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They walked in silence—an awkward silence, to be precise. Thor was still slightly embarrassed for revealing his deep fear and helpless overreaction to Loki, and Loki seemed perturbed that Thor had seen some form of him weak and dying. Damsel in distress, eh? he had muttered with a rather offended grunt before moving on. Thor would have been somewhat sorry for Loki's pride, although he did not know why Loki took it so badly, if he was not positively relieved that Loki was not, in fact, dead.
Nothing out of the ordinary appeared as they chose paths, hit dead ends and retraced their steps, and disentangled themselves from the hanging ivy that draped over their heads. Thor had a harder time being the taller of the two, and the two brothers would be reduced to a laughing pair as Thor had to unbraid the greenery from his blond hair to free himself. The memory of their last task was dwindled, albeit still a shadow in their mind.
"I wonder if our soldiers came through here the same way we did," said Thor, after vanquishing a particularly stubborn rope of vine.
"Unless they came out," said Loki.
"But if they managed to find a way through the maze, why would they not call for Heimdall to bring them home?"
"Maybe the maze isn't the only thing on this realm."
Thor furrowed his eyebrows, trying to imagine what other outlandish obstacles Spøkelseheim hid in its darkness. "Who is the leader of this place? We are neither allies nor enemies with Spøkelseheim—in fact, during diplomatic negotiations with Father I hardly recall discussing here."
"Maybe it's an outcast of a realm," said Loki. He bit the tip of his tongue. "And apparently they don't take well with visitors."
His magical lights were no longer needed; the maze was lit by an unseen source that filled them with a shallow pool of dusty light. It was nothing like sunlight, but almost the opposite, like a cold fire that chilled their breath.
"What's this?" said Thor.
Their steps suddenly ended before them, melting into a stone platform raised above a large schism. The drop was so deep he couldn't see the bottom of it, and the rest of the path was perhaps a hundred meters away like a dock too far for a sinking rowboat. All around them was the same bush barrier with no sign of any sort of bridge or rope to aid them. Loki casted a flame in the middle of the titanic gap; the fall looked endless, as if to send whoever was so unlucky to trip to Helheim itself.
"Perhaps we should find another turn," said Loki.
"I doubt this was meant to be a trap," said Thor. "There must be some test of strength to get us across."
"More like a curse." Loki vanquished the flame. "Surely this place would not be so cruel as to leave us without a clue."
"Look here." Thor bent down, studying the stone that they stood upon. A layer of dust matted the surface, but as he grazed his fingers across it the dust parted to reveal engraved words in the rock. He swiped the rock with his entire hand to brush the dust into the chasm.
"'What is the strongest and the weakest?'" he read aloud. "'What can kill and heal, chill into ice and melt like gold? What can betray its master? As delicate as glass and immobile as rock? The reason for the beginning and its finish being the end?'"
"Now they speak in riddles," Loki said, lowering himself next to Thor. "I suppose flying is out of the question."
"I'm sure they would have thought a step ahead of me to prevent that, right?" said Thor. Loki let himself give a crooked smile. "Maybe I can construct a bridge to avoid this."
"With what? There's nothing here but hedges, and you can hardly do any damage to them," said Loki. "Clearly you need to solve the riddle to get through. Trying to build a bridge is like demanding to dig a hole with your bare hands when you're offered a shovel."
"If this were in real life," said Thor, "one would go right ahead and build a bridge instead of sit around and think of puzzles."
"This is real life, if you haven't noticed," said Loki. "Unless you think you're in a dream." He pressed his fingers against his lips in thought. "After all, there are many problems to face in the world besides one where you can fight your way out."
"I was never good with riddles," Thor said.
"I know," Loki said with a smile. "But that doesn't excuse you. Come, let us put our heads together and we'll think of something."
"Perhaps the answer is water," said Thor.
Loki raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think water?"
"Whatever the answer is, it's rather hypocritical, don't you think?" said Thor. "Or perhaps hypocritical is not the right word. It embodies polar opposites." He gave a small shrug. "Usually when a riddle asks for something like that, the answer is water."
"I rather doubt it would be water if the answer is described to be able to freeze into ice," said Loki. "That would be defeating the purpose, wouldn't it?"
"Maybe," Thor said. "What can kill or heal…?" He gave a wry smile. "A healing stone?"
"How can a healing stone kill you?"
"If you throw it at someone's head…"
Loki snorted. "Well, it certainly doesn't melt or chill, so that's out of the question."
"Can kill or heal…betray its master…delicate and stubborn…" said Thor, rubbing his temples. "A—a child?"
"Why do you say that?" said Loki.
"A child can kill the mother who bore it…but also heal heartbroken or loneliness," said Thor. "They are delicate and in need of protection and care, and yet always stubborn against their parents. Sometimes so much they can betray them." He turned quizzically toward Loki. "Does that make sense?"
Loki glanced around them. "You could suggest it. To whatever demands an answer."
