Loki walked towards Thor.
He looked at his older brother's obese body, expressionless.
Loki had considered, after everything ended, returning to his original world and living out his destiny, or perhaps defying fate and doing what he wanted.
After all, Loki cared deeply about his family.
Everything he had done, from beginning to end, was solely for his family's approval.
He had no friends.
There was no one around him with whom he could speak his true feelings.
Even Thor, in Loki's eyes back then, couldn't even be considered a good brother.
But Asgard was his home, and the longer he was away, the more he missed it.
No matter how much Loki wandered, where he went, or how long he was away from home, Loki never felt sad before.
Because back then, Loki knew that no matter where he went, Asgard was still there, his home was still there.
But now...
Asgard had been destroyed, his parents had passed away one after another, and even his original self in the timeline had died, leaving only Thor alone in this world.
Loki had lost his home, drifting within the TVA.
Thor had also lost his home, and even everything, leaving only the empty title of 'King of Asgard'.
Now, even that empty title had been given to the Valkyrie.
Loki didn't know how he felt.
He had always wanted to see Thor make a fool of himself, always wanted his parents to see Thor's disheveled state, to let them know that he should be their most beloved child, and should be the King of Asgard.
But now, looking at Thor in front of him, Loki couldn't utter a single word of mockery.
He didn't even dare to greet him.
He just stood silently behind Thor, without a sound.
Until Thor noticed that there seemed to be someone behind him.
"Valkyrie?"
Thor turned around, thinking Valkyrie had returned, and looked behind him.
Thor had been about to say something to Valkyrie, but when he turned around and saw the person standing behind him, he instantly froze.
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, and when he confirmed it wasn't a hallucination, the muscles in Thor's face twitched.
His lips tried to curve upwards but failed several times.
He blinked, his eyes reddening, and he pointed at Loki, then turned back to face the distant sea.
Loki didn't know Thor's inner thoughts, but seeing Thor's changing expression, he knew Thor's emotions must be very complex.
So complex that he couldn't even say a word.
Loki lowered his head slightly and walked towards Thor, standing beside him, and they both stood side by side, looking out at the sea.
After an unknown amount of time, Loki heard Thor say:
"I had another dream, Loki."
...
"I dreamed of you again. Don't laugh when I tell you, but in these past few years since moving to Earth, I've dreamed of you, you scoundrel, more times than I've dreamed of Father and Mother.
"Because I always thought, you're Loki, you're the brother who tricked me countless times. The first time I returned to Asgard from Earth, I saw you fall into the abyss of the universe, and I thought you were dead, but you weren't.
"The second time I saw the Dark Elves kill you, and you died in my arms. I thought you were dead, but you weren't.
"The third time... you were killed by Thanos, right in front of me... I thought this time you would still appear before me like before, find an opportunity, and say something like, 'Hey, brother, I'm not dead, I tricked you again.'"
Thor paused here, his voice choked:
...But you didn't."
...
"So you really died, truly lost your life in front of me. That's why I think of you the most, and dream of you the most, because you're Loki... you're the god most skilled at deception and lies, how could you possibly die...?"
By the end of Thor's words, tears were already streaming down his cheeks, but he didn't turn to look at Loki.
He thought this was his dream.
Just like the countless dreams he had during those muddled years.
In his dreams, he had seen his parents countless times, and met Loki countless times. Each time, he wanted to believe it was real, but it wasn't, it was a dream.
Just like this dream.
Loki listened to Thor's words, his heart very complex.
What one only sees with their eyes is, after all, different from what one personally experiences.
Loki had seen everything about his future in the Time Theater, but that was not his experienced story after all.
He hadn't gone with Thor to fight the Dark Elves, nor had he fought alongside Thor against their sister.
Nor had he died in front of Thor.
So Loki didn't really understand Thor's feelings for him. In his impression, Thor was still that 'scoundrel older brother' who, while caring for him, cared more about his friends.
Therefore, Thor's current emotional outpouring left Loki at a loss.
He instinctively looked back behind him.
Wanting to see if Kevin was there.
But he didn't see a single soul; Kevin seemed to have vanished without a trace after bringing him here.
He didn't know if Kevin had intentionally abandoned him here.
Taking a deep breath, Loki knew that continuing to delay with Thor would lead nowhere.
He finally made up his mind, turned to face Thor, and at the same time, extended his hand to Thor:
"This isn't a dream, I'm real."
...
Thor, who was pouring out his inner turmoil, froze.
He turned to look at Loki, meeting his green eyes.
They stared at each other for a while before Thor finally reacted.
He quickly raised his fist and punched Loki hard in the face.
Bang!
The punch accurately hit Loki's cheek, knocking the completely unprepared Loki to the ground.
"WT...!?! Thor?! Why did you hit me?!"
Loki, knocked to the ground by Thor, was utterly bewildered.
He clutched the spot where he'd been hit, staring at Thor in disbelief.
Just a moment ago, he was pouring his heart out, saying he missed him, and the next second he turned around and punched him.
