Early morning, the day after the great war.
In the conference room on the top floor of the Avengers Tower, the atmosphere was so oppressive it was suffocating.
A real-time feed of Greenwich Village, New York, was playing on the holographic projection.
A Gothic-style woman with heavy smoky eye makeup was strolling leisurely.
With a casual movement, she turned the iron man armor that Tony Stark was so proud of into a pile of scrap metal.
Tony Stark's face was ashen, and he didn't say a word.
The sense of humiliation from his armor being torn to shreds had not yet dissipated.
The feeling of suffocation from having his chest stepped on by high-heeled combat boots left him with lingering fear.
It was a power that completely transcended his understanding of the laws of physics.
Captain America Steve Rogers broke the silence, his expression incredibly solemn.
"According to the energy fluctuation analysis, her power system shares the same source as Loki and Thor, but it is more ancient, pure, and filled with the aura of death and decay."
"The sorcerers of Kamar-Taj call her the Goddess of Death."
"She is myth, she is legend, and now... she is reality."
Dr. Banner pushed up his glasses, his voice dry.
"Jarvis's model, which was originally established based on Thor, has completely collapsed."
"We are not facing an enemy equipped with advanced weapons, but a walking manifestation of the laws themselves."
No one spoke in the conference room.
The smartest minds and the strongest Warriors on Earth all felt powerless at this moment.
Kamar-Taj had set up defensive magic circles across the entire globe.
The New York Sanctum was also on high alert.
But everyone knew that against Asgard's former strongest spear, these were merely better-than-nothing comforts.
"Notify Thor's side. We might not be able to handle this, and this time there might not be that Angel or that god to lend a hand." Captain America ran his hand through his hair irritably.
For the first time, Earth sent a distress signal to its comrades in such a direct manner.
Although they themselves didn't know what the outcome would be this time.
---
Meanwhile, in the deep reaches of the Universe, a golden Asgardian ship was sailing quietly.
Inside the cabin, the atmosphere was equally gloomy.
The two brothers, Thor and Loki, sat in silence.
The events at Nidavellir and their worries for their homeland left them distraught.
Only Lin Huai sat calmly in front of the console.
Floating before him was the golden gauntlet that the Dwarf King Eitri had just forged with the full strength of his people.
"Mentor..."
Thor finally couldn't help but speak.
"Will we win..."
Lin Huai did not answer.
He reached out and took out two specially treated boxes, which contained two items.
One was the azure Tesseract.
The other was the blood-like flowing Aether Particle.
Two Infinity Stones.
The moment they appeared, the light in the entire cabin was distorted, and ripples appeared in space.
"It's time."
Lin Huai said softly.
He picked up the Tesseract, which represented space.
He didn't shatter the casing; instead, he placed his hand over the cube and closed his eyes.
The power representing change from the Sequence 4 Bizzaro Sorcerer quietly activated, beginning to analyze and decompose the shell of the Power Stone.
"Buzz—"
Under the horrified gazes of Thor and Loki, the hard blue shell began to melt.
It gradually became transparent and ethereal, finally dissipating completely.
A pure blue stone, shining with the light of endless stars, floated quietly in Lin Huai's palm.
"Space..."
Lin Huai felt the laws contained within.
He gently pressed the Space Stone into the slot on the back of the index finger of the Infinity Gauntlet.
"Click."
A soft sound, like a key entering a lock.
The entire Infinity Gauntlet suddenly erupted with brilliant blue light.
Powerful space energy instantly filled the entire cabin, and the ship's hull let out an overwhelmed groan.
Thor and Loki felt their heads spinning as the surrounding space constantly folded, stretched, and inverted.
"Steady!"
Lin Huai gave a low shout, and the blue light on the gauntlet gradually withdrew.
He took a deep breath and turned his gaze to that mass of Reality Stone, the Aether Particle, which was constantly changing shape.
This time, he appeared more composed.
The power of the Reality Stone was violent and chaotic, but Lin Huai directly wrapped and permeated it with Spirit Thread.
The authority of change and the laws of reality produced a wondrous resonance.
The Aether Particle stopped struggling and instead submissively contracted and solidified.
Finally, it transformed into a deep red stone that seemed to contain all possibilities.
Lin Huai pressed it into the slot on the thumb of the gauntlet.
The second stone was in place.
A torrent of energy several times stronger than before swept out.
This time it wasn't just space distortion, but a reconstruction of reality.
Thor and Loki watched with their own eyes.
The walls of the cabin turned into a flowing rainbow.
The console grew wings, and the floor turned into fragrant grass.
This was pure, unreasonable, great power.
Lin Huai clenched his fist, the light of the two stones reflecting each other.
Under his will, all the anomalies slowly receded.
---
Just as Lin Huai was setting the two Infinity Stones into the gauntlet.
In the dark quadrant of the Universe, atop the throne of the Titan dreadnought Sanctuary II.
Thanos's massive body leaned forward slightly.
He felt a fleeting fluctuation of power.
That fluctuation was enough to shake the foundations of the Universe.
"Cull Obsidian."
His deep voice rang out.
A tall, thin figure stepped out from the shadows and knelt on one knee.
"Master."
On Corvus Glaive's face was still the dishevelment from the retreat at Nidavellir.
"The Asgardian fleet has fully evacuated, but they took all the dwarves... and their king."
"We failed."
"I know."
Thanos's tone was devoid of emotion.
He raised his empty golden gauntlet, his gaze fixed on the distance.
"I feel it... the power of the stones. There are two, and they have been put together."
He stood up, looking down at the constantly blinking coordinates on the star map.
That was the course of the Asgardian refugee fleet.
"Asgard is weeping for the fall of Odin."
"The Goddess of Death is reveling in their backyard."
"They no longer have the strength to deal with us."
"Cull Obsidian."
"I am here, my Master."
"Take your Order; I want you to... catch up with them again."
"This time... do not disappoint me again."
"As you command."
Corvus Glaive's figure vanished into the Darkness.
Soon, one after another, menacing ring-shaped warships separated from Sanctuary II.
Like a pack of hunting sharks, they silently leaped into the pitch-black Universe.
A hunt targeting the remaining Asgardian fleet had officially begun.
---
The final seventy-two hours.
The entire Universe seemed to be holding its breath, waiting for that unavoidable storm.
Earth.
The Avengers Tower was brightly lit, and Steve Rogers was facing a holographic map, planning the defensive works for New York.
Wanda and Pietro stood behind him, their expressions solemn, Chaos Magic and the power of speed ready to erupt at any moment.
Kamar-Taj.
Countless sorcerers in yellow robes opened portals to all parts of the World.
Shimmering magic shields flickered above the major cities.
Asgard.
Queen of the Gods Frigga put on her long-untouched golden armor and stood upon the ruins of the Bifrost Bridge.
Behind her were the gathered Asgardian heroic spirits, ready to face death.
On the star map, the red dot representing Thanos's fleet was approaching Asgard at an alarming speed.
New York.
Hela stood at the top of the Empire State Building.
She felt the fear radiating from the millions of souls in this city and squinted her eyes in delight.
At her feet, a giant wolf was howling at the sky.
On the Asgardian ship.
Lin Huai slowly opened his eyes, his left hand wearing the Infinity Gauntlet raised slightly.
"Hela is rampaging on Earth. Turn around; we're going back to help the fleet behind us. We can't let Thanos's fleet get near Asgard, or we'll be caught in a pincer attack."
The blue light of the Space Stone and the red light of the Reality Stone intertwined at his fingertips, reflecting his calm, wave-less eyes.
He could feel countless threads of fate in the Universe converging toward the same destination at an unprecedented speed.