The Darkness Cometh // Loki - Book 3 ✓

prelude

Darkness.

The chains binding his wrists cut deep into his skin, rusted metal chafing against the broken skin. No longer smooth and white and uninjured, his wrists are covered in blood.

Not all of it his own.

It's been three months since he was brought to this gods forsaken place. Three months of non-stop torture, each day worse than the previous, while Thanos seeks that which he cannot find.

First, came trial by fire. Loki's skin still burned from the all-consuming inferno that lapped at his skin day in and day out. He cried out to Hela, to Odin, to Frigga, even to Thor. Anything to end his torment. He begged for death to come for him, swift and without mercy, but death is rarely so kind.

In the hands of the Mad Titan, there was little he could do but cling to the very last thread of life - forced repeatedly to the brink over and over again - only to be dragged back, kicking and screaming, every single time.

It nearly drove him mad.

When the fires ceased, he hoped that perhaps the nightmare would be over. There were rumors of those within the universe, a band of misfits joining together in a quest to keep it safe, but all proved to be false hope. No one could find him here. No one could save him. No, in this land that was without a name - a place deep within the recesses of space - there was no chance of redemption. Of survival.

The only promise, the only constant, that Loki knew was pain.

Next, the void turned on him. Spectres of his past appeared before his very eyes, haunting him day and night with that which he could not fight. Guilt ate away at his conscience, one of the rarest occurrences for the Prince of Lies, until he was left screaming into the silence.

After three days, his cries turned silent. Unable to speak or move or think, he stared blankly into the void while insanity began to wrap its vile fingers around the edges of his mind. Inch by inch, breath by breath, Loki's mind began to crumble. No longer could he determine the difference between reality and hallucination as he was tormented relentlessly by the demons of his own mind, unable to escape.

Sleep never came. Fate would not grant him that wish.

His hair was forever matted against his pale skin. Thick knots tangled with sweat and blood that clung to his face, enhancing the appearance of the madman he quickly became. His armor had long been stripped away, leaving him bare-chested where he was chained to the rock. No longer pale and unmarked, every inch of his skin was decorated cuts, burns, and bruises that told a story of more torment than he had ever been forced to endure. There were no scars on his body as his wounds never healed. Perpetually bleeding out, minute by minute, he sagged against the chains that held him upright as his legs could no longer hold his weight.

Only one thing kept him sane. One thought, one word, one name that repeated ad nauseam in his mind over the last few months.

Anna.

Even in this very moment, she remains the compelling force that kept his heart beating. His lungs struggle for breath, every cell in his body screaming in pain, but they still expand.

"Another day, Asgardian," the voice that caused so much of his pain rings out, echoing through the rocks of the barren wasteland that confines him.

So long in silence, Loki flinches at the near-deafening sound.

"I grow tired of your resistance," Thanos says, stepping out from the shadows. "I come with a new opportunity for you."

Loki glares at him, unable to force the words of hatred flowing in his mind past his lips. He wanted to swear at him in every language known to the universe, to curse him to an eternal torment in the depths of Hel, to tear apart his body from limb to limb. So long has this Mad Titan dictated his life, pushing him to desperate measures again and again, and now...now Anna is at risk.

Thanos smiles, fully aware of Loki's opinions of him.

With a flick of his wrists, Thanos allows the shackles holding Loki's hands to release him. The metal clangs loudly against the rock whilst Loki's body falls to the ground, slamming into the rough surface with a sickening thud. His hands find no purchase against the rock, try as he might, for he has not the strength to lift his body upright.

Rage courses through him, fueling the fire that has been burning for so long against Thanos, and he exhales slowly. Muscles quaking, he grits his teeth and forces himself upright from sheer strength of will until he is kneeling on the rough rocks in front of Thanos, thick black hair masking his brilliant emerald eyes. He breathes heavily, taking a moment to slow his heartbeat, before glancing up slowly at the Mad Titan.

Grinning, Thanos claps slowly for him. His purple gnarled skin is difficult to see in the darkness of the void, with only a few weak strains of light reflecting off the heavy gold armor coating his body. He stands nearly seven feet tall, towering over Loki's broken body, and everything about him screams power.

Power over life. Power over destruction.

Rumors circulating the universe said that Thanos once met Death itself, falling in love with her female form, which drove him to such madness. He sought to please her, to bring balance to the cosmos in the form of desolation, in her name. His attempt to gather the Infinity Stones was rooted in this desire, as well as his thirst for power, and - should he succeed - Loki knew that the Mad Titan would become truly omnipotent.

He could not let that happen.

"Would not it be easier to let me die?" Loki hisses, his voice breaking as the words struggle to form. He coughs, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth, as he stares at Thanos.

"Unfortunately not," Thanos replies. "You, Asgardian, have something I need."

Loki smiles, madness glinting in his green eyes, as his teeth shine in bright contrast against the blood. He chuckles for a moment, his shoulders moving silently, until a broken sound erupts from his mouth. It echoes through the void, the laugh of someone driven to the brink, while Thanos watches him carefully.

"What makes you think I'll help you?" Loki asks, spitting out each word like venom.

Thanos stoops down in front of Loki, his electric blue eyes sparkling with mirth, as he smiles. Less than a foot separates them, and every particle within Loki is screaming at him to attack the Mad Titan. If only he had his strength, his magic, he would tear Thanos from limb to limb.

As it is, he can only stare back at him - every ounce of hatred he possesses glaring at the Mad Titan - as he listens to Thanos' next words.

"Because I know what lengths a father will go through to protect his child."

You've waited it four months. Less than two weeks to go.

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