Chapter 1108 Father and Son (Thirty-seven) (Patreon)
Content
In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List
XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX
Hillve cried uncontrollably, trembling all over. She didn't even know what she was crying about.
Perhaps, every wanderer away from home, in the weary and numb midnight dreams, did shed tears. It's just that they stored those tears, like scooping up a handful of surging waves from the rivers and seas of return.
"We searched for you for a long time," Thor spoke with a hint of exhaustion in his tone, but more so with an inexplicable sigh. He said, "You don't know how much we regretted leaving that day. Odin and I shouldn't have left. Otherwise, you wouldn't have encountered all this."
Thor's voice made the dust particles in the afternoon light of the Celestial Palace tremble. Lady Loki, standing aside, gently reached out her hand. Seeing the tiny specks of light dancing between her fingers, her gaze started to drift again, seeming lost in thought.
"Do you know? That night, I thought about disappearing forever, never coming back, letting them regret and sorrow forever. But do you know why I didn't?"
Lady Loki muttered softly to herself, not addressing anyone in particular. She just blinked her eyes and continued, "Because I was afraid. Without me here, nothing would change. They would still be a happy family of three, as if nothing had ever happened..."
"I know, that's why Hillve didn't come back home."
Helen, held in her arms, glanced at her expression, wrapped her hands around Lady Loki's neck, and then shook her, saying, "Mom, we haven't seen this Asgard yet. Let's go out and take a look!"
Lady Loki, shaken by her words, looked at Thor and Hillve, who shared a deep sisterly bond. She felt somewhat superfluous here, so she glanced around and settled her gaze on the attendant nearby.
Thor keenly noticed her gesture, so while holding Hillve, she extended her other hand and gestured, saying, "Since you're also Loki, you can wander around here. But it's best not to use this appearance; it might cause panic."
Lady Loki nodded. Her female form was somewhat similar to Hillve's, but the male form was less so. After all, there were significant differences between male and female bone structures, and Loki's demeanor was completely different from Hillve's.
So, Lady Loki transformed back into a male form, holding Helen, and walked out of the door of the Celestial Palace, intending to stroll through the capital star sector of Asgard Empire.
There hadn't been many changes in Asgard itself. It was still a floating island in space, but there were now several armed floating islands guarding nearby, and there were more ships coming and going, making it seem even more prosperous than Loki's Asgard.
However, when Loki entered the streets of Asgard, he didn't feel the usual hustle and bustle.
Although he hadn't been shopping in Asgard for a long time, he still remembered that the atmosphere of the city was very lively, even more warm and lively than modern human society.
Asgardians disliked mechanization; they believed that those cold machines shouldn't invade their lives. So, the ordinary streets of Asgardian civilian districts still retained the styles of medieval and even primitive societies.
Looking down a street in the commercial district of Asgard, the first thing you would see would undoubtedly be the signs of taverns. Asgardians loved alcohol dearly, and anyone who lived too far from a tavern would be laughed at.
On the huge wooden signs, exaggerated fonts were written, some still retaining the style of pirates, adorned with skeleton flags and animal bones piled up at the entrance, with tall barrels and crates stacked, and carts carrying sacks of wheat.
Men in traditional Viking attire carried things, while women wearing white aprons and checked headscarves carried baskets of vegetables. As they passed through the streets, you could hear shouts mixed with ancient Norse language, the "clatter" of horseshoes crossing the streets, and the calls of drunks.
Thor loved this lively atmosphere very much, but Loki always found it too noisy. So, whenever they went out shopping, Loki would always find ways to drag Thor into magic shops or bookstores, keeping him too occupied to drink and spend the whole afternoon in a tavern.
Just as he was thinking this, Loki noticed a magic shop conveniently on his right side. He vaguely remembered visiting this shop before, but he wasn't sure if the shopkeeper was still the same rude bearded man.
He walked in with Helen, and the shopkeeper, who was bending over behind the counter nailing something, straightened up. Loki saw that the young man in front of him looked somewhat like the shopkeeper he knew, but they were not the same person.
He looked much younger, without a wild mane of hair that everyone in the neighborhood envied. However, he still had red hair and brown eyes, typical of a Celtic.
"Arl?" Loki tentatively called out. The young man behind the counter looked somewhat surprised. He looked at Loki and said, "How do you know my name?"
"Old Arl, isn't he your father? I've been a regular customer of his. I visited his shop back when he was still running it in Jotunheim..."
Upon hearing Loki's words, young Arl immediately showed a bright smile. He said, "Then you're an old friend of the Arl family. Come, come, please have a seat! Panna, Panna? Bring us two bottles of wine..."
Loki waved his hand and said, "Where's your father? Isn't he in the shop?"
Young Arl's expression stiffened for a moment. Then he wiped his hand on his apron and said, "My father has fallen in battle. My mother went back to Jotunheim to look after the shop. Now there's only me and Panna here."
After a while, a girl, also Scarlet Witch, came out with two bottles of wine. Loki glanced at her and noticed her slightly protruding belly; she must be pregnant.
Loki and young Arl sat by the window. He placed Helen on the nearby chair. Young Arl curiously reached out and touched Helen with his hand, saying, "Is this your daughter?"
Hillve cried uncontrollably, trembling all over. She didn't even know what she was crying about.
Perhaps, every wanderer away from home, in the weary and numb midnight dreams, did shed tears. It's just that they stored those tears, like scooping up a handful of surging waves from the rivers and seas of return.
"We searched for you for a long time," Thor spoke with a hint of exhaustion in his tone, but more so with an inexplicable sigh. He said, "You don't know how much we regretted leaving that day. Odin and I shouldn't have left. Otherwise, you wouldn't have encountered all this."
