Kapitel 197: Old Loki
Suddenly hearing a noise, Blake asked, "Who's there?" while quickly moving toward the source of the sound.
In a pile of rusted, lifeless-looking metal, an elderly man with a hunched figure was curled up between two metal sheets, which seemed to form a makeshift tent.
On the ground lay a cup made of an unknown material, with water stains nearby. It looked like he had tried to drink from the cup but was too weak to even lift it.
"Who are you?"
Blake didn't immediately offer help but instead coldly asked while standing above him.
The old man struggled to open his cloudy eyes, glancing curiously at Blake. After taking a few deep breaths, he finally gathered enough strength to speak.
"Finally, a living person! And you don't look like one of us—thank goodness. I'm so tired of seeing everyone look like Loki, even if it's a crocodile."
"You're Loki?"
Blake squatted down. The man's aura was terrifyingly weak. At first, Blake thought it was due to a lack of food or water, but it turned out that his strength was nearly drained, and his internal organs were on the verge of shutting down entirely.
"Are you Loki? Or one of them?"
Determining that the man posed no threat, Blake took out some water and gave him a few sips. After a moment's thought, he offered a cup of steaming hot chocolate with a straw, placing it by the man's lips.
After drinking some water and finishing the hot chocolate without hesitation, the elderly Loki looked slightly better.
"Ah, that's better. At least I can enjoy something decent before I die. Damn Alioth. I thought it would die at their hands, but nothing has changed. This might be the most foolish decision I've ever made."
Having regained a bit of life, old Loki began mumbling to himself.
"Who are 'they'? Sounds like you fought that cloud. Tell me about it!"
Seeing that Loki had recovered somewhat, Blake handed him a soft piece of bread.
"Well, for the sake of this food," old Loki muttered, biting into the bread. "I'd love to tell you, but are you sure we have time to chat here?"
He pointed into the distance.
At some point, Alioth had spread across half the sky, rolling toward them.
"Dammit!"
Blake glanced at old Loki. Without caring whether the old man could handle it or not, Blake grabbed him and dashed toward where Groot was evolving.
He also picked up the corpse of a Shiba Inu-shaped Thor, which had become Groot's "flowerpot." With both in hand, he took off.
"Oh? Dog Thor? If only I'd met him earlier—I could've introduced him to his crocodile brother. I didn't even know there was a mini Groot here, let alone one absorbing Thor's power. Well, better a Groot Thor than a dog Thor!"
Loki rambled on as Blake carried him. Groot's body shimmered with golden light and crackled with lightning. Blake didn't know how much longer the process would take.
Cradling the "flowerpot" with the dog and the tree, Blake sped off to their hiding place.
Alioth, massive and capable of devouring all energy, seemed invincible to physical attacks. Fortunately, it wasn't fast—cars could easily outrun it, let alone Blake's speed.
Holding both Loki and the flowerpot made flying inconvenient, so Blake relied on brute strength, leaping kilometers at a time.
"Damn! Your way of moving reminds me of a big green guy!"
Old Loki reminisced, rubbing his nose absentmindedly.
"I'm starting to get curious about you. You carry the scent of Asgard, but I don't recall anyone like you!"
"Seems like your spirits are recovering well. But for now, you'd better keep quiet unless you enjoy gulping down wind!"
With that, Blake took a few more leaps, distancing them from the city ruins.
---
*Groot's underground refuge.*
The little Groot, still planted in the Shiba Inu's body, glowed softly, serving as a makeshift lamp.
Blake placed old Loki on a sofa, offering some food and drinks. The two stared at each other for a moment.
"Don't you think it's time you said something? Like, about your fight with that cloud you mentioned earlier?"
Blake finally broke the silence.
"I thought you'd never ask. You can tell I don't have long to live, right? But why don't you start by telling me about yourself?"
Old Loki pulled out a bottle of liquor from the supplies Blake had offered and took a satisfying sip.
Knowing that Loki's physical condition posed no threat, Blake shared a general account of his experiences, carefully omitting any mention of the system or his reincarnation.
"You mean the Time Variance Authority hasn't targeted you? That's strange—you're clearly not part of the Sacred Timeline."
Blake shrugged helplessly, unsure himself.
Perhaps it was due to the system, or maybe something had happened within the TVA. Either way, he had no answers to offer.
"You've changed so much. Although I hid on a small planet after the Battle of New York, I've heard stories of what happened afterward. Malekith killed my mother, but you changed all that. Thank you very much. Even though that Frigga isn't the same as the one who raised me."
Old Loki stood up and gave a sincere, slight bow toward Blake.
"Based on your experiences, I think those two Lokis who rushed into Alioth might have succeeded in their goals—or at least completed their plans. The Time Variance Authority must have undergone significant changes."
