Nova had never felt more free in her life. There was a wide grin on her face as she watched all of the warriors go away seeing their leaders defeated.
"Nova!" She heard Loki exclaim.
And when she turned to face Loki her smile faltered...
♫⋆。♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟLookalike\\Conan Gray
Loki was lying on the ground, with his iconic horned helmet knocked off and lying beside him. His face was paler than usual and was bruised, and his armour is battered, showing deep cuts. Blood is trickling from the wound on his stomach with a sword pierced into his flesh, and his eyes are half-open, filled with pain and defiance. His face was looking even paler than usual. She felt her heart skip a beat when she saw him in that state. Her mind was blurry when she reached towards him and knelt beside him. Her hands hover over his body, how to help with her mind fuzzy due to panic rising In her chest.
"Loki? Loki, can you hear me?" Nova said with her voice trembling slightly. Her heart clenched, a pit of dread forming in her stomach as she saw Loki half-open his eyes. His eyes had lost the gleam of mischief in them.
"I think I am really dying this time, Nova." His voice, when it comes, is a mere whisper, carried away almost entirely by the wind.
Nova shakes her head, refusing to acknowledge the fear rising in her chest. She presses her hands against the wound in his stomach trying to heal him with her magic. Holding him, she realized that no amount of strength or magic could ever keep him alive, and the weight of that truth shattered her completely. She fought to keep her voice steady, to keep her hands from shaking.
"Don't you dare talk like that. You're going to be fine. I'll get you out of here. Just... hold on, okay?" Nova said, holding back her tears that were threatening to spill.
Loki chuckled, though it quickly turns into a cough, more blood spilling from his lips. The sound is weak, hollow, nothing like the confident, teasing Loki she knew. He was slipping away, and the feeling of helplessness was starting consume Nova.
"Always... so stubborn. But this... this is beyond even you." Loki said struggling to speak.
Nova's throat tightens, the truth she's been avoiding pressing down on her. But she can't let go, not yet, not when there's still a chance—there has to be a chance.
"Don't say that. You've survived worse, remember? You always find a way, Loki. You have to! You're not leaving me here, not like this. You can't do this to me." Nova said.
Loki's eyes flicker with a ghost of his old mischief, but it's fleeting, quickly replaced by exhaustion. He reaches up with a trembling hand, taking Nova's hand in his. His touch is icy cold, and it sends a shiver down her spine.
"Not...this time." Loki said.
Nova bites her lip, shaking her head as if sheer force of will could keep him alive. She's frantic now, trying to hold onto him, to keep him from slipping away, but he's fading, his strength leaving him with every passing second.
"Just hold on, please, Loki, just hold on. Stay with me." Nova said.
Loki's hand falls from hers, limp and lifeless. His breathing becomes shallower, each breath a struggle, his chest barely rising. His eyes are unfocused, staring somewhere past her, as if he's already halfway gone.
"I... wish I could... stay...just...don't forget me..." Loki said closing his eyes.
'I've played the villain, the trickster, the god... but in the end, all I wanted was to be seen.' Loki thought. 'I wish... I could tell her that in the end, she was my only truth.'
But he couldn't say those words. Instead of that, he let himself free into vicious hands of unconsciousness and with one final, shuddering breath, Loki's body went still. His eyes, once so full of life and mischief, now was closed and Nova wasn't sure if she would ever see them open again. The rain falls harder, mixing with Nova's tears as she cradles his unconscious form in her arms.
"No... please, Loki, don't go." Nova whispered.
She doesn't scream, doesn't cry out—she cant find her voice to scream for help. Instead, she just holds him. Her heart was aching so badly that it was taking her breath away.
"Thor, come here!" She said through the earpiece.
"What is wrong?" She heard Thor worried voice through earpiece.
"Just come." Nova said.
It took just some minutes for Thor to arrive with some of other Avengers coming as well. And when Thor finally spots Loki, crumpled in Nova's arms, his breath catches in his throat.
"No..." Thor just managed to whisper with his voice barely recognisable as he drops to his knees beside them. "Loki... no, please, no..." Thor choked.
"We-we have to carry him to compound." Nova said even though she knew the chance of Loki's survival was too slim to hope for.
Thor just nods with his tears spilling over as he picks up Loki, walking towards the compound quickly with Avengers and Nova following behind him.
The world feels quieter now, as if it, too, holds its breath for the Trickster God's eyes to open, and all Nova can do is just walk in the silence, holding onto the hope knowing that it was just a cruel lie, with her heart aching with the possibility that Loki would never wake up as the darkness of night closes in around her.
