Endless thick clouds gathered, swirling into a vortex above New York City. Pale blue lightning roared, bolts striking down like the inverted branches of the World Tree. Thunder and storm seemed to offer praises for the birth of a new god. At the heart of the lightning, Loki held Thor in his arms.
Now, the silver Thor armor clung to his body in perfect plates, as if forged specifically for him—so perfectly it fit. The hammer he had never been able to budge before, Mjolnir, now felt weightless in his hand. Feeling the immense power he had never experienced, boundless divine force boiling within him, lightning surging through his veins—at this moment, he was the God of Thunder!
This was what Loki had always dreamed of. Yet now it brought him not a shred of joy. The cost of lifting this hammer was too heavy, so heavy he couldn't bear it.
"No matter what change you undergo, it's useless." Ebony Maw looked at Loki. After a brief moment of shock at Loki becoming the God of Thunder, he quickly regained his composure.
"Careful, Ebony Maw," Supergiant cautioned.
But Ebony Maw paid no heed. Holding the Stone was tantamount to mastering the truth of the universe; there was nothing for him to fear. In fact, deep down, Ebony Maw was already entertaining thoughts of rebelling against Thanos, though he hid them away considering Supergiant also possessed a Stone. If he felt that way about Thanos, his contempt for Loki was even greater. Just minutes ago, Loki had been a wretched rat he could toy with at will—what difference did picking up a hammer make?
"Why are you angry, Loki?" Ebony Maw mocked.
Loki ignored him. He was as silent as the thunderclouds pressing down from the sky. Everyone could see a terrible storm about to engulf the city, but he held it back, the oppressive atmosphere making it hard to breathe.
Then, Loki gently laid Thor down, his palm brushing over Thor's cheek. A current of frost instantly froze Thor's body.
Only after doing this did Loki rise, glaring at Ebony Maw with fury.
Ebony Maw kept talking: "Asgard, who claim to be gods, are nothing but pitiful wretches with inflated self-importance." "A son of Odin, dying such a humiliating death—"
BOOM!!!
In an instant, gales erupted! The crimson cape behind Loki billowed high into the sky against the wind, like his divine flame ignited—and his unquenchable rage!
"Shut up!"
His fingers clenched around the hammer, and lightning shot from his eyes as he glared at Ebony Maw.
Zap! Eyebeams!
The lightning burst forth, startling Ebony Maw with the sudden attack. But he recovered quickly, waving his arm. White snow and ice erupted from the ground, instantly forming a wall before him.
BOOM!! The lightning shattered the ice. Before Ebony Maw could breathe a sigh of relief, a shadow faster than lightning lunged at him! Carrying the fury of thunder, Mjolnir, like a silver divine light piercing the darkness, crashed into Ebony Maw's chest with all of Loki's boundless rage.
In that instant, Ebony Maw felt as if he had been struck by a planetary core. The crushing force threatened to pulverize his frail body. In fact, had he not swiftly activated the Space Stone's power to create a barrier around himself, shielding from Mjolnir, this blow would have reduced him to dust amidst the thunder!
Even so, Loki's attack sent Ebony Maw flying, crashing through several blocks of buildings and burying him under rubble. Ebony Maw felt like every bone in his body was shattered. And now he couldn't move, for Mjolnir pressed down on him like the Buddha's Palm Seal pinning the Monkey King.
He was about to use the Tesseract's power to teleport the hammer away, but at that moment, the enraged Loki descended from the sky with lightning.
THUD!!!
Loki stomped on Ebony Maw's arm, interrupting his casting. Then, bending down, his lightning-infused fists pounded like pile drivers, blow after blow onto Ebony Maw's body.
"You dared kill Thor!" "How dare you kill my brother!"
Loki seemed utterly unhinged, attacking Ebony Maw with all his might. It was less a fight and more a venting of his fury—furious at Ebony Maw's deeds, and at his own weakness. Each punch landed with a terrifying thunderclap. Under Loki's furious onslaught, Ebony Maw was momentarily unable to counterattack, though the Stone's radiance and energy shielded him from being beaten to death.
But he kept on dishing out damage.
"Under the great Thanos's void throne, you yourself swore to kill your brother. I helped you—you should thank me."
"Shut up!" Loki pounded Ebony Maw deeper into the ground with each punch. "You're not worthy to speak Thor's name!"
Ebony Maw: ??? I didn't speak his name!
But no matter what, Loki's rage was unstoppable now.
