The Otherworldly Mercenary

Seph smiled lightly and introduced himself. "My name is Seph. And I am here to question your actions, Odin, Frigga... Maybe it's been far too long since you've been questioned, hasn't it? You, who have ruled as gods but rarely as parents. You look at your children now and wonder how things went wrong, but do you truly understand why?"

Odin's eyes narrowed, though he kept his voice controlled. "Seph, right? You came here to question my actions, but who are you to question my actions? I did what was necessary. Asgard required strength. My children learned what they needed to survive."

"But at what cost, Odin?" Seph's tone was unwavering. "Strength is only one part of what it takes to lead. Just look at your children and tell me which one among them is worthy to become the next King of Asgard... You taught your elder son, Thor to be proud, but you never taught him when to be humble. You pushed him to seek glory, and now he clings to it like a mantle of his worth. He wasn't raised to rule a people—he was raised to conquer. Do you truly think that has served him?"

Odin's silence was heavy, though a flicker of regret touched his face. Frigga's expression was somber as she silently caressed her husband's arm.

"You gave Thor the weapons and power of a king," Seph continued, "But you withheld the lessons that would teach him to understand his own people, or his own heart. You let him bask in the admiration of Asgard without ever challenging him to see past his own reflection."

Frigga's voice broke the tension, soft but steady. "Perhaps we could have done more, Seph. But our ways… we did what we thought was best."

Seph turned to her, a trace of compassion softening his stern gaze. "Frigga, you wanted peace, I know. And I know that much of the wisdom Thor does have comes from you. But you've always been silent, letting Odin's word dictate everything. And because of that, Thor never had to face his weaknesses, only his strengths."

Frigga lowered her gaze, guilt plain in her eyes, while Odin's jaw tightened.

"You speak as though I raised him with arrogance alone," Odin said, his voice steely. "But war was upon us. The throne needed heirs who could fight and protect Asgard."

"Thor wasn't the only heir you failed, Odin," Seph replied, his voice darkening as he continued. "Let's talk about Loki. You call him a schemer, a trickster—but who created him that way? You raised him in Thor's shadow, never acknowledging the intelligence, the resourcefulness, the resilience he had. You saw his ambition and, instead of nurturing it, treated it like a threat. So he became what you feared—a man forced to seek power and respect through deceit because he was denied it through worth."

Odin's face grew dark. "Loki chose his own path."

"No, Odin," Seph said coldly, his gaze piercing. "Loki took the path he thought he had to. He wanted approval, to be seen by you, but when all he received was suspicion and comparison to Thor, he learned to manipulate, to charm, to deceive. You taught him those things by denying him anything else."

Frigga looked at Seph, pain flickering in her eyes. "We tried… I tried to help Loki see he was loved. That he had a place here. Perhaps I was not strong enough to show it, but I tried."

"Trying wasn't enough, Frigga," Seph said gently but firmly. "It takes more than gestures to raise a child. It takes guidance, it takes presence. Loki needed to be shown that he had value, just as much as Thor, and in different ways. You both made him feel lesser, and he grew up resenting all of Asgard—and ultimately himself—for it."

Odin's voice was low, defensive. "You cannot know what it means to bear the burden of the crown, Seph. You speak of a father's failings, but Asgard's legacy demanded strength."

"And because you prioritized that strength," Seph said sharply, "You abandoned the very essence of fatherhood. You raised warriors, Odin, not sons and daughter."

He pointed at Hela and said. "Just look at Hela, your firstborn. She was trained at your side, reflecting your might, your ambition. But when she grew powerful enough to seek her own path, you deemed her unworthy. You locked her away because you feared her as you never feared yourself."

Odin winced at that, the words striking true. Frigga's face was pained as if the weight of her husband's actions had finally settled upon her shoulders.

"You wanted to see yourself in her, Odin," Seph continued. "And when she strayed from your vision, you condemned her. Just like you condemned Thor to live only by his pride, and Loki to survive only by his cunning."

The silence that followed was thick, punctuated only by the soft rustling of Frigga's dress as she folded her hands, head bowed. Odin seemed to age, his posture slumping ever so slightly under Seph's words.

"What would you have us do, Seph?" Frigga asked quietly, her voice almost a whisper. "If we have failed them, what can we do now?"

Seph regarded her, his gaze softening just slightly. "You can start by letting them be the people they are, not the heirs you wanted them to be. Let Thor learn without his hammer to guide him, and let Loki be trusted, rather than treated like an enemy in his own home. And if Hela returns… if she is to rule, show her what it means to care for the realm, not just control it."

Odin's gaze was distant, yet contemplative as if Seph's words had pierced through the centuries of his unchallenged rule.

For a moment, the All-Father was simply a father, reflecting upon the wreckage of his legacy.

"Perhaps… it's too late for Hela," Odin muttered, his voice heavy with regret.

"Maybe it is," Seph said. "Or maybe it's not. But you won't know unless you try. You have spent too long fearing your children, Odin. It's time you trust them."

With that, Seph closed his mouth and did not speak any further, letting his words sink in.

The weight of centuries, of regrets, and of decisions made from the heights of a throne, pressed down upon Odin and Frigga as they sat, silent and humbled in the wake of Seph's confrontation.

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