Loki's palms burned from the excessive use of various spells, but his will would not give. This was new magic to him, old spells that had not been tampered with in centuries. He was condemning Asgard with every second he spent pushing his limits. What a benevolent king he was turning out to be.
Taking one more look at the old book lying on the table in his room, he tried again. His breaths were heavy, his shoulders slumping as the energy drained from his body more and more with each passing minute. The books promised that with the magic, it would trace him to his fractal of choice. It only worked once, but this would be the first step.
He tried again and again, but to no avail, and the burning in his veins grew worse. He was surely doing damage to himself. Various maids had attempted to check on him or coax him out to see the people who were begging for an entrance. Having to constantly pull up illusions of Odin drained the magic quicker, until he finally remembered what weakness tasted like. It was so bitter, so heavy.
Loki was not used to failure, and he certainly wouldn't accept this as one. However, nothing was working and he was disheartened, as well as angry. The sooner he found the Fractals, the sooner he could assure that no one would get them. No one but himself.
Taking one sharp breath, he stiffened his arms out in front of him and bitterly commanded his magic to come back to life, pulling at the seams of energy surrounding his aura. Jaw tightening, his muscles tensed, his magic coarsed and with a sharp cry, it burst from him in the form of another failure, breaking the table in half.
Loki huffed and threw his book, marching away from the crumbling room. The walls had various cracks from his overuse of magic, but he hated having Odin's bedroom, anyway. It could cave in, for all he cared.
His magic sizzled under the weakness as he walked the halls. The fury of his anger and frustration were the only elements keeping it burning, living in a newfound darkness; his anger grew hot still while he rummaged through the library. No book would supply the answers he sought. He was delusional from lack of sleep, irritated by his weakened magic and hurt by his inability to achieve the greatness he sought. Frigga would have had the answers. His mother was always so wise. She would never have grown weak so quickly.
Your temper and fears are getting the best of you...
She always told him that. Always. He would keep them silent and locked away, but she could always feel them stirring in his heart. Her intuition baffled him, but it taught him from a very young age how to recognize such emotions.
Hours were spent, wasted and trying like the days before. By the Norns, these Fractals would stay hidden. If not for his wounded pride, he would be thankful to never know that one Fractal might rip him apart. It may be the one grace he was granted. But he was too headstrong to be tricked into falling for simple gratitude. He could not lay satisfied whilst knowing of untarnished power lying raw in the universe. His magic was exhausted. His body was worn. Illusions were a torture he would never let go of.
In all its glory, the empty throne room welcomed Loki as he entered its residence. Evening light poured in and shone off of the gold, illuminating the fading illusion he held up. Looking down at his hands, he tried to recall the last time he felt this way. Possibly during reformation with Thanos and his children, but those memories were so dark and frightening. It was best to pretend as if they had not happened at all.
How could he fail? After one too many, he had sworn not to endure another. Every opportunity in his grasp had either been stolen or destroyed. Would no one pity him? Understand him? No, of course not. There were no men, no creatures like him. And yet, even before his corruption, he fought for love and attention, for he would not be worthy of it otherwise. Even when he brought those Frost Giants into the vault...
Loki's thoughts froze. His spine straightened. What a dark time that was. Dark. Yes, very. He had used dark magic to travel across realms and bring them to the vault. It was a forbidden act and he remembered how such wicked power toyed with his mind for days afterwards, the start of his undoing. He feared doing it again and never thought he would. But this was different. Dark magic might be the missing element, and he would risk the balance of life or death to succeed.
His eyes had already darkened with trembling hands shimmering from the last reserve of power. Loki's devilish smile was wild with greed. Whatever thoughts of mercy he held before, they were gone. This palace could crumble, he could burn in helfire, as long as he held those shards in his hands.
The illusion broke away as he took every ounce of magic he had left. Dark magic was so controlling. He could only welcome it. Let it begin the task. Help him succeed, help him survive.
