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Time trembled. Space shuddered. Souls resounded with life.
The moment Bruce Banner, now permanently fused with the Hulk, put on the Nano Gauntlet and snapped his fingers, he focused on one powerful thought: bring everyone back.
The snap resounded. It ripped through reality like a stone skipping across a calm lake, sending violent ripples through the universe. The whole universe shook in an instant.
Power acted as the fuel. Time rewound the clock. Mind formed the tether, guiding the Souls back from the void. Finally, Space