Loki couldn't sleep all night that night. He had always Envy his father was better to his brother, and deep down in his heart, he had always longed to defeat his brother in battle.
In this way, he can gain the praise and worship of the people, and as his reputation increases, his path to becoming king one day will become smoother.
Unfortunately, he had to admit that without some tricks, he had no chance of defeating his brother in a fair fight.
Coupled with the fact that his people admired warriors and had a slight disdain for magic, he thought he would never have a chance. But today, he saw a [Mage] defeat a [Warrior] in a head-to-head confrontation. He saw how much the people liked this Mage, and he hoped that the person who accepted this kind of admiration would be himself.
'I have to do something,' he thought as he paced back and forth. 'That Midgard mage has shown abnormal physical abilities that are on par with Thor. He must have used some kind of powerful spell or Divine Artifact. I must get it.' A cunning light flashed in his eyes as he thought about how to achieve his goal.
Ian woke up from his meditative state, and a servant told him that Odin and Frigga wanted to have breakfast alone with him. He knew that the formal meeting had begun, and he was ready. After a brief taste of Asgard's delicious food, Odin opened the topic.
"What do you think of my sons?"
"They are all extremely talented people with endless potential," Ian replied. "Whoever becomes your successor will be an excellent choice."
"Oh, come on, I'm sure you observed more than that," Frigga added.
"What do you want me to say?" Ian shrugged.
"You want to hear the truth, don't you?" He murmured to himself. "Thor is not suitable to be a king. He has the heart of a great hero, but this is all covered up by his pride and arrogance. The good king in his mind is a powerful person who can conquer everything with force. I don't think I need to tell you what impact such a king will have on Asgard, who is currently in an era of peace and tranquility." Odin was silent.
Although it displeased him to be told that he had failed to raise his son, he could not refute these words because he himself had noticed some signs, especially that his son might not agree with some of his more peaceful ideas of governance. The current Thor reminded him of his younger self, when he ruled Nine Realms with an iron fist with the help of his daughter Hela.
"What about Loki?" Frigga asked.
"He has extremely high potential in magic. However, his character..."
"What happened to his character?" Odin asked. Loki was his most reliable son. Although a little naughty, he believed that one day he would become a great advisor during Thor's reign. Thor's force, combined with Loki's wisdom, would elevate Asgard to a more prosperous era.
"His preference for you Thor Envy has distorted his mind and character. Now, he is driven by the ambition to become the next king, thinking that this is the only way to prove himself. Unfortunately, he has reached the point where he will do anything for his ambition, including hurting his brother."
"Absurd!" Odin said, raising his voice slightly. "I have never favored Thor, and Loki will never do such a thing."
"Are you sure? I know your wife has actually noticed it," Ian replied calmly. "Isn't this why she spends so much time with him? Why do you think she wants to teach him magic?"
"Isn't it possible?" Odin looked at his wife. "Frigga, tell me this is not true."
Frigga sighed, "I mentioned this to you before. At that time, you would spend a few more days with Loki before focusing your attention on Thor. But now, you don't even do that."
"I didn't expect it to be this serious," Odin muttered. "Is he really that bad?"
"It's worse than you think," Ian added. "Once he discovers his true origin, he will completely lose control. His hatred will grow as he believes that you lied to him, which makes him feel that you gave him the illusion that he can one day rule Asgard, but in fact he has no such chance. He will reject your love for him and think that your adoption of him is just a political and diplomatic means. Until then, all he can think about is destroying everything you or his brother hold dear."
"How could this happen? How could he not know how much I love him?" Odin murmured to himself.
"Hate is a powerful emotion," Ian commented.
"My poor child," Frigga said, resisting the urge to sob in front of a stranger.
"Am I really such a bad father?" Odin asked, and Frigga took his arm. Ian believed that Odin was indeed a bad father unintentionally. Many of his decisions and actions led to the endings of Loki and Hela; they even led to the many sufferings endured by Thor, and ultimately the destruction of Asgard.
However, his answer was vague, "It's not for me to comment."
The restaurant was quiet for a full five minutes. Most people would feel uncomfortable in this silence, but Ian would not; he remained quiet and gave the old man time to digest his words. Odin took a deep breath:
"If I understand you correctly, part of the information you gave was because you saw the future?"
"Exactly."
"The Ancient One promised me that you have important things to show me about the future?"
"See for yourself." Ian placed a device on the table, and the holographic projection showed one of the images of the future he saw. He selected specific events that focused specifically on Asgard - including the escape of Hela, the deaths of Dark Elves, Frigga, the destruction of Surtur by Asgard, and the highlight: numerous timelines of Multiversal Convergence colliding with each other.
Odin and Frigga were speechless. Frigga was a witch with special abilities, so she had already foreseen her death date, so she seemed relatively calm after seeing this.
At the same time, Odin's body is getting weaker day by day, and he can only rely on Odin's Sleep to maintain his life, so he doesn't care much about his approaching death. What they really worry about is the fate of their children and the fate of Asgard.
None of them could accept such a result. The worst thing was that after Asgard reluctantly established New Asgard in Midgard and retained the fire of the past civilization, they still faced complete destruction after the start of Multiversal Convergence. Even their last bloodline, Thor, failed to survive this cosmic-level phenomenon.
Odin rubbed his temples. "She told me the situation was bad, but I never thought it would be this bad."
"We will never allow this to happen." Frigga accepted her death because she knew it was part of the natural cycle of life.
Furthermore, death is not really the end for her, as she will enter Valhalla after death. However, the reason why she is so calm is because she believes that her children and her legacy will be safe and sound after she is gone.
"That's for sure, but what measures must we take?" Odin is old and tired; every time he uses Odinforce, he will be one step closer to death. He has made many preparations to prevent this future, but his body and mind are exhausted.
"That's why I'm here," Ian interjected. "I'm here to establish a formal alliance and prepare for the future."