Thor raised his head, trying to find some set of ears that would receive his answer. Finding none, he resorted to the last possible chance.
"The answer is a child," he said.
Crack.
Both Loki and Thor turned sharply to the path behind them. No guardian or monster stood behind them, but to Thor's horror a long and deep crack shot through the rock. He grabbed Loki's arm, meaning to push Loki back to solid ground in case the rock they stood upon would fall, but the stone did not shudder. The crack glowered at them, and they could hear their own strained breaths through it.
"Well, that isn't the answer, then," said Loki.
"This is madness," said Thor. "Go back to solid ground. We'll find another way instead."
Loki lifted his head and his face hardened. "They blocked the way."
"What?"
The archway from which they entered had disappeared. Instead there was a thick wall of the all too familiar hedge, as if it had been a dead end the entire time. There was no way to turn back, only to move forward if they could. The crack suddenly looked more menacing than ever.
"I shan't risk our lives with my own foolishness," said Thor. "I am too wary to guess."
"You haven't a choice," Loki said. "The answer might have worked, but I suppose a child can't be the beginning and the end, can it? Whatever is beginning and ending, that is."
"Right," Thor said quietly.
"It was a clever guess though."
"You needn't deign to compliment, brother."
"I wasn't. I was speaking the truth."
"Hard to believe," Thor said, but he let himself give a small smile. It slid off his face immediately when he saw the grains of rock from the newly born crack trickling into the abyss.
"Beginning and the end," Loki said. "If this thing embodies both the start and finish, would it be safe to say neither exist?"
"As in, like a circle? Or a cycle?" said Thor.
"Maybe," said Loki. "Except the way everything else describes it makes it seem more tangible than that."
"Nor do I think it would betray its master," said Thor.
"See, who is the master? Or what?" said Loki. "I feel like the answer is so simple and yet we cannot grasp at it. There are so many possibilities, but none seem to fit."
"You may think so," Thor said, somewhat downtrodden. "But all riddles are devastatingly difficult to me."
"I know," said Loki. "I used to bother you all the time with them."
"And I would go through weeks trying to figure it out but to no avail," said Thor. "And neither Sif nor any of the Warriors Three could help me."
"They never thought riddles and questions important to concentrate on," said Loki.
"But now it seems that we heavily depend on it," Thor said, casting another glance below. "When we return home, will you drill me in riddles and logic?"
Loki laughed. "What a difficult feat! I will see. But in the meantime, we should try not to fall."
"Right," said Thor. He rubbed his brow. "You don't think—? The soldiers, the ones that were lost…perhaps they have fallen in?"
"As much as I'm sure Asgard appreciates your dedication to these two thousand-year-old ghosts," said Loki, "our current state begs that you think about how we are going to get out of this situation first."
"It still pains me that we never tried to find them when they lost themselves," said Thor.
"Not we. They. We weren't even born at the time," said Loki. "Besides. If Asgard was as it is now, any search party would be stumped at the very place we are in right now and no progress would be made, if not making the situation counter-productive. You are not the only one who ridicules mind games in Asgard."
Thor felt rather guilty, remembering the many times when Volstagg and Sif would taunt Loki for avoiding the dueling arena in favor of books and studies, and how Loki's own peers were something less than strangers because they opted for swords rather than books.
"Maybe the answer is a weapon," said Thor.
"Why? Are you thinking of the whole 'delicate as glass and immobile as rock' part? I can't think of anything you'd want to fight with that is fragile."
"The riddle makes it sound like something you can fight with," said Thor.
"Maybe magic," said Loki.
Thor's face immediately brightened. "Perhaps so! It can betray its master if one cannot control it. It can cause the beginning of—of life, with creating things, or the end by smiting. It can be easily breakable by strength or impossible to defeat. And kill and heal!"
"And it can chill water to ice, and melt whatever it pleases," said Loki. "That must be it." He raised his head and voice to the invisible host. "The answer is magic."
There was silence, and Loki and Thor's hopes surged immediately before a deafening crack split their ears. Thor looked behind him anxiously to see—to his horror—that the crack had lengthened, nearly wrapping around the rock on which they stood, threatening to let it topple. He swallowed hard, frustrated that he could not just use Mjölner to solve his problem.
"I don't understand," said Thor. "It fit all the requirements."
"Maybe it was the last part," said Loki, his voice small. "It can make other things freeze and melt, but it itself…"
"And magic cannot end to bring an end, can it?" said Thor. Loki shook his head. "If all things fail, I can use Mjölner to at least fly us out of there."
"I'd rather not think of that alternative," said Loki. "I reckon we don't have that many chances left."
"What if the answer is something we've never heard of?" said Thor.
"Riddles are hardly that unfair," said Loki. "Only frustrating."
"Now you know how I felt all those years in our childhood," said Thor.
"It was amusing to see your face grow red every time I told you the answer after weeks of your guessing."
"The answer was so simple, and yet the question so difficult! Of course I was unhappy."