Even the energy shield formed from the Tesseract's power cracked under his ferocious assault. The lightning was like a vicious serpent, opening its gaping maw to rip the shield apart, then biting into his flesh. "Aah—!"
Ebony Maw felt searing agony, his sinister gaze growing venomous and dangerous. He didn't understand why, after all this time, Supergiant and Black Dwarf hadn't come to support him. What he didn't know was that they had encountered their own foe.
After punching the war chieftain's head clean off, Hulk charged into the ice storm and confronted Supergiant and Black Dwarf. This threw Supergiant off just as she was about to assist Ebony Maw. Unlike Proxima Midnight, another female member of the Black Order, Supergiant lacked direct combat prowess. Faced with an enemy like Hulk, a moment's inattention cost her dearly in the first exchange. And Black Dwarf, who wanted to help her, was dispatched by Hulk even more easily. Black Dwarf was just too weak!
Ebony Maw knew nothing of this, nor could he spare a thought. Killing Loki was now his top priority.
With great difficulty, he thrust his arm toward Loki's chest, unleashing a powerful telekinetic blast that sent Loki flying. Then, he immediately activated the Stone's power. A dark blue energy opened a spatial tunnel behind him, freeing Ebony Maw from Mjolnir's pinning. The hammer fell helplessly to the ground.
Hurled back, Loki steadied himself in midair. Lightning serpents erupting from his body instantly devoured several nearby Chitauri soldiers. But he didn't care at all. He only wanted to avenge Thor!
Soon, he located Ebony Maw in a street buried under thick snow and ice. The hideous sorcerer's face was twisted with malice, like a charred corpse crawling out of hellfire, staring at Loki with venomous hatred. Clearly, both of them wanted each other dead!
Loki said nothing. Clenching his fist, he dove headfirst at Ebony Maw like a diver. Boundless divine power burst from him, the rushing wind whipping his crimson cape wildly. He was like Superman!
Facing Loki's attack, Ebony Maw, who had slowly recovered, was no longer on the back foot. His gaze darkened, and he raised his hand to the void. In an instant, his godlike power was displayed before Loki.
BOOM!!! The entire New York City seemed to shake with a violent earthquake as the Tesseract's energy rippled out and completely enveloped the city. Then, Loki saw the street where Ebony Maw stood instantly collapse into an abyss below. Or rather… all the buildings of the entire block were suddenly uprooted by Ebony Maw's power, thrusting up like divine spears piercing the heavens! At this moment, the whole city seemed a plaything in Ebony Maw's hands, to be manipulated at will. Ebony Maw was very pleased.
"Do you see, Loki? This is the power of a god!" "You should kneel before me!"
He bellowed. As his voice rang out, all the buildings torn up by Ebony Maw's power—foundations and all—hurtled at Loki like a fleet of speeding trains!
In Infinity War, Thanos had used the Power Stone to manipulate gravity, pulling a moon down to hurl at Tony. Now, what Ebony Maw was doing was much the same.
The battle drew everyone's attention. Honestly, whether heroes or people hiding in shelters, no one could ignore the scene Ebony Maw was creating. Buildings floated in the air like discarded building blocks in space; anyone seeing it would think they were dreaming.
"Motherf—!" Tony cursed. "If we have to deal with enemies like this a few more times, Stark Industries will go bankrupt!"
As the Avengers' sugar daddy, Tony had always been responsible for paying their salaries and footing the bill for all damages and reparations. But Ebony Maw had destroyed several blocks with a wave of his hand, and might soon topple all the buildings like toothpicks. "No way, I'm making Plymus chip in too!" Tony gnashed his teeth.
"How much could it cost?" T'Challa thought it was nothing. "Wakanda will cover it!"
T'Challa's personal assets alone were about five times Tony's; if you included Wakanda's vibranium reserves, his wealth was beyond trillions. This small change was just pocket money.
The perspective returned to Loki.
The buildings, hurtling at him like deformed trains, instantly obscured Loki's vision. He tried to dodge, but they came too fast. Before he could react, he was hit. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! One building after another. In moments, a sphere made of countless buildings appeared in the sky above New York City. Like a giant sea urchin, the uneven structures pinned Loki firmly from every direction.
It could be said: we Marvelites have our own Planetary Devastation.
Such overwhelming power made Ebony Maw marvel. "This is the power befitting a god!" he exclaimed excitedly. With this Infinity Stone, who could be his opponent? Not even Thanos! He thought. He had indeed been loyal to Thanos, killing endlessly in pursuit of his destiny. But with the Infinity Stone, why not become the destiny himself? Ebony Maw, the eternal backstabber.
