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"...What in the nine realms just happened?!"
Thor's voice boomed through the temporary holding tent like a sudden crack of thunder, vibrating the cheap metal frame.
His eyes were wide, practically bulging out of his head as he kept flicking his gaze back and forth. First at the completely empty space behind Rosh, then back at the calm, mysterious guy standing right in front of him.
"How… how did you just do that?" Thor stammered, pointing a thick finger. "Where did the door go?!"
Just a single second ago, Thor had watched this guy grab the literal air, pull open a solid doorway out of thin air, and casually step through it like he was walking into a coffee shop.
And now?
Nothing.
No doorway. No magic glowing portal. Just plain, empty space.
For a wild second, Thor genuinely thought the grief and exhaustion were finally making him hallucinate. Loki, standing a few feet away, wasn't doing much better.
Even though he was a hundred times better at hiding his shock than his loud-mouthed brother, that bizarre entrance had completely thrown him off balance. Loki prided himself on knowing every trick in the book. He knew Asgardian sorcery, ancient illusions, dark magic, and cosmic spells. He had searched through every single memory in his head, but he couldn't find a single spell that could pull a physical door out of nothingness without leaving a trace of magical energy behind.
It was completely unknown, and in Loki's book, unknown meant dangerous.
"Well, well… now that is interesting."
Loki was the first to snap back to reality.
The brief flicker of shock melted off his face instantly, replaced by the effortless, deadly charm of an Asgardian prince. He tilted his chin up, putting on that signature smooth, arrogant smile that made him look like he was always five steps ahead of everyone else in the room.
He took a slow step forward, his dark eyes locking onto Rosh.
"So…" Loki's voice was like silk, completely cool and unbothered. "My fellow sorcerer. Care to enlighten me on who you are?" He crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow. "And more importantly, why are you interrupting a private family moment?"
On the outside, Loki looked like he had everything under total control. Like a magic door opening in thin air was just a minor inconvenience to his day. But beneath that sleek, unbothered exterior? His mind was racing at a million miles an hour, analyzing every detail, every threat, every angle.
Rosh just offered a relaxed, easygoing smile.
"My name isn't really important right now," Rosh said smoothly, completely unbothered by Loki's regal posture. "You can just think of me as an interstellar merchant, and I'm only here for one thing."
Rosh's gaze shifted, locking straight onto Loki's eyes.
"I came to make a deal with you. A deal I know for a fact you won't be able to turn down."
Loki's smirk froze for a fraction of a second.
"You know who I am?"
A sharp glint of surprise flashed in Loki's eyes before he could stop it. This was his very first time setting foot on Earth. He had kept his presence completely hidden, moving in the shadows. He had never seen this young man in his life.
So how in the world did this stranger know exactly who he was the second he walked into the room?
A dozen theories raced through Loki's head in a split second. Then, almost like a reflex, his eyes darted toward Thor.
'Did this meathead open his big mouth?' Loki thought bitterly. 'Is this human someone Thor hired or met before I got here? Did my idiot brother already ruin everything?'
Before Loki could even finish the thought in his head, Rosh spoke up again.
"Nope."
Rosh let out a light laugh, a knowing glint in his eyes.
"This is actually my very first time meeting your rather simple-minded brother. And trust me, I definitely didn't come here because of him."
The words hit the room like a physical slap. Loki's pupils shrank to tiny pinpricks.
For the first time since landing on this backwater planet, the smooth, cool prince act completely shattered. A sudden, ice-cold chill shot straight down his spine, making his heart drop into his stomach.
'Impossible... He…'
'He just answered the exact thought running through my head.'
Loki stared at Rosh, his hands tense, completely unable to hide the sheer disbelief burning in his eyes.
'Can this mortal… read my mind?!'
In an instant, every single drop of arrogance washed clean off the God of Mischief's face. The smug, superior routine Loki had been pulling just seconds ago vanished into thin air, replaced by cold, razor-sharp caution.
He didn't dare underestimate the young man in front of him anymore.
Not even a little bit.
First, Rosh had torn open a literal doorway through empty air, a trick Loki couldn't explain with any level of Asgardian sorcery he had ever mastered. And then, without missing a beat, he had casually answered a thought that Loki hadn't even spoken out loud.
Either one of those feats on their own would have been mind-blowing.
Put them together?
It made Rosh look downright dangerous.
Despite how young this mysterious merchant looked, he carried an overwhelming, unreadable depth. For the first time in a very long time, Loki felt like he was the one being played.
And he hated that feeling.
Meanwhile, Thor was completely lost. He looked at Rosh, then he looked at Loki. Then he looked back at Rosh, his thick brow furrowing into a tight knot of confusion.
"Hey! Wait a second!" Thor finally snapped, stepping forward and waving a broad hand. "Who are you calling simple-minded?!"
He rubbed the back of his neck in pure frustration. The entire conversation was flying right over his head. Every sentence felt like a secret code, and he was getting tired of being the only one not in on the joke.
Seeing Thor's deeply bewildered expression, Rosh couldn't help but smile faintly.
