[That night]
Golden halls that usually carried the noise of servants and warriors had gone unnaturally quiet as Odinsleep approached. Guards stood in every corridor leading toward the royal wing with spears in hand and shields resting against their armor. Layers of ancient runes glowed faintly across the walls and floor beneath their boots, each one reinforcing the magical barriers protecting the Allfather during his vulnerable state.
Inside the royal chamber, warm light flickered from hanging lanterns while old protective symbols pulsed softly around the massive bed prepared for Odin's rest. The air itself carried power dense enough to make breathing feel slower.
Odin sat near the edge of the bed while removing the final pieces of armor from his body. Gungnir rested nearby against the stone wall, radiating enough energy to distort the air around it slightly. Even without armor, Odin looked imposing. Age had touched him, but it had not weakened the pressure that naturally surrounded the King of Asgard.
Frigga moved slowly around the chamber while weaving fresh layers of magic into the protective wards. Golden threads flowed between her fingers and spread across the room like streams of light before sinking into the walls.
"You rarely reinforce the barriers personally anymore," Odin said while watching her work. "Something troubles you tonight."
Frigga did not answer immediately. She pressed her palm against one of the glowing runes and closed her eyes for a brief moment before speaking softly. "I feel unrest moving through Asgard."
Odin's expression sharpened slightly. "An attack?"
"Perhaps," she replied calmly. "Perhaps only fear. The future becomes clouded whenever Loki's heart grows turbulent."
Odin exhaled slowly and leaned back against the stone headboard. "That boy buries ambition beneath smiles and mischief, then wonders why nobody understands him."
"He wishes to be seen," Frigga said quietly while another pulse of magic spread through the chamber. "Thor shines brightly and Loki has spent centuries standing beside that light."
Odin's gaze lowered for a moment. "Wanting recognition does not excuse foolishness."
"No," Frigga agreed. "But loneliness can push even wise men toward desperate choices."
Outside the chamber doors, Thor stood guard near the entrance to the royal wing with Mjolnir resting against his shoulder. The night air drifting through the open palace arches carried a faint chill, though Asgard itself remained peaceful beneath the glowing sky.
Several Einherjar guards rotated positions nearby while checking the hallways and entrances leading deeper into the palace. Thor watched them carefully, though part of his attention remained fixed on the city beyond the palace walls.
Something about tonight bothered him.
He could not explain it properly. The tension in the air felt wrong somehow, like the calm before a storm that had not arrived yet.
One of the guards approached and bowed respectfully. "Prince Thor, the inner gates have been sealed. No one is allowed to enter the royal wing without direct authorization from the Queen."
Thor nodded once. "Good. Double the watch near the lower halls as well. I do not want blind spots anywhere near the palace tonight."
The guard quickly left with a nod.
A few steps away, another guard remained silent beneath his helmet while listening carefully to every word.
Loki stood among them, hidden behind illusion magic so flawless that none of the others sensed anything unusual. To every eye around him, he appeared as another loyal palace guard carrying out his duty.
Underneath the disguise, however, his thoughts moved rapidly.
Everything had been arranged perfectly.
The Frost Giants entered through the hidden passage exactly as planned. The illusion magic masking them from Heimdall's sight still held together. By now, they should have been moving quietly through the lower paths beneath the palace while the guards focused entirely on Odin's chamber.
Loki imagined the moment ahead clearly: He would lead the frost giants to the Allfather and as soon as they went for the strike, he would activate the alarm and slaughter the intruders himself. After that, Odin and everyone would finally see him differently.
He'll finally be able to get out of Thor's shadow.
Loki's fingers tightened subtly beneath the armored gloves as the thought settled deeper into his chest.
...
[Later that night]
Loki slipped away from his post.
Green magic rippled softly around his body before his form vanished completely from sight. He moved quickly through hidden corridors and descended beneath the palace toward the forgotten tunnels Cul Borson revealed to him days earlier.
The underground passage felt ancient and cold. Dust covered the cracked stone beneath his boots while old frost clung to sections of the walls like pale scars left behind centuries ago. Faint runes flickered weakly in the darkness as Loki stepped deeper into the hidden chamber where the Frost Giants were supposed to arrive.
He stopped by the ancient portal runes carved into the floor and crossed his arms, waiting for the giants to arrive. But nothing happened. Minutes went by, and the chamber stayed silent except for the faint sound of water dripping from somewhere deeper underground.
Loki frowned slightly.
"They should already be here by now," he muttered while looking at the inactive portal again.
Another few minutes passed without any response from the Frost Giants.
The irritation in Loki's chest slowly turned into unease.
The Frost Giants were reckless creatures, but they were still smart enough to follow orders after reaching Asgard itself. None of them would willingly abandon the mission after coming this far.
Unless something interrupted them.
Loki narrowed his eyes immediately while rejecting the thought almost on instinct.
"No," he whispered under his breath. "My illusion barrier remained flawless."
Still, doubt continued creeping into his thoughts.
He raised one hand slowly and closed his eyes while green magic spiraled outward from his fingertips like smoke drifting through the air. The energy wrapped around his body before his consciousness separated from his physical form.
Astral projection.
Loki's spirit surged upward through the tunnels and crossed the distance toward the Veilgrove forest in moments. The deeper his senses traveled, the more uncomfortable the silence became. Then he found the illusion barrier. It still stood perfectly intact around the Frost Giants' location, and it didn't look like anyone had discovered it.
Confusion spread across Loki's face while he carefully pushed his senses through the edge of the barrier to look inside.
The moment he saw the clearing, his thoughts stopped completely.
