Chapter 235: This Is My Scheme

Deep within the Golden Palace, the Throne Hall held no blazing torches, only a faint light dripping from the high windows, as if from beyond time, carving long shadows across the massive stone pillars.

The air was still, suffused with a cold, metallic and ancient‑wood scent.

Aoding alone perched upon the Xilidesi Kailafu Throne.

His figure was not massive, yet seemed the very center of the Universe, pressing the Throne and the surrounding space into a slight indentation.

A cold‑iron eye patch covered the void where his left eye had been lost, the eternal price he paid to glimpse the world's primal wisdom, now the most silent and intimidating aspect of his authority.

The uncovered right eye was a abyss before an approaching storm, beneath which swirled countless threads of fate and omens of doom, so deep that none dared stare directly.

The Eternal Spear Gangeni'er rested quietly beside the Throne.

The dark barrel of the spear absorbed the already thin surrounding light, and atop its tip seemed intangible causality winding and murmuring.

It was not a decoration, but an extension of his will, an embodiment of oath and judgment.

Once thrown, it would inevitably strike its target.

He did not move, not even a sign of breath, like an ancient reef stone in the torrent of time.

But the entire Asgard, even the clamor, prayers, and sighs of death of all beings in the Nine Realms, were all turning into a silent torrent, surging into the Throne beneath him, then being individually sifted and adjudicated by his vast Divinity.

His wisdom, together with this Throne that can command the Nine Realms, formed—Omniscience.

Suddenly, his index finger resting on the armrest twitched imperceptibly.

Not from fatigue, but because he sensed an extremely subtle yet undeniable tremor traveling along a single thread of the fate web.

It was not due to fatigue, but because he felt an extremely subtle yet unignorable tremor transmitted from a thread on the web of fate.

"What are you plotting again?"

Bang!

A terrifying blast unlike ordinary thunder roared, exploding from beyond the Golden Palace! Not from a single point, but as if the entire Asgard sky had been ignited and torn in an instant! The scorching wave of light pierced the massive palace walls, bathing the hall in a bizarre orange‑red.

Immediately followed by Thor's roar, capable of shaking mountains, like a wounded lion, filled with unbelievable fury:

Immediately after came Thor's roar, capable of shaking mountains, like a wounded male lion, filled with unbelievable fury:

"I just decided to get along with you from now on!" Thor's voice trembled with extreme rage:

"You damned fool, what are you doing?! Return the hammer to me!"

Aoding slowly rose from the Throne.

The Gangeni'er flew of its own accord into his hand, its tip lightly touching the ground, emitting a deep, authoritative resonance.

He did not rush outward; his sole remaining right eye looked through the high window at the scene outside, now a furnace.

Beyond the Golden Palace, the once radiant Celestial Palace had become a sea of fire.

It was not ordinary fire, but magical flames imbued with deceit and destructive Divinity, coiling and climbing like living things, licking the splendid structures, staining the Rainbow Bridge's radiance with ominous crimson!

Not ordinary fire, but magic flames imbued with the deceitful and destructive divinity; they writhed and climbed like living things, licking the splendid buildings, dyeing the Rainbow Bridge's brilliance with an ominous crimson.

He was no longer the usual cynical demeanor; his eyes burned with a mockery accumulated over countless years and genuine madness.

His right hand casually lifted the Miao Aonier that should have belonged to Thor!

"Who wants to get along with you?!" Loki's voice rang bright and sharp, piercing the flames and clamor, clearly echoing in every corner: "Your goodwill? Worth nothing to me!"

He curled the corner of his mouth into an ultimate sarcastic grin: "After such long silence, finally you've given me this chance!"

"Today, my flames and thunder will make the whole Asgard tremble!"

Before the words finished, he thrust the hammer of the Thunder God high above his head, not to summon lightning, but to smash down violently onto the sacred ground beneath his feet!

Before his words even finished, he fiercely raised Thor's hammer overhead, not to summon lightning to the heavens, but to slam it down hard onto this holy ground beneath his feet.

A torrent of energy mixing crimson flame and eerie green thunder surged from the hammer's impact point, exploding like a massive ring of destruction!

