Destroying My Own Novel

“How are you going to approach the Asgardian, Loki? You know they still believe Odin is still the rightful king because it’s not even a secret anymore that Odin has done so many bad and good things just because he can since he’s the all-father,” Mykel asked as he puffed the smoke while Hel was staring at his cigarette in between of his index and middle fingers.

“If you’re telling me that thousands of years ago, then I wouldn’t be able to give you an answer to that. Right now, our father is nothing but an old man who has been living all his life to the fullest,” Loki answered and looked at his surroundings. “There’s a reason why he decided to take a side with Lucifer, and that reason is that he’s bored and wanted to live in excitement again,”

“Okay, but how are you going to take the heart of the Asgardian?” Mykel asked as he stared Loki in the eye which made Loki a bit excited.

“Taking the heart of the Asgardian?” Loki asked back as he walked toward Mykel and stood in front of him. “There’s no need to do that because we have taken their hearts a long time ago,” Loki smiled as he put his hands on Mykel’s shoulders.

Mykel had no idea what Loki was saying and the more Loki said something from his mouth, the blurry Mykel’s head was.

“Why are you look so troubled? The answer is right in front of you, Mykel,” Loki said as he pointed his left index finger at Thor. “He has been doing everything on his own, everyone has already seen him as a king! The Valkyrie is already under Thor’s command, how’s that not enough to tell that my brother is the king of Asgard?”

“Brother, our father is lending the Valkyrie to help me defeat and slay the threat in our world, he’s not giving the Valkyrie to me,” Thor corrected Loki’s words and tried to deny it because it sounded so wrong in his ear.

“It doesn’t matter!” Loki said as he walked to the edge of the cliff and then he turned around with his arms open. “He entrusted you with his army, doesn’t that mean he acknowledged you as the next king of Asgard?” Loki tilted his head and raised his eyebrows as he stared at Thor.

“You’re not wrong but it’s not right either because I’m his son,” Thor answered as he looked at Loki with a bit of concern.

“I’m his son as well, but he never even let me interact with the Valkyrie outside the battlefield. You know the reason and by that, you should realize you’re the only heir to the throne, Thor,” Loki stood in front of Thor as he pointed his index finger on Thor’s chest.

Thor couldn’t deny it and he just stood there as he looked down at his hammer. Loki let Thor be in deep of thought while he waited for the right moment before he could speak again.

“A king is chosen by the people because he’s worthy to be called a king whether he’s ready or not. You have been doing the most important thing that a king does which is showing how mighty you are by defeating all the threats to the people in Asgard and Midgard,” Loki said as he tried to look Thor in the eye.

Thor stared Loki in the eye and he saw Loki was smiling so widely and looked so excited about him becoming the next king of Asgard.

“Be their king, brother, be the next king of Asgard because you have proven that you’re capable and I can guarantee you that every single one of Asgardian will support you,” Loki said with confidence.

“You have prepared everything, don’t you, Loki?” Mykel asked as he burned the butt of the cigarette in between his fingers.

“Of course! I have talked to everyone in Asgard and asked them about Thor becoming the next king of Asgard. They all gave me the same answer which was that they wanted him to lead Asgard with his might,” Loki answered as he looked at the root of Yggdrasil.

Thor decided to sit down and processed everything by silently staring at the ground. Mykel and the others let him use the time to think and so they all went their separate ways until Thor decided the answer he would give to Loki.

After a few minutes of thinking, Thor looked at Loki who was having a conversation with Hel at the edge of the cliff. He looked at Mykel who was staring at Nidhoggr and then decided to approach him for insight from an outsider.

“I’m not a thinker and more of a doer, so after spending time thinking about it, I need someone else’s perspective. You, Mykel, might be able to show me something that I can’t see because of the thick fog because you managed to gather thousands of Gods and Goddesses together,” Thor said as he stood next to Mykel.

Mykel looked at Thor and suddenly scoffed as he smirked. “If you can’t see yourself as a king, why bother thinking about it?”

Thor was shocked by Mykel’s words, he looked down and started to think that everything was a bad idea. He realized that he wasn’t ready to be a king and couldn’t rule over the people in Asgard because he only knew how to fight.

“Asgard, Midgard, Niflheim, or even Valhalla would be in danger if my father let this guy called Lucifer be around our worlds. Thinking about how dangerous this Lucifer guy is from Loki, that guy must be the real threat to all the worlds that exist out there,” Thor said as he held his hammer so tightly. “I can’t let that happen just because my father decided to follow him because of the thrill or any other reason,”

“There you have it, the answer behind why Loki wants you to become a king of Asgard. You have a reason why you should become a king and because your people need you,” Mykel replied with his eyebrows raised.

“Being a king isn’t easy and that’s the only thing that stops me from agreeing with Loki’s plan,” Thor said as he looked at Mykel.

“What are you talking about? Being a king and a leader is the easiest job will you ever get, the hardest part is reaching that position,” Mykel answered so casually. “A king has many eyes and ears, which means you will have people that will do everything for you. Look at Odin and then look at you, Loki, and the Valkyrie. The three of you are the reason why Odin is a great king,”

“Look at me for example, do I look like I’m having a hard time or having trouble with all the situations that are going on right now?” Mykel pointed his index finger at himself. “I have people that can do things for me while I can just stand here and enjoy my time,”

“That’s what I wanted to know, how can you look so laid-back when you don’t even know what kind of threat or problem that will come after you,” Thor asked with his arms crossed and stared at Mykel with a serious expression.

“For that, I’m going to ask you a question. Would you rather be a respected king or to be a feared king?” Mykel asked with his eyebrow raised.

“A respected king of course,” Thor answered without hesitation.

“Then you will have loyal people that will follow you and do things for you, but that doesn’t mean everyone will see you that way,” Mykel said as he grabbed a cigarette and put it on his lips.

“That also applies even if you’re a feared king,” Thor replied and looked a bit confused.

“Of course, but being a respected king only makes the people see you for all the amazing things that you achieved. On the other hand, being a feared king makes people see the things you achieved and by how petrifying you achieved them,” Mykel answered as he nodded his head.

“You will have people that are loyal to you but there are also people that follow you because of fear and would do anything to please you. That also gives them a second-guessing before they decide to go against your way of ruling because they know how fearsome a king you are because of what you’re capable of,” Mykel said as he looked at Thor with a serious expression.

Thor went silent for a moment and then looked at Mykel. “So you want to be a feared king?”

“Who knows,” Mykel answered with a smirk on his face. “But that should be enough to give you an insight, and I believe you know what to do from now on, correct?” Mykel asked and stared at Thor.

“Yes, I’m ready to face whatever will come to me because I know I have people that I can depend on,” Thor answered as he nodded his head and looked at Loki and Hel.