You Promise(d) Me - Loki Laufeyson

Chapter 4

"How was the book?" Loki asked, noticing from his book he had been engrossed in that the shapeshifter had finished reading the book. Several days had passed as they had settled into a routine of eating, reading and exercising, while explicitly ignoring the other person as they kept to themselves. She kept a lookout and scoured her side of the cell when Loki did sleep, and not pointing out the times he didn't wish for it to be noticed.

The shapeshifter stretched her arms overhead, her body craving movement after sitting. "It was alright. Although I do find the existence of deities quite strange, even since I was a kid."

"And what do you mean by that?"

Her eyes wandered for a moment as if searching for the right words. "Well, it just seems rather arrogant, doesn't it? A bunch of powerful individuals who've positioned themselves as gods, exerting control over beings they deem lesser," She explained, her voice carrying some skepticism.

A mischievous smile played on Loki's lips as he responded, "Ah, but we are more powerful than many."

"Yes, I understand that. But my issue is that your influence tends to give." She held the closed book in her hands. "From what I've gathered through this book and other outside research, it seems that many gods believe they have the authority to dictate and control others, simply because they have this power to do good or bad over them. Like the King of Asgard. Doesn't it seem strange that you have all this gold when it does not come from here?" She gestured to the cell around them. "And don't tell me that is from peace treaties and such because even those don't give that much to make your castle look like it does. That usually comes from conquering other worlds." She realized she was getting off-topic. "Sorry, what were we talking about?" She scratched the back of her head before remembering.

"Ah, yes, gods. It gives them a sort of saviour complex and, in turn, makes their followers reliant on their intervention. It can lead to a sense of invincibility, laziness and ignorant of the actual issues at hand. They act like they are better than others when they still have vulnerabilities and can still hurt and die. Even you." She pointed at him.

Loki's eyebrows knitted together, a flicker of defiance crossing his features. "And what makes you think you are any better than a god?" he sneered, his tone dripping with condescension.

The shapeshifter held his gaze steadily, her voice unwavering. "I don't need validation from others just to do the right thing," she retorted firmly. "And that does not mean everything I do is for good, but that doesn't mean I don't try to fix what I can sometimes, even if it might not seem that way."

A spark of understanding flared in Loki's eyes, overshadowing his previous skepticism. He leaned back, his posture relaxing. "You make an astute observation," he admitted. "The lure of power and the adoration of followers can indeed corrupt, leading many down a path of self-serving indulgence."

She nodded. "Exactly. Also, it seems kinda too much to have a title as well. Your egos are already inflated by your abilities, I don't think giving yourselves another name to be called by is a good idea."

"Says the shapeshifter with multiple identities and doesn't even commit to one." He called back to one of their earlier conversations.

"It would be dumb to risk putting all my efforts into one identity when I have the access to make multiple with ease. It allows for flexibility in my many lines of work. Besides, I'm not the first nor the last to ever do so, even among those who can't shapeshift."

"Do you know about the history of your species' gods then?"

"Of course I do. It's a little rusty, but I can."

He waited for her to elaborate, but she just looked at him expectantly before he relented by asking it in the form of a question. "Will you tell me of the history then?"

"Alright. I will if you give me another book for it."

"I already gave you one."

"I know. But, I am also giving up a lot of information at once. Therefore, please gimme a book, preferably a really short one."

He denied. "I do know the histories of other gods, so this wouldn't exactly be new to me." He t

The shapeshifter huffed, staring him in the eye for a bit before relenting."Fine. I'll still talk about it because I'm really bored and have nothing to do."

She stood up, stretched her legs and cracked her neck starting. She explained that she was going to move around as she would talk.

"As you know, my mother is known as what many would call a Skrull. But technically speaking, there were three branches of Skrulls that were genetically experimented on by the Celestials from the original dominant species of our home world."

She held three fingers up, lowering one down as she defined each one, pacing from the orange wall to the white one on her side of the room. "The Prime, which were the normal, constant ones. The Eternals were a group from the actual Eternals, who were near-immortals with cosmic powers. And finally, the Deviants, who could shapeshift and copy recent memories into their own. The Deviants eliminated the other branches, except for one Eternal, Kly'bn, who begged the Queen Sl'gur't to spare him, because he was the embodiment of what was a Skrull in their normal form. She agreed, they married and ascended to godhood, where Sl'gur't became ever-changing and Kly'bn remained constant and unchanging."

She stopped the pacing. "Unfortunately, they died in a squirmish with some other gods for some reason long before our fight with the Kree began. That is all I do know from my mother."

"So, part of your disdain for gods comes from the destruction of your own." He noted.

She shook her head. "I don't care much about actions that happened over a thousand years ago that are now no one's fault. It's why I don't hate the current Kree for their destruction of our homeworld."

"Even if it resulted in the destruction of much of the Deviants?" He seemed skeptical.

"I can't hate on an entire species just based on the actions of a few that happened a long time ago. Not all people of a species are bad, it's just continual hatred that's been ingrained from those who are now long dead."

"And how do you know if your version of historical events that you have been taught is the right one?"

She shrugged. " I don't. But my mother was a scientist who knew enough of the past, and while she didn't really worship gods, she still knew they existed and acknowledged that they played a part in our history. The Deviant Skrull species does try to keep history as accurate as possible, as to avoid past mistakes. Though I don't remember specific details of everything that happened before she passed."

I am currently still trying to recuperate, but I finally (mostly) finished this chapter. I will most likely edit through this again but I am posting it now so I stop pushing the date on posting the chapter.

18/06/2023: I edited this chapter a bit cause I was dissatisfied. Might do slight adjustments in the next update as well and also finally upload the next chapter.

25/06/2023: I'm sorry, I cannot update right now at all, the place where I'm living is currently experiencing some difficulties and I haven't had time to write much. Hope y'all have a nice day.