Nexus

Chapter Four

He didn't know how long he spent, drifting through nothingness. It could have been years, centuries. It could have been seconds. But finally, he settled. A fire crackled nearby, warm, but not unbearable. The faint smell of rain and dust filled the air. Slowly, he opened his eyes. The roof above was a patchwork of rusty metal, with firelight dancing off it.

So this is Hel.

He looked over and spotted an old man tending the fire in a ridiculous green and yellow outfit. "Who are you?" The man looked up, crow's feet in the corners of his eyes as he smiled. "Ah, you're awake. Come, sit by the fire." His voice was quiet but welcoming. Loki pushed himself off the threadbare mattress, letting the thin blanket fall to the dusty floor.

"Tell me, what's your name?" "I'm... Loki." "Another Loki. We are horrible at sticking to the timeline." He muttered. "We?" "Well, I'm also Loki. There are plenty out here at the end of time." "The end of time?" "Yes. That's what this place is. It's where they send things when they prune them. And, seeing as Lokis are constantly offending their 'sacred timeline', there are a lot of us here." "So I'm not...dead?" "No." Loki stared into the fire, thinking.

"Well, I can't just call you Loki, especially with so many of us around." "Right. Typically variants go by their Nexus Events or something about their personality. I suppose I would be called 'Old Loki'-" Loki stifled a laugh. "-though I would prefer something more dignified. What was your nexus event?" "I-"

And there he was, dead in front of him, bleeding in the grass with a dagger in his heart. "Thor. I-" Tears burned in his eyes and he couldn't talk, barely choking out breaths. "I didn't-" A sob tore its way out of his throat. Hands grabbed his shoulders and he was forced back into the present. "Kid! Come on, talk to me." "I-" He shook, continuing to sob. "Just breathe. Please, kid." The old man let go of his shoulders and he stood, running out into the wasteland.

Old Loki shouted something behind him, but he kept running, tripping over bushes and rocks, trying to dry his eyes. A sharp scrap of metal tore through his sleeve, but he hardly noticed the pain. He tripped again, crashing to the rough dirt and scrambling to his feet. He just needed to get away, from the shack, from the old man, from Thor. Another sob tore through his chest and his knees buckled. He stared up at the grey sky, tears streaming down his face.

The sky grew darker, an ominous cloud on the horizon that seemed to devour all the light from the world. The cloud swirled, growing closer until he could see the skeletal remains of an animal's snout swirling in the black mist. "Kid!" The old man's voice cut through his thoughts as he drew near. "Come on, we need to go!" He shook Loki's shoulder. "Come on!" Loki slowly stood, continuing to stare at the swirling cloud. The creature's head shifted through the cloud until its glowing eyes were staring directly at them.

"Kid!" He took Loki's wrist and pulled, dragging him along. The creature followed, flowing over the ground at an alarming rate. Old Loki pulled him past the shack to a nearby hill, stopping at the top and turning the handle on a metal hatch in the ground. The hatch opened and he held it open, waving Loki inside. "Get in!" Loki jumped in, scrambling down the ladder. Old Loki followed him and no sooner had he sealed the hatch than the cloud reached them, roaring with a sound like thunder. He collapsed on the stone floor, breathing heavily, and Old Loki sat next to him.

"Wha-what was that?" "Alioth." "W-what?" Old Loki waved his hand vaguely. "Just...a minute." Loki looked around the room. It was relatively large and sparsely decorated, with a few folding chairs around a large crate. A small stack of books lay in a box in the corner. He turned back to Old Loki, who was standing. "Why would you do that?" "W-what?" "You can't just run off into the wasteland! What if you got lost, or hurt? And if Alioth got to you before I did..." "What's Alioth?"

"He's the reason there aren't people here. So few can escape him at first, and even fewer can stay hidden for long. We're in the shark tank, and he's the shark."