Point of View: Loki
In the end… I followed him.
It wasn't something I enjoyed.
I wasn't even particularly interested in that gorilla. In fact, he struck me as… mediocre. Predictable. Crude.
And yet, he was the best candidate I had found so far.
—What a disappointment… —I muttered, floating silently, invisible to all.
The gorilla tribe leader moved among his people with a firm stride. The moment he crossed into his settlement, he was met with enthusiasm.
Roars. Shouts. Laughter.
Celebration.
His tribe immediately surrounded him. Massive warriors pounded their chests in respect. Others lowered their heads.
And then it happened.
—Father!
A younger voice. Clearer.
My eyes locked onto him instantly.
A young gorilla pushed through the crowd and rushed forward without hesitation. He embraced the leader tightly, with a sincerity that… didn't belong.
The leader responded.
He placed a hand on his back, held him, even smiled.
A warm scene…
Silence.
Then, a twisted smirk formed on my face.
—What a farce…
Because I saw everything.
Not just what was visible.
I felt their emotions.
And there was no love there.
No pride.
No real affection.
Only… habit.
Convenience.
The gorilla leader didn't see his son as someone dear.
He saw him as an extension of himself.
A useful tool. Nothing more.
—Pathetic…
And yet…
My gaze returned to the boy.
And then I stopped.
For the first time since observing him… I hesitated.
—What is this…?
Something about him was different.
No… not just different.
I closed my eyes briefly, focusing.
And I felt it.
An absurd purity.
A genuine light.
I opened my eyes slowly.
—Impossible…
That place was filled with ambition, restrained violence, brutal hierarchies.
Even the air felt heavy with intent.
And yet…
He…
Didn't belong.
The young one kept holding his father, speaking with excitement, asking about the conquest, the battle, his safety.
And every word…
Was sincere.
—Interesting…
My expression changed.
The disdain was gone.
Only curiosity remained.
The leader pulled away naturally, placing a hand on his shoulder.
—I'm fine —he said firmly—. The conquest was a success.
The boy smiled with relief.
There was no calculation in that smile.
No hidden motive.
Just… joy.
Real.
And that…
Was rare.
Very rare.
—How…?
I stepped closer, passing through bodies unnoticed.
—How can someone like you exist here…?
Then two others approached.
My attention shifted briefly.
The first was large. Imposing.
The second-in-command.
His body was well-trained.
His ambition, controlled.
And I sensed loyalty from him—but conditional.
—This one understands his place… —I murmured.
The other…
A female.
She approached the young one naturally and took his arm.
His fiancée.
I could tell from the way he reacted.
Her eyes shone with sweetness, her posture gentle, even affectionate.
But I saw beyond it.
Lies again.
A mask hiding her interest.
She did it out of convenience.
There was constant calculation behind every gesture.
—Ah… how typical…
I looked back at the boy.
And the contrast was… absurd.
It was like watching a pure flame surrounded by shadows pretending to be light.
—This… this is truly interesting…
I bit my thumb lightly, thinking.
Across the entire main plane…
I had only found three acceptable candidates.
Three.
And not a single one met my expectations.
Greedy.
Ambitious.
Predictable.
—Functional trash… —I whispered.
But this…
This was different.
Very different.
The young one spoke with the others, completely unaware of what truly surrounded him.
He trusted.
He smiled.
He believed.
—You are a mistake… —I said quietly.
A mistake in a world that shouldn't allow something like this.
And yet…
There he was.
Breathing.
Living.
Shining.
—Sister… —I murmured with a crooked smile—. If you saw this…
No.
I slowly shook my head.
—No… I can't tell her.
Elena would take him.
Protect him.
Bring him to her realm.
Turn him into something… pure, stable, unchanging.
And that…
Would be a waste.
My eyes gleamed intensely.
—You don't need protection…
You need to fall.
My smile widened.
—Because only then… will you have value.
Or at least, value to me.
Some believe darkness is reached by embracing it.
Accepting it.
Surrendering.
—Idiots…
That's superficial.
What is truly valuable…
My gaze fixed on the boy.
—Is first knowing the light…
Feeling it.
Living it.
Believing in it.
My voice dropped to a whisper.
—And then… rejecting it.
That…
That is true descent.
The kind that transforms.
That breaks.
That creates monsters… interesting ones.
I looked again at the gorilla leader.
His falsehood.
His hidden contempt.
His ambition.
Then the second-in-command.
The fiancée.
The entire tribe.
—Your environment will do the work for me…
I didn't need to intervene yet.
No.
This required patience.
Time.
Pressure.
—When you fall…
My body began dissolving into particles of dark energy.
—When you break…
My voice faded to almost nothing.
—When you reject everything you are now…
I smiled.
—I'll be there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Claiming you.
The last particles scattered into the air.
—I'll be watching you… prince.
And I vanished.