"Father scolded me all the time for distracting you from your training," Loki said with a derisive laugh. "Always complained about how Mother filled my head with them."
"Think of how he would like us now," laughed Thor. "For the first time in a long time, we are working together to solve a problem."
"You and your sentiment," said Loki. "It will be the death of you someday."
The moment the words left his mouth, Loki's eyes suddenly sharpened. Thor spun around, thinking that Loki saw an enemy behind him, but there was nothing. Loki's breath hitched and he stood up immediately.
"What is it?" said Thor.
"Of course," said Loki. "I was a fool not to see it earlier." He lifted his voice until it resonated with a power unusual for his small form. "The answer is the heart."
Silence. Then, a gentle rumbling shook them to their core. Pebbles scattered and the air trembled alongside the sound of grating earth. Thor panicked, wondering if perhaps it was the wrong answer and now they were going to fall to their doom, but the look on Loki's face was of pure and calm determination.
Suddenly, the platform they stood upon jerked, but not downward as Thor had feared. It shook, nearly knocking Thor and Loki off and down into the void. Thor tried to pull Loki back from the edge, but when he looked over his shoulder behind him he realized that there was nowhere to retreat. The entire slab of rock was moving—no, drifting—to the other side, which drew nearer with every passing moment.
It seemed to last forever, reaching the other side, and Thor suddenly worried that his sense of balance would fail him in the worst situation and send him toppling. Even Loki's bright eyes would dart anxiously down to their feet as chips of rock flaked off. Everything still shuddered around them; even the leaves in the safety of their thorns and twigs quaked.
When the rock slid into piece against the solid ground of the other side like a puzzle piece, both Thor and Loki darted off the rock, finally able to breathe freely again. The moment their feet touched the familiarly grassy ground, the rock they stood on only moments ago shattered completely, disappearing into the gulf. Everything stilled, and was at peace.
"A heart, eh?" said Thor, giving a sigh of relief.
"Does it not fit the requirements?" said Loki. "It can be strong and resilient, and yet fall for the slightest softness—sentiment." He gave a small nod and smile to Thor. "It can break—heartbreak that could go so far as kill the person that suffers, and yet the heart can heal and be moved to help others. A person's heart can harden after trials and tribulations, or else give in to faith and kindness, like a heart of gold. That whole line was practically word play. It can go against its master's mind regardless of how many logical reasons the person may argue. Stubborn and yet easily hurt when trust is placed on the wrong person. And of course—life. Its first beat brings life, and its last—death."
Thor stared at Loki for a long time before chuckling weakly. "Asgard lies," he said. "It should give minds like yours much more credit."
Loki raised his eyebrows with incredulity. "Be careful what you say," he said. "Father wouldn't want someone soft taking over the throne."
"Soft? We could have fallen and died had it not been for your sharpness," said Thor. "How you solve problems so easily, and how you use your intellect…sometimes, I am jealous."
Loki looked aghast. "You? Jealous of me?" He shook his head and gave a scoff. "You're mad. That's—impossible. What could you possibly be jealous of?"
"Did I not mention it already?" said Thor. "Your mind. Your great, great mind. And I—my mind is as deep as a puddle."
"Don't use my old insults," Loki said, but his eyes shone. He looked as if he didn't know whether to be uncomfortable or touched.
"I have enough of a mind to know I don't know a lot," said Thor. "Sometimes I feel…that if you were not the younger prince, you'd make a much better king."
"What?" Loki's voice was small and thin.
Thor nodded. Loki swallowed and suddenly seemed very interested in a particular leaf above their heads.
"You are meant to be king," said Loki. "You are what Asgard needs and want. You shouldn't say such. People will think you were for treason, or anarchy."
"For being envious?" said Thor with an incredulous chuckle. "Everyone ought to be jealous of your prowess. What if—what if a great golem came upon Asgard and the only way to defeat it would be to outwit it with riddles? All our armies would be rendered useless."
"Good to know I'll be of some use in case that ever happens," said Loki with a half smile. "But all that aside, you are the true future king of Asgard and I...I will be happy for you. Happy to serve you."
"You would be far more than just one who serves me, brother," said Thor. "I'd be honored if you would be my most trusted and high-appointed adviser. Goodness knows Asgard needs your brain."
"We'll leave all those decisions to when you really are crowned, how about?" Loki said, betraying himself with a smile.
Thor clasped his hand on Loki's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "You will help me better my intelligence, won't you? Whatever way is best—riddles, puzzles, and such."
"I think we'll work on your chess first, if you need to be a strategist," said Loki. His eyes twinkled. "It would be nice if our king could last longer than ten minutes in one match."
Do our eyes deceive us?
Or have our princes of Asgard unlearned what they have believed their whole lives?
Do you know what you're doing?
I know too well what would happen if I did not.
Give them a chance.
Give them a chance to undo what you will have them suffer.
Oh, with great pleasure.
Especially considering the anguish you'll wreak on them next.