Unfortunately for him, this time his ambition would be buried forever. Because at that moment, Loki triggered Thor's passive ability—
Thinking of Dad!
Inside the giant sphere suspended in the sky, under the Space Stone's power of compression and confinement, Loki could not move, let alone break free. He felt the buildings continuously compressing inward, crushing his body as if to pulverize him completely. If this continued, not only his body, but even the space itself might collapse entirely, forming a terrifying black hole that would swallow Earth whole!
Loki was in agony. The armor on his body began to crack. But more than the physical torment, what truly tortured him was self-blame. He was so useless. Thor had died at Ebony Maw's hands to save him, and what had he done? He had taken up Mjolnir, yet disgraced the name of Thor. He couldn't even defeat Ebony Maw with the Stone; Thor's sacrifice had become a joke.
Loki thought, if it had been him who died instead of Thor, and Thor who now held the hammer, Thor would have done so much better! Because Thor was always victorious. Loki thought. But it was too late now. Both Thor and he had reached their end.
Loki felt his soul slowly losing consciousness. As darkness clouded his vision, a light flickered far ahead. He sensed the call of Valhalla. In that radiance, Odin in battle armor rode his eight-legged steed, holding Gungnir, treading upon the light of the Bifrost. For the first time since his banishment, Loki bathed in the Bifrost's glow.
Gazing at the towering, majestic man before him, Loki's heart was immensely conflicted. He resented Odin for hiding the truth, for giving him expectations he shouldn't have had. He was ashamed of everything he had done, and now, he had essentially stolen his brother's legacy… What would Odin do? Would he strip this armor from him, just as he had stripped Thor of his power? Loki didn't know; his heart was filled with anxiety.
Until the elderly man, who seemed on the verge of death, walked up to him and fixed him with his single eye. Loki felt as if his soul were being roasted over a flame, unbearably tormented. He exhaled heavily, about to speak, but Odin interrupted. Odin simply opened his arms and embraced Loki.
"Loki!" "My son…" "I am proud of you!"
In that moment, all of Loki's defenses and resentment collapsed completely, like a desert sculpture crumbling in the wind. He kept shaking his head, trying to break free from Odin's embrace. "But I'm not your son…" Yet he wasn't blaming Odin; he was blaming fate's cruelty. He was telling himself that none of this was ever meant for him—he was not worthy of Mjolnir, not worthy of being a prince of Asgard, much less Odin's son.
To Loki's self-denial, Odin gently wiped away his tears. "Don't let your mother hear you say that, or she'll be too sad to eat." In an instant, Loki was choked with sobs.
Odin lowered his head, sorrowful. "I'm sorry, my son… I always placed my gaze upon Thor, and neglected you…" The father apologized softly to his child. If Hela saw this, she would definitely think this Odin was a fake, an impostor. My fierce old father couldn't possibly be this loving.
Loki kept shaking his head. In this moment, all past grievances were insignificant. "Let's go home, Dad."
Yet Odin refused. "You will go home, my child, but not now."
With a wave of his hand, Ebony Maw's face appeared in the dark space. Only then did Loki remember he still had an enemy to deal with. But quickly, he grew despondent, shaking his head: "I lost, Dad. I'm no match for him."
"That's because you haven't truly accepted your power," Odin said. "You are a child of both Asgard and Jotunheim. There is no shame in the blood of the Frost Giants flowing through your veins, my son." "You can become the king of both Asgard and Jotunheim."
"Me… become the king of Asgard?" "Me?" Loki was too astonished to react. "But I can't, I'm not qualified… no one will acknowledge me…"
"Of course you are." Odin interrupted him seriously. "You have already proven you are worthy!"
"Because I lifted Mjolnir?"
Odin shook his head, extending a finger toward Loki's heart. "No, because you are ready to become a king." "As that Midgardian said, what matters is the kind of person you decide to be, not the choice of the hammer. And you need not worry; he was not a Sakarian, yet became a son of Sakar. You can too."
"You knew all along…"
Odin gently stroked Loki's head. "I have only one eye, but of course I can see everything my child has endured." "However, the road ahead will have even more perilous enemies waiting for you. You must bear it on your own."
Odin's gaze turned toward the depths of the darkness, as if seeing far, far away. The past, the future, and this very present moment.
"Now, my child, wake up. Defeat your enemy, then return to Asgard with Thor. As long as you are there, Thor will not die." "And then I will crown you with my own hands."
/-\
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