Chapter 4
Thor stepped out of the building, his heart hammering against his chest. He couldn't recall the last time he'd felt this level of fury tangled with helplessness. The cold evening air did little to calm him, let alone clear his mind. For the first time in years, he felt as though he didn’t truly know his brother anymore. How had Loki gotten to this point? What was keeping him tethered to En Dwi?
Over dinner that night, Thor found it impossible to look away from him. Loki behaved as he always did—calm, wearing that faint smile that hid everything churning beneath. He didn’t even cast his older brother a suspicious glance. But Thor knew there was something broken behind that composed facade. Something that needed unraveling.
When the conversation at the table veered into trivial matters, Thor couldn’t hold back anymore.
“How was school today?” he asked, striving for a casual tone.
Loki raised an eyebrow, mildly surprised by the sudden interest, but replied with his usual indifference.
“The usual. Classes, assignments… you know how it is.”
“And after classes?” Thor worked to keep his voice from betraying his suspicions, but Loki’s gaze lifted from his plate, sharp and probing.
“Why do you ask?” he retorted, his tone cutting.
Thor shrugged, feigning nonchalance.
“Just curious. It seems like you’ve been spending a lot of extra time at school lately. Thought maybe you’d gotten into something... interesting.”
Loki set his fork down with more force than necessary, his expression hardening.
“If you have something to say, Thor, just say it. I don’t have time for your games.”
Thor pressed his lips together, unsure of how to proceed without revealing what he’d witnessed. He decided to back off for now.
“Nothing, just wondering. Relax.”
Loki glared at him for a moment before returning his attention to his meal. But the silence that settled between them spoke volumes more than any words could have.
At school the next day, Thor knew he had to dig deeper. He couldn’t confront Loki without solid evidence, nor could he directly challenge En Dwi Gast. The Grandmaster’s position at the school was untouchable; his charisma and apparent dedication to the students made him practically untouchable in the eyes of the faculty and administration. But Thor wasn’t convinced. He knew there was something dark lurking beneath that polished exterior.
After classes, Thor lingered near En Dwi’s classroom, hiding in the shadows of the empty hallways. He didn’t have to wait long. Loki’s familiar footsteps echoed down the corridor, followed by the soft click of the door closing behind him.
Thor held his breath, straining to catch any sound, any hint of what might be happening inside. At first, the voices were low, barely a murmur, but soon they grew louder, just enough for Thor to catch fragments.
“…you always do this, Loki. Why must you insist on making things difficult?” En Dwi’s voice was smooth, yet laced with reproach.
“Because I’m not like you,” Loki shot back, his tone firmer than Thor had expected. “I won’t just sit here and accept everything you say without question.”
“Oh, but you do, don’t you?” En Dwi chuckled, a sound that made Thor’s skin crawl. “You always come back. You’re always here, at my disposal.”
An uncomfortable silence filled the room, and Thor fought the urge to burst in. Then came the sound of a chair scraping against the floor, followed by slow, deliberate footsteps.
“You’re special, Loki. I’ve always said so. But you’re also… difficult. Do you know what that means for me?” En Dwi’s voice dropped, becoming quieter, more intimate. “It means I have to… mold you, so to speak.”
“I’m not a piece of clay for you to toy with,” Loki bit out, though his voice had lost some of its initial defiance.
“Oh, but that’s exactly what you are, my dear Loki. You just need to accept that there’s no escaping this. You and I… we’ll always be this way.”
A shiver ran down Thor’s spine. He couldn’t see what was happening, but the words alone painted a chilling picture. What did “always be this way” mean? What hold did En Dwi have over his brother?
A faint rustling sound reached Thor’s ears, followed by a quiet murmur from Loki, too low to make out. Then came a louder sound—a dull thud—that made Thor lean forward, desperate to piece together what was happening.
“You know better than to challenge me,” En Dwi said, his voice now colder. “It’s not a smart move.”
Thor squeezed his eyes shut, fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms. This couldn’t go on. He had to do something—but what?
The silence in the room was suffocating, broken only by the faint click of En Dwi’s phone unlocking. From his hiding spot, Thor barely dared to breathe. Inside, Loki stood rigid, his tension evident in the stiffness of his hands.
“Look,” En Dwi murmured with unsettling sweetness, turning the phone’s screen toward Loki. “It’s important to cherish the moments we share, don’t you think?”
Loki’s gaze landed on the screen, and he froze. A recording played—scenes of him, captured unknowingly, in this very room under the same warm lights that now felt cruel and voyeuristic. Every gesture, every look, every movement had been reduced to a twisted choreography, devoid of context and distorted to fit En Dwi’s narrative.
Thor couldn’t see the screen, but Loki’s expression said enough. His brother’s lips parted as if to protest, but no words came.
“See how marvelous you look?” En Dwi tilted his head, studying Loki as though admiring a masterpiece. “The way you move, how your eyes seek me even when you don’t want to admit it. It’s all there, Loki. Every detail.”
Loki closed his eyes for a brief moment, fists trembling. He didn’t need to watch more to understand what the footage implied. It was undeniable—his face, his body, his voice, all captured in frames meticulously chosen to amplify his vulnerability.
“You can’t…” he murmured, voice barely audible.
“Can’t I?” En Dwi raised an eyebrow, sliding a finger across the phone screen to pause on a still image: Loki seated on the floor, with En Dwi standing over him, a hand just visible at the edge of the frame, brushing his hair. “I already have, sweetheart. And if I wanted to, I could share this with anyone. The staff, the students… Maybe even your dear brother.”
Loki swallowed hard, his eyes gleaming with restrained fury and something darker—resignation.
“What do you want?” he finally asked.
En Dwi smiled, his face transforming into a mask of triumph. He pocketed the phone, no longer needing to show it. The threat was clear.
“The same thing I always want. You know what that is.” He leaned closer, his hand brushing Loki’s cheek. “Your presence, your obedience, and that little spark of defiance that makes all of this so much more enjoyable.”
Loki didn’t move, but his clenched jaw betrayed the storm brewing inside him. Thor’s stomach twisted as he watched his brother reduced to a shadow of himself.
“Come here,” En Dwi ordered, his tone soft but commanding. Loki hesitated for only a moment before stepping forward, every movement weighed down by invisible chains.
En Dwi gestured for him to sit on the floor beside him. The closeness was unnerving, the teacher’s hands moving with practiced ease to brush Loki’s hair, his fingers grazing the back of his neck with deliberate carelessness.
“You know, this could be so much easier, Loki,” he murmured, his voice a poisonous whisper. “You could stop resisting and just… enjoy it. Maybe, one day, you’ll even thank me.”