Chapter 270 : Terrible Truth!

Loki's latest blunder had countless viewers shaking their heads in disbelief.

Norse mythology enthusiasts were having a crisis of faith. Could these stories really be true?

Otherwise, why was the God of Mischief acting like he was lacking in the wits department?

On Nidavellir, Tony Stark quietly paid his respects to a certain one-eyed patriarch.

Tony's memories of Thor had evolved over time: from a happy-go-lucky airhead to a more somber figure. And now, with this latest Loki fiasco, it seemed Odin's other adopted son wasn't too bright either.

And then there was the other sibling—an older sister who'd been sealed away, only to reemerge and immediately try to kill her brothers.

Oh, and don't forget Ragnarok.

Tony took a moment to consider. If the whole Asgardian family turned out to be a mess, maybe he'd have to recommend another pantheon. Maybe one from the DC universe, where things seemed more...stable.

[Looking at the smoke and the shattered remains of the time-travel device, Sylvie was beyond furious.

This device was their only ticket out of the apocalypse, and Loki had just destroyed their last hope.

Sylvie's eyes welled up with tears, her expression a mix of frustration, rage, and sheer helplessness.

Sylvie had been relentlessly pursued and faced countless hardships in her quest for revenge against the Time Keepers. 

Just as she was on the verge of success, Loki sabotaged her plans, leaving her in a desperate situation.

"The person the TVA is after was correct, they've truly defeated me," she lamented.

"You bastard!" she screamed, her voice raw with rage. "You ruined everything for me!"

Sylvie's outburst was followed by a surge of energy, but her strength quickly waned. She collapsed to the ground beside a small crater, feeling utterly drained.]

"Loki, you've gone too far. If you don't change your ways, you'll only cause more pain and suffering."

Thor's usual light-hearted demeanor disappeared. In a serious tone, he said, "Do you really believe in the Time Keeper's version of who you are, or is this just you being you?"

Loki opened his mouth to respond but hesitated, struggling with a mix of conflicting emotions. The habits he'd cultivated over millennia were deeply ingrained. 

It was as if deception was part of his very being, just like the version of him seen in the video—a trickster through and through.

He chose not to lie to Thor, so he stayed silent.

Odin, watching from a distance, noticed the subtle shift in Loki's demeanor. In a gentle voice, he offered some encouragement, "Don't worry, Loki. Change happens one step at a time. It might not be sudden, but as long as you have the will to change, you'll get there. I believe in you."

These simple words hit Loki hard. He turned to Odin, his eyes filled with surprise and emotion. 

The tension in the air was palpable. Loki knew he had made a grave mistake, but the sight of Sylvie's exhausted state kept him from trying to justify his actions. Instead, he sat beside her, like a child who'd done something wrong, his demeanor more cautious.

Loki wanted to comfort Sylvie, but he didn't know how. His awkward attempts only seemed to aggravate her further.

Seeing her anger intensify, Loki quickly shifted gears. He proposed a new plan, something he'd thought of as an alternative.

"The Ark in the city," he said, hoping it would offer a path forward.

In its original timeline, the spaceship was supposed to explode before it could even take off. Loki, always scheming, suggested to Sylvie that if they took control of the spaceship, they might have a chance to alter its fate and escape. 

Sylvie understood that this was the only viable option, so she agreed without hesitation.

The journey was long, and Loki, being his usual chatty self, started to talk about his past. He shared some stories, even revealing embarrassing details like the color of Thor's underwear.]

Off-screen, Thor shot him a resentful look as if to say, "You won't get away with this again."

[As they neared the city, Loki made a joke about Sylvie possessing him so he wouldn't have to suffer the discomfort of rushing through the chaos. 

By then, Sylvie had started to open up a bit more. She explained to Loki that her powers of manipulation and control were ineffective against strong-willed individuals. 

Even if she managed to seize control, she would need to maintain a believable scenario based on the other person's experiences to avoid arousing suspicion.

"But there are some odd situations," she added. She mentioned a previous encounter with a guard, illustrating her point. 

"Although this timekeeper guard was extremely unstable, everything was covered up. I had to dig deep to find her memories from hundreds of years ago, before she could accept reality."

Loki was taken aback by this revelation. He asked in disbelief, "You mean the memories from before she joined the Time Variance Authority (TVA)?"

Sylvie couldn't understand why Loki seemed so alarmed. "Yes, she was an ordinary person on Earth. What's the problem?"

"No big deal!" Loki's voice was laced with sarcasm, but inside, he felt a shiver run down his spine. He remembered his conversation with Mobius, where Mobius confidently stated that all TVA employees were created by the Time Keepers.

Now, the truth has been laid bare. The TVA's employees were just ordinary people with their memories sealed—another deceit by the so-called Time Keepers.

Kamar-Taj!

At this moment, the Ancient One looked deeply troubled. "The thing I was worried about has come to pass," she said. "Strange, something's not right here. The Time Variance Authority's actions are not what they should be, and there's something hidden behind that Time Keeper's secrecy."

Strange, still relatively new to his role as a Master of the Mystic Arts, asked with concern, "What should we do, Ancient One?"

The Ancient One sighed heavily. "If the situation becomes dire once the video ends, I'll use my astral body to travel to the dimension of Vishanti, which means I'll need to leave Kamar-Taj in your hands."

Strange nodded in agreement, but he couldn't shake the feeling that this was more than just a burden—it was a sign that the Ancient One was preparing for something irreversible. 

Traditionally, when a Supreme Sorcerer enters the Vishanti dimension, they give up their physical form, effectively resigning from their role.

This meant that if something happened to the Ancient One, Strange would be left in charge of Kamar-Taj and its defenses.

Meanwhile, across the Marvel universe, the revelation of this terrible secret sent shockwaves through the community. But no one was more upset than the Time Variance Authority itself.

The TVA was in chaos. The controllers couldn't open the portal when they needed to. Even the elevator leading to the Time Keepers was inaccessible. It was as if their very structure was collapsing.

The most disturbing discovery was that the TVA's workers weren't created by the organization—they were abducted from various points in time, their memories erased, and forced to work as slaves.

In the TVA office, Mobius stood there, staring at a jet ski magazine, and felt a surge of anger. He had always believed that he was part of a greater purpose, but now he realized that he had been enslaved for who knows how long. 

The TVA's strange flow of time had always seemed odd to him, but now he understood that he had been kept in the dark, his memories altered to maintain the illusion of loyalty.

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