Chapter 1059: Startling Mundanity (Thirty-Six)

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Eddie hesitated for a moment, seemingly contemplating how to express his own views without appearing too extreme. This was also a professional habit of Eddie as a journalist, but Thor wouldn't concern himself with such considerations.

Thor directly tapped the back of the chair next to him with a ladle, shouting loudly, "Schiller! You must be crazy! Are you going to tell me that all of this was your plan?!"

Before Schiller could even acknowledge, Thor continued with some anger in his voice, "What do you take us for? We're not incapable, we're not helpless. Why do you have to arrange everything?"

"Thor... Thor! Don't be like this!" Eddie dared to interject, trying to stop Thor's somewhat radical remarks, but Thor completely disregarded it. He spoke bluntly, "You talk about Superheroes, oh, including Tony, maybe even me. We all have various troubles. But isn't that normal?"

Thor displayed a somewhat absurd expression and said, "Friends quarrel over old grievances, classmates have disputes, couples decide whether or not to have children. Are these trivial matters worth your intervention?"

"If you're really idle, go run twenty laps around the Nine Realms, I guarantee it'll cure all your ills!" Thor stood with hands on hips, eyebrows raised and lowered, saying, "You humans always think Asgard is too blunt... Fine, I acknowledge it. After all, we are a martial nation, and sometimes we can't be bothered with such trivial matters of love and romance."

"But, haven't you humans thought too much?" Thor furrowed his brow, looking somewhat puzzled as he glanced at Schiller. "You even want to manage such trivial matters? Why don't you just manage their eating, drinking, and bodily functions directly?"

"Let them quarrel if they want to! If they want to fight, let them fight. They have mouths, can't they explain themselves? Matters between couples should just flow naturally. If they want children, they'll have them. What's there to manage?"

"And what I find most outrageous is that you actually resurrected Tony's parents?"

"Of course, I'm not saying you shouldn't have done that, but your reason for resurrecting old Stark. Was it really to give Tony a perfect ending?"

"Schiller, how do you know that Tony wanted you to resurrect his parents? How do you know his parents wanted to be resurrected? And how do you know that in his perfect ending, he absolutely had to have his parents?"

Before Schiller could speak, Thor waved his hand and said, "Don't tell me, you're a psychologist, and you figured it all out? Did Tony tell you directly? I don't believe he would!"

"Would he cry his eyes out and beg you, 'Please, help me resurrect my parents, I miss them so much!' If he really did that, I would have to go and scold him for being a softie!"

"If he really wanted to resurrect his parents, then he should find a way himself. Isn't he technically proficient? Do some research, invent a time machine, or go beyond space, find a world where his parents are still alive, isn't that enough?"

"And Peter Parker, do you really think he wants his parents resurrected? I've heard that kid say his parents died too early, he has no memories of them at all. Are you sure he really wants to meet his biological parents?"

"Stephen is even more unnecessary to mention. You're underestimating the Sorcerer Supreme too much. With the energy Kamar-Taj now holds, if it were all poured into his body, temporarily elevating him above space, it's not impossible. If he really can't accept his father's death, he'll find a way himself."

"But what if their methods bring danger?" Schiller asked.

"Then they'll bear it themselves," Thor said, spreading his hands. "Otherwise? You wouldn't want to bear the danger for them, would you? You're not their father, and they're not babies anymore."

Schiller shook his head as if he had nothing to say to Thor. Thor shrugged and said, "I know, it's because you want everything, that's why you do these things."

"You want the Superheroes' mental states to be stable, you want their abilities to grow, you want the overall environment to be positive, you want everyone to be happy. Schiller, don't you think you're too greedy?"

Sighing, Thor looked at Schiller and said, "Of course, I know you're very capable. Without you, humanity wouldn't have come this far. But you can't always live in the fantasy that you can handle everything perfectly. That's impossible."

Thor held onto the backs of two chairs with both hands and said, "Loki used to suffer from this illness often too. When commanding tactics on the battlefield, he wanted the enemy to suffer heavy losses while our side suffered none. He wanted ammunition and weapons to wear out less than the enemy's..."

"If all the good things in the world were taken by you, what would others play with? Even if one or two opponents allow you to achieve such victories, not everyone will reveal such big flaws."

Thor shook his head and said, "I still stick to my point. Sometimes, Loki just thinks too much, and you're the same. It's a common ailment among you scholars who come out of ivory towers."

"In theory, everything is feasible, of course, I don't deny that. Ideally, it's like this. If your abilities are sufficient, it's very possible to make things develop in this direction."

"But... in your minds, there's no expectation of imperfection. You don't allow any losses or sacrifices. And once something beyond your plan happens, you have to come up with an extremely complex plan to eliminate it."

"A truly outstanding strategist must accept sacrifice," Thor explained slowly. "You may think I'm not the one making sacrifices, so I can say this. But in reality, I firmly believe that on the road to achieving my results, I sacrifice no less than him, and I don't have any extra sympathy for him, because we just have different roles."

"You will be a great ruler," Schiller commented, but Thor shook his head. "No, I'd rather be a good elder brother."

"Whenever Loki tells me he has better tactics, better ways, that he can make fewer people sacrifice, I always show an impatient attitude, as if I don't want to listen to him at all."

