"By the way." Shiller leaned back, resting against the sofa's backrest, "How's Odin?"
Thor looked up, a bit puzzled, "What about Odin?"
"Is he dead?" Shiller asked more bluntly.
"Probably."
"Then you better go find him."
"Do you think he can solve the current problem?"
"No." Shiller shook his head with his cup in hand, "But you can go and take care of him."
"What?"
"Make sure he's really dead," Shiller said, "Or you can go dig up his grave."
Thor stared at Shiller, who didn't look back at him but instead lowered his gaze to the coffee cup and said, "You don't exactly hate him either, do you?"
Thor's expression changed. Shiller continued, "You've never spoken to anyone about it because it sounds ridiculous. He was your father, passed the throne to you, and died in battle. No one can say a bad word about him, least of all you."
"Many times, your leniency towards Loki comes from his rebellion against Odin. When he shouts that Odin is unjust, you actually agree, don't you?"
"Why do you think that?" Thor stared intently at Shiller, "Are you trying to say that I'm too greedy, so I feel Odin is unjust?"
"From the result, you got the throne, so everyone thinks even if Odin was biased, he was biased towards you. They wouldn't know what you went through. In your heart, the outcome you got in the end doesn't match the hardships you endured. You never mention it just so others don't think you're ungrateful."
Shiller sighed softly, "So I say, if Odin isn't dead, go kill him. If he's dead, go dig up the grave. At least that might make you feel better—you're not crazy, you're just not crazy enough."
Thor stared blankly at Shiller, seemingly digesting everything he said. Shiller seemed to be sharing his feelings too: "You might feel like Loki is your retribution, a curse that haunts you. But in reality, the one who cursed you was Odin, and you know it in your heart, which is why you don't resent Loki that much."
"Perhaps you'd be interested in the relationship between Batman and Joker in my universe. They are a pair of fated adversaries, but amazingly, Batman doesn't hate Joker; he even wants to save Joker and has always wanted to."
"It's not because he's crazy, but because he knows Joker is just the consequence of a deeper issue, not the cause. Solving one consequence will lead to another. Without addressing the root cause, it never ends."
"You think the cause is Odin?" Thor asked.
"What the true cause is doesn't matter," Shiller looked at him and said, "You just need a cause. Like Batman believes the cause is Gotham's darkness, so he fights crime and tries to pull the city out of the dark. You can blame it all on Odin or something else. Regardless, you need something like that. It makes you feel better."
"Why can't it be Loki?" Thor asked, "Why can I blame everyone but not him?"
"Because you're not as deluded as Odin, you're more aware, and you realize Loki is just another victim of a tragic story. That's why I say you're not crazy enough."
Shiller sighed again and said, "Precisely because Batman is smart, he can see that Joker isn't the source of all tragedies. None of the super villains he battles are the root. They all carry parts that were shaped by tragedy. So he doesn't truly want to kill them, but to save them."
"Because you're smart enough, you can see that even though Loki often appears in the tragic moments of your life, these tragedies weren't fundamentally caused by him. Even if the parts crafted in him propel your tragedies, you don't truly want to kill him, but to save him."
"Sounds like I would have a lot to talk about with Batman."
"Perhaps," Shiller nodded and said, "But it's best not to talk recently, otherwise the consultation fee might be a bit high."
"I heard that guy is an extreme control freak."
"Aren't you too?"
"Don't joke about it," Thor snorted, "I don't feel like I can control anything."
"It's not the people who think they can control everything who are control freaks," Shiller said, "It's precisely those who feel they can't control anything who strive to control everything, even at the cost of any means necessary."
This description seemed to remind Thor of something. He said, "It's not that Odin thought he could control me, so he kept intervening in my affairs, but because he felt he couldn't control me, so he..."
"What one needs to do everything possible to obtain is what they don't have," Shiller said, "The person who needs to resort to extreme measures to assert authority precisely lacks authority. A tiger never needs to establish authority over a rabbit; it's the sheer difference in body type that signifies the tiger doesn't need any means, its mere presence is an intimidation."
"In a family, when a child is young, the parents are like the tiger. They have a natural advantage, the child, who can barely walk steadily, is no match for them. But as they grow, the child is no longer a rabbit, but becomes a wolf or a leopard. There may still be a gap, but it's not entirely without resistance. That's when they might need to use some means to suppress the other."
"If the child is exceptionally outstanding and quickly grows into a new tiger, even larger than the parents, with sharper teeth and claws, then ordinary means won't work anymore, they can only find ways to pull out the teeth, clip the claws, and preferably shrink the body a bit to suppress it."
"Many people don't realize this because they don't realize that there is also a competitive relationship among family members. Only the leader can get the most resources. Affection and love do not always win over greed, and it is precisely the greediest person who uses the shackles of love to remove the fangs and claws of other fierce beasts to swallow all the resources alone."
