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*****
Thor was certainly not going to agree to such a thing. After glaring at Feny, he looked at Loki's back with a frown. Ultimately, he sighed, offering a compromise. "I will give you five minutes. No more."
With that, he turned on his heel and stomped away, his irritation palpable.
The moment Thor was gone, Loki spun around, craning his neck to peer into the hallway. Only after confirming that Thor was truly out of sight did he turn his attention back to Feny.
Facing Feny alone, Loki couldn't help but recall the sheer terror of the beating he had received in New York. Fortunately, the transparent barrier served as a protective layer, providing him with a thin, much-needed sense of security.
"Alright, it's just the two of us now," Feny said, meeting Loki's gaze. "You can start talking."
Loki shook his head, looking back at Feny. "No. You go first."
Feny's brow furrowed, his voice dropping into a low, serious tone. "To be honest, I don't think your character warrants much trust. It's better if you go first."
Loki tilted his head, studying Feny for a long beat before nodding. "Fine. I'll start. What do you want to know?"
"Where is Thanos now? How many men does he have? What did he tell you when he sent you to Earth?" Feny asked sharply. He wasn't overly concerned about Loki lying to him; he had no intention of seeking out Thanos until he was absolutely prepared.
"He spends his time aboard his fleet, conquering world after world. He has no permanent home," Loki replied. "As for his forces, besides the Chitauri, he has countless Outriders—vicious, mindless creatures that exist only to kill."
He paused, adjusting his posture. "And for the record, it was a business arrangement between us. I am not his subordinate. I promised to bring him the Tesseract, and in exchange, he provided me an army to take the Nine Realms for me to rule."
Feny watched Loki closely before pressing further. "And besides the Outriders? I recall he has a few powerful individuals under his command. What do you know about them?"
Loki's eyes flickered briefly. He nodded. "The Black Order. It's a small group—five of them, I believe. They are exceptionally powerful; some call them the Children of Thanos."
"Five of them?"
Feny frowned slightly. Thanos was able to ravage so many worlds not just because of his own strength and vast armies, but because of these high-ranking generals. "Who are they? What can you tell me about them?"
Loki shook his head. "I only know of two: Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight. And even then, I only saw them once."
Feny contemplated this for a moment. Looking at Loki, who offered a helpless shrug, he asked one more question: "How do you think I measure up against Thanos?"
Loki blinked, looking at Feny with newfound scrutiny. He shook his head again. "I don't know. He is powerful, but he rarely feels the need to step onto the battlefield himself. He crushes his enemies with ease. I have never seen him display his full strength."
Feny had half-expected Loki to claim the gap was small, hoping to trick him into a suicidal confrontation with the Mad Titan. The honesty of the answer was unexpected.
Feny followed up with a few more questions regarding the fleet and the Black Order, and Loki answered them truthfully. Having finished his end of the bargain, Feny fulfilled his promise.
"If there ever comes a day when Thanos catches you and intends to kill you," Feny said calmly, "tell him you know the location of the Soul Stone. If all goes as I expect, he'll keep you alive at least long enough to lead him to it."
"The Soul Stone?"
Loki looked genuinely surprised. He knew Thanos was searching for something, but the specifics and their intended use had been kept from him.
"Yes. It's on a planet called Vormir," Feny stated plainly. He had no intention of ever making the sacrifice required for that stone himself. Better to put the information out there; if someone else made the sacrifice, he could always try to take the stone from them later.
Feny glanced around the cell one last time, offering a strange sort of comfort. "Actually, staying here is probably the safest place for you. As long as the All-Father lives, Thanos won't dare set foot here."
At the mention of Odin, a complex emotion crossed Loki's face, followed quickly by a sneer. "He won't live forever. And Asgard will inevitably be ruined by that fool of a brother."
"That remains to be seen," Feny countered with a shake of his head. If Hela were to return and Thor didn't release the Fire Giant, who knew who would end up on the throne?
Loki looked puzzled. He got the distinct impression that Feny knew things he shouldn't. Back on Earth, he had researched Feny's background, but found nothing of substance.
Since returning to Asgard, even from his cell, he had managed to gather some information—like the fact that Feny supposedly came from a place called Kamar-Taj. Furthermore, Odin had acknowledged him as a "distinguished guest," even hosting a three-day banquet in his honor.
This baffled Loki. Odin was a proud, arrogant man. He could see Odin respecting Feny's individual strength, but "distinguished guest" implied something more. The only logical reason was this Kamar-Taj. He had never even heard of such a place existing on Earth.
Just as Loki was about to seize the opportunity to ask Feny about it, Thor returned, hammer in hand.
"Are you finished?" Thor asked, his expression still clouded with annoyance.
"Yeah," Feny nodded. While Loki's information wasn't extensive, it wasn't useless either. He took one last look at Loki, who had returned to his chair and picked up a book, looking for all the world like a refined scholar. "Let's go."
Before leaving, Thor gave Loki another lecture, urging him to reflect on his actions and change his ways. Loki didn't even look up, treating Thor like thin air. However, the moment they turned to leave, Loki specifically called out a farewell to Feny, clearly doing so just to spite his brother.
Once they were out of the dungeons, Thor was predictably fuming, grumbling about Loki's attitude under his breath. After a moment, his curiosity got the better of him. "What did you two talk about?"
"Nothing much," Feny replied offhandedly. "I told him the location of a treasure, and he gave me some intel on Thanos and his military."
"Thanos..." Thor had heard the name several times now from Feny. "Are you planning to hunt him down because he sent the Chitauri to Earth?"
"It's more than just that," Feny sighed. He didn't want to explain the full complexity of the Infinity Stones to Thor just yet, so he changed the subject. "I'm heading to the library to look for those books on the Flora colossus language. If you have things to do, don't let me keep you."
At the mention of the library, Thor's face twisted into an expression of pure distaste. To him, reading was a far cry from the joy of combat. However, he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he asked, "When will you be finished?"
"Why?" Feny asked, confused.
"Actually, I've always felt that our previous battle was left unfinished. How about we pick up where we left off and spar again?"
Thor tightened his grip on his hammer. That "surrender" in the desert remained a thorn in his side; he had been looking for a chance for "revenge" ever since.
Because Odin had forbidden him from traveling to Earth, he hadn't had the opportunity. But now that Feny had come to Asgard—and had been so brazenly dominant on the training grounds yesterday—Thor felt he had to step up, if only for the honor of Asgard.
Feny was taken aback for a moment, then a grin spread across his face. He nodded in agreement. "No problem. Let's do it tomorrow morning."
(End of Chapter)