The Beginning Of An End

Chapter 30

A thousand questions flooded my mind, each one more suffocating than the last. My pulse quickened, and I could feel the panic clawing at my insides. This was the last thing I expected.

I tried to steady myself, forcing my breathing to slow, but my thoughts raced ahead, wild and frantic. Why was he here? Had he come to gloat? To mock my defeat? Or worse... to finish what the Devil had started?

For a moment, I just stood there, frozen, a whirlwind of emotions crashing over me. The man I had once loved, the one I had fought so hard to forget, was standing right in front of me. And in this moment, stripped of everything, I didn't know whether to feel anger, relief, or despair.

Loki's eyes met mine, and I could see something flicker in his gaze—recognition, perhaps? Regret? But before I could even begin to sort through the storm of feelings surging within me, he was standing right in front of me, his presence overwhelming.

We stared at each other for what seemed eternity. None dared to speak. I was battling multitude emotions while his eyes, soft as ever, scanned me from top to bottom. It enraged me further because if it hadn't been for him and the Norse crashing the place, I would have succeeded. And now... I was left with nothing.

The silence between us stretched on, growing heavier with each passing second. His gaze, still soft, yet piercing, seemed to unravel me, piece by piece. Every time he looked at me like that, it reminded me of what I had lost—what we had lost. My chest tightened with a mix of emotions I could barely contain.

I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms as I forced myself to stay still. All the memories, the broken promises, and shattered hopes surged back to the surface, and I felt that familiar anger begin to boil over. I was on the verge of crumbling, of breaking under the weight of it all, but I refused to let him see that. Not now.

I clenched my jaw as I was looking at him, drawing in a big and shaky breath.

"Why are you here?" I whispered, my words barely audible, even to my ears as I was struggling to contain the hurt and rage welling up in me. "Did you wait patiently for me to be stripped off everything just for you to waltz back in?! Besides, how did you even know I was here?!"

Loki was silent for a little bit as if waiting for me to calm down but I kept glaring at him, fury remaining the only thing I felt.

"Let's just say... Odin saw it coming so when I saw the Devil dragging you away, I knew what it meant." He explained as softly as he could. "Everything is falling apart inside."

Loki's words hung in the air like a fragile thread, barely holding together the unraveling reality around us. His voice was soft, almost careful, as if he was trying to find the right way to make me understand. But I couldn't. I couldn't wrap my mind around the idea that he had seen this coming—that he had known what was about to happen and still let it unfold.

I glared at him, my fury bubbling beneath the surface, refusing to be tempered by his explanation. "So, what?" I spat. "You stood by and watched it all happen? Watched as everything I fought for was torn apart?"

Loki's eyes flashed with something—regret, maybe, or guilt. It was hard to tell. "I didn't come here to watch," he said firmly, taking a step closer. "I came here because I couldn't just let you be... alone in this."

"Oh, fuck off!" I yelled. "You left me once before; you could've stayed gone!" My voice cracked with anger, and Loki's face contorted into a frown of confusion. He looked at me, trying to understand what had changed. But everything had changed. I didn't give him a chance to respond as I added, "Because of you, I'm dethroned, powerless, and I couldn't even finish what I started!" My fury reached a boiling point, and I shoved him hard. That was when I realized not all of my powers had vanished—I still had great strength.