บท 369: Chapter 240: Light (Middle) _1
The climate of Sakaar alternates between extreme cold and scorching heat year-round. When summer arrives, the hot wind blows across blackened meteor craters, red mountains, and countless roaring mines, onto the huge gladiator arena above. The passionate cheers in the arena are even louder than the wind.
The Sakaar Star Grand Colosseum is one of the most renowned arenas in the cosmos. It wasn't built by the current New Sakar people, but is a relic from a previous civilization, bearing a stark impression of ancient Sakaar, an embodiment of ruggedness and wild beauty.
Wooden pillars, inscribed with Sakara's unique magic patterns, overlap on the main columns. Through the gaps between the pillars, a heat wave ripples in the vast center of the arena. The damaged stones cannot cover all the arena's ground, and the New Sakar people lack the resources to fill these gaps, leaving the ground patchy.
On both sides of the arena, there are two platforms built from steel and machinery, contributions from the New Sakar people. On one platform stands the current ruler of Sakaar - the "Red King" Anmo Asya.
Two towering Sakaar guards stand behind him, spears in hand, guarding their Emperor.
On the contrasting platform stands the renowned High Lord, who is different from the Sakar people. His skin is not red, but bright blue, his forehead adorned with gold stripes.
He sits on a special chair, surrounded by less towering, but robed guards, a force of magic enveloping them.
At this moment in the arena, two aliens are engaged in a fight, one of them a bizarrely-shaped beast. The creature looks like the giant bug that once pulled the cart of the big red guy, - a unique alien insect of Sakaar.
The gladiatorial combat in the arena is intense. The alien facing the beast is already covered in wounds. The Red King and the High Lord are thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.
To everyone's surprise, the alien outmaneuvered the slow-turning beast with a roll, chopping off one of its legs. The beast was driven mad with pain, sweeping its tail covered in spiky scales, sending the gladiator flying. The beast then turned around and bit off the gladiator's head, bringing the battle to an end.
The High Lord and Red King were slightly displeased, but the sight of death and bloodshed excited the spectators, causing an uproar.
As the atmosphere in the arena grew more intense, Prince Asya, who stood behind the Red King, stepped forward and whispered a few words to his father. The spears of the guards behind the Red King crossed, the metallic shafts knocking against each other, making a crisp sound, and the arena fell silent.
"…We all know, in this cosmos, there's a race that claims themselves as gods. They are powerful and warlike, once terrorized the cosmos, making countless civilizations tremble in fear…"
"Today, our powerful and noble guest, the High Lord, brings us one of them, while my young son, the future heir of Sakaar, your Prince, brings us another…"
The Red King raises his voice, "Let us witness, this Aesir clan that considers itself the most perfect creature in the cosmos, how will it perform when they slaughter each other?"
Below the mechanical platform are two large doors - the preparation area for the gladiators. They would each enter the arena from these doors for the battle.
Accompanied by cheers from the crowd, the door on the Red King's side opened first, and out walked Thor.
Just as the Red King was about to announce the entrance of the other gladiator, the High Lord cleared his throat, saying, "This isn't just an ordinary Aesir, please allow me to introduce…"
The Red King didn't appear to mind being interrupted, he intriguedly raised his brows, looking at his son, Prince Asya, who was rather dumbfounded. He was unaware of Thor's special status, but the High Lord's words stunned him, "This… yes, it's him. You might not recognize him. He is well-known. He is the son of God King Odin, the Prince and heir of Asgard, Asgard's bravest warrior!"
The entire venue fell silent momentarily, then erupted in noise. This was a shocking revelation to everyone present, including the Red King and Prince Asyer.
Unlike the High Lord, a seasoned Elder Council Member of the cosmos, they were mere rulers of this planet with no significant ties to the cosmos's powers, thus, they hadn't personally encountered Odin and the Asgardian army, and naturally, they had no recognition of Thor.
What's more important is that, while Thor is the noble elder prince of Asgard, his current state was emaciated, his looks haggard, he was indistinguishable from the enslaved miners who had been tortured in the mine for a long time.
He didn't wear the armor provided by Prince Asyer, not even the inner soft armour. His original clothes were ragged and torn, the only thing he held was that long spear, but it appeared as if he was using the spear to support his fatigued body.
Prince Asyer was initially astonished but then burst into boisterous laughter. The rest of the Sakaar people in the arena also broke into laughter as the shrill sound echoed in Thor's ears.
But Thor didn't react as he used to when ridiculed, there were no bull-like snorts or shouting and waving of weapons to wipe out those who dared provoke him.
Thor stood calmly at the center of the arena, letting the malicious laughter and ridicule flood over him like waves. A sharp will seemed to surge from his eyes, transforming into a razor-sharp blade encircling him.