Is this what you meant by missing me??
Is this how you miss me?
Thinking every day about how to punch me!?
Loki was bewildered, and so was Thor.
He looked at his fist, then at Loki on the ground, and a hint of shrewdness and disbelief finally emerged from his clear, foolish eyes.
"You... you're really Loki!?!"
He stared at Loki with wide eyes, then suddenly slapped himself across the face.
Loki: "?"
Intense pain shot from his cheek. Thor ignored his swollen face and rushed forward to pull Loki up and hug him tightly.
"It's really you... I knew it, I effing knew you weren't dead! It makes sense, you scoundrel, with so many ways to save yourself, how could you possibly die! I knew it!!"
Thor held him tightly as if afraid Loki would run away.
His voice trembled, tears gushing out uncontrollably. He patted Loki's back hard, as if only by doing so could he feel his brother's presence.
Loki was held by Thor, his hands a little at a loss. He didn't know where to put his hands.
After a while, he tentatively hugged Thor back.
...You're too fat, Thor.
Then he expressed his current feelings about Thor.
Thor didn't care at all. With a wide smile, he released Loki, examining him up and down for a long time, then suddenly slapped Loki across the face again.
Slap!
"Ouch!?!"
Loki cried out in pain, looking at Thor in disbelief once more.
This time, he could no longer tolerate it, and said angrily:
"Twice!! You hit me twice!!!"
"Sorry, the first time was to confirm if you were real."
"Then what was that slap for?!"
Loki pointed to his cheek.
Thor said self-righteously:
"That's for not coming to find me all these years! You're clearly alive, why didn't you come find me?"
Thor was indeed a little guilty about the first punch.
After all, he hit him really hard to confirm it wasn't an illusion.
But for the second slap, Thor felt no guilt whatsoever.
He was clearly alive, yet he hadn't come to see his brother for such a long time, needlessly making Thor suffer for him for so long.
Was Thor wrong to slap him for that?
No, he wasn't!
"Alright, you have a point."
Loki didn't bother to explain anything to Thor. Although he wasn't Thor's brother in this timeline, Loki had indeed never thought of using the TVA's resources to meet his family during all this time.
Even if it was just a glimpse from afar.
However, having said that, Loki felt it was better to make some things clear beforehand.
His expression became a few shades more serious and earnest as he looked at Thor:
"But there's something I need to make clear to you. Although I am Loki, I am not the Loki you think I am."
"You... what do you mean by that?"
"This world's Loki is already dead. I actually come from a parallel universe."
…
"Tsk, why did he say that out loud?"
Kevin, who had been secretly watching the brothers' reunion from a distance, slapped his forehead when he heard Loki openly tell Thor that he was from a parallel universe.
Originally, Thor and Loki meeting happily, reminiscing, and then each going their separate ways would have been good.
But he just had to add that last sentence, pouring cold water on Thor's excitement after meeting Loki.
Experiencing the pain of loss and then regaining, only to lose again, all within a few minutes, he wondered if Thor could handle it.
Thinking this, Kevin decided not to watch any further.
Letting Loki and Thor meet was due to Kevin's personal desire.
After watching the finale of "Loki," Kevin had always wondered how great it would be if Thor knew about Loki's current achievements.
That mischievous younger brother, who had always only known how to cause trouble and wreak havoc everywhere, finally grew into a Superhero with true responsibility and accountability.
Thor would surely be very pleased if he knew.
But unfortunately, throughout the entire "Loki" series, there was no scene of Loki and Thor meeting.
This was something Kevin found quite regrettable.
That's why Kevin brought Loki to meet Thor now, to make up for his past regret while watching the show.
Of course, Kevin had many other regrets.
For example, the deceased Black Widow, the deceased Iron Man… and so on.
It was just that too many people had no relation or connection with Kevin, which was why Kevin didn't try so hard to make up for those regrets.
But Loki…
Kevin had met him a few times before, and then this guy was tied to the Time Tree to sit on the toilet by his own variant, which made Kevin feel a little guilty towards him.
That's why he thought of bringing him to meet Thor.
It was both to make up for Kevin's internal regret and to make up for Loki's internal regret.
It's just that now, Loki had spoken the truth, and he didn't know how things would end.
After some thought, Kevin decided to continue secretly watching.
It wasn't easy to bring Loki here to meet Thor; no matter how the story developed next, Kevin wanted to see it through completely.
After all, he was the 'director' of this scene.
His gaze refocused on Loki and Thor, and to Kevin's slight surprise, the expected scene of Thor breaking down didn't occur; instead, he showed some understanding.
As if Loki's origin wasn't surprising at all to him.
…
"A parallel world, huh…"
Listening to Loki explain his origin and the things he had experienced, Thor murmured, a look of realization on his face.
Loki was silent for two seconds, then asked:
"You… don't have any doubts?"