"But in fact, I'm protecting him. There will always be bloodshed and sacrifice in war. He pays too much attention to this, always trying to compensate with plans and tactics. Maybe he can reduce losses at the beginning."

"But always thinking like this, in the end, the goal of tactics changes from winning to reducing losses. Will there come a day when, in order to reduce losses, victory is abandoned?"

"And if victory is abandoned, then sacrifice becomes worthless, right?"

Thor tapped the back of the chair again with the ladle and said, "Accepting losses is to achieve the best outcome, not a perfect one. Refusing to accept losses, rejecting loss is not the goal."

"And besides..." Thor shook his head gently. "Loki has repeatedly proposed to use himself as bait for his perfect plan, and every time, I decisively refuse. He thinks I'm unreasonable."

"But in reality, when he stands in front of everyone and explains his ideas, saying that the enemy will definitely lower their guard because of his weakness, I feel not admiration, but only heartache."

Thor furrowed his brow, as if recalling some unpleasant memories, and said, "I know he has always felt sad about his weak physique and his inability to fit in with the Asgardians."

"Loki is such a proud person. For him to directly acknowledge this in front of people is akin to taking a knife and stabbing himself in the heart."

"By Odin's beard, how much does he look down on me, his elder brother, to feel that he needs to stab himself in the wound I have, to achieve victory?!"

"So, when I reject him, those expressions of disdain and anger are not an act."

"Don't ever consider me someone who needs to sacrifice loved ones in order to achieve goals. I will never be such a coward!"

Cough... Eddie cleared his throat awkwardly and then said, "Schiller, Thor's words may be rough, but they make sense..."

"Do you think Superheroes would truly be happy to find out you hurt your own soul to resurrect their loved ones?"

Eddie pursed his lips, raised them, wrinkled his nose, and revealed a somewhat complex expression, saying, "Forgive my bluntness, but in my opinion, this is somewhat terrifying."

"Of course, I know you mean well, but you made a choice for me that I didn't need to make."

Eddie spread his hands and analyzed for Schiller, "Originally, the fact that people couldn't be resurrected after death was already established, right?"

Schiller nodded slowly, affirming his answer. After all, before he made a deal with Death, this was indeed the truth, and it was a truth recognized by all humans in the world.

"So, in the education I received in the past decades, when people died, they died. Although at the time, I would feel sad and later nostalgic, I had actually accepted this fact."

"Later on, I met some friends who were very good to me, and we formed very deep bonds. And at this time, one of my very close friends was willing to sacrifice themselves to resurrect my loved ones."

"Correct, I miss my loved ones very much, even now. But I also know that for my friend to sacrifice themselves for this, would require an unimaginable price."

"And when they actually did this, I faced a choice. Do I choose my family or my friend?"

"Actually, I had already accepted the fact of losing my family. I didn't need to make this choice."

"But I didn't want him to choose his friend..." Schiller spoke again, "Because that's my purpose..."

"But in this world, there are not only plans and purposes." Eddie looked into Schiller's eyes and said, "I know that patients with autism spectrum disorder sometimes have weak emotional perceptions and imperfect expression of their own emotions."

"But your wisdom should tell you that Tony Stark couldn't not choose you. He is a Superhero, a noble person."

Thor chimed in, "Tony would never sacrifice his friends for the resurrection of his parents. Making him do so would be better off killing him."

Schiller pursed his lips, stiffly saying, "So, I shouldn't have resurrected his parents?"

"The key is, you shouldn't sacrifice yourself," Eddie emphasized again.

"But that's not a sacrifice," Schiller spoke again, "I didn't die, and the price I paid can be taken back. Everything can be restored..."

Eddie looked at the side of Schiller's neck and asked, "...Is that so? Is it really?"

Instinctively, Schiller reached out with trembling fingers and rubbed his collarbone, silent and not answering, while Thor looked into his eyes and said:

"If there's one thing I don't believe that Loki said, it's definitely 'trust me, I won't get hurt.'"

In Thor's eyes, Schiller saw a sober and sharpness completely different from his rugged demeanor, and he heard Thor say:

"Perhaps Loki himself thought so too. He thought he wouldn't get hurt, but the truth is, his wound has been torn open too many times, to the point where he can no longer feel the pain."

"But that doesn't mean, as his elder brother, I can be as indifferent as other strangers, thinking that him stabbing himself in his wound is self-inflicted, and thus doesn't need to be saved."

"I think, Tony is the same, isn't he?"

In that instant, Schiller saw in Thor's eyes surging waves, in the mist rising above the Nordic ice fields, there were also many vivid vitality like dense pine branches.

The room still echoed with Christmas carols from outside the window, and amidst his still somewhat bewildered and chaotic thoughts, Schiller once again thought of his friends and the plans and arrangements that often appeared, suddenly disappearing.

And what appeared in his heart was a kind of strangeness, urgent, bitter, inexplicably appearing and disappearing.

When Schiller's eye contact appeared on the screen, Steve standing in front of the screen slowly closed his eyes and said:

"Perhaps, he... misses us."

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 1060: Astonishing Mundane People (Part 37)