki's eyes went wide. He had no time to think about why that broken hammer had moved on its own. He held his breath and waited for the drastic change that would come in the next second.
"Command received. Activate!"
"Activate!"
"Activate!"
One Celestial after another soared into the air. The leading Celestial even opened a spatial passage, and the rest filed out of the underground cavern in perfect order.
There were thousands upon thousands of them. Loki watched in terror as the Celestials vanished before his eyes, and it took him a long while to recover.
A portal appeared not far away. The familiar aura of Asgard made his heart relax. Home really was best!
"Come?" He beckoned at the troublemaking Mjolnir, but the hammer ignored his command and fell into the dust like a piece of scrap iron.
Loki knew that some higher-dimensional big shot had played him. They had altered an Asgardian prophecy from tens of thousands of years ago, then staged a clumsy little drama that had made him run around like an idiot for half the day.
"..." His survival instincts were too strong for him to dare utter any harsh words. He studied the portal in the distance for a while, and only after confirming that there was nothing wrong with it did he step onto the road home.