"Brother!"
The thoughts and whispers were gone, the dark hiding away and sense returned in its place. Blood draining from his face, Loki faded his magic and turned, slowly. In time to see Thor, his neck was furiously grabbed while his spine hit hard on a solid wall. He was found.
Thor was disheveled, pulse thrumming and breaths uneven. He looked at Loki with such a piercing gaze it reflected enough hatred to kill. Buried beneath was an ocean of hurt.
"What are you doing here?" Thor hissed, swallowing as his voice broke off. He kept Loki pressed roughly to the wall.
Chuckling, Loki masked every sign of fear, anger and equal hurt beneath sarcastic spite. "We really have to stop meeting like this, brother. What brought you home so early?"
Slamming him harder into the wall, Thor growled, vision becoming red hot behind glossy eyes. "You were dead! I saw you die! I held you, I mourned you! Now look at what you've done." His tone softened but retained its severity. "I should never have trusted you."
He took a step back, roughly letting go.
Loki was hurt by those words but refused to show agreement. Yes. Untrustworthy. Always. This was a continuous cycle and one he should accept.
"I was lucky enough to survive. You were the one who left my body there."
"I do not jest, Loki! You lied! You've stolen the kingdom–"
"And you'll what? Fight me for it? Kill me?" Loki folded his hands behind his back. "I did betray you. You promised to kill me if I did."
Thor had never meant those words. They were hard to live with. Desperation was a monster.
"Look at this place..." Thor turned, pacing. "This palace, the village, the Nine Realms, they're all in chaos!"
"If you haven't noticed, the people are very happy!"
"Only because you've deceived them! You lie to even yourself and think this is prosperity!" He marched closer. "I saw you were conjuring spells. What were you doing?!"
"You're a fool to think I'll tell you. I have become more powerful than you, than Father–"
"What have you done with Father?" Thor held Mjolnir in a deathly grip.
"I–"
"Did you kill him?!"
"I... I did not." Loki's mouth was dry. He hated these natural lies. They hurt.
Rushing away, Thor picked up into a furious stride. Loki followed.
"Where are you going?" He demanded. Thor would not answer.
They entered Odin's chambers, the broken table there as a welcome, along with the cracking walls and ceiling, dust sprinkling from above. Thor snapped his gaze over to the empty bed and the state of the room. He walked in further, breathing heavy.
Loki tried to think of something to say. Something witty, something to anger Thor to a boiling point but hold him off from violent acts. His mind was far too exhausted to come up with something reliable, so he kept his mouth shut.
Bending over and pushing aside broken pieces of wood, Thor picked up the book. His book. Loki's eyes widened.
"Nonono put that down–"
"What is it?" Thor demanded. "A spell book? Were you using dark magic?"
"Brother, you know I–"
"Don't lie to me! Nothing you say is justifiable, but you know dark magic is forbidden. It would tear us all apart!"
"You are not my master." Loki seethed.
"Nor am I your brother. Not when you act this way. The Loki I knew and loved would not go to such lengths. He would never intentionally endanger Asgard. He would never kill Father!"
"I didn't kill him!" The tears would not hide any longer, but Loki refused to let them fall.
The silence and stares that were held seemed to turn the room to ice. Cold, deathly ice.
Thor opened the book and read.
"Y-You won't like it." Loki muttered, his voice now lowly and broken.
Thor became lost in the engravings on every page. He was mortified, fearful that such power could exist. Here he had been, searching across the universe for the Infinity Stones, but those were not even half of it.
"Loki... where... where did you find this?"
"In the library on the archive shelf. The pages were hidden by a curse that I broke. Did Father know of this?"
Thor swallowed. "If he did, he never spoke a word to me." He lifted his blue eyes to his brother's green ones. "You were trying to find them. Even after all you take and destroy, you still want more."
"You try having everything taken from you and destroyed and see what it makes you become."
