Light (Part 2)

Planet Sakaar’s climate alternated year-round between bitter cold and scorching heat. When summer arrived, blazing winds swept through charred meteor craters, crossed red rocky mountains, brushed past countless roaring mines, and reached the skies above the enormous arena. Yet the fervent cries within the arena were even noisier than the wind.

Planet Sakaar’s Grand Arena was one of the most famous arenas in the universe. It had not been built by the present-day Sakaarans, but was a relic of the previous civilization. Thus, it bore the marks of Planet Sakaar’s ancient era, rough and wild in its beauty.

Timber pillars overlapped above solid stone columns, carved with magical patterns unique to the ancient Sakaarans. Through the gaps between the columns, heat waves churned in the center of the immense arena. Broken bricks and stones could no longer cover the entire floor, and the new Sakaarans lacked the means to repair it, leaving it mottled and patchy.

On either side of the arena stood two elevated platforms made of steel and machinery, creations of the new Sakaarans. On one of them stood Planet Sakaar’s current ruler—the Red King, Anmo Ashan.

Two towering Sakaaran guards stood behind him, holding spears as they protected His Majesty the Emperor.

On the platform opposite the Red King stood the universe-famous Grandmaster. Unlike the Sakaarans, his skin was not red. It was instead a vivid blue, and golden patterns covered his forehead.

He sat in a special chair. The guards behind him were not as tall as the Sakaarans, but they all wore mage robes, magical power swirling around them.

At that moment, two aliens were fighting in the arena. Calling them two aliens was not quite accurate. It was an alien fighting a bizarre beast. The insect resembled the giant bug that had once pulled a cart for the big red fellow, a strange insect unique to Planet Sakaar.

The battle was reaching its climax. The alien facing the beast was already covered in wounds, while the Red King and the Grandmaster watched with great interest.

Unexpectedly, the alien used a rolling feint to trick the giant insect, which could not turn quickly, then severed one of its legs. Driven mad by pain, the insect swept its tail backward, its scales covered in spikes, and sent the gladiator flying. Then it turned around and bit off his head, ending the fight just like that.

Both the Grandmaster and the Red King were somewhat dissatisfied, but at the sight of death and bloodshed, the other spectators erupted into cheers.

The atmosphere in the arena grew more feverish. Prince Ashan, standing behind the Red King, stepped forward and whispered several words to his father. Behind the Red King, the guards crossed their spears. Their metal shafts struck one another with a crisp ring, and the arena fell silent.

"…We all know that in this universe, there is a race that calls itself divine. They are powerful and warlike. They once ravaged the universe, striking terror into countless civilizations…"

"Today, our powerful and noble guest, Lord Grandmaster, has brought us one of them. And my youngest son, Planet Sakaar’s future heir, your prince, has brought us another…"

The Red King raised his voice. "Let us see what kind of spectacular performance these Asgardians, who believe themselves to be the most perfect beings in the universe, can put on when they slaughter one another."

There were two gates beneath the mechanical platforms, where the gladiators prepared. The two fighters would emerge separately from those gates before entering the arena to battle.

Amid the crowd’s cheers, the gate on the Red King’s side opened first, and Thor walked out.

Just as the Red King was about to announce the entrance of the other gladiator, the Grandmaster cleared his throat and said, "He is no ordinary Asgardian. Allow me to introduce him…"

The Red King showed no displeasure at being interrupted. He raised his brows with interest and looked toward his son. Prince Ashan was somewhat bewildered. He did not know what special identity Thor had, but the Grandmaster’s words stunned him. "The man before you… yes, him. You may not recognize him, but he is quite famous. He is the biological son of God King Odin, Prince of Asgard and heir to Asgard, Asgard’s bravest warrior!"

The entire arena fell silent for an instant before erupting into an enormous uproar. Clearly, this fact shocked everyone, including the Red King and Prince Ashan.

Unlike a well-traveled member of the Cosmic Elder Council like the Grandmaster, they were merely this planet’s royal family, with no ties to the universe’s major powers. They had never seen Odin or Asgard’s army with their own eyes, so naturally, they did not recognize Thor at all.

More importantly, Thor was Asgard’s noble Great Prince, yet he was now gaunt and haggard, no different from the miner slaves who had been tortured in the mines for years.

He was not wearing the armor Prince Ashan had provided for him, not even the soft armor beneath it. His original clothes were already in tatters. He held only that spear, though it seemed more like he was using it to support his exhausted body.

Prince Ashan was stunned at first, then burst into laughter. The other Sakaarans in the arena began laughing as well, their shrill laughter echoing in Thor’s ears.

Yet he did not react as he once had when mocked, snorting like a bull before roaring and swinging his weapon to kill the vermin daring to provoke him.

