"Oh? Well, I imagine it varies from one world to the next," he says. "I always thought of magic as the invisible threads that stitch the universe together, space to time and matter to energy. The gods have easier access to it, and perhaps a deeper understanding, but that doesn't mean it comes from us. Odin transcribed the power of the Runes, but he didn't create them."

"Both science and magic are the study of what holds reality together, just approaching it from different angles."

He studies him, visibly concerned to hear this, but unfortunately there's not much Loki can do about it. "These things go in cycles. They fear you now, but the wheel will turn some day and your world will realize it has need of you."

"Trying to hold on until that happens will be painful, though. You have my sympathy for that."