As the laugher and discussion gradually quieted down, the High Lord spoke again, "Coincidentally, the Asgardian I captured, a foolish one who walked into a trap, is also a prince of Asgard…"
"Moreover, both are princes of Asgard and biological brothers." The High Lord revealed a smile saying "So, you get to witness not only a power struggle between Asgardian heirs, but also the fracturing of brotherhood, the fratricide."
Upon hearing this, Thor in the arena finally showed some reaction. His eyes gradually widened as he looked back at the High Lord, who sneered, "That cunning child set a trap for me, stole my stake, he's damn untrustworthy, how could I let him off lightly?"
"But, I spared his life, waiting for this day…"
Then Thor saw the gate of the colosseum across him slowly opening, and out from the shadows stepped a figure - it was Loki.
Thor could hardly believe his eyes, he shut them tight and then blinked open again.
But indeed, it was Loki.
Suddenly, it hit Thor and a wave of intense fury lit his eyes. He understood. This must be another one of those damned pranks!
But before he could vent out the anger, Thor was stunned to see the pitiful state Loki was in.
Loki, walking out from the colosseum's gate, was moving slowly. It was clear that he was doing his best to maintain some dignity, but his condition was truly miserable now.
One Hand bore a shackle on Loki's left wrist with fresh blood dripping from it to the ground. His body covered with injuries, a deep wound, bone-deep, that extended from his left shoulder to his right waist had soaked his clothes completely with blood.
Loki's face was as pale as a sheet of paper. Just stepping out of the gate, he knelt down gasping for breath. Thor clenched his teeth and said to Loki, "You deceived me again, didn't you?!"
"...deceived you?" Thor heard Loki's voice, he spoke with great effort and laced with pain.
"Was the attack on the Rainbow Bridge an illusion? Was my body destroyed an illusion? Or are you saying..." Loki struggled to swallow down saliva and coughed twice. Thor could smell the strong metallic scent of blood. He heard Loki say, "...the divine power and divinity in you is an illusion?"
Thor was stunned.
Previously, he was too engrossed in the despair and grief over Loki's death to tap into his divine power. Now, focusing his attention, he could feel the divine powers unique to the Fire God coursing and surging through him. Since being banished to Eart by Odin, it had been a long time since he felt such an immense power.
Loki could only have one divinity and one divine power. That was a rule of Asgard that could never change. Now Thor had the Fire God's powers and divinity inside him, which meant that Loki had lost all his powers. In other words, he no longer had the divine power to cast illusions.
That is to say.... Thor strode up to Loki. The moment his hand touched Loki's shoulder, he realized that Loki's injuries were real, and Thor drew in a cold breath.
Loki had never been so severely injured before.
All the mages of Asgard would never head the charge at the frontlines. They usually would hide behind the lines and cast disruptive magic. Loki had been in battles before, but he had never fought on the frontlines, thus, he hardly had the chance to suffer injuries.
Thor remembered the worst injury Loki ever received happened during a battle when he was ambushed by an enemy assassin who had sneaked behind their lines. An arrow had grazed his arm. This wound healed in less than two hours. But upon their return, Frigga mourned for three whole days and would bring this up and fuss over it for over five hundred years.
Thor felt a bit dizzy, his fingers shaking slightly. The strong smell of blood coming from Loki made his head spin. As a battle-hardened warrior, Thor had never imagined that he would feel dizzy due to the smell of blood.
"Get lost." Loki said.
"Loki...Loki, tell me, what the hell is going on?" Thor stumbled back a couple of steps.
Loki coughed violently, causing the wound on his chest to tear wider, but up on the stage, the High Lord and Red King were unsatisfied with their "tender" conversation. They wanted to see a gladiator fight, a bloody battle.
The High Lord extended a hand, magic flickered through his fingers, as Loki shrieked and numerous magic halos appeared on his body.
Now Thor knew how that huge wound on Loki's body was made, because those magic halos were slicing into Loki's body causing him to cry out in agony.
The High Lord said, "Attack him! Loki! This is the Colosseum, regardless of who he was, regardless of your relationship with him, now he is your opponent..."
"If you don't attack him, you will die instead, do you understand?!"
The magic halo disappeared, Loki fell to the ground motionless. With the heavy sound of Loki's panting, there came a sound that nobody else could hear — the soft rustling of the wind shifting sands.
The sharp will began to gradually materialize. A small whirlwind started to form beside Thor's feet, the hand holding the spear began to shake.
Just as the High Lord and Red King started to laugh at Loki's pitiful condition, from the far ends of Sakaar, a low rumble echoed—
This planet, which never saw rains, was hit by a thunderstorm.
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