"It's meaningless to talk about this now," Thor said. "Odin is already dead and won't be resurrected again. The Aesir returns to the World Tree after death; there's no grave to dig. All of it is in the past."
"I am willing to believe that you have let it go, but Loki probably hasn't," Shiller said. "This is your greatest conflict. Loki hates Odin and cannot let go. Even though Odin is dead, he can't dig a grave, so he can only transfer the resentment onto you."
"He can't do anything anyway," Thor said.
"That's not necessarily true." Shiller shook his head. "Why did he have to appear at the peak of your anger and have you kill him in the hall of the Rebirth Alliance Headquarters..."
Thor frowned, just about to say something when his phone rang. After picking it up, Carter's deafening roar could be heard.
And Shiller also picked up his phone, as Brainiac pushed all the news articles to his screen. A random click opened an article showing Thor with red eyes, fiercely choking Loki's neck, seemingly about to twist his neck off.
The news kept coming, making the headlines in all mainstream media. Thor's identity was well-known; he's the Superhero Thor, once fought with Loki due to The Avengers. Although Loki wasn't as famous, many people knew them; the fact they were brothers was lesser known.
These news articles emphasize this point, revealing the brotherly relationship between Thor and Loki. Of course, they didn't say they were adoptive brothers, only that they were the sons of Father of All Gods Odin, who grew up together, and then Thor killed Loki.
Journalism has thousands of ways to portray an event as desired. In these articles, they emphasize Thor's sudden loss of control and the horrific scene of killing his own brother in the Rebirth Alliance Headquarters, painting an image of a brutal God Clan.
The fact that Thor became the True God of the Nine Major Kingdoms, although not commonly known to the public, is certainly known among the upper echelons. They know that the news may not be entirely accurate or detailed, but causing concern is good enough.
No matter the reason, no matter how the event transpired. Thor choosing to kill Loki in the Rebirth Alliance Headquarters was extremely irrational. It inevitably causes suspicion that he might do something even more irrational.
Thus, the protagonist targeted for the smear campaign against Jane Foster has been replaced by Loki. This move was effectively significant.
Although Foster is human, his persecution would more easily gain sympathy. But even if he spoke about it, those matters are past events with no evidence, no intuitive photos, and not enough emotional impact; thus, the spread would be limited.
Although Loki is not human, he is Thor's brother, and his being harmed can be documented thoroughly to paint Thor's brutality, grabbing people's attention and making public outcry easier to ignite.
Moreover, arguments and even slander between estranged couples are more common. However, brotherly conflicts escalating to the point of killing are obviously more shocking and impactful.
After hanging up the call, Thor took a deep breath, "It seems he still doesn't intend to spare me; this is another trap."
"I'm sure that Loki from the Central Universe won't cooperate with him; it must be that he capitalized on this opportunity," Shiller said. "He found you enraged, so he deliberately stepped up to provoke you into killing him."
"It's not the first time," Thor said. "I can erase these news reports, but I can't erase every person's memory. I can't make it perfect."
"I was just thinking about something," Shiller removed his gaze from the phone screen, looked ahead, and said, "Why would he do it?"
"Didn't you say it's a trap?"
"That's what you said. I only said he provoked you into killing him. But this doesn't seem targeted at you."
"Why? Isn't he trying to use this to expose my brutality and inhumanity, making everyone question me?"
Shiller shook his head and said, "He can do that, but now isn't the right time. Do you really think he isn't afraid?"
"What do you mean?" Thor asked, looking at him.
"Loki is a smart person. He knows that you became the True God of the Nine Major Kingdoms, thoroughly controlling everything here. You have the power and the ability to settle accounts with anyone. He won't continue to provoke you while the situation is unclear."
Shiller stood up, looked back at Thor, and said, "Think about it; many times, it wasn't that you couldn't kill him; rather, he never pushes you to the point where you have to kill him. It's the same this time."
"Then he..."
"Instead of provoking you, he should be seeking reconciliation with you now." Shiller placed one hand on the back of the sofa, "He would discreetly help you, making you owe him a favor, at least not pursuing the matter of him swapping identities with Loki from the Central Universe."
"Publishing the photos of me killing him is helping me?"
"If he were a good person, then this is obviously slander. But what if he's not?"
As Shiller finished speaking, his phone rang. He answered, and Natasha's voice came through: An Ansatse Lobel, a chemist at a U.S. Military biochemical experiment base in Oregon, claims that someone controlled him and forced him to develop a compound that drives fish insane."
"We've retrieved all related surveillance, but no images of the perpetrator were captured. However, Professor X, one of the victims amongst the Mutants, assisted us with a brainwave search, and the other's memory indicated that the person controlling him was—Loki."