The metal fist of Thanos's Titan armor collided violently with Harry's lightning-wreathed fist.
Instead of the earth-shattering shock wave Harry had expected, an eerie sense of resistance spread between them.
The lightning around Harry's fist abruptly slipped out of his control. The white currents twisted and snapped as though an invisible force were pulling them apart.
At the instant their fists collided, a strange power traveled from Thanos's fist into Harry.
The power possessed no destructive force whatsoever, but its restraining ability was extraordinarily strong.
The moment it wrapped around Harry, the power within his body stagnated.
The interruption lasted for such a brief instant that an ordinary person would not even have noticed it. To beings at Harry's level, however, that fraction of a second presented an enormous opening.
The forces supporting Thanos immediately seized that opportunity.
Several indescribable powers suddenly surged from the void. One resembled a freezing dark wind, another took the form of a viscous ribbon of light, while a third became a transparent vortex that spun around Harry and distorted the surrounding space.
The forces were like countless invisible hands gripping Harry's body and dragging him backward.
His body began trembling beyond his control. The lightning surrounding him was stretched into thin strands of light before gradually dissolving into the void.
A massive spatial rift then opened behind Harry. A chaotic torrent of shifting colors churned within it, and countless indistinct images flashed through its depths.
There were burning planets, shattered castles, and people dressed in strange clothing.
Harry instantly recognized it as the familiar void between the dimensions of the multiverse. Only then did he finally understand Thanos's plan.
Thanos had joined forces with the Dimensional Demon Gods supporting him to temporarily imprison Harry within the gaps between universes. Without Harry standing in his way, very few people on Earth could oppose Thanos at his current level of power.
Harry tried to break free, but while the energy inside him remained momentarily paralyzed, he could not resist.
Even more frustratingly, the Dimensional Demon Gods understood Harry's unique condition. Most of the powers they used merely pulled and restrained him without inflicting any direct physical harm. As a result, the primordial chaos power within him did not instinctively retaliate.
Under the combined pull of multiple forces, Harry finally lost his balance. Like a leaf swept into a raging river, he was dragged into the turbulent sea of colors.
The spatial rift swiftly closed after Harry disappeared. Only a few fading electrical currents remained in the void, evidence that the inconclusive clash had truly occurred.
There was no distinction between sky and ground within the gaps between universes, only endless torrents of shifting colors.
Fragments of dark-purple nebulae intertwined with waves of eerie green energy. Occasionally, the remnants of shattered planets flashed through the chaos. Even time seemed to have lost its natural flow, every second trapped within thick, viscous disorder.
Harry floated at the center of the turbulence, his clothes whipping violently under the pull of invisible forces.
"Well, look who we have here. The great Sorcerer Supreme, reduced to circling this void like a trapped animal."
A cold voice suddenly emerged from an energy vortex to Harry's left. Dormammu's projection flickered within it, surrounded by dancing blue flames.
"Do not bother trying to escape. With all of us working together, even you cannot leave this place quickly. You can do nothing but watch as Thanos destroys Earth."
Another arrogant laugh followed. Mephisto's red figure materialized on Harry's right. He toyed with a burning soul fragment in one hand, his eyes filled with amusement.
"Dormammu is right, Harry Potter. With every second you remain trapped here, Earth moves closer to destruction. Do you think Thanos will wait for you to return? That mad Titan is already slaughtering his way across the planet!"
A faint light appeared at the tip of Harry's wand as he attempted to break free from the void's restraints, but a third force held him firmly in place.
Chthon's projection rose from the darkness below. His hoarse voice carried a seductive, corrupting quality.
"Think about it, Sorcerer Supreme. While you struggle here, Thanos's armies are already setting foot upon Earth. He will tear apart everything you have sworn to protect.
"Those wretched mortal insects, along with every friend you care about, will be reduced to dust beneath his fists."
"And that is not all," Dormammu added. "He will use the Soul Stone to harvest the souls of every living being. You will be trapped here, listening to their screams while being completely unable to save them."
When Harry did not respond, Mephisto assumed he had finally gained the upper hand and laughed even louder.
The soul fragment in his palm exploded into tiny sparks.
"This is the price you pay for opposing us. You thought you were Earth's savior, but everything you have done has only brought destruction upon it.
"Once Thanos reduces Earth to ruins, even if you escape, all you will be able to do is stare at the wreckage. Then again, perhaps you will never escape at all."
Of course, Mephisto was merely making an empty boast.
Given enough time, Harry's power would undoubtedly allow him to break free from their control.
More importantly, if Harry unleashed that terrifying scarlet power, he would probably escape instantly.
The Dimensional Demon Gods were not concerned, however, because they were inside the gaps between universes.
Perhaps that power would even allow Harry to create an entirely new dimension within the void, but it would also send him falling into far deeper layers of the space between dimensions.
Uncontrollable power could not guide Harry back to Earth in his own universe.
Harry's gaze suddenly turned cold as magical energy began surging violently around him.
"You think this will shake my confidence? Thanos may be powerful, but Earth has never lacked people willing to resist him. As long as someone continues fighting, he will never destroy everything."
"Resist?" Chthon sneered as dark energy condensed into chains around him. "A group of mortals without the protection of the Sorcerer Supreme would not even qualify as a warm-up for Thanos. By the time you understand that, it will already be over. Earth's fate was sealed the moment you were dragged into this place."
The surrounding turbulence grew increasingly violent. The taunts of the three Demon Gods echoed through the void, mingling with the remnants of shattered planets. Their voices formed an invisible net that trapped Harry at its center.
Harry remained silent.
He knew the hostile Demon Gods before him were telling the truth.
Earth's defenders might have been able to resist Thanos under normal circumstances. Now, however, he had received power from several Demon Gods and had nearly reached the universal level.
The current Earth had no one capable of stopping him.
If Harry truly remained trapped within the gaps between universes, Thanos might actually destroy Earth.
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