The two stared at each other, their eyes practically spitting fire.
Thor's hand clenched into a fist.
Loki's hand also rose slightly, a faint green light flickering at his fingertips.
It looked as if the two were about to start fighting—
"Enough."
Mavuika's voice wasn't loud, but the two immediately froze.
Mavuika walked between them, looking at Thor and then at Loki.
"Both of you, shut up."
Thor and Loki lowered their heads at the same time.
The green light on Loki's hand went out.
Thor's fist also unclenched.
Mavuika sighed.
Then she turned and walked over to mjolnir.
She reached out and gripped the handle.
With a gentle lift—
mjolnir was easily lifted by her, as if she were picking up a feather.
Under the moonlight, that heavy Mjolnir was light as nothing in her hand; the hammerhead swayed slightly with her movements, as if responding to her power.
Thor's eyes nearly popped out of his head watching this.
"Bi... Big Sis..."
Mavuika shouldered the hammer and turned to look at him.
"I'll hold onto the hammer for you for now," she said. "I'll return it to you when you're worthy of it."
Thor lowered his head.
Under the moonlight, his silhouette looked a bit lonely.
Mavuika looked at him and sighed softly in her heart.
She knew what losing mjolnir meant to Thor.
It was his pride, his power, the symbol of his identity.
But now, all of that had been stripped away.
Perhaps this was exactly what Father wanted him to see—
He wasn't just the God of Thunder; he was Thor, son of Odin, Prince of Asgard.
A man who could be a king without needing a hammer.
"Let's go," Mavuika said.
Shouldering mjolnir, she turned and walked back the way she came.
After a couple of steps, she stopped and looked back at the two of them.
"What are you still standing there for? Keep up."
Thor and Loki glanced at each other.
Then they stepped forward at the same time and followed.
Thor walked to Mavuika's left, occasionally stealing glances at the hammer on her shoulder that originally belonged to him.
His eyes were full of reluctance and loss.
Mavuika suddenly spoke.
"Are you two hungry?"
Thor blanked for a moment, then nodded.
"Hungry!"
Mavuika said, "Then I'll take you to get something to eat first. Earth's food is actually quite delicious."
Thor's eyes lit up.
"Really? That's great! As expected, you're the best to us, Big Sis!"
Loki chuckled softly from the side.
"All you think about is eating," he said.
Thor glared at him.
"You're not eating?"
Loki shrugged elegantly.
"I don't mind either way, but since Big Sis has invited us..."
He paused.
"It would be impolite to refuse."
Mavuika smiled.
"Then let's go."
Mavuika reached out both hands, grabbing Thor's and Loki's arms on either side.
Golden-red flames rose from beneath her feet.
In the next second, the three of them soared into the sky.
Heading towards Mavuika's Villa.
The night wind blew, carrying the moisture of the Atlantic Ocean and the chill of early autumn.
Mavuika led Thor and Loki through the New York night sky, the golden-red flames trailing a long wake behind her, reflecting their figures like meteors piercing the night.
Thor hadn't stopped talking the whole way.
"Big Sis, look over there! What are those lights? Why are they moving?"
"Those are cars," Mavuika explained patiently. "Transportation tools built by humans that can run on roads."
"Cars..." Thor muttered the unfamiliar word, but his eyes were already drawn elsewhere. "That one over there! There's light on top of that tall thing! What is that?"
"That's the Empire State Building, a structure built by humans. It's very tall."
"How tall?"
"About three hundred-odd meters."
Thor's eyes went wide.
"Three hundred-odd meters? Mortals can build structures three hundred meters tall?"
"They can," Mavuika said. "And more than just one."
Thor fell silent.
He looked down at the brilliant sea of lights below; skyscrapers were lined up row upon row, streets crisscrossed, and countless points of light flowed through them like glowing rivers.
Red, white, yellow, blue—lights of all colors intertwined, spreading out under the night curtain and extending to the end of his vision.
This was Midgard?
This was the Midgard that, in his memory, was still just villages and castles, knights and farmers?
Thor opened his mouth, unable to speak for a long time.
Loki gave a soft "tsk" from the side.
"Quite spectacular," he said, his tone carrying a hint of seriousness he hadn't noticed himself.
"A few hundred years ago, the largest city in Midgard only had tens of thousands of people, the tallest buildings were church spires, and at night there were only torches and oil lamps."
He looked at the brilliant sea of lights below.
"A few hundred years... what a huge change."
Thor scratched his head.
"How do you think they did it? No magic, no divine power, just relying on..."
"Relying on brains," Loki interrupted him. "Relying on hands. Relying on generation after generation of continuous building, exploration, and accumulation."
His gaze landed on those skyscrapers, a complex light flickering in his eyes.
"Humans... are indeed quite interesting."
Thor nodded, only half-understanding.
Then he was drawn to another spot again.
"Big Sis, look over there! That bridge! The lights on the bridge even change color!"
"That's the Brooklyn Bridge," Mavuika said. "Those are nighttime landscape lights."
"Landscape lights? What are landscape lights?"
"They are... lights specifically installed to make the bridge look good."
Thor's eyes widened again.
"Mortals specifically install lights just for a bridge?"
"Yes."
"Just to make the bridge look good?"
"Yes."
Thor fell silent.
Then he said in a low voice, "Father's Golden Palace isn't even this extravagant."
Loki couldn't help but laugh from the side.
"That's because the Golden Palace is already beautiful enough as it is," he said. "But you're right, mortals are indeed... quite interesting."
The three continued flying forward.
Thor continued to ask questions incessantly.
"Big Sis, what is that big round stadium?"
"Madison Square Garden. A place where humans play ball and hold concerts."
"What is a concert?"
"It's just a group of people singing for others to hear."
"Big Sis, what are those dense little points of light?"
"Residential buildings. Places where ordinary people live."
"Big Sis, is that green part a park?"
"Yes, Central Park. A green space humans specifically set aside for resting, walking, and picnics."
"Mortals don't use all the land to build houses?"
"They don't."
"Then they... really know how to enjoy themselves."
The corners of Mavuika's mouth curled up slightly.
"Yeah," she said. "They really know how to enjoy themselves."
Loki listened quietly to the conversation between the two, his gaze always fixed on the brightly lit city.
His eyes glowed slightly in the night, no one knowing what he was thinking.
After flying for another ten minutes, Mavuika began to lower her altitude.
"We're almost there," she said. "I live in the Upper West Side, over there—"
Before she could finish, Thor was already pointing excitedly below and shouting:
"Is it that building? Is it that building? Big Sis, which one do you live in?"
Mavuika looked where he was pointing.
"...Not that one. That's a commercial building. I live in an ordinary Villa."