Luca instinctively looked up.
The entire world had frozen in time.
People's panicked expressions hung in place like grotesque masks. The flames that had been flickering moments ago now resembled clumsy, two-dimensional special effects. Water from the fire hoses hovered midair, droplets suspended like scattered glass, glistening in eerie silence.
In this utterly still world, only one figure moved—smiling broadly as he strolled toward Luca.
The thump-thump of his footsteps echoed unnaturally loud against the absolute quiet.
Luca swallowed hard. A bead of sweat traced a cold path down his temple. He tried to speak, but his throat tightened—no sound came out.
"Hmm~" The figure tilted his head, eyes glinting with amusement. "I think you didn't really need to use that toy, did you?"
He gestured toward the [Little Monkey Bomb] in Luca's hand. His voice was gentle, almost playful—but edged with unmistakable nonchalance.
Despite the apparent goodwill in his demeanor, Luca didn't dare let his guard down. Carefully, he set the bomb on the ground and rubbed his temples; a dull ache pulsed behind his eyes.
He whispered a name.
"Loki… the God of Stories."
Yes—it was Loki. He wore the same green Asgardian armor from The Avengers, but his hair was tousled, his clothes streaked with dust and wear. He looked disheveled, almost weary.
Yet the fact that he'd frozen the entire timeline confirmed it: this wasn't just the trickster prince of Asgard. This was Loki, God of Stories—the being who now commanded every thread of the MCU multiverse.
It was laughable, really. Luca had risked everything to reach Stark Tower, desperate to stop Loki from seizing the Tesseract and infiltrating the Time Mutation Bureau—hoping to preserve his own timeline from utter collapse.
And now, standing before him, was the final form of Loki: the post-Loki Season 2 apex being who wove realities like tapestry.
Loki either didn't notice Luca's spiraling thoughts—or simply didn't care. He spread his arms with a theatrical flourish, curiosity dancing in his eyes.
"God of Stories?" he mused. "Not a bad title~ So… is that how people from your world refer to me?"
Luca, who'd just begun to steady his breathing, froze again.
The words "your world" struck like a hammer. They laid bare his status as an outsider—no disguise, no ambiguity.
But then again... if anyone in the Marvel multiverse could see through dimensions, it was this Loki. Omniscience came with the throne.
"Surprised?" Loki chuckled. "Honestly, someone like you isn't an isolated case~"
He tapped a finger against his chin, as if flipping through cosmic archives.
"Let me think… In a certain world, there was a girl named Gwynpel—just like you, from the real world~"
Luca didn't even have the energy to be shocked anymore.
Good grief. Not only did Loki know he was from another reality—he casually called it the "real world," as if Earth-616 or Earth-199999 were merely storybooks on his shelf.
Still… "Gwynpel"? Luca had never heard that name before.
She's called Gwynpel… but she doesn't sound like she's from the same place as me.
Already numb, Luca gave up trying to debate Loki's omniscience. Instead, he asked directly—voice barely above a whisper:
"So… you know that the world you live in is… is a…"
He trailed off, unsure how to finish.
Should he just blurt it out?
"You're a fictional character. Your actor's name is Tom Hiddleston. They call him 'Hiddleston' for short."
He hesitated. Too much truth might offend a near-omnipotent god who held all narratives in his hands.
However, Loki seemed utterly unconcerned. He tilted his head slightly and replied with casual amusement,
"You mean a TV series? Yes, yes~ I know~"
He pouted—just a touch—and arched one eyebrow, speaking as if discussing the weather.
"Don't worry too much about these things. The way the world works isn't as simple as you think."
He paused, then added with a flicker of mischief,
"Perhaps you can think of the 'real world' I'm talking about as… well, a universe where superpowers exist only in movies and stories?"
"After all," he continued, gesturing vaguely, "if there's a zombie universe, a Spider-Man universe, even a flat, two-dimensional one—then a world with no supernatural abilities at all, where people merely watch such things for entertainment… shouldn't be hard to grasp, right?"
His voice softened, almost conspiratorial.
"Or… how can you be sure that what you call the real world isn't just a movie—or a novel—in the eyes of someone in another universe?"
Luca stared at him, speechless.
This had escalated far beyond casual banter—it had veered into philosophy, the kind Luca barely understood himself, let alone felt equipped to debate with a god who wielded countless timelines like playing cards.
Yet amidst the metaphysical haze, one detail stood out. Luca leaned forward.
"Since you know about the real world… then could you—"
He cut himself off.
He'd been about to ask if Loki could send him back to his original universe.
But halfway through the sentence, it struck him: he had nothing left there. No ties. No reason to return.
Suddenly, the idea of staying—of chasing adventure, facing crises, maybe even dying gloriously on some impossible quest—didn't seem so bad. In fact, it sounded… worthwhile.
Loki, however, seemed to read his mind. He shook his head, the playful glint fading just slightly.
"I can't."
His tone was uncharacteristically direct.
"Not because I don't want to. But even now, I'm far from omniscient or omnipotent. My power has limits. And what you're asking… is, at least for me, impossible."
Luca nodded slowly.
For a moment, he couldn't tell whether he felt disappointment—or relief.
But another question bubbled up immediately.
"If you're not planning to banish me from this world… then why are you here?"
This time, Loki didn't answer right away. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the lobby of Stark Tower.
There, frozen in time like a statue, stood another Loki—handcuffed, motionless, caught mid-defiance.
And for just an instant, Luca thought he saw something flicker in the eyes of the Loki before him.
Something that looked… almost like envy.
Then it was gone.
"Someone asked me to give you a choice~" Loki said lightly, turning back to Luca. "Also… hmm, an identity verification? Something like that~"
His usual smirk returned, as if the strange emotion had never existed.
But his words left Luca stunned.
"Wait—someone asked you to do this? And… what choice? Identity verification?? What are you even talking about, boss?"