"Relax, Thor. My business today is with your brother," Rosh said, giving the fallen prince a polite, easygoing nod. "But don't worry about it too much."
He paused, a glint of amusement in his eyes.
"I'm sure you and I will be meeting again real soon."
Thor blinked, his thunderous mood faltering into pure confusion. "What is that supposed to mean? Why would we meet again?"
Rosh just kept that light, mysterious smile on his face. "When the time comes... you'll figure it out."
Without offering another word of explanation, Rosh casually raised his hand.
*Creak!*
A heavy, wooden sound echoed inside the metal tent, bending the air itself. Reality tore open down the middle like soft fabric, revealing a wide, invisible doorway standing right in the middle of the room.
Through the frame, the warm, inviting interior of the Home of the Devil Fruits sat quietly, waiting.
Rosh turned back toward Loki, gesturing politely toward the portal.
"Now then," Rosh said smoothly. "Would you care to step into my shop? We can talk business where it's a little more comfortable."
Loki stared at the impossible doorway for a long, heavy moment.
One second. Two seconds.
Then, slowly, the tension in his shoulders melted away, and that sharp, confident smirk crept right back onto his face.
"Why not?"
Loki lifted his chin, stepping forward with the sweeping grace of royalty.
No matter what mind-bending tricks this strange merchant had up his sleeve, Loki refused to show an ounce of fear. He was still a Prince of Asgard. A god. One of the greatest sorcerers in the Nine Realms. Even with the dark truth about his frost giant heritage hanging over his head, his pride wasn't going anywhere.
If anything, his curiosity was burning out of control.
Who was this self-proclaimed interstellar merchant? And what kind of deal could possibly catch the interest of the God of Mischief?
Loki stopped right at the threshold of the portal, narrowing his dark eyes as he locked glances with Rosh.
"You had better hope this isn't a waste of my time," Loki warned, his voice low, smooth, and laced with a quiet threat. "You just interrupted a very important conversation between my brother and me. If this turns out to be a waste of my breath, there will be consequences."
Rosh didn't even flinch. He just gave a quiet, unbothered chuckle.
"Trust me, Loki. You won't be saying that once you step inside." Rosh's voice was dead calm, dripping with absolute certainty. "In fact... if you walk away from this door right now?"
He met Loki's gaze head-on.
"You'll end up regretting it for the rest of your life."
"A bold promise," Loki murmured, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his dark lips. "I've always had a soft spot for confidence."
He paused, casting a quick, meaningful glance back over his shoulder.
"Stay here, Thor. I won't be long."
Despite the million burning questions swirling in Thor's mind, the thunder god didn't move to block him. There were already way too many unresolved secrets hanging heavily between them, and hashing out family trauma in front of a total stranger wasn't exactly ideal.
Thor gave a firm, heavy nod. "Loki... I'll be waiting."
Without another word, Loki brushed right past Rosh and crossed the threshold. The instant his boot touched down on the other side, the world completely transformed. Gone was the cramped, sterile S.H.I.E.L.D. tent. Gone was the smell of cheap canvas and rain.
Instead, Loki found himself standing in an impossible, mind-bending space unlike anything he had ever seen.
Countless wooden doors stretched out endlessly in every single direction. Above him, there was no sky, just a vast, dark void filled with floating doorways. No walls, no floor, no clear beginning or end. It felt less like a room and more like a whole pocket universe built entirely out of doors.
Even for a prince of Asgard who was used to cosmic wonder, Loki couldn't completely hide the awe flickering across his face.
Before he could even begin to analyze the bizarre magic at work, Rosh casually strolled ahead, reached out into the empty space, and opened another floating door.
"After you," Rosh said easily.
Loki kept his composure, stepping right through.
The strange door-world vanished into thin air.
In the next breath, he stepped into the warm, luxurious lounge of the Home of the Devil Fruit. Soft ambient light washed over elegant furniture, polished floors, and refined decor, creating an atmosphere that felt both wildly expensive and strangely inviting.
Loki took a slow, deliberate sweep of the room before bringing his sharp gaze back to Rosh.
"Instantaneous spatial travel..." Loki spoke softly, a quiet trace of genuine admiration slipping into his voice. "Remarkable."
Then, a sleek smile touched his lips.
"Tell me, Merchant..." He gestured back toward the door they had just used. "Is an extraordinary gift like that something you actually sell?"
This time, there wasn't a single hint of mockery or condescension in his tone. It was a pure, honest question.
As the God of Mischief and one of the finest sorcerers in the Nine Realms, Loki understood magic better than almost anyone, and he knew just how insane this ability was. A power that allowed someone to warp anywhere in the universe instantly without a massive spell circle, without hours of prep, and without relying on outside energy?
Even back home in Asgard, something like that would be considered a priceless, top-tier treasure.
As far as Loki knew, not even the legendary relics locked deep inside Odin's Vault could pull off space manipulation this effortlessly. The only thing in existence that came close was the Bifrost, and even the Rainbow Bridge needed Heimdall to pull the lever.
This doorway? It belonged entirely to Rosh.
Rosh gave a calm, satisfied nod. "That's right. It's one of the signature abilities I offer."