The earth moaned in pain, instantly cracking into bottomless chasms, while the surrounding exquisite pavilions, towers, and towering statues crumbled and collapsed like sandcastles before this furious force born of deceit and plunder.

The reinforcements that rushed in on the news, not yet formed into formation, were violently tossed by the destructive shockwave, armor twisted, divine light dimmed, scattering in disarray!

Even Thor, his whole body flashing with Thunder Light in his fury, attempting to charge forward to stop it, was struck head‑on by this blow that gathered flame and mutated thunder!

He let out a muffled hum; his god‑like body, strong enough to shatter giants, was flung like a cut kite, becoming a meteor that streaked across the burning sky, its landing unknown!

"Hahaha—!" Loki roared with laughter, his voice filled with a long‑suppressed, now released delight.

He ignored the surrounding chaos and destruction, his scorching gaze fixed on the Golden Palace that still stood, though no longer tranquil.

"Aoding—!" He summoned all his divine power, his voice like rolling thunder, bearing the explosive roar of flame, echoing across every inch of Asgard:

"Aren't you coming out yet?! Still hiding atop your Throne, watching until when?!"

The raging sea of fire briefly stilled, as if even destruction waited for a response.

Finally, a long, heavy sigh rose from deep within the Golden Palace.

The sigh was not loud, yet strangely overpowered all the blasts and clamor, carrying the wear of ages and an unspeakable helplessness.

The Golden Palace's great doors slowly opened.

Aoding, holding the Gangeni'er, walked out slowly.

Each step he took landed on scorched earth and ruins, his gait steady, the invisible pressure radiating from him causing the raging flames to retreat.

He walked straight to Loki's side, only ten steps away.

The one‑eyed Aoding calmly stared at the "brother" before him, wrapped in flame and madness; within that gaze lay the calm that Loki despised most, as if seeing through everything.

"Loki, my brother," Aoding said, his voice low, bearing a genuine puzzlement yet like the sharpest needle, piercing Loki's deepest pain:

"Loki, my brother." Aoding spoke, his voice low, carrying a genuine confusion, yet like the sharpest needle, it pierced Loki's most painful spot:

The sentence, seemingly caring, actually downplayed Loki's cataclysmic rebellion as another "tantrum," fully igniting Loki's last shred of reason.

Loki suddenly thrust his hand toward Aoding, his fingertip trembling with anger, his voice cold as Jotunheim's ice:

Loki suddenly pointed at Aoding, his fingertips trembling slightly from anger, yet his voice was cold as the ice of Jotunheim:

Aoding's one eye narrowed, seemingly truly surprised: "Me?"

Aoding narrowed his lone eye, seeming genuinely surprised: 'Me?'

"It's you!" Loki's roar carried the resentment and indignation accumulated over a thousand years: "You!"

He repeated, each word squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying the temperature of blood and fire: "You claim our fate should become one! We once swore blood brotherhood, vowing to share weal and woe!"

His voice suddenly rose, full of sharp sarcasm: "But you are the God King! The exalted Father of Gods! And what am I?"

"In your and their eyes, I am forever the 'evil god' from Jotunheim! A shadow beneath your great Aura!"

"Your brother? Hah... this oath is merely a shackle binding me, a tool you use to display your own magnanimity!"

Flames rose behind him, illuminating his face, twisted somewhat by agitation; the mingled pain and hatred within were far more intense than the surrounding fire.

"You need do nothing; merely sitting there earns you their worship."

"But I must resort to vile means to attract some trifling, pitiful, and ludicrous attention............"

His tone suddenly rose, filled with self-mockery and indignation:

"Is this the 'united fate' you speak of? My...... brother?"

His words left Aoding sunk in prolonged silence, after which came a long sigh.

Aoding stepped forward and placed his hand on Loki's shoulder:

"My brother, let's find a place to talk."

"I will give you an answer."

Loki remained silent, but his actions showed he was still willing to talk.

The next moment.

They both vanished, leaving only the fire that suffused Asgard still retaining faint sparks.

Yet they were not seen.

At the moment they departed.

A figure stepped step by step, crossed the stairs, looked up and moved forward until reaching the Throne.

He turned, sat down, and curled the corner of his mouth into a smile: "This is my scheme!"

"Aoding!"