I watched the dark waves crash against the sand of the beach. It was dark, the only light being my own fire in my hands.

It was my time on lookout today, and I'm using that to get some work done while I keep watch.

I grunted as I felt the mana moving through my body. I was pushing it through, making another mana vein.

"Gah!" I cried out, clutching my side in pain.

"Ken, you need to stop." Loki suddenly said in my head. "You're hurting yourself."

I'm fine. I need to do this.

"You've already made ten mana veins. You're just going to hurt yourself if you keep pushing forwards." Loki stated.

I appreciate the concern, but I have to do this. I need to become as strong as possible for when the Demon King arrives.

I'd rather not have the whole world enslaved, now that I've finally started to find my place here.

"That doesn't mean you can hurt yourself to get stronger." Loki argued.

"A little pain now will go a long way." I stated.

"Just let me help you." Loki asked. "The reason Merlin doesn't want me to help is because she doesn't trust me. Ken, I'm a god of magic. Merlin may be one of the most talented and knowledgeable wizards, but I'm still a god."

"Well, you are the God of Trickery." I replied.

"You know what?" Loki suddenly said. "That's it."

"What?" I asked before my vision suddenly went dark.

...

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...

"What's going on?" I groaned, standing up.

I slowly opened my eyes, being greeted to a dark void. In the distance was a dark castle. The one where I met Loki. Is this my mind again?

"I'm calling an intervention." I heard someone say from behind me.

Turning around, I was met with Loki. Except unlike last time he wasn't wearing his armor, and instead a hoodie, jeans, and socks and sandals.

"Where'd your armor go?" I asked.

"You took it." Loki sweatdropped.

"Oh, I didn't realize I actually stole that from you..." I replied. "Also, what the hell?!"

"I'm calling an intervention. You need to stop and take a break before you get yourself hurt." Loki stated.

"I already took a break on my birthday, I don't need another one." I replied.

"That's a stupid way of thinking. At this rate you'll overwork yourself." He stated.

"Look, I have to do this. We have three months, including this one, until the Demon King arrives. He's coming in March." I stated.

"And why does that have to happen in March, and not later?" Loki questioned.

"You know just as well as I do that the Demon King's return is inevitable. You've seen my memories." I replied. "As long as humans exist, we'll cause chaos. It's only a matter of time before he gets the amount he needs to break out."

"And even though I've changed what happened in the original story, especially by preventing Irene's death, still plenty of chaos has been caused." I continued. "I don't have time to waste."

"It's not wasting time." Loki argued. "At this rate you're going to hurt yourself."

"I know." I stated. "But I can't afford to slow down."

"This isn't a matter of if you can afford to slow down or not." Loki replied. "You have to take a break, or you'll self destruct."

"Why the hell do you care so much?!" I growled. "Stop trying to act like you're my father! We both know how he was."

Loki stepped back in surprise, before furrowing his brows. "I'm just trying to help you! That's all I've ever tried to do!"

I looked away as he said those words, a feeling of guilt panting through my heart. "Loki..."

"What?" He asked, annoyed.

"I'm...sorry. I shouldn't have lashed out. It's just...it's...I'm so stressed. Soon a powerful entity will be coming to our world in order to take it over and I don't even know if I he was originally stopped." I stated.

"The fate of the whole world is on our shoulders...but that isn't an excuse. You've been there from the beginning, always helping...I'm sorry." I continued, looking away.

"Ken..." Loki said, his eyes softening. "Do you want to know why I don't always act like how you'd think a God of Trickery would act?"

I looked at him, intrigued.

"I...I made a mistake long ago. Where we are today is my fault." Loki stated. "I started everything."

"What are you trying to say?" I asked.

"I started the Great Mythological War back then." Loki revealed.

"...what?" I asked, a mixture of confusion and shock flowing through my head.

"Whisper a couple of rumors into the ears of the leaders of Pantheons and you've got yourself conflict brewing." Loki stated.

"It was inevitable back then that the pantheons would clash. We were all prideful and powerful gods, all existing at once. We knew of each other, but rarely interacted." Loki continued.

"It was a ticking time bomb, and I lit the fuse. I whispered into Zeus' ears on how Odin and the rest of my Norse Pantheon thought they were better than them." He added.

"Odin was more peaceful, so instead I told him about how Zeus and the Greek Pantheon were preparing for war with us." He stated. "And sure enough, conflict had started."

"I thought there would be chaos, and that it would be so enjoyable." Loki mused. "I thought I'd laugh as I watched the conflict."

"But what I thought would be a little bit of chaos turned into full-blown chaos. It evolved from just the Greek and Norse Pantheons to afflicting the others, and soon they were involved." Loki continued.

"The Pantheons fought each other, bringing each other to near extinction. Almost all of the magical figures in the world were exterminated." Loki commented.

"It was horrendous. It was so much more than just a prank. Than just some chaos. It was a full in war that would destroy everything." Loki stated.

"And it was all because of me." Loki added. "When Odin needed me most, I turned and ran. I ran from the very thing that I had started."

"And at the end of it all, almost nobody remained. And of course, I blamed myself. I still do. All of those deaths were because of me. As punishment I sealed myself into a staff, ready to be stuck for all of eternity." Loki continued.

"I'm no normal Arcana. I'm like Arthur from Erica's Excalibur. I'm sealed inside of the weapon, creating something very similar to an Arcana. It's likely that's why you can talk to me like this."

"I really did think I'd be alone for the rest of eternity. But then something happened. I felt a call. A call that resonated within me. A call made by you." Loki added.

Loki walked over, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Ken, I saw parts of my younger self in you. I'm not trying to be your dad, or your uncle, or any kind of guardian. I don't deserve that role." Loki continued.

"I saw a chance to do some good. I saw a chance to help someone who I saw reflected within my own soul." Loki added.

"The Demon King is coming, and we have no gods to stop him. We're practically defenseless. There's no way that normal humans can stand up to him." Loki stated.

"I'm just as worried about the Demon King, but overworking yourself is a self-destructive tendency that you need to get rid of." Loki continued.

"Please." He begged. "Let me help."

Looking into his eyes, I saw myself being reflected through his eyes. We had our differences, but we were still very similar.

And that's how I knew he was telling the truth.

"Please help me." I stated, looking him in the eyes. "I need your help."

A light smile formed on Loki's face. "I look forward to this. Now, about those mana veins, I think I can do something."

And thus my training with both Merlin and Loki started, training myself to become as strong as possible in this month.