Hearing those words, the spark of intrigue in Loki's eyes instantly exploded into full-blown fascination.
"Well then..." Loki's smile widened, growing sharper and far more dangerous. "I have to admit... I'm actually starting to look forward to this little transaction."
Any leftover doubts or skepticism he had were completely gone. Because if there was one thing Loki understood better than anyone else, it was the raw, game-changing nature of power.
A single unique ability could alter a person's destiny overnight. His own brother was living proof of that.
Thor wasn't brilliant. In fact, in Loki's eyes, his older brother was a blunt instrument who solved every single problem by smashing it with brute force. Yet the moment Odin handed him Mjolnir, Thor became the celebrated God of Thunder.
Every realm they visited cheered for Thor. They praised his mighty hammer. They threw grand feasts for his victories. Meanwhile, Loki, despite his sharp intellect, his mastery over sorcery, and his careful, brilliant planning, had spent centuries tucked away in his brother's massive shadow.
It was a sting he had lived with his entire life.
And now?
Looking at this quiet merchant standing in a room full of impossible magic, Loki felt a sudden, exhilarating rush hit him.
Maybe... just maybe... this was his chance to rewrite the rules forever.
If this mysterious interstellar merchant actually possessed powers of this caliber... then whatever he had sitting in his inventory was bound to be completely out of this world.
His curiosity had officially hit a boiling point.
"Alright then, Merchant," Loki said, taking a slow, deliberate look around the gorgeous lounge. His dark eyes glinted with sharp anticipation. "Show me what you have. I'm looking forward to being impressed."
Rosh just smiled knowingly.
"Elizabeth."
"Right away, Boss."
The moment Rosh called her name, Elizabeth stepped into the lounge with perfect poise.
Seeing a man standing in the middle of the room wrapped in dramatic green robes and Asgardian armor didn't even make her blink. At this point, dealing with strange, larger-than-life customers was just a regular Tuesday at the Home of the Devil Fruits. After helping a literal talking, gun-toting raccoon from outer space, an arrogantly dressed prince barely registered on her weirdness radar.
Following Rosh's quiet signal, Elizabeth walked over with a polite smile and offered Loki a heavy, leather-bound book, the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
Loki took the book without a second thought, his long fingers tracing the cover before flipping it open.
The first few pages broke down the basics: what Devil Fruits were, how they worked, and the fundamental rules governing their abilities.
As he read, the spark in Loki's eyes steadily turned into an intense, hyper-focused glare.
Unlike a regular human on Earth who might laugh off the book as a silly fantasy story, Loki accepted every word instantly. As an Asgardian prince and a master of high magic, his understanding of the universe was light-years ahead of mortal logic. Ancient artifacts, bizarre cosmic powers, and biological mutations, none of that was hard for him to grasp.
If anything, the existence of Devil Fruits fits shockingly well into the grander laws of the cosmos.
"A fruit that permanently grants supernatural abilities to whoever eats it..." Loki murmured under his breath, his eyes scanning line after line. "Fascinating. Utterly fascinating."
He turned the page, diving deeper into the catalog.
To someone like Loki, a legendary weapon like Mjolnir was certainly impressive. But at the end of the day? Mjolnir was just a tool. An external object.
It could be dropped, it could be stolen.
Or worse... it could be deemed off-limits by an overbearing father who decided you weren't "worthy" anymore.
But a power that merged directly into your own flesh and blood? Power that rewrote your very soul and stayed with you forever?
That was something else entirely. That was power no one could ever strip away from you.
For a prince who had spent centuries hungering for strength to break out of his brother's shadow, Loki understood the terrifying, priceless value of these fruits better than anyone else alive.
The lounge gradually fell completely quiet. The only sound breaking the silence was the crisp, rhythmic *swish!* of pages turning one after another.
Rosh didn't interrupt; he simply leaned back, giving the God of Mischief all the time he needed to absorb what he was looking at.
Page after page...
Loki's expression grew sharper, more intense, his mind calculating every potential advantage.
Until suddenly…
His hand froze mid-turn, and his eyes locked dead onto a single page near the middle of the book. The sleek, confident smirk that had been plastered on his face ever since he entered the shop vanished into thin air.
His pupils shrank into tiny pinpricks, and all the color drained straight out of his face, leaving him deathly pale.
"...No," Loki whispered, his breath catching in his throat. "This... this is impossible."
He stared at the detailed illustration on the page as if he were looking at a ghost.
Then, with sudden, jerky sharpness, Loki snapped his head up to stare at Rosh. The cool, controlled prince was completely gone. In his eyes was raw, unadulterated shock.
"You..."
Loki's voice wasn't smooth anymore. It trembled, just a tiny bit, slipping through his composure.
"...You actually have a Devil Fruit that can do that?!"
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Next Chapter: The Devil Fruit That Could Replace Thor
Next Next Chapter: The Manager vs. The God of Mischief
Next Next Next Chapter: The Price of Becoming the God of Thunder
Visit my P@tr3on or K0‑fi ''Isopuff'' page and unlock +20 extra chapters and daily updates!