Cul Borson writhed in Thanos' iron clasp, his face twisted with pain, but still, a smirk appeared on his lips. Blood trickled from his mouth, but his voice rang with unshakeable assurance.
"You think I came here unprepared, Titan?" he croaked, the dark sparkle of amusement shining from his eyes. Then he threw back his head and roared a name that echoed through the vast halls of Nidavellir...
"LOKI!"
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the entire forge shook violently.
A sudden burst of energy erupted as the Destroyer Armor, the colossal Asgardian war machine, activated with a golden glow. Its runes flared and the part of its mask opened as it unleashed a devastating beam of cosmic energy directly at Thanos and Cul.
With a look of near boredom, Thanos flung Cul directly into the beam's path. The energy ripped into Cul's body, flinging him across the forge, and crashing through anvils and molten metal constructs. He crashed down with a nauseating thud, spewing blood, his armor burning from the searing blast.
From the shadows, a mirage-like shimmer twisted in the air, and suddenly, standing between Thanos and the injured Cul, Loki's astral projection materialized. His green eyes gleamed with mischief, his lips curled in a wicked grin.
He adjusted his fur-lined Asgardian cape as though he had just arrived at a grand feast rather than a battlefield.
Cul Borson groaned, glaring at Loki in rage and confusion.
"You... betrayed me?"
Loki merely sighed theatrically, tilting his head. "Oh, Uncle. Surely you knew that was coming."
Cul spat blood, trying to rise. "I was your only chance! You were to aid me in reclaiming Asgard!"
Loki rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, all very tragic. But you see, my dear uncle, I never had any intention of letting you sit on Asgard's throne." He gestured lazily at the Destroyer Armor, now standing tall like a gleaming sentinel. "I merely needed you to break free and cause enough chaos for me to reclaim what truly matters. And that, dear uncle, is Asgard itself."
Cul's face twisted in rage. "You snake!"
Loki smirked. "No, no, dear uncle. I am the God of Mischief. You are the snake. Ha, God of Fear, they say."
He placed a finger to his lips mockingly. "And let me tell you a secret. I couldn't act openly under Odin's ever-watchful gaze. So, I let you out of your prison, whispered the right words into the right ears, and tricked you into stealing Asgard's treasures..." His smirk widened. "And now, I shall destroy both you and Thanos in one stroke. What a delicious turn of events, wouldn't you agree?"
Even the Black Order looked briefly taken aback by Loki's boldness. But Thanos? He merely smiled low in his throat.
Then he started talking.
"You entertain me, Loki," Thanos said, moving forward, his massive form casting a dark, looming shadow over the trickster's projection. "You are good at this game of betrayal, but you remain. predictable."
Loki shot him an eyebrow but remained silent.
"Traitors and kinslayers," Thanos went on, his booming voice resonating through the forge, "are a special sort. They think themselves cunning, spinning webs in the shadows, changing sides like the wind. But ultimately. they all come to the same end."
He folded his arms behind his back, standing with the air of a teacher instructing a pupil.
"I have seen civilizations fall to treachery. I have watched emperors slain by their own blood. I have orchestrated betrayals so grand that entire species crumbled into nothingness." His dark eyes locked onto Loki's, gleaming with a twisted kind of admiration.
"And yet, Loki Odinson, despite all your lies. you are an artist."
Loki's smile twitched for an instant.
Thanos nodded ever so slightly. "A man who has no allegiance to anyone but himself is a man to be feared. And for what it's worth, I admire that."
Loki's face darkened. "Praise will not save you, Titan."
"Oh, no. You misunderstood something, brat. I'm praising you because of what you did... Your nature... just makes your soul more unique compared to others. My Mistress loves your kind. She'll have all the pleasure of torturing you for eternity. Your agony-filled screams will soothe her mind. So, when I get my grasp on your throat, I'll take my time and slowly squeeze the life out of your body," Thanos said with a mad grin.
Loki pointed his finger at Thanos.
The Destroyer fired another massive energy blast, a beam so powerful it melted the surrounding metal of Nidavellir's forge. Thanos stood his ground, raising his armored forearm to block. A thick blue energy shield appeared around him. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the forge, shattering an entire row of anvil structures.
The Black Order sprang into action. Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight leaped at the massive construct, only for the Destroyer to swat them aside with a single sweeping motion.
Meanwhile, Loki was not finished.
He used the Eternal Flame on Surtur's Crown.
The air vibrated with immense power as Loki muttered an enchantment, his hands weaving an intricate spell. A second later, a roar shattered the air. A massive, hellish figure rose, his molten form towering over the battlefield. Surtur, the fire demon, had been reborn. His flaming sword ignited the air, and the dwarves scattered in terror. The very ground beneath them cracked under the sheer heat of his presence.
