Garfield did not answer immediately.
He tilted his head and looked up at the night sky.
He could feel… a gaze brushing against this place.
With a quiet sigh, he abandoned the draft of a much more direct explanation.
"Loki." Garfield said calmly, "You believe you came to New York in secret, don't you?"
Loki's grip on his dagger tightened.
"Your magic can indeed block Heimdall's sight," Garfield continued, unhurried.
"But never forget, sometimes the mind is more useful than the eyes."
An ominous chill crept into Loki's chest. Garfield went on, his voice steady.
"You possess a godhead and power bestowed by Asgard. As king, Odin knows everything that happens within his realm, especially matters of this scale."
"You, Loki, are like a banner hanging in a moonless sky. The light may be dim, but you are impossible to ignore."
Loki exploded. "You're the banner a dog gnaws on, you vile cat!"
"Say another word, and I'll~"
"You should understand something," Garfield calmly pointed at him, cutting him off.
"Asgard's authority is built on blood and lives. If it wishes to maintain its dominance and divine prestige, it requires overwhelming strength."
He lowered his paw. "And you lack it."
Loki's eyes narrowed.
"Your combat power is inferior to Thor's. Your intelligence amounts to clever tricks, not true command."
"You cannot oversee the greater picture. You cannot rule."
Garfield's voice hardened. "The Nine Realms are not populated by fools. They tolerate your schemes because Odin still stands."
"But when the Twilight of the Gods arrives, when Odin falls, and Thor dies in battle, your little cleverness will turn you into nothing more than a clown."
"A clown."
The words echoed.
Ragnarök.
The ancient prophecy that had circulated through Asgard since time immemorial. The fall of the gods.
The destruction of Asgard by Surtr. Loki had always known the tale, but it was a legend. Nothing more.
Hearing it spoken so casually by a foreign orange cat made his blood boil.
"It's only a legend." Loki snapped.
Garfield did not relent. "Whether you acknowledge it or not doesn't matter."
"It will come. Disasters never announce themselves."
"And you, Loki are the fuse that ignites the end of Asgard."
Loki roared and hurled his dagger.
Izuna's blade flashed.
Clang.
The dagger was knocked aside, skidding across the stone. Neither of them spared it a glance.
"The first god to fall will be Queen Frigga." Garfield continued, his tone unchanged.
"…"
The world seemed to stop.
Frigga.
His mother.
The one who loved him more gently than Thor. The one who taught him everything she knew of magic.
The one person in Asgard whose affection was never conditional. Loki's face went pale.
"…Are you certain?" He asked hoarsely.
"The future is a fog." Garfield tilted his head. "Not entirely true. Not entirely false."
"So tell me… what do you think?"
Loki's hand trembled. He wanted to strike Garfield again.
But this… this was exactly how false prophets spoke. Unwilling to give certainty.
Before tonight, Loki would have sent such a creature straight to Hel without hesitation.
Now doubt gnawed at him.
He could not understand why Odin, without warning, had adopted an orange cat from Kamar-Taj as his godson.
Loki's instincts screamed that there was a secret buried beneath it. A terrible one.
And the vile orange cat standing before him… knew far more than he should.
As a man who prided himself on intelligence, Loki quickly realized that brute force would not yield what he wanted.
There were always… other ways.
"Garfield." Loki said slowly, sheathing his hostility behind a measured tone, "Tell me why my father adopted you as his godson."
"In return, I can offer you something of value."
"Oh?" Garfield looked at him with mild curiosity. "Are you trying to make a deal with me?"
Loki nodded. "Yes."
Garfield frowned slightly, pretending to hesitate. After a moment of thought, he sighed.
"Well… it's not really a secret." He said. "Since you want to know so badly, I suppose I can tell you."
"What do you want in exchange?"
Garfield waved a paw. "Nothing like that."
Then, with a straight face, he continued:
"To be honest, the main reason is that Odin saw extraordinary talent in me. My bones were astonishing, my appearance outstanding, and my temperament exceptional."
He nodded solemnly. "So he took me in as his godson, to look after you and Thor."
"Two children who, frankly, don't give him much peace of mind."
Loki: "..."
Garfield added helpfully, "If you don't believe me, you can always ask your father directly. See whether I'm lying."
"…Oh."
By invoking Odin, Garfield had effectively sealed the conversation.
What was Loki supposed to do, march up to Odin and ask… Father, do you think Thor and I are so unreliable that you needed to adopt an orange cat to hold Asgard together?
Just imagining Odin's stern, unreadable gaze sent a chill straight into Loki's soul.
He would never.
He could never.
Garfield, meanwhile, dared to speak so casually because he understood Loki's weakness perfectly.
As for the real reason Odin sought him out, namely, the catastrophic trouble caused by that madwoman Hela, that was a discussion for another time.
Preferably much later.
Loki stood there in silence, uncertain how to respond.
Garfield had no intention of elaborating further. If he missed the chance to deal with Hela because of a prolonged conversation, the night would truly have been wasted.
After all, as a harmless-looking, freshly reborn, soft-and-cute orange cat, the correct strategy was simple:
Lie low.
Develop quietly.
Avoid the Odin family's internal chaos at all costs. That household was a disaster.
"Loki." Garfield said at last, stretching lazily, "It's getting late. You should head back."
Loki glanced at him, his expression conflicted.
"Garfield." He said slowly, "When you come to Asgard, I hope you'll tell me the real reason behind this matter."
He paused. "Otherwise, I will investigate it myself."
With that, Loki turned and left unwilling, but restrained.
Garfield sighed and looked up at the sky.
"Heimdall." He muttered, "You voyeur… you must have seen everything tonight."
Whether Heimdall would report it to Odin was his own decision. As for whether Loki's identity as a Frost Giant would be exposed…
That depended entirely on Loki's luck.
If something went wrong, Garfield could only shrug. Exceptions happened.
…
Using a hidden passage, Loki returned to Asgard and seamlessly transformed into a palace guard.
He moved through the corridors with practiced ease, greeting others as if nothing unusual had occurred.
Once inside his chamber, he dispelled the illusion and collapsed onto his bed.
Sleep did not come.
Restless and irritable, Loki replayed the night's events in his mind.
Once.
Twice.
Something felt wrong.
A missing piece.
For the third time, Loki replayed his entire conversation with Garfield… every word.
Then…
It struck him.
When Loki had threatened Garfield, demanding the truth, the orange cat had looked up at the sky for a long time.
Why?
What was there to see?
It wasn't Heimdall, Loki would have sensed him.
Then could it be… That someone else had been watching? Someone whose presence forced Garfield to lie?
Loki's eyes slowly widened in the darkness.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream