"Thanos, you shouldn't be here."
In the cosmos, beyond the Nine Realms.
As Thanos's warship entered the Nine Realms' sphere of influence, a figure materialized directly in front of the vessel, blocking his path. A tawny sorcerer's robe, and mysterious, profound crimson arcane circles.
The Sorcerer Supreme, Agamotto.
"What did Odin offer you, Agamotto?"
The vacuum of space, which prevents sound from traveling, was no barrier to two high-level beings like Thanos and Agamotto.
"A truce in the Nine Realms, peaceful coexistence, and the surrender of the Space Stone."
Agamotto, sitting cross-legged in the void, lowered his gaze, reciting the promises Odin had made when he sought his aid earlier. Odin's conditions were irresistible, especially after he agreed to relinquish ownership of the Space Stone.
"The Time Stone, the Space Stone?"
"Aren't you afraid of choking, Agamotto?"
Thanos, wielding his massive blade, slowly stepped out of the main warship. A battle with Agamotto was now unavoidable.
"I won't hold the Space Stone, Thanos."
"That is an extremely dangerous energy source."
"I will place it beneath the glaciers of Midgard, frozen forever."
"No one will ever find the Space Stone again."
Agamotto formed hand seals, and the artifact hanging from his chest unfurled with his movements, revealing the Time Stone within.
"The peace you desire, will it be achieved by sacrificing Lothar?"
"This is the path your son chose for himself, Thanos."
"Perhaps it's cruel, but Odin gave him a chance, more than once. He chose to give it up."
Agamotto raised his gaze, meeting Thanos's cold stare head-on.
"My son, only I can punish him."
After a moment of silent contemplation, a blade gleamed, threatening to cleave all before it!
The blade.
Thanos's blade.
It was an unadorned swing, yet in an instant, it caused cosmic energy to surge violently. The rotation of stars was disturbed, and gravitational connections were severed.
Thanos, who had already measured Agamotto's true strength during their joint sealing of Dormammu, struck with a killing blow right from the start!
Then, the glow of the Time Stone.
"What did Odin offer you, Agamotto?"
Thanos slowly steered his warship into the Nine Realms' sphere of influence, watching the figure blocking his vessel's path.
"A truce in the Nine Realms, peaceful coexistence, and the surrender of the Space Stone."
Agamotto, sitting cross-legged in the void, lowered his gaze, reciting the promises Odin had made when he sought his aid earlier. Odin's conditions were irresistible, especially after he agreed to relinquish ownership of the Space Stone.
Time... was cycling repeatedly…
...
Asgard, littered with corpses.
Lothar, gripping Gungnir with one hand, saw the energy radiating from his body surging relentlessly. Odin stood at ease, calmly observing Lothar, who refused to yield. "Is this all you have?"
Odin could clearly sense that Lothar's current energy levels had reached his physical limit. Gungnir, under Odin's will, still tried to pierce Lothar's skull. Lothar gritted his teeth, pulling a Cosmic Switch from his wristband with his agonizing right arm.
This was something Jennifer had given him after their journey to Planet Gafa. She hadn't absorbed much of the divine remains from the previous era that Lothar shared with her on Sakaar.
Instead, she concentrated all that essence into this Cosmic Switch, gifting it to Lothar as a token of their friendship upon their parting. Jennifer had explicitly explained its purpose to Lothar before she left.
But now, Lothar couldn't wait.
Crunch!
As he forcefully crushed the Cosmic Switch, blood gushed from Lothar's right arm. The concentrated divine essence was not wasted in the slightest; Lothar swallowed it whole! Along with the blood that coated it. Lothar bared his teeth and smiled.
To Odin's astonishment, Lothar's body began to emit smoke from his seven orifices, unable to withstand the baptism of the potent divine essence.
It was the black smoke of impending death.
"Why do you think I dared to come to Asgard alone?"
"Hela was right, you've grown senile, Odin." Lothar snarled, his skin already beginning to crack. He roared, and his body, under the impact of the divine essence, forcefully stopped Gungnir!
Clang!
The spearhead fell to the ground. Gungnir, which never missed, seemed to have lost its connection to Odin, now pinned under Lothar's foot.
"Haa…."
"Haa…"
Lothar's ragged breathing was erratic. The golden glow around his body grew denser, and the black smoke emanating from his seven orifices became thicker. The cracks on his skin grew more numerous.
Lothar staggered forward two steps, then suddenly looked up. His face, covered in gray-black stripes, looked chilling.
"Flerken."
A call amidst ragged breaths, Lothar, without the Mind Stone, revealed his last trump card.
"Rua!"
The orange cat in The Other's arms opened its mouth and spat out a flowing stream of Aether particles, which instantly coalesced into a shimmering jewel.
"Don't even think about it!"
Odin lunged towards the Reality Stone first. He had sensed danger from Lothar!
"Impossible."
Lothar didn't move an inch, simply standing silently on the ground. "Father once said, if I want it, the world will be on my side."
"Meow!"
The Flerken in The Other's arms suddenly unleashed an unprecedented terrifying power. The Other, used as a stepping stone, was directly crushed to the ground, unable to rise!
Slap!
Whoosh!
The orange tail was the first to strike the shimmering Reality Stone, which then landed on Lothar's earlobe with incredible speed!
"Meow!"
The orange cat landed, quickly scurried back to The Other, gently picked him up by his mouth, effortlessly leaped over the ruins, and found a new hiding spot.
"Ah!!!!!"
The moment the Reality Stone entered his body, Lothar could no longer endure the pain of the surging energy. The golden energy burst forth like a tangible force, and Lothar's cracked body began to reconstruct under the power of the stone.
Infinity Stone: Reality Stone, virtual and real.
The external divinity permeated his very bones through repeated reconstruction, and Lothar's body gradually grew larger. Brown fur replaced his cracked skin, gradually covering Lothar's entire form.
Before Odin's very eyes, Lothar transformed directly into a brown great ape!
"ROAR!!!!"
The brown great ape roared to the heavens. The fusion and eruption of energy began anew. As its body surged in size once more, the fur on its red tail was the first to turn golden! Then came its feet, abdomen, hands, and finally, its head.
The moment the Golden Great Ape appeared under Asgard's sky, Odin, clad in the Destroyer armor, was already swatted by its immense palm into the lavish palace.
"ROAR!!!!!"
The Golden Great Ape slammed a massive fist into the ground, instantly cracking Asgard's surface!
The clarity was gone from its scarlet eyes, replaced by a chaotic intertwining of slaughter and brutality.
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