"Doubts about what? Doubts that you're lying to me?" Thor retorted, then shook his head: "I should have known long ago. My brother is already dead. He really… died at Thanos's hands. So, you, who are here now, are definitely not my brother."
"It's just that I didn't want to admit it."
Even if the Loki in front of him was fake, Thor wanted to treat him as real.
At least at this moment, Thor experienced the joy of having a family member again.
Loki nodded, but didn't know what to say.
After confirming that Loki was not his brother from this world, Thor also remained quiet for a long time, until finally, when he saw the Guardians of the Galaxy's spaceship flying towards them, he asked Loki:
"You… must be doing well in the other world, right?"
"It's alright. I've met a few friends and done some… some good deeds."
"Then you've really changed a lot."
Thor had no doubts and gave Loki a thumbs up:
"I've always believed you would get better, because you are my brother."
Regardless of whether Thor's words were true or false, at least at this moment, Thor genuinely believed it.
Seeing the Guardians of the Galaxy's spaceship, which was coming to pick up Thor, getting closer and closer, Loki also knew it was time to end this conversation.
But before leaving, Loki invited Thor:
"…Do you… do you want to come with me? Just for a trip."
Loki knew that the current Thor had no attachments, otherwise he wouldn't be traveling with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
And although this Thor wasn't the Thor Loki knew, based on what Thor had just said, and based on this Thor's feelings for his brother Loki, Loki was willing to take him along.
To leave their predetermined fate.
But looking at Loki, Thor slowly shook his head.
He said nothing, just shook his head, but in Loki's eyes, he seemed to have said countless words to him.
After a long gaze at Thor, Loki finally said:
"Then… I wish you good luck in the future."
"You too. Don't die again."
Loki tugged at the corner of his mouth, forcing a smile.
He watched Thor slowly retreat, and as if to cooperate with him, a blue portal appeared behind Loki.
Once Loki entered it, the blue portal closed, and Loki himself vanished.
Watching Loki leave, Thor had a relieved smile on his face.
He turned to look at the Guardians of the Galaxy spaceship descending towards them, put on his sunglasses, and patted his stomach.
"…Looks like I need to lose weight, otherwise, the next time Loki comes to see me, I'll probably be laughed to death by him."
He chuckled self-deprecatingly, and the almost spherical Thor waddled towards the Guardians of the Galaxy's spaceship.
…
"How did it feel meeting your older brother?"
As soon as Loki returned, Kevin asked him about his thoughts on meeting Thor.
Loki said nothing, and after a long while, he looked at Kevin and asked:
"You still want me to be some kind of Story God, right?"
"I do have that thought, but more importantly, I wanted you to meet Thor."
"…"
"So what are you thinking? Are you going back to continue being the Story God, or playing around for a few more days, or simply living in seclusion with Sylvie and enjoying a peaceful life?"
Facing the two options Kevin presented, Loki hesitated and asked:
"If I choose the latter… would you agree?"
Kevin smiled: "Don't confuse me with that guy Wen Yi. I respect your choice, after all, it's your right. But I still hope that you can help me out at a crucial moment."
"…How can I help?"
"Do some things for me."
Kevin didn't explicitly say what he wanted to do, nor did he say how he wanted Loki to do it.
He just sincerely asked Loki for help.
And when Loki met Kevin's eyes, he seemed to understand something, his gaze flickering as he replied:
"Okay, I'll help you."
Hearing Loki's answer, Kevin showed a satisfied smile.
…
Having Loki meet Thor was purely out of Kevin's personal desire.
He had other serious matters to attend to.
The first thing to do was to gather all the scientific bigwigs from the TVA and design a device capable of consolidating The Boys world's timeline.
This was a necessary task, and it was also Kevin's purpose for returning to the Marvel Universe.
Designing a device to converge timelines was not difficult for the TVA, especially with so many 'variants' present.
Each variant here was equivalent to a transmigrator.
They had gained their current strength through various means, enabling them to participate in the TVA's decision-making, and naturally, they also had the means to build a timeline convergence device.
These tasks were handed over to the variants led by Nightcrawler, while Kevin himself, taking advantage of the remaining time, went to find Ancient One again.
The Ancient One who Kevin first met.
Due to the changes in the timeline, the universe where Ancient One resided was actually quite dangerous.
After all, many things in this universe had already been changed by Kevin, and it was like the initial The Boys Universe that Kevin had transmigrated to, rushing wildly through the timeline, deviating from its original trajectory.
However, fortunately, the Marvel Universe had high resistance in this regard, and this universe could still be maintained for now.
And after Kevin temporarily took Loki's place as the Story God, he could further maintain the stability of this universe.
So, there was no need to worry about this universe having problems for now.
At least not temporarily.
Meeting Ancient One again, Kevin realized that Ancient One's condition here was very poor.
She seemed to be on the verge of death at any moment.
Slightly sensing the trajectory of fate, Kevin understood the reason for Ancient One's poor condition.
The Civil War in this world had ended, Doctor Strange's storyline had just begun, and Ancient One had already found a way out for herself.