Thor's voice made the dust particles in the afternoon light of the Celestial Palace tremble. Lady Loki, standing aside, gently reached out her hand. Seeing the tiny specks of light dancing between her fingers, her gaze started to drift again, seeming lost in thought.
"Do you know? That night, I thought about disappearing forever, never coming back, letting them regret and sorrow forever. But do you know why I didn't?"
Lady Loki muttered softly to herself, not addressing anyone in particular. She just blinked her eyes and continued, "Because I was afraid. Without me here, nothing would change. They would still be a happy family of three, as if nothing had ever happened..."
"I know, that's why Hillve didn't come back home."
Helen, held in her arms, glanced at her expression, wrapped her hands around Lady Loki's neck, and then shook her, saying, "Mom, we haven't seen this Asgard yet. Let's go out and take a look!"
Lady Loki, shaken by her words, looked at Thor and Hillve, who shared a deep sisterly bond. She felt somewhat superfluous here, so she glanced around and settled her gaze on the attendant nearby.
Thor keenly noticed her gesture, so while holding Hillve, she extended her other hand and gestured, saying, "Since you're also Loki, you can wander around here. But it's best not to use this appearance; it might cause panic."
Lady Loki nodded. Her female form was somewhat similar to Hillve's, but the male form was less so. After all, there were significant differences between male and female bone structures, and Loki's demeanor was completely different from Hillve's.
So, Lady Loki transformed back into a male form, holding Helen, and walked out of the door of the Celestial Palace, intending to stroll through the capital star sector of Asgard Empire.
There hadn't been many changes in Asgard itself. It was still a floating island in space, but there were now several armed floating islands guarding nearby, and there were more ships coming and going, making it seem even more prosperous than Loki's Asgard.
However, when Loki entered the streets of Asgard, he didn't feel the usual hustle and bustle.
Although he hadn't been shopping in Asgard for a long time, he still remembered that the atmosphere of the city was very lively, even more warm and lively than modern human society.
Asgardians disliked mechanization; they believed that those cold machines shouldn't invade their lives. So, the ordinary streets of Asgardian civilian districts still retained the styles of medieval and even primitive societies.
Looking down a street in the commercial district of Asgard, the first thing you would see would undoubtedly be the signs of taverns. Asgardians loved alcohol dearly, and anyone who lived too far from a tavern would be laughed at.
On the huge wooden signs, exaggerated fonts were written, some still retaining the style of pirates, adorned with skeleton flags and animal bones piled up at the entrance, with tall barrels and crates stacked, and carts carrying sacks of wheat.
Men in traditional Viking attire carried things, while women wearing white aprons and checked headscarves carried baskets of vegetables. As they passed through the streets, you could hear shouts mixed with ancient Norse language, the "clatter" of horseshoes crossing the streets, and the calls of drunks.
Thor loved this lively atmosphere very much, but Loki always found it too noisy. So, whenever they went out shopping, Loki would always find ways to drag Thor into magic shops or bookstores, keeping him too occupied to drink and spend the whole afternoon in a tavern.
Just as he was thinking this, Loki noticed a magic shop conveniently on his right side. He vaguely remembered visiting this shop before, but he wasn't sure if the shopkeeper was still the same rude bearded man.
He walked in with Helen, and the shopkeeper, who was bending over behind the counter nailing something, straightened up. Loki saw that the young man in front of him looked somewhat like the shopkeeper he knew, but they were not the same person.
He looked much younger, without a wild mane of hair that everyone in the neighborhood envied. However, he still had red hair and brown eyes, typical of a Celtic.
"Arl?" Loki tentatively called out. The young man behind the counter looked somewhat surprised. He looked at Loki and said, "How do you know my name?"
"Old Arl, isn't he your father? I've been a regular customer of his. I visited his shop back when he was still running it in Jotunheim..."
Upon hearing Loki's words, young Arl immediately showed a bright smile. He said, "Then you're an old friend of the Arl family. Come, come, please have a seat! Panna, Panna? Bring us two bottles of wine..."
Loki waved his hand and said, "Where's your father? Isn't he in the shop?"
Young Arl's expression stiffened for a moment. Then he wiped his hand on his apron and said, "My father has fallen in battle. My mother went back to Jotunheim to look after the shop. Now there's only me and Panna here."
After a while, a girl, also Scarlet Witch, came out with two bottles of wine. Loki glanced at her and noticed her slightly protruding belly; she must be pregnant.
Loki and young Arl sat by the window. He placed Helen on the nearby chair. Young Arl curiously reached out and touched Helen with his hand, saying, "Is this your daughter?"
"Yes," Loki nodded, looking at the two bottles of mead on the table. He absentmindedly opened the bottle and poured it into the cup, then took a sip.
Loki didn't like drinking at all. Wherever he was, whatever alcohol he drank, he always tasted the repulsive bitterness of alcohol. But at this moment, a sip of cold wine made him feel much more sober.
"During the thousand-year war, my father managed a transport ship and unfortunately, on the logistics supply line, he encountered an ambush from the Kree Empire... He and several crew members died in battle," young Arl shook his head, but he didn't show too much sadness. Asgardians were like this; everyone on this war chariot had long been prepared for death.
Loki wiped his mouth, turned his head to look out the window and said, "Why is the street so desolate? I remember it wasn't like this when I came before?"
"Oh, you must not have come for a long time, right?" Young Arl suddenly realized, saying, "Today is the second princess's memorial day
[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]
XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX