"There would not be pain. He would fall asleep, peaceful and loved. You would never see him again."
"I beg you!" Loki dropped to his knees with a shameful thud echoing through the hall. All inhibition had left, he didn't care. The dignified Prince of Asgard, once tall with all his pride, to the feet of the man who held their future in his hand. Tom averted his gaze, seeing the proudest man he ever knew like that burnt in him.
"Ask for anything, anything! But spare my son's life. I beg you!"
"I don't desire much, you must know." The Soul Keeper purred, in a stern and yet mischievous manner. Loki asked for an enormous favor, and it would cost him dearly.
"You desire justice, you said so yourself. Then judge over me. Have me die a thousand deaths if you desire so, but do not harm my child."
Another silence, filled with an importance one could cut through. It was the culmination of their unparalleled journey, either way coming to an end. Their last wish was a choice - one would die or remain dead, so much could not be changed, but it could be a choice, and that was worth so much.
The Soul Keeper's face didn't reveal his thoughts. The bright part of his eyes swallowed his irides, turning his eyes all white briefly. He read Loki's soul.
"You love him." Astonishment resonated in his voluminous voice.
"With all I have."
"And you would sacrifice yourself in exchange for your child and its mother?"
"Whatever it takes."
"If I asked for your head right now, in front of your newborn?"
"Then swing the axe now, for I am already in the perfect position."
The Soul Keeper stared down at him, daring Loki to lower his gaze. His unyielding, smaragdine orbs counted a different story than his kneeling figure. He wouldn't yield, every word was true. Loki's candor proved him wrong, which both surprised and infuriated him. Truth and selflessness - the God of Mischief and Lies, out of all people.
"No, that wouldn't be right. You have lived longer than other gods your age, through skills and knowledge you have acquired, you have lived like no other. You have mastered the bright and dark sides of magic, the art of healing. Killing you, it would be a waste. Despite your troubling nature."
He turned away purposefully, wandered over to where crystal kissed water. He breathed in, the hall answering reverently, sighing in response. The Soul Keeper had made his decision.
"So be it, Asgardian. You get to live, all of you. Your punishment however, is mine to choose."
"I humbly accept your most gracious offer."
Loki, already on his knees, lowered Caroline's cool body to the crystal ground. He stroked over her front, her hairline, sensing that it was not too late yet. A smile formed on his face, becoming more and more peaceful. He had received a bargain, and he was thankful. He had, for the first time in his life, made something right.
Caroline and their son would live, he had made it all right. This vibrant feeling, hot and fulfilling, expanded in his core. The last of all the hatred, the pain, the urge to do harm - it concentrated in one last tear, falling to the ground and shattering for good. He felt a hundred pounds lighter, closer to serenity than ever. As he withdrew his hand from Caroline, it was warm.
Loki rose, not risking another glance at her. It weighed down heavy on his bruised heart not to, but he couldn't risk it. He didn't trust himself. Everything inside him yearned for her, to have her look at him one last time with her warm, human eyes. No, he must let her go. In two steps heavy with meaning, he stood before Tom.
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The Sacrifice: Fallen | Loki | Book 2
Fanfiction"A man gone insane, after his wife left him for another man, set fire to his home and hanged himself." He tied my hands behind my back. "Go to hell." I choked slowly. The oxygen in air was decreasing rapidly. Caroline. "'Tis quite a shame. To dest...
Chapter 30: A Dance with Death
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