[OP Marvel] Ch: 8 [Chains and Choices] (Patreon)

[1 week later] [Jason's first person POV]

I talked with Thor and learned that he went to Earth many years ago when the Frost Giants tried to invade. According to him, there weren't any groups of heroes called Avengers, Fantastic Four, or Ultimates. But he saw some humans with strange abilities. And from his description, it sounded like mutants.

Then, I spent some time in the old archives and got some information.

If I'm not wrong, then this is a new timeline. But the threats like Knull, Galactus, Mad Titan, Annihilus, and a couple of other threats. What caught my eye was the name Majeston Zelia. As far as I can remember, she is the ruler of the Dark Gods and a major enemy of Odin. She was sealed but later got out and took over Asgard. Then that bitch tortured Odin. All in all, she's bad news. Hope she doesn't attack during my stay here. I'm getting used to this peaceful life.

After all the research, I concluded that this is a new timeline. 

Well, not that it matters. I continued to live my life as usual.

The next few days moved quietly, almost too quietly. I spent my mornings with the animals and then took some extra naps. In the afternoon, I fed those critters and then trained a bit. At night, I slept under the open sky after the usual feast.

It all felt normal on the surface, but something small kept tugging at my thoughts.

Sif was different.

I noticed it slowly at first. She stopped showing up at my door in the morning. She stopped dropping by after training. She stopped asking if I wanted to spar. She no longer followed me around with that proud competitive fire in her eyes.

Instead, she kept her distance.

Last week we trained only twice. Both times she arrived exactly on time, finished exactly when needed, offered a polite nod, and left without any conversation. She used to laugh during practice. She used to argue about stances and footwork. She used to push me to fight harder than necessary.

Now she barely looked at me.

I don't know why she has raised this wall between us. A part of me wondered if I did something wrong. Maybe I upset her without realizing. Maybe she discovered something about me and decided to step away. 

Part of me found the peace nice. More sleep was always good. I could nap in my yard without the sound of armor rattling nearby or Sif jumping the fence to drag me outside. I could meditate in silence without her trying to copy my breathing patterns.

It should have been perfect.

Instead, a strange feeling crawled under my ribs every time she walked away too fast. It felt tight and annoying. I could not shake it.

I kept asking myself the same question.

Am I missing her?

I had no idea. I had never been good at this kind of thing. Thirty years alone did not leave any room for learning how to deal with people, let alone people who suddenly changed their behavior. But every time I saw her turn her back and walk away... I... I don't know. I want her to stay a bit longer and talk to me?

Yeah, I wanted her to stay a bit longer. 

I wanted to talk to her like we used to. I wanted those moments in the garden again, where she smiled without thinking and relaxed. I wanted to see her stubborn grin when she got ready to fight. I wanted to hear her voice without any distance between us.

The feeling grew worse when she ignored me during the last training session. She focused on every move like she was fighting an invisible enemy. She barely acknowledged anything I said. When I corrected her stance, she nodded once and stepped back like I had done something wrong.

She left immediately when we finished.

I stood there with my axe in hand and watched her walk away. The whole time, I could not explain why my chest felt heavy.

Now, sitting on the grass behind my house with a runetail curled on my knee, I still tried to make sense of it.

"Why is this bothering me so much?" I mumbled to myself.

Runetail: Sad, cuz your mate left during breeding season

"No, she is not my mate and we aren't breeding. We are just friends... What the fuck is wrong with you?" I replied. 

I leaned back against the tree and looked at the sky. The clouds drifted in slow shapes. Birds perched on the branches above me. A burrowhop stole a berry from my hand and sprinted away, leaving tiny prints in the dirt.

Everything here felt peaceful as always, except me.

I stood up and brushed the dirt from my clothes. The runetail complained and hopped away. I stretched my arms and rolled my shoulders.

"Alright, time to take a stroll. Maybe I'll drop by Sif's house later and ask her directly what's troubling her," I said to myself before walking back into the house to change my clothes.

