▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

❛ ᴇᴡᴛʀᴛᴡ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪsᴇsᴛ ᴄᴏᴜɴsᴇʟᴏʀ
ᴏғ ᴀʟʟ ꒱


❝ HE WHO REMAINS ❞

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

The end of time was nothing like what Jimin thought it would be.

Granted, she hadn't ever really thought about it before but whatever she'd imagined, it hadn't been. . . this.

After they walked through the frozen fog, the trio had found themselves on a chunk of broken rock surrounded by a kaleidoscope of space colors, a silver-white band surrounding them. The Asian woman looked at their surroundings with wide eyes. "Well, for anyone who ever said that time was linear I have proof that says otherwise."

They slowly approached the front door, neither of the Lokis deigning her a response. They paused just outside. "Aren't you gonna tell me not to kick the door in?"

"It never made a difference."

Sylvie stepped away from the entrance. "Well, if you think it's a bad idea, I prefer you speak your mind."

"No," Loki said quietly. "Nothing to say."

"That's a first," Jimin muttered.

The blonde cleared her throat as she faced the opening again. At her continued hesitation, the god gave her a concerned look. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, Just need a moment."

"Right. It's just, you normally. . ."

"You ass, shut up," the Asian woman ordered, earning a nod of gratitude from the blonde, who began to speak.

"I was pruned before you even existed. I have been waiting for this moment my entire life. I just need a second to get my head straight, okay?"

"Sure, of course."

As they let her have a moment, the doors opened noisily before them without anyone making a move to do so. There was an ominous clunk as they settled, allowing all three of them to see into the cavernous depths of the building. Stone pillars and eerie lighting lit up the dark halls that were very gothic in design, almost reminding Jimin of a church. Briefly, she wondered if she should drop her atheism before they met whatever being resided inside. (She promptly dismissed the idea.)

Together, the trio entered the building slowly, all on their guard should an enemy present itself. The doors closed loudly behind them.

"'Hey y'all!'" A bright orange light appeared in the center of the hallway, the figure of Miss Minutes looking out-of-place in such a apocalyptic setting.

The Lokis and Jimin jumped, all three drawing their weapons at the unexpected greeting. They watched the clock suspiciously as Sylvie asked, "you again?"

"'Welcome to the Citadel at the End of Time,'" the animation said in response.

"Come on," Loki murmured. They began to move slowly around the clock.

"'Congratulations. Y'all had an awfully long journey to get here. He's impressed.'"

"Who's impressed?" the blonde demanded.

"'He Who Remains.'"

"And who is he?" Loki added.

"'He created all and he controls all. At the end, it is only He Who Remains and he wants to offer you a deal.'" Miss Minutes backed up as the trio walked forward, heedless of their drawn weapons and hostile posture. "'He's been making a few creative adjustments and he's worked it out so we can reinsert the three of y'all back into the Timeline in a way that. . . won't disrupt things.'"

"'Won't disrupt things?'" Jimin repeated suspiciously.

"'Mmm-hmmm. The TVA can keep doin' its vital work and y'all can live the lives you've always wanted.'"

"And what have we always wanted?" the god inquired.

"'Now, don't play coy with me, mister,'" the clock said reproachfully. "'You know how you got into this mess.'"

"What?"

"'The Battle of New York, silly. You versus those self-righteous Avengers. How would you like to win? But not just there. You can kill Thanos. You want the Infinity Gauntlet? Yours. Throne of Asgard—'"

"Don't listen to her," Jimin interrupted the animation shortly. "She's— it's— lying—"

"'What about you, missy?'" Miss Minutes turned her attention to the brunette. "'How would you like to meet your mother? To have a gentler father? To not hesitate?" The clock's eyes widened. "'I know, would you like to save Katrina?'"

At the mention of the redhead, Jimin stiffened. "You don't have a right to speak her name," she snapped, "and I would never want such a falsehood for a life. Those are all just fairytales, just lies. I don't believe in daydreams."

Unperturbed, Miss Minutes addressed Sylvie. "'And you? All those years on the run. Desperate, alone. How would you like to wake up tomorrow with just a lifetime of happy memories? Two Lokis in the same place.'"

"Both of us. . ." the god started slowly, "together on the same timeline?" He looked over at the blonde, who met his gaze.

"'It's crazy, but he could make it work, all of it. Everything, exactly the way you've always wanted—'"

"She's— it's— just trying to distract us," the Asian woman insisted, her eyes narrowed on the clock. "It doesn't want us to complete the mission."

"It's fiction," Sylvie agreed.

"We write our own destiny now," Loki conceded.

"'Oh, sure you do,'" Miss Minutes' tone turned condescending. "'Good luck with that.'"

"Come on."

✧✧✧

Their footsteps echoed as they walked down the vaulted halls. There was very little decoration except for the dark marble that was shot through with gold and the pillars that supported the ceiling.

"He who remains," the Asgardian repeated.

"Not for much longer."

The trio reached the end of the corridor that descended in a series of steps to a circular room that held several statues that stood below ornately decorated windows which let in hazy light. The pillars were broken in this room and they fanned out, still on guard but more willing to separate. Jimin saw a layer of dust on the flat surfaces that indicated no one had been here for a very, very long time.

"Are we sure he's even still alive?" Loki asked, having made the same discovery.

Across the room, a machine clunked as if to answer his question.

An elevator ding! went off.

The trio immediately jumped into fighting stances to anticipate the next arrival. The door slid open to reveal. . . a man?

Still, they remained suspicious even at the lack of a threat. The. . . person wore purple robes and raised his hands to reveal an apple clutched in one as he stood, a smile appearing on his face. "This is wild. The three of you," he chuckled. "Two being the same person. I mean, it's a little unnatural but. . . wow! Wild," he took a bite from the fruit.

"He Who Remains," Sylvie said breathlessly.

"He Who Remains," the man agreed, chewing. "She still calls me that? Creepy, right? But. . . I like it." Gradually, their weapons lowered. "Come on, let's talk in my office."

✧✧✧

The elevator— which was big enough to hold four adults and a leather couch— rose steadily upward as the man spoke again with a full mouth. "Not what you were expecting, hmmm?"

Loki, with his sword still raised, answered disbelievingly. "You're just. . . a man."

"Mmm. Flesh and blood. Don't tell me I'm a disappointment."

"No," Sylvie said. "Just a little bit easier to kill." She lunged forward as she swung her blade, but the man disappeared to materialize on the couch with an amused laugh. As she turned to attack him again with a grunt, he vanished, emerging in his original position.

This happened again, as if he knew exactly where she would strike next. Jimin frowned as she watched him blink around, wary of the man as she couldn't get a confirmed read on whether his words were the truth or a lie. Then, he disappeared completely, leaving the two Lokis breathing heavily in his wake.

The door opened to reveal him standing on the other side in front of a room filled with books. A single desk and four chairs occupied the space. "Come on in."

The trio hesitated before they accepted his invitation. The man poured a liquid— Jimin assumed it was tea— into four cups as they approached him hesitantly. He counted off each serving as he prepared them. "One. . . two. . . three. . ." He looked up from his task at his wary guests. "Please, take a seat." He then placed the cups onto the nearby table. "Uh, Loki. Loki, two sugars. Jimin, no sugar." The man finished the fourth serving.

Jimin and the two Lokis took cautious seats as the man took the one behind his desk.

✧✧✧

"Been a long journey for you, hasn't it? A lot of running, lot of pain. And you. . ." He looked over at Loki. "You're a flea on the back of a dragon, in for one hell of a ride." He chuckled. "But you did manage to hang on. Mmm-hmm. I guess that counts for something."

"I'm not sure you quite understand the situation," the god said, raising his sword off his lap. "You've lost. We found you."

The man didn't seem surprised. "Duh. Of course you did."

Sylvie reacted violently, springing to her feet to launch herself across the table towards him. He calmly blinked out of the chair to sit perched on top of the back, out of danger from the weapon. "Whoa! A swing and a miss."

The blonde woman growled as he laughed. "So, we're still doing that, hmmm? Let's get all this out of the way." He stood and reached into one of the desks' drawers to pull out a file. He placed it on the table and opened it, flicking through the pages in search of what he was looking for. "Here we go." He pulled out a few pieces and placed them in front of the trio as the remaining two stood. "You can't kill me because I already know what's going to happen."

With the two Lokis, Jimin leaned over to examine the papers. Her eyes widened slightly was it showed all of the dialogue that had already been said and the words that would be spoken next.

Loki scoffed. "It's a parlor trick."

"Okay," the man said agreeably. "Don't you wonder how I'm able to get out of the way just before you kill me?"

"No. It's because of that little TemPad you have there," the goddess answered.

"Right. But how do I already have it loaded up with everything I need to know to keep me from being killed by you two?"

"Two?" Jimin asked before she could stop herself. Glancing down at the paper, she saw the line she'd already spoken— and the man's reply.

"This is not your quest, Agent Hui," he said. "You understand that it's for them. Therefore, you are of no threat to me. See? It's easy. I know it all and I've seen it all." He sat again. "Everything you guys did on Lamentis, I saw. All the stuff the T.V.A. didn't know about, I knew. All the scheming, all the talking. That understanding that was formed by the lake. Quite sentimental, very touching stuff by the way."

"No," Sylvie disagreed. "No, we broke out of your little game. That's how we got here."

"No, wrong. Every step you took to get here. Lamentis, The Void, I paved the road." He placed his hand on the desk and pushed it forward, visualizing his words. "You. . . you just walked down it." Two fingers mimed the man's statement.

The trio was silent, meeting each other's eyes uneasily as he continued, "and I have the rest, uh, right here." He leafed through the folder. "Everything that's, uh. . . that's going to happen. There's only one way this can go."

"Then why are we here?"

"Oh, come on. You know you can't get to the end until you've been changed by the journey. This stuff, it needs to happen, to get us all into the right mindset to finish the quest."

"Right," Loki said slowly.

"Right."

"So it's all a game," the Asgardian looked up at the robed man. "It's all. . . a manipulation."

"Interesting, that your head would go to that. Sylvie!" He called her name suddenly. "You think you can trust this guy? What about your mortal friend?"

"Don't listen to him," the god countered immediately. Jimin remained quiet, her eyes watchful on the man.

He repeated Loki's words: "'don't listen to him.'" He chuckled. "Do you think you're even capable of trusting anyone at all?"