Thor merely stood calmly in the center of the arena, allowing malicious laughter and ridicule to crash over him like waves. A razor-sharp will almost poured from his eyes, transforming into blade-like glints that surrounded his body.

Once the laughter and discussion gradually quieted, the Grandmaster spoke again. "And by coincidence, the Asgardian I captured—a fool who walked straight into my trap—is also a Prince of Asgard…"

"They are not only both Princes of Asgard, but blood brothers as well." The Grandmaster smiled. "So, you will not only witness a struggle between Asgard’s heirs, but also brothers turning against one another and slaughtering each other."

Upon hearing this, Thor finally reacted. His eyes slowly widened, and he turned to look at the Grandmaster. The Grandmaster sneered. "That cunning brat set a trap for me and cheated me out of my stake. That faithless wretch—how could I let him off easily?"

"Still, I spared his life, all for today…"

Then Thor saw the arena gate opposite him slowly open, and the figure emerging from the shadows was Loki.

Thor could hardly believe his eyes. He squeezed them shut hard, then opened them again.

But it truly was Loki.

Suddenly, Thor understood. Extreme fury blazed in his eyes. He knew this might be another damned prank!

But before he could vent that rage, Thor froze, because the Loki who appeared before him was in far too miserable a state.

Loki walked slowly out of the arena gate. It was clear he was trying to preserve his dignity, but his condition was now utterly wretched.

A shackle hung from Loki’s left wrist, blood dripping from it onto the ground. His body was covered in wounds. A massive gash, deep enough to expose bone, stretched from his left shoulder all the way to the back of his right waist, and blood had soaked through all his clothes.

Loki’s face was as pale as paper. The moment he stepped out of the gate, he dropped to one knee and panted heavily. Fury lodged in Thor’s chest as he gritted his teeth and said to Loki, "You tricked me again, didn’t you?!"

"…Tricked you?" Thor heard Loki’s voice. Speaking took tremendous effort, and his tone was full of pain.

"Was the Bifrost’s attack fake? Was the destruction of my body fake? Or…" Loki swallowed with difficulty and coughed dryly twice. Thor smelled a heavy stench of blood as he heard Loki say, "…Are the divine power and divine office within you fake?"

Thor froze.

Before this, he had been immersed in despair and grief over Loki’s death and had never drawn upon the divine power within his body. But now, as he focused, he sensed the divine power and divine office unique to the Fire God surging within him. Since Odin had exiled him to Earth, he had not felt such abundant power in a long time.

Loki could only possess one divine office and one share of divine power. This was an unchangeable rule of Asgard. And now that the Fire God’s divine office and divine power were within him, it meant Loki had lost all his power. In other words, he no longer had any divine power to cast illusions or create phantasms.

Which meant… Thor strode toward Loki. The instant his hand touched Loki’s shoulder, he knew Loki’s wounds were real. Thor sucked in a sharp breath.

Loki had never suffered such severe injuries.

None of Asgard’s mages charged into the front lines. They generally hid at the rear of the formation, casting disruptive magic. Loki had been on battlefields, but he had never fought on the front line, and thus had almost never been injured.

Thor still remembered Loki’s most serious injury. During one battle, an assassin who had slipped behind their lines ambushed him, and an arrow grazed his arm. The wound healed in less than two hours, but Frigga grieved for three full days afterward, then spent more than five hundred years bringing it up.

Thor felt faint, his fingers trembling. The heavy stench of blood coming from Loki made his head swim. Thor had never imagined that, as a battle-hardened warrior, the smell of blood could make him dizzy.

"Get lost," Loki said.

"Loki… Loki, tell me, what exactly is going on?" Thor staggered back two steps.

Loki coughed violently twice. The movement of his chest tore his wounds open even further, but the Grandmaster and the Red King on the platform were dissatisfied with this "tender" exchange. What they wanted to see was a gladiatorial fight where they killed each other.

The Grandmaster raised one hand. Magical light flashed between his fingers, and Loki let out a scream as several magical rings appeared around his body.

Now Thor knew how the enormous wound on Loki’s body had been made, because those magical rings were cutting into Loki’s flesh, making him scream in agony.

The Grandmaster said, "Attack him, Loki! This is an arena. No matter who he used to be, no matter what your relationship is, he is your opponent now…"

"If you do not attack him, you will be the one who dies. Do you understand?!"

The magical rings vanished. Loki collapsed onto the ground and lay motionless. Accompanying Loki’s heavy breathing was the faint sound, heard by no one, of wind stirring sand and dust.

That razor-sharp will began to gradually take physical form. Small whirlwinds rose around Thor’s feet, and the hand holding his spear began to tremble.

Just as the Grandmaster and the Red King began laughing at Loki’s miserable state, a low rumbling sound came from the distant horizon of Planet Sakaar—

On this planet where it had never rained, thunder rumbled.