Thor swiftly landed on the ground mere moments after Loki's taunting words, his aura surging to an unprecedented level in response. But before he could charge at Loki again, a disruptive sound pierced the air—a sound of intrusion.
"!!!"
Startled by the unexpected disturbance in their realm, Thor and Loki halted their movements, instinctively focusing their divine senses on the source.
What they beheld left them utterly astounded.
"A Visitor?!?!?"
Their voices echoed in unison, filled with disbelief.
"How could a visitor be here after all this time??? It makes no sense!" Loki, for the first time in a very long time, became flustered over something.
"Who cares about the specifics now?!? We must kill him before he touches the book!!" Thor's boisterous voice came out as he was prepared to break out of the pocket dimension at any moment.
His arms extended out in full motion as it looked like he was trying to cast something horrifying.
Something far stronger than the meager strength he showed when fighting Loki.
A dark, crimson-colored aura began to leak from Thor as the faint outline of a giant serpent, which had a size that couldn't even be fathomed by the mortal eye,
The enormous serpent was nearly about to form above his wide hands before he suddenly heard a voice.
"Don't do that, you big fumbling idiot! Are you trying to get us both killed?!?" Loki's raspy voice echoed out as he phased behind the big red giant and slapped him across the head.
The devastating spell Thor was trying to summon immediately dispersed as he furiously turned his head to see what being was bold enough to interrupt him.
It turns out it was just his brother...
"Why did you do that, Loki?!?" Thor was practically seething in rage as he scanned the ocean dimension with his divine sense again and saw the unknown visitor start to approach the thatch hut.
"He is already close to the Book!! I won't make it in time, even if I do end up breaking out of here. And it's all because of you, Loki!!!!" The large fist of Thor was raised as he was prepared to give his brother a good beating.
But, before he could whack him, he suddenly heard the very same man speak beside his ear. "You bumbling moron, what are you trying to do??"
'How did he get around me that fast again?? Has his speed improved that much over the years?' A puzzled expression emerged on the red giant's face as he completely overlooked the question Loki asked him.
"It wouldn't have made a difference whether you did end up breaking out of here or not." Thor was still in a stupor until he heard the voice of his brother echo out again.
"What do you mean by that, Loki?!?" He asked in a less irritated tone.
"I mean to say that the visitor down there is no god. He is just a human from some mortal plane of existence." Loki replied with a solemn tone.
"What are you getting at, Loki?!? He could still touch the book even as a mere mortal!!" Thor's rage came back in full swing, as he now thought Loki was making a fool of him.
"Has all the muscle really gone straight to your brain?? Since you cannot seem to comprehend the current situation, I will explain it in a way that you can understand," Loki responded with a face full of disdain for the red giant.
He backed away a little from Thor before pronouncing four simple words as slowly as he could.
"He is an Ant." Loki's flat tone resounded out.
"It's that simple, Thor."
Thor's expression relaxed a little when he heard the words of his brother, but he had yet to understand one thing. "He can still touch the book as a mortal, so what difference does that make?"
Loki sighed a little at the simpleton he called his brother, as he made a disappointed face before explaining to Thor in greater detail. "A mortal is far different in physiology than us, Thor. He will never meet the requirements necessary to gain the recognition of that damned book. You should know that much yourself, as the both of us had already tried getting a reaction out of that stupid thing."
"And we both have the scars to prove our failure in that short-lived venture." Loki spoke with an irritated tone as he pointed at the blazing red scar on his arm and the slightly larger scar of the same hue on Thor's arm.
Thor, after realizing what Loki was trying to tell him, suddenly felt like a complete idiot. However, his outward appearance was still that of a stalwart man.
He would never show his lesser side to anybody in existence, much less his brother...
"We are many levels higher in existence than that mortal down there. Why are you worrying so much over something that will never happen? Although I may have been slightly taken aback when I saw that someone was actually capable of entering this place, That feeling of surprise quickly disappeared as soon as I saw what sort of feeble existence had entered."
"A fact that you should've noticed right away as well, Thor. But I never relied on your ability to think before this, so why should I begin believing you have some modicum of intelligence now?" A low snicker came from Loki as he seriously started to doubt whether Thor was truly his blood related brother.
The vein on Thor's head began to bulge again, but he understood after all this time spent together. This was just the way Loki was.
That didn't mean he liked this part of Loki any better, though; he was just more accustomed to being forced to tolerate him.