Blood covered the frozen ground from one side of the camp to the other while giant corpses lay scattered everywhere beneath shattered trees and burning roots. Torn limbs rested beside broken weapons. Blue flesh and frozen organs covered patches of snow that had turned black-red beneath the slaughter.
Several Frost Giants remained pinned against massive tree trunks by burning thorn-covered roots that pierced straight through their arms, legs, and throats. One corpse had been ripped open from the shoulder down to the waist while another giant still hung several feet above the ground with half its skull missing.
The smell of blood and burned flesh filled the clearing so heavily that even Loki's astral form almost recoiled from it.
Every Frost Giant in the camp was dead.
It was a fucking massacre.
At the center of the clearing stood Sif and Jason.
Blue gore covered Sif's glowing Paladin armor while holy energy pulsed faintly across the blade resting in her hand. Several giant bodies near her feet still burned from the lingering divine power flowing through the sword.
Jason stood beside her. Red energy flickered beneath his skin like living embers trapped under flesh. Burning roots coiled slowly around his boots before sinking back beneath the frozen earth.
A few surviving Frost Giants remained alive nearby, bound tightly by burning roots and trembling so violently that some could barely speak anymore.
One giant kept whispering prayers in Jotun tongue through broken teeth while staring at Jason with absolute terror in his eyes.
Another giant tried crawling backward despite the roots wrapped around his body, only to start sobbing when Jason glanced toward him.
'That psychopath!' Loki thought.
For the first time since meeting Jason, Loki realized how scary that man was. He felt the strong bloodlust and strange energy coming from Jason. It was unlike anything he had ever seen or felt in his entire life.
Jason had been holding back this entire time. Loki understood that right now.
Then Jason slowly turned his head toward the exact point where Loki's astral projection hovered hidden between the trees.
Their eyes met instantly.
Loki froze. 'Wait! Don't tell me...!'
A slow grin spread across Jason's face while red light flickered deeper inside his glowing eyes.
"Surprise," Jason said while staring directly at him. "Motherfucker!"
Sif vanished in a burst of golden light.
Loki barely had time to react before she appeared directly in front of his astral projection with the glowing Paladin sword already moving.
SCHING!
Blue-white holy energy exploded across the clearing the instant the blade passed through him.
Loki’s astral form distorted violently. The magic holding it together shattered like cracked glass under the impact. Holy light tore through the projection from shoulder to waist while burning runes spread across his spectral body.
For the first time in centuries, Loki screamed.
The sound echoed unnaturally through the forest before the projection detonated into fragments of green light that scattered among the trees like burning ash.
The surviving Frost Giants stared at the spot where the projection vanished, trembling even harder than before.
Sif lowered the glowing blade slowly while holy energy crackled across the edge. “That felt satisfying.”
Jason blinked once before letting out a low whistle. “Damn. You almost cut his soul in half.”
“I aimed for his neck,” Sif replied calmly while flicking blue blood off the sword.
Jason laughed. “Remind me never to piss you off.”
Far away beneath the palace, Loki’s body collapsed to one knee beside the inactive portal.
“AAAGH!”
Pain exploded through his skull so violently that his vision blurred instantly. He grabbed his head with both hands while green magic surged wildly around him. The backlash from the destroyed astral projection slammed through his mind like a spear made of fire and ice.
His breathing turned ragged.
“That... should not have...” Loki gasped while trying to steady himself against the wall.
Blood dripped slowly from his nose onto the stone beneath him.
He had full confidence in his power. His astral projection could be damaged, disrupted, even forced back into his body.
But destroyed despite all those defences?
That attack had nearly ripped part of his consciousness apart.
Loki gritted his teeth as a sharp pain throbbed in his head. His thoughts raced while images of the clearing replayed in his mind: the bodies, the roots, Jason’s eyes, and that grin. Loki felt his stomach tighten.
“That mortal...” he muttered again under his breath.
Now he understood.
Jason had never taken any of them seriously. The sparring with Thor and the warriors was all for his entertainment. He never used his full power. And he probably knew that Loki was keeping an eye on him. Not to mention, Jason would've killed him during their first encounter, had Thor not interrupted.
And Sif...
Loki’s expression darkened immediately as he remembered the moment she struck his projection apart.
“How did she get so strong?” he whispered while forcing himself back onto his feet.
Sif should not have possessed power capable of damaging his astral form that severely. Even enchanted Asgardian weapons would struggle to affect projection magic directly unless backed by overwhelming divine force.
"It must be his doing," Loki mumbled.
Loki wiped the blood from beneath his nose while panic slowly crept deeper into his chest.
The plan had failed completely.
Worse... Jason and Sif were alive to expose everything.
The Frost Giants had definitely talked before dying. Hell, some of them are still alive, and if those two bring them in for a proper investigation, then things won't look good for him. Loki knew those creatures well enough. Under enough pain, at least one of them would break eventually. And even if they stayed silent, his illusion magic covered the entire forest. Not to mention the traces of his shattered astral projection were still there. Those traces would point directly toward him once Frigga examined the area.
His breathing became heavier.
“No...” Loki muttered while stumbling toward the tunnel exit. “No, no, no...”
His mind raced with every possible outcome. He imagined Odin finding out the truth, Thor looking at him with disappointment, being chained, stuck in a prison cell, and spending centuries trapped underground like a criminal while people spoke his name with contempt.
“I will not rot in a dark prison,” he hissed while green magic sparked uncontrollably around his fingers. “Never.”
The fear inside him twisted quickly into desperation.
Loki made his way to the Temple of Darkness.
'You want to play games? Let's see how you stop the Destroyer. Tonight, I will achieve my goal, even if I have to take what's mine by force.'