Chapter 1 loki survived

"My undying fidelity," Loki said, then suddenly pulled out a dagger to kill Thanos, which was stopped halfway there by the space stone.

Thanos roughly yanked Loki's arm back, which made him flinch in pain. Thanos then grabbed Loki's neck and lifted him into the air.

Thanos tightened his grip on Loki's neck and said, "You should pick your words more carefully, Asgardian." Loki fought back and forth to get Thanos to release his hold on him, but it was getting harder to do so with every passing second.

As his vision began to fade, Loki said, "You will never be a... god."

Thanos then squeezed his hand tighter around Loki's neck and smiled as he heard it snap. He then carried Loki by his neck until he was in front of Thor and dropped him, smiling in pleasure.

"No more resurrections this time," Thanos said, then snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Thor was released from his restraints, and he made his way over to Loki as best he could.

"No, Loki," Thor said as he pulled Loki onto his back. Thor put his arm around Loki as he prepared to die by his side. Thor's crying was the last sound Loki heard before everything fell silent.

The next thing Loki heard was someone walking near him. When Loki opened his eyes, a figure could be seen in front of him. Loki quickly got to his feet and got ready for a fight in case the person attacked him.

"Who are you?" Loki asked, confused as to why he wasn't in Valhalla; even if he'd gone to Hell, it would be different from this.

"I witnessed what occurred to you and several others: Thanos gathered the stones and succeeded in his plan, decimating the world and erasing half of life, but the Avengers and friends have managed To kill Thanos and get rid of him for good, and thanks to Steve Rogers, who returned the stones back to their original timelines, anyone who was killed by a stone or by its power may come back to life but must have a consequence for what happened to them; they cannot come back as they were before," the stranger told Loki.

"What do you mean by a consequence?" Loki asked.

"An injury, as you call it, it would be a reminder of what the person went through. If you do choose to return due to the way you died, it could be a head injury, including your neck. I am unable to estimate the severity of the damage, but a head injury is quite likely to cause blindness, at least some degree of deafness, and possibly other issues as well. or a back injury that results in paralysis from the waist down; you should be able to walk again, but it will take time and patience, and you will likely suffer permanent back pain, which will likely affect your ability to walk when it is at its worst. Additionally, Thanos broke your arm. It will heal, but you will have a permanent weakness in that arm. You do not have long to decide what you want to do. Just to let you know, it has been five years since you've been gone, so you can keep that in mind when you make your decision. You are also free to simply cross over and enter the afterlife; you are not required to return. However, once you've decided, there's no turning back. Your choice cannot be redone, so you must be certain of what you want; we have to do this quickly, or it will be too late; anyone who is choosing to go back has to do so within a certain amount of time of Thanos being eliminated and the stones going back to where they were; otherwise, it will not work," the stranger told Loki.

Loki considered it. A part of him wanted to give up and go to the afterlife, but another part wanted to go back to Thor and help him—especially when they were just beginning to be brothers again. He knew that he could see his mother again if he went to the afterlife, and he also knew that after five years of him being gone, Thor had probably started to come to terms with his death and move on from it. He didn't think Thor would forget about him, but he didn't want to upset Thor by telling him he was actually alive again. But he was aware that Thor would probably require help. For the sake of both Thor and their mother, who would want Loki to help Thor, Loki decided to take a chance and return to help Thor if he needed it. Deep down, Loki heard a voice telling him that there was a chance that Thor may not want to see him again or speak to him; he may not accept that Loki is now permanently injured. Loki wasn't sure whether he could cope with being hurt permanently, but he decided to return. He knew he had to go with the back injury. He knew that it was the best option for as close to a full recovery as possible and the best chance he had of going back to the person he was before his death.

"Okay, I'll return," said Loki.

"And which consequence do you wish to return with?" The stranger questioned him.

Loki replied, "None, if I could, but since that's not possible, I'll go with the back injury; that's my greatest chance of returning to what I was before as closely as possible."

"Very well," the stranger replied, then approached Loki, but Loki put his arm out to stop him.

"I have to put you to sleep now." The stranger assured Loki that he would not feel any pain while putting him to sleep and that when he awoke, he would be in New Asgard.

Although Loki didn't want to, he allowed the person to put him to sleep because he knew it was the only way he could return and see Thor. The figure was right; Loki felt nothing as darkness claimed him.