Old Loki's expression was one of relief, as if he felt his battles hadn't been in vain. He smiled slightly and began recounting his story to Blake.
In his universe, after the Battle of New York, he found a place to hide.
He stayed hidden on a remote, desolate planet for a long, long time. Because he hadn't interfered with the Sacred Timeline, he lived there peacefully.
But one day, he couldn't resist the urge to return to Asgard.
Using his own words, Old Loki explained that he missed his brother and wanted to see how Thor was doing. However, the moment he left that planet, the Time Variance Authority captured him.
He was judged and pruned, ending up in this cursed place.
Strangely, whether because all Lokis shared some commonality or because they were inherently skilled at survival, he encountered Lokis from countless universes here.
Some had successfully ascended to the throne of Asgard. Others had killed Thor. There was even one who had collected all six Infinity Stones and unified the universe. They were all brought here after deviating from the Sacred Timeline, left to fend for themselves.
Thanks to the constant influx of materials from the outside, survival wasn't an issue. Apart from the Lokis forming factions and infighting, the only threat was avoiding being devoured by Alioth.
Everything changed because of one Loki.
At this point in the story, Blake realized Old Loki was referring to the Loki from the Disney+ series.
This was the Loki who, after escaping with the Tesseract during the Avengers' time heist in 'Avengers: Endgame', inadvertently set off a chain of events.
Old Loki shared his own experiences, as well as stories told by that Loki.
(Here's a brief summary—if you're interested, you can look up Loki's standalone series.)
In short, this new Loki was different. Unlike the others, he wasn't content to merely survive in this place.
He wanted to overthrow the TVA. Together with a female Loki variant who had the power to enchant minds, they decided to control Alioth, believing the real masterminds—the creators of the TVA, the three Time Keepers—were hiding behind the stormy red cloud.
Their goal was to find and kill them, to end the TVA's control, and to allow the universe to develop naturally so everyone could break free from their predetermined fates.
But they underestimated Alioth's power.
Even together, they couldn't enchant Alioth's mind.
In the critical moment, Old Loki returned and used all his magic to conjure a grand illusion of Asgard, allowing Alioth to devour it.
This gave the two Lokis an opportunity.
Old Loki didn't know what happened to them afterward. He only knew he had given it his all, but still ended up being devoured by Alioth.
As Alioth drained nearly all the life from his body, it suddenly retreated.
Old Loki survived, but his body was utterly ruined. His source of power was gone. In other words, he had only a few days left to live.
After waiting for a while without seeing the two Lokis emerge, Old Loki struggled to return to the shelter.
He thought he could spend his final days reminiscing in peace, but soon, Alioth reappeared.
Despair overwhelmed him.
He initially planned to stay in the shelter and wait for death, but his body's survival instincts forced him out to scavenge for resources.
After days of fruitless searching, he couldn't even muster the strength to return.
So he set up a makeshift shelter in the ruins, surviving on what little water he could find, until he encountered Blake.
"I thought they failed. But after hearing your story, I think I was wrong. They must have succeeded—or at least changed something. Otherwise, your existence would be impossible to explain."
Old Loki grinned, genuine joy lighting up his face.
His life had been one of hiding—from the Sacred Timeline on a distant planet, and then from the TVA in this desolate wasteland.
But in the end, he chose to fight back.
Even knowing it was almost certain death, he wanted to bring a spark of color to his life.
Now, realizing his sacrifice hadn't been in vain, he felt a deep sense of happiness.
"That Loki told me everything the TVA claims is a lie. Everyone in the TVA had their memories wiped and were being controlled. They were all puppets, their lives preordained. It's absurd, isn't it? In a way, every person brought here is truly alive for the first time."
Old Loki laughed heartily, then looked at Blake with hopeful eyes.
For most of his life, he had lived under the thumb of fate. Later, he hid from it. Only when he joined others—himself, in a way—in rebellion did he begin to feel alive.
Seeing Blake, a person who wasn't bound by fate, Old Loki longed for a kindred spirit's agreement.
"You're right! And your fight with that cloud—it's way cooler than invading New York with the Chitauri army!"
Facing Alioth required immense courage. If Blake didn't have the system to rely on, he wasn't sure he'd have the nerve to face Alioth head-on. His praise for Old Loki was sincere.
"I am Thor, God of Thunder! For the glory of the gods of the north!"
Just as they were about to continue their conversation, an electronic voice interrupted them.
Little Groot had completed his evolution!
*******************************************
You can get access to early chapters on patr*on.
If you like my work and you want to support me then you can become my patron on patre*n.
My patr*on account is S_Pandey_0170
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein