He could not believe her eyes as she watched how her proud father was left speechless by Seph's sharp questions. For the first time in the past thousand years, she felt her heart skipping a beat, watg someoually standing up for her and questioning her father.

  She silently g Seph who was sitting fortably opposite to Odin and Frigga, her eyes shimmering with plicated emotions.

  He could not help but return back to a few minutes prior before the two of them arrived in front of Odin.

  Seph took He to the throne room of the Asgardian Castle. He first knocked out all the guards silently without harming them.

  ~~A Few Minutes Prior~~

  Golden pilrs stretched high above, casting long shadows across the empty hall as Seph walked beside He. Asgard's grandeur was impressive, though to Seph, it seemed to carry the weight of tless battles and ambitions more than the splendor of a true paradise.

  "Why do you stare like that, Seph?" He asked, her voice cool but ced with curiosity. Her green eyes gleamed with a mix of defiand pride.

  "It's not Asgard's grandeur I'm watg, He," Seph replied, pausing in front of a vast mural depig Odin's victorious past. "It's the blood beh the surface. A glorious facade, really. The Asgard your father wanted everyoo see. Even his own children."

  He gave a low chuckle, ohat was almost devoid of humor. "Oh, Odin wanted glory for us all. The quest, the rule, the legacy. A, when I dared to pursue that which he taught me, he deemed it unworthy and locked me away." She gestured with a hand, almost casually, but Seph could see the old pain behind her eyes.

  Seph g her, his gaze steady. "And do you think it was worth it?"

  She hesitated, her expression momentarily softening. "In that prison, I had plenty of time to po. But I wonder, Seph, why ask me? You have your own opinions of my father, don't you?"

  "Oh, indeed." Seph's tone hardened as he began, a quiet iy in his words. "Odin—the so-called All-Father. He raised you, his firstborn, in an uing shadow of blood and quest. Gave you the thirst for power, then abandoned you when you dared to cim it. Then, after sealing you away, he tried to 'raise' his sons like a king might train subjects, not children."

  He turoward her, his expression somber. "It was ruly about fatherhood for him. Thor, for instance—he taught the boy how to fight, but never when to stop. He enced the arroga never showed him the humility that any true ruler needs."

  He tilted her head, intrigued. "And what about the sed son... Loki? Surely the trickster had his fair share of bme?"

  "Loki…" Seph sighed. "Your brother's heart was as twisted as the shadows Odin cast over him. He saw how Thor was glorified for his strength and, feeling less worthy, grew ing and ruthless—seeking approval through fear, power, aion. Odin never saw his children, not truly. He molded them into soldiers or symbols rather than nurturing the people they were meant to be."

  A flicker of something crossed He's face, and she smiled, though it was bitter. "So you judge Odin's parentihods?"

  "Not just judge them... I n them." Seph's voice was cold, unwavering. "Your father wasn't a father. He was a ruler trying to ensure his legacy. And what he failed to realize is that true legacies aren't fed in the blood of war or the glories of quest. They're built by the people who carry them forward. He didn't see the damage he was doing to all of you."

  There ause as He's fierce demeanor softened, her eyes lost in thought. "You seem certain. But Odin would never listen to words like these."

  "That's because he's growo them," Seph replied. "No one has ever dared to challenge him, not really. He's seen himself as infallible. But strength and power mean nothing if those who wield them 't see the people they're meant to protect."

  He turned away, her expression ptive. "And what about me, Seph?"

  She murmured. "You said Odin ed Thor's pride, twisted Loki's need for approval. But what did he do to me?"

  Seph's gaze softened. "You were his image, He. The first and truest vision of the warrior king he aspired to be. He wao see himself in you, and in doing so, he never saw you. He buried the child he raised in the illusion of his own ambition. When you tried to be yourself—tried to rule as you believed in your heart—you became his enemy."

  He ched her fists, her voice thick with a mixture of anger and sadness. "Then why have I been denied what is rightfully mine?"

  "Because Odin couldn't let go of his own illusions. But remember this, He: the only thing strohan power is uanding. Seek to uand what it is you wish to rule, not simply to possess it. That will make you the ruler he never could be."

  She was silent, abs his words, her hardened expression softening. "Perhaps you should be the one on this throne, Seph."

  Seph gave a faint smile. "Nah, that's not my pce. I am not the person who likes to rule. I want to stay among the people I care for and love. I want to be always there for them. I have found my path in those millions of years. And perhaps, one day, you'll find that path, too."

  He was amused by Seph's reply and could not help but chuckle but the sed, she seriously pted over his words, w if her initial path was right or not...

  "He, He..."

  "Y-Yeah?"

  Her thoughts were broken by Seph's voice who was calling out to her. She shook her head and asked.

  "What happened?"

  "Nothing much. I just want to ask you something but... fet it." Seph smiled and shook his head.

  He uzzled and wao ask but before she could, the gate of the room ushed open and a figure entered inside.

  Looking closely, they realized it was Thor!

  The heavy doors of the room creaked open, and Thor stepped inside, only to freeze at the sight before him.

  There, standing opposite his parents, were two figures unfamiliar to him: a tall man with an air of calm authority and a dark-haired woman with a fierce, almost predatory aura. It took him only a moment to he tension in the air and the way Odin and Frigga sat silent, pensive as if subdued by words unspoken.

  --- ? ? ? ---

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