“Shizuru?”

Looking at the back of the woman who had just walked past him, Sam could only utter her name.

His mind was white, all thoughts having vanished. He couldn’t think at all. Even after everything he went through up to this point, it was impossible for him to process what was happening in front of him right now.

“Loki!” Hela said, snapping Sam out of it for a brief moment. It was the first time the young queen showed any semblance of emotion other than anger, her eyes going round as a wide smile appeared on her face. “Since you’re here does that mean…”

“Yes.” Flashing a brilliant smile Shizuru turned around. She glanced at Sam then shifted her gaze to the entrance and with a joyful tone she said. “Come in.”

Though he had a very bad premonition, with every part of his mind screaming for him to not turn around, Sam was incapable of stopping himself.

There, standing at the small bridge that went over the flaming trench, was a beautiful woman with distinct white hair he has never seen on anyone else beside her. Her red eyes met his, opening to their utmost as confusion overtook her delicate features.

“… Sam?” Alice said, unconsciously taking a step forward.

The throne room was silent for a moment, all eyes falling on the white haired woman. As if coming back to her senses, Alice quickly ran over, tears filling her eyes as she threw herself at the man.

“SAM! It’s you! It’s really you!”

Feeling the warmth of his childhood friend and lover, Sam hesitantly wrapped his arms around her. He didn’t understand. He couldn’t understand. His mind was filled with questions, going through everything he knew trying to comprehend how things got to where they were.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Sam?” Shizuru’s voice reached his ears, drawing his attention to the fact that she was there as well. “Didn’t you realize it already? The message you sent earlier said so, from what I remember.”

Sam could only stare at her, feeling disturbed by the fake smile she wore. He couldn’t believe it was her. She had the same appearance, the same voice. Every last detail was the same as when he last saw her on the runway before he departed, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t bring herself to think of her as the same person.

“Loki! What’s the meaning of this!!?”

Hela shouted, the smile she wore a moment ago having vanished. She stood up and leaped from her throne, floating weightlessly as she descended toward them.

Seeing the blue skinned queen approaching, Alice quickly hid behind the still confused Sam, feeling indescribable terror having come face to face with the being that decimated the Resistance headquarters.

“Move aside, human.” The young queen said, glaring at Sam.

The confidence he had a couple of minutes ago was now gone. His mind was already a mess but things only got worse with more terror being added to the mix. He was about to comply with the queen’s orders, however he felt something pulling on his lab coat.

Glancing behind him he saw the terrified look on Alice’s face. For some unknown reason that helped calm his thoughts and though he was still on the verge of pissing himself he turned around and faced the queen, looking her in the eyes as he stood firmly in his place.

“You…”

Having her orders ignored served to anger Hela even more. As she glared at the male human, the thought of erasing him from existence sounding rather appealing, the Asian girl stepped in between them looking down at the queen.

𝑜𝐯𝓛xt.𝐂𝑜𝚖

“Now now, no need to be so hostile.” Turning around, she looked at Sam and spoke with the same smile on her face. “Sorry, Sam, but do you mind stepping aside for a moment? I promise you nothing will harm her.”

“… who are you?” Sam asked, his voice trembling.

“Whatever do you mean?” She replied, tilting her head a little. “Anyway, you’ll understand soon enough so…”

Shizuru glanced at the terrified Alice, her message passing through without her having to say anything. Though she wanted nothing but to hide and wait till everything was over, the white haired commander came forward, her knees barely able to keep her standing.

Hela took a step closer prompting Alice to take one back. The Nephilim looked her up and down, her eyes studying every detail while remaining silent for what felt like a very long time. When it seemed like she was done she turned to the Asian girl with anger twisting her expression.

“Do you take me for a fool, Loki?” She said, pointing a finger at Alice. “Explain yourself!?”

“There is nothing to worry about, dear sister. You’ll surely understand soon enough.”

Once again Shizuru glanced in Sam’s direction. The man was speechless, wondering who is this Loki the Nephilim queen was talking to and why the Asian girl responded every time the name was mentioned.

However there is a more important question he should be asking, one he has been avoiding this entire time. Though with him having already found the answer to it there was no point in giving it any more thought.

“Alice Schneider, or should we call her Alice Weisheit.” Loki, the woman Sam once knew as Kurokami Shizuru, began to speak as she stepped away from the rest of them. “The daughter of Heilung Weisheit, a certain scientist with unparalleled intellect and the man who would at one point become known as Odin.”

Coming to a stop, the one named Loki turned to look at Alice, a hint of sadness present in her expression.

“She was a frail girl since birth, her body gradually deteriorating for no reason other than ill fate. Since the day she was born it was clear she wouldn’t live past the age of eight, no amount of medical advancements led the way to finding her cure.” Closing her eyes, the Asian girl went silent for a few second, heaving a sigh before continuing. “Her father, Heilung Weisheit, was determined to save her no matter the cost. However time wasn’t his ally and cryostasis proved to be of no use. As he watched his beloved daughter slowly decay he one day arrived at his answer; if her body won’t stop self destructing all he needed to do was give her a new one.”

Sam gradually regained his composure as he listened to the story, most of which he had already figured out. His suspicions about Wolf became more valid when he learned about the Nephilim’s objective from Mjölnir and this just confirms everything.

Alice is Freyja, the original Nephilim. When he decided to go face the enemy leader he put aside any thoughts about his childhood friend not being human, asking Shizuru to hide her knowing they would recognize her at first sight.

That said, something still felt missing from that conclusion. For one, the events he remembers from his childhood didn’t match Loki’s story. He was always told that Alice was sick, and that she didn’t have much time to live. If she was cured before they came to this world then why was she forced to pretend she was still ill?

The Asian girl went on, confirming another conclusion Sam had already arrived at.

“After tireless research Heilung was finally able to develop the technology he needed. A type of nanomachine that could perfectly replicate and replace human cells; artificial stem cells, so to say. An invention like that was revolutionary to say the least, its potential alone changing the human species forever. Gone were the days of incurable diseases, unstoppable aging and approaching death. with that technology humans could finally evolve beyond the fragile meat sacks and reach greater heights, however Heilung didn’t care about any of that, his only concern being his little girl.”

For some reason, Sam could tell it was the same Wolf he always knew. The genius scientist and dotting father who’s overprotective of his daughter. However something about the story was odd. During his last visit, the old man had revealed to Sam that he had cured Alice’s disease using genetic manipulation. It’s possible that he didn’t want to reveal Alice’s secret fearing that the world would treat her differently, but if that was the case then why did he push Sam into the road of developing what’s essentially the same nanotechnology he used to cure her?

“The artificial stem cells, ASC, were Heilung’s last hope. Fearing failure he decided to experiment on himself first, having decided to leave the world with his daughter if the cure were to fail. Thankfully the experiment succeeded and he quickly moved on putting an end to his daughter’s suffering. Sadly trouble came knocking soon after that.”