Everything was on fire. But surprisingly, the monster's size was much smaller than his giant version.
Thanos remained still, watching. Calculating.
Loki smirked. "Don't worry, Titan. I made sure our dear friend Surtur will only be... rampaging for ten minutes. I wouldn't want to make things too unfair, now would I?"
Surtur shifted his fiery eye to Thanos.
Next, he brought down his great sword, intent on splitting Thanos in half.
In the very last moment, Thanos intercepted the blade with his open palms. The blow sent a shockwave so intense that fire erupted outward, consuming the walls of the forge.
Surtur charged ahead, his brute power almost overwhelming even the Mad Titan. But Thanos clenched his teeth, his muscles bulging against the god of fire. Then, with a burst of strength, he pushed Surtur back, the fire giant stumbling.
Meanwhile, the Destroyer Armor attacked, its huge fist slamming into Thanos' side. The impact sent the Titan sliding back, his golden armor dented slightly.
Ebony Maw flung up his hands, summoning great blocks of metal to fly at the Destroyer, but they merely rebounded.
Loki watched from a great platform, grinning. "Oh, this is just too fun," he thought.
Even Loki knew he didn't have much time, though. Ten minutes. That was all he'd set aside for Surtur before the magic wore out.
It would have to suffice.
And then—everything stopped.
A deep, unsettling gurgling sound echoed across the battlefield as something unnatural happened to Thanos.
A red sludge began to seep from his wounds, liquid and pulsating as if it had a life of its own. It crawled over his golden armor, twisting, writhing, and then solidified into mist before reshaping itself into glowing red tendrils that pulsed with otherworldly energy.
Loki's smirk vanished. His eyes widened in recognition.
"Impossible," he whispered.
The Aether.
The Reality Stone.
But it wasn't supposed to be here. It had been in Asgard, locked away in Odin's vaults. Had it been a fake? If so... how?
Before Loki could process this revelation, the red mist expanded outward in a surge of raw, cosmic power.
Reality itself warped.
The flames that engulfed the forge froze mid-air, twisting and curling unnaturally like fabric caught in a slow-motion breeze. The Destroyer Armor crumbled into dust, then reassembled itself in reverse, its attack undone. Even Surtur, the massive fire giant, froze in place, his sword halted inches from cleaving Thanos in half. The air rippled as if existence itself had been rewritten.
Thanos straightened, rolling his shoulders, his golden armor unscathed. His massive hand extended, gripping the tendrils of red energy, allowing them to slither around his fingers like obedient serpents.
His deep, rumbling voice broke the silence.
"Did you really think I came to face Odin without a plan?"
Loki's mind raced. This wasn't possible.
The Collector had lied. He gave them a fake Infinity Stone or could it be that...
"Don't tell me?!" Loki's eyes widened in realization.
"Now, do you understand, brat? Asgard was doomed from the beginning," Thanos waved his hand, undoing all the destruction and even bringing back his lost army.
Thanos smirked, seeing the realization dawn on the trickster's face. He clenched his fist, and the Reality Stone's power surged again.
In an instant, Surtur's entire body shattered like glass. His very essence was ripped apart, his molten form breaking into red shards of nothingness, vanishing as though he had never been there at all. The Eternal Flame flickered uselessly, now severed from its purpose.
Loki staggered backward.
Thanos advanced.
"I annihilated the Dark Elves long ago," the Titan said casually, inspecting the swirling red tendrils of the Aether in his palm. "They were nothing more than insects, clinging to the illusion of power. Malekith thought himself worthy of wielding the Aether..."
His grin widened, cruel and knowing.
"I ripped it from his very heart and offered his soul to my Mistress."
Loki clenched his jaw. The Dark Elves were extinct. Of course they were. But... if Thanos had the Reality Stone all this time—
Thanos tilted his head, as if reading Loki's thoughts.
"And the Collector?" The Titan chuckled. "Oh, Loki. Taneleer Tivan was never a dealer of secrets. He was always my agent."
Loki's blood ran cold.
That meant…
Everything. The misinformation, the deception about the Infinity Stones, the star charts, the very trap Odin had planned... Thanos had always been one step ahead.
Thanos stepped closer, his massive form casting a monstrous shadow over Loki.
"You played your part well," Thanos said, his voice mocking yet admiring. "But the game is over."
...
Gamora, who heard everything quickly took the fastest spacecraft and escaped. She made her way to Earth. Thanos knew everything from the beginning and there was no way, he'd let her live now that he had revealed his trump card. The only way for her to survive was to find the two Infinity Stones on the Earth.
[Meanwhile... Asgard's vault]
The fake Reality Stone began to glow as molten red liquid started to ooze out...
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