Chapter 314: Of Fairies and Tails

Chapter 314: Of Fairies and Tails

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13th May 2013, Realm of the Shadows

(Loki Odinson POV)

The parasite gasped in shock until it let out a small scream of shock. It was distinctly feminine, unlike her previous neutral voice. Slowly, a light started to gather around the wound, until it consumed her, and she was destroyed with a scream.

The destruction destabilized his clone, but it didn't matter, his purpose was fulfilled. The Throne room was completely unguarded, and it was time for the Morrigan to finish her part of the plan. The loss was felt by the other Shadows as well, especially the King who screamed in fury letting out a giant blast of light that completely destabilized the dragon and even sent Loki flying back, without his invisibility.

The King of the Shadows immediately noticed the God of Mischief and glared at him. With a wave of his hand, he telekinetically sent Loki flying to a wall and kept him frozen.

Without Loki directing the chaos dragon, the dimensional breach started to close, making Loki's main method of attack useless. The God of Mischief gulped in fear as the towering King of the Shadows glared at him with hatred in his eyes, "YOU!!!!"

Loki couldn't breathe, couldn't speak, as the giant being in front of him held him telekinetically. The light coming from his eyes was almost blinding, the King's rage being expressed, "YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR ACTIONS, TRAITOR. YOU WILL PAY FOR AMORA'S DEATH."

It didn't make any sense. Yes, the Shadows were connected, but killing one of them should not have brought this much of a reaction from him. Whoever this was had a deep connection to the King himself, meaning that Loki had struck a nerve somewhere. And now the King was yelling in anger. Its expressions looked surprisingly natural, surprisingly mortal. Loki needed to take advantage of this to have any hope of escaping this place in any way. Even the name was surprisingly familiar to Loki.

Loki was supposed to escape unseen, the same way he entered in the first place so that the next part of the plan could proceed. If he doesn't leave soon, Odin and his allies will presume that he had perished and will proceed, which would ensure his doom. He needed to get out of here, or he would be dead. He didn't have the raw power to fight a single Shadow, so he needed to use his most powerful feature, his silver tongue.

Still gasping from the telekinetic pressure, Loki spoke out, "She meant a lot to you, didn't she?"

Amora, what a familiar name. Wait a minute, wasn't that the name of that Enchantress woman? She was a famous seductress that was obsessed with Thor and getting him to marry her. She was a good sorceress, all things considered, but she ended up going too far and tried to enchant Thor. It was quite the scandal, and her sister Lorelei who had helped her with her ambitions happened to be one of Frigga's handmaidens. They were both banished to Vanaheim for their transgression, something that was surprisingly merciful compared to Odin's usual stern punishments when it came to harming his heir.

The similarity between the two names wouldn't have meant much if it wasn't for the Morrigan's theory about the Shadows' origin. Read latest chapters at nov(e)lbin.com Only

The God of Mischief didn't let the grieving King answer and instead muttered absentmindedly, "She was right. By the Norns, she was right."

The King of the Shadows recast his telekinetic push and walked towards Loki, "You think this little trap is enough to stop us? Oh, it's a clever trap and it might delay us slightly, but in a few centuries, we would disable it without much issue. You have achieved nothing other than buying your realm a meagre amount of time, where you'll stay to be tortured every single day in here, hoping for the sweet release of death. I will shred your soul to pieces, so that you never reincarnate, that you become nothing more than an old tale of what happens when you defy us. You're nothing but the villain in your story, the small pathetic antagonist. I know that for a fact because that is your fate. You will never be a hero, Loki."

Loki was frightened by the King's words. For the first time, no plans came to mind as the giant man punched him harder than he had ever been punched before. The King screamed at him, "YOU'RE NOTHING MORE THAN A FAILURE. A BEING OF MISCHIEF, AND LIES, THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE, THAT IS HOW YOU WILL ALWAYS BE. YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRATEFUL THAT I INCLUDED YOU IN OUR STORY ANYWAY."

His mind hazy from the impact, Loki thought to himself. Yes, he was the God of Mischief, and Lies, but something was always missing. The name stories resonated deeply with him. How fitting, wasn't his life barely even more than a story, a myth? His mother once told him that 'Every story ever told really happened. Stories are where memories go when they're forgotten.'

His mother's words resonated with him. Yes, all the lies, all the mischief simply preludes to the endless canvas that is his life. His mischief is nothing more than an amusing story, a comedy. And weren't all lies stories, in the end? After all, Loki's tricks were lies that he turned into truth. Could he do the same with any stories?

Perhaps he wasn't even the God of Lies, merely the God of Stories. That title strangely felt right, and something deep in Loki simply snapped into place. The young god felt himself being rushed with power that felt strangely familiar. No, it was always his power, but he had never understood it before.

In this small realm of death and shadows, Loki found himself and the blast shook the entire realm, sending the King of the Shadows flying back. Was he a reality manipulator with his stories? No, he wasn't. Loki could tell how easy it is to make his stories a reality because of the chaotic residue left by the breach. The now-revealed to be God of Stories had manipulated pure chaos into his illusion of Nidhogg, but this was on another level.

But that would not serve him for long. As long as his stories become reality, he would consume more of the chaos. This was a temporary situation at best. But for a fraction of a second, Loki was the most powerful being in this realm.

Yet, he could not leave this realm. He was just as trapped as the rest of the Shadows. But what if that wasn't true? What if Loki could rewrite his own story? It was an immense undertaking, but this was an outside realm, where the laws of the main universe are not fully enforced and will not cause too much backlash as long as there is no paradox. It was a mad idea, but it was the only chance he had. The question is whether there's enough chaotic residue to power the spell.

The King stood up once more, releasing far more power than before, "I will enjoy killing you, pest."

"No, you won't," Loki answered with a smirk, "after all, I was never here."

The God of Stories relished the look of surprise on the King of the Shadows' face when reality changed suddenly. Loki made it as if this encounter all happened to a solid clone of his, that he created just before the void was resolved.

Meanwhile, his real body clouded itself and left towards the throne room, met with the Morrigan and left the realm the moment she activated her trap. As soon as the narrative was over, and Loki set foot on Svartalfheim, Loki felt himself being drained like he never had before, before giving his mentor a smirk, "it worked!"

That was the last thing he uttered before darkness consumed his vision and he fell unconscious.

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I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.

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