Rowan's eyes burned with exhilaration as he beheld the newborn artifact, the Infinity Gauntlet, radiating with dazzling brilliance. Without hesitation, his figure blurred into a streak of shadow, streaking through the air toward the colossal star ring.
The dwarves, led by their king Eitri, stood frozen. Their gazes lingered on the golden gauntlet suspended in the air, awe and dread mingling in their hearts.
This was no ordinary weapon. In its dormant state, the gauntlet was already comparable to Odin's spear Gungnir, though still slightly inferior. But once the Infinity Stones were embedded, even the god-king's spear would pale before its might.
Pride swelled within them. It was their hands, their craft, that had forged such a miracle. Yet pride was quickly drowned by unease. The thought that such a weapon would fall into the hands of an ambitious conqueror made their hearts heavy.
They knew Rowan of Midgard already held four of the Infinity Stones. Once he wielded the gauntlet, his power would swell beyond imagination. What fate, then, awaited the cosmos? And what fate awaited their dwarven race, caught in the tide of such powers?
Their worries grew, but far from the forge, hidden in the shadows of the star ring, another figure watched with equal shock. Wrapped in black robes, lean and tall, his eyes gleamed with disbelief as they fixed on the golden gauntlet.
This was the Ebony Maw, Thanos's loyal general, who had trailed Rowan in secret. Two days earlier, he had slipped into Nidavellir, waiting for the chance to strike. He knew Rowan was coercing the dwarves to forge a weapon. But never had he expected it to be this.
The Infinity Gauntlet.
As Thanos's confidant, he understood his master's ambitions better than most. And yet, the realization that someone else an Earthling was walking the same path left him shaken.
His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, raising a hand to glance at the device strapped to his wrist. The communicator hummed quietly, streaming the scene before him directly to its other end.
And on the other end sat his master.
Thanos, the Mad Titan, loomed in silence upon his floating throne. The sight of the Infinity Gauntlet unfolding in molten fire and light before his eyes stole the breath from his chest. His eyes widened, his mouth parted, yet no words came.
When the Power Stone was stolen from him, Thanos had felt no particular despair. An opponent like Rowan was troublesome, yes, but not insurmountable. Even then, he had been patient.
But this? This was different. The Infinity Gauntlet, the very keystone of his grand design, had been wrested from his grasp. For the first time in centuries, the Titan's heart faltered.
That Earthling now likely held three Stones. And now, with the gauntlet, he would wield them without restraint.
How was Thanos to fight such a foe?
Odin still lived, lingering in his twilight years. Even facing the All-Father had been a calculation of risk. Now, another rival stood equal to Odin, armed with the most dangerous weapon in existence.
It was madness. A nightmare.
And worse, the man wielded the Space Stone. Even if Thanos somehow triumphed in battle, Rowan could vanish across the stars with a snap of his fingers.
The Titan drew in a long, slow breath, forcing the fury down. He clenched his fists, then released them.
Calm. He must remain calm.
Think of it this way, he told himself. That man gathers the Stones for me. One day, they will be mine.
He closed his eyes, soothing his own fractured resolve. After all, he knew the hidden truth of the Soul Stone. Without it, Rowan could never complete the set. As long as the Stones remained incomplete, Thanos still had a chance.
But Rowan, unaware of the turmoil he had sparked, drifted before the gauntlet as though facing a priceless jewel. His left hand extended slowly, reverently.
The air vibrated. Rowan could feel the fierce magnetic pull surrounding the artifact, the invisible weave of densely layered runes within the metal. His fingers were inches away when
A flash of black light cut through the air.
Rowan's heart clenched. His focus had been wholly consumed by the gauntlet, his mental senses narrowed, and in that instant, he had failed to shield his surroundings. Someone had chosen the perfect moment to strike.
The streak of darkness sliced toward him, silent and swift, a predator's fang in the night. Were it not for the natural radius of his spiritual perception, Rowan might never have noticed at all.
And even now, the blade was already upon him.
The Ebony Maw, wielding his strange double-bladed weapon, exhaled in triumph. His heart thundered in his chest. He had waited, watched, calculated this strike countless times in his mind. Now, at last, success was in his grasp.
Even Thanos himself would struggle to escape a strike this close.
If the blade pierced Rowan, he would collapse in an instant, helpless to resist. The Infinity Gauntlet, the Power Stone, everything would be his.
A feverish hunger filled the Maw. For one mad moment, he even dared imagine rebellion. Why bow to Thanos, when with gauntlet and stone in hand, he could command the universe?
But his fantasy died as quickly as it bloomed.
Rowan, though startled, did not panic. The attack was well-timed, yes, but his strength was no ordinary measure. At the pinnacle of planetary power, his reflexes transcended mortal limits. Even at such proximity, evasion was possible.
He seized the gauntlet, twisted his body, and surged aside.
The dwarves and the assassin alike saw only a blur, as though Rowan had stepped through space itself. The deadly strike missed, plunging harmlessly into the distance.
Rowan landed lightly, violet sparks dancing in his gaze. The strange spear-like weapon spun in the void, refusing his attempt to seize it with psychic force. A unique field repelled his control.
Cold fire flickered in his eyes as he turned. His gaze pierced the shadows, locking onto the robed figure who had dared strike.
The dwarves gasped. Their stomachs sank. To launch such an attack now, after the forging of the gauntlet, was to bring calamity upon their kind.
Eitri barked a command, and the dwarves surged to surround the intruder.
But the Maw's confidence was crumbling. He had gambled and lost. And against a man who could bear the Power Stone with his flesh alone, the price of failure was death.
Still, he was not ready to surrender.
"Detonate!" he hissed, and at his command, the abandoned blade exploded in a collapsing wave of space. The star ring trembled. Gravity itself bent, pulling even Rowan toward annihilation.
Yet Rowan merely tightened his fist. He slid the gauntlet fully onto his hand.
Energy thundered through him. Purple light blazed, bursting upward in a column that shattered the collapsing void, scattering its pull as though it had never been.
The dwarves were thrown back like leaves in a storm. The Maw shielded his face, cold sweat pouring down his temples.
It was over.
In his heart, he finally understood. The Earthling was no mere interloper. He was a monster, no less terrible than Thanos himself.
Rowan's hair whipped about his face, his body sheathed in radiant violet fire. The sensation of raw strength surged through him, intoxicating, yet he remained steady. He knew what such power could do tsunamis, shattered worlds but he would not lose himself in arrogance.
His gaze fixed upon the Maw, who stood trembling, his will already broken.
"You are one of Thanos's Black Order," Rowan said quietly, his voice carrying like thunder across the forge.
The Maw did not deny it. His silence was enough. He weighed escape, then discarded the thought. Without his blade, against the gauntlet, there was no path forward.
Resignation settled upon him like ash. He had known this might be his fate from the moment he took Thanos's mission.
"You will not beg?" Rowan asked, eyes narrowing.
The Maw gave a bitter smile. "If I tell you his secrets, will you let me live?"
"No." Rowan's answer was calm, merciless.
Perhaps because death was certain, the Maw let his hatred free. His words spilled out like poison. "Thanos seeks the Stones as well. He will forge his own gauntlet. He will cut the universe in half. He "
But Rowan was unmoved. His eyes hardened, and with a flick of thought, a spectral blade pierced the Maw's skull. The body crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
The dwarves fell silent. None dared speak as Rowan dragged the corpse into the forge's molten heart.
Eitri dropped to one knee. "Lord Rowan, this assassin bore no tie to us. We swear it."
"I know." Rowan's tone was level, but when he looked down at his left hand, adorned now with the gauntlet and the Power Stone gleaming within, even Eitri felt a shiver.
Rowan flexed his fingers. The weapon was flawless. With but a thought, the Stone's power answered, instant and smooth. Already he hungered to fit the other gems into place.
"You have done well," Rowan said at last. "Rise. From this day, the dwarves will have my protection. But I do not advise you remain here. Thanos will come."
The dwarves exchanged stricken looks. To leave Nidavellir, their ancestral forge, was unthinkable. Yet the fear of the Mad Titan gnawed at them.
Rowan's gaze softened. "You have heard of Muspelheim, the Realm of Fire? Perhaps I can move you there. It will suit your craft well, and when danger comes, you may flee to Earth through the paths I shall open."
The dwarves stared, hope and terror warring in their eyes.
And as Rowan's words echoed through the star ring, Thanos himself sat in silence upon his throne, the fragile calm he had forced upon himself already fraying. For the first time in his long, ruthless life, the Titan knew despair.
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