...

[3rd person POV]

Deep beneath Asgard, the air was motionless. No breeze had touched this place in centuries. The walls were carved from ancient black stone that swallowed light instead of reflecting it. Runes pulsed faintly across the surface like an exhausted heartbeat. The chamber smelled of rust and cold magic.

Cul Borson sat slumped against the far wall. His wrists were bound by thick enchanted shackles that dug into his flesh. His ankles were pinned to the floor by runic bolts. His entire body felt like a relic from a forgotten age. His beard hung long and unkempt. His skin carried the gray tone of someone who had not seen sunlight in centuries.

Odin took everything away from him. He lost his power, title, army, freedom, and confidence. Over time, he became used to the chains. Silence became his only friend, and darkness reflected his situation, trapping him with no escape.

His eyes, however, remained sharp. They were still the eyes of a god, even if the rest of him had been reduced to a relic chained in the dark.

He remembered Aesheim, where Odin slaughtered his army and defeated him.

The memory carved a crack across his pride. It never faded, not even after hundreds of years.

Sometimes he laughed at himself. The God of Fear, defeated by the one emotion he commanded. He had known terror that day. He still felt it now when he closed his eyes. It returned like a cold hand gripping his throat.

Today felt no different. Or so he believed.

The ancient door at the end of the hall shifted. Dust drifted down like ash. The runes along the frame glowed brighter. Cul straightened in surprise. The old hinges groaned after so many silent years.

A figure stepped inside.

Cul flinched as the sudden light assaulted his eyes. At first, he thought the figure was an illusion sent by his own mind. The shape grew clearer with each slow step across the floor.

It was Loki.

The trickster walked with a calm stride. His green cloak trailed behind him like drifting smoke. His eyes held a sharp brightness that had not been there the last time Cul saw him. His hands stayed clasped behind his back. He studied the chamber with the mild expression of someone examining a curiosity rather than a threat.

Cul let out a dry laugh. His voice scraped the walls like a rusted blade.

"Well now. The little prince visits his disgraced uncle. Should I assume Asgard finally grew bored of my suffering?"

Loki stopped a few paces away and tilted his head slightly.

"You flatter yourself. I doubt anyone in Asgard remembers you exist."

Cul's jaw tightened. Loki smiled as if he had just plucked the correct chord on a harp.

"You have been quiet for many long years," Loki continued. "I almost admire the silence. Although I suppose chained gods tend to be better listeners."

Cul's chains rattled when he shifted his weight. His eyes narrowed with a suspicion sharpened by centuries of confinement. Then he noticed a familiar energy radiating from Loki.

Cul grinned like a maniac. "I can smell your fear, boy. Hahaha." He let out a low chuckle. "I never knew there was someone capable of making you fear. Was it Odin? Thor? Ah! It was Hela."

"After your fall, Allfather banished Hela from Asgard to an unknown realm. And no, it wasn't him or Thor that I fear," Loki said as she walked closer to Cul. "A human with power beyond anything I've ever experienced. It was as if I were standing in front of an angry Odin. And if I were to guess, he's stronger than Thor. So, I need him gone."

"And you think I can help you with that?" Cul said as he raised his chained arms. "Even if you were to free me, Odin will find out, and it'd be meaningless. I'll be imprisoned again, and he'll banish you to an unknown realm like your sister."

"Not if you tell me the secret ways to travel between realms by hiding from Heimdall's eyes and without the Bifrost," Loki said with a smile as his skin began to turn blue like that of a Frost Giant. 

"Ah! I see you've found out your true identity. Let me guess, you want to break the treaty and start another great war, and who could be a better scapegoat than an outsider to take the fall?" Cul leaned forward, still grinning. "If my calculation is correct, Odin must be going for another sleep very soon, and what could be a better time to start chaos. Very well, I'll help you. But Odin's life is mine to take."

Loki nodded. "I can live with that. But the throne of Asgard is mine."