Thor could not find an answer. He only wore more of the pain on his face.
"Were you able to find them?" Thor finally asked. "These... Fractals?"
"The book promised that I could find one through the use of a certain spell. I don't believe it will work without dark magic."
"And you were going to do it and take it for yourself."
A sigh rushed through Loki's nose, impatient and sharp. "Well we can't very well leave it out there for someone else to find." He enunciated.
"If you are able to find it safely, do it. We must keep it from selfish hands."
Your selfish hands...
"I thought you didn't trust me, brother."
"I don't." Thor paused, gaze shifting. "At least not yet."
Snatching back the book, Loki flipped to the right page, reading over it once more to assure he did not miss a single detail. He was already exhausted and this would use up the last of his reserves. Curse you, Thor, for being here. Blinking away the thoughts, he set the book down on the bed. This was it. His hands were extended and ready.
Thor felt the atmosphere change as Loki's hands grew a deep shade of green. The air became heavy as his eardrums throbbed. This was a dangerous task and he felt foolish to let Loki carry it out. He began to regret his agreement, but it was too late. If only he had found their father.
The strain on Loki's face was imminent. He ground his teeth as his jaw tightened in place and the green in his eyes turned to a sharp grey. Dark magic was growing in him, crawling through his bones and seeping into his mind. He fought to block out the newfound darkness this magic supplied. It wasn't that he minded it, but there would be no light left. He enjoyed being a combination of the two. That's who Odin always was, and he would strive to be better than him.
Green flames burst to life around them, forming a portal. The energy was strong. Thor swallowed a lump and he tensed. That was their doorway to danger.
"After you." He commanded, letting Loki take the first few steps so he wouldn't be out of sight. Even with the risk of illusions, Thor did the best that he could.
"Is this... Midgard?" Loki questioned, looking at the scene of darkened buildings off in the distance.
Thor nodded, frowning. "Yes, I believe so."
"Ha! The humans have so much under their noses that they do not even notice." His comment was left ignored.
Stepping through the charred grass, the accident was clear. Power was gone from this campus and a searing heat came off in waves from a leftover fire. Small, purple flames hid in the tangled grass, sizzling under their boots.
"I can feel it." Loki spoke, partly to himself as if trying to forget Thor was even there.
"What do you feel?"
He paused. "A strange magic. The spell worked."
Further into the field, the grass grew dark, blackened and dry from burning. The brothers were cautious, slowly approaching the scene while keeping an eye out for unsuspecting humans. Loki winced as the air was hot.
Pulling himself into a sprint, Thor spotted a limp figure lying in the middle of the aftermath. Loki followed, running beside him. They did not come to save humans but there was no point in arguing. Thor was an Avenger.
"It's a girl!" Thor announced, kneeling down and urgently checking her pulse.
Loki rolled his eyes. "Yes, I can see it's a girl."
"Help me make sure she's alright!" He began feeling her for broken bones.
Going down on one knee beside her, Loki did his share of checking her pulse and then felt for abnormalities, such as too high of a temperature. What struck him as odd was how her skin appeared to have been untouched by the fire. She was young and looked human enough, but something wasn't settling right on that accord. His eyes shot down to the locket around her neck. It was pulsing with such strong magic. Of course, she was the source of the Fractals. The purple flames, the energy of this locket; he had called for the Fractals carved from the Power Stone. Glancing up at Thor to see if he wasn't looking, he snatched the locket and slipped it into his coat.
Supporting the back of her neck, Thor said, "We must bring her back to Asgard. I do not believe she is human."
Loki stood up. "Won't these humans know of this event?"
"The Avengers will interfere." Sirens were heard approaching from a distance. "Come. Let's go back to the portal." Scooping up the girl, they rushed off.
Loki didn't need to be asked this time to go in first. He was glad to return, knowing that at least one of the Fractals was now resting in the pocket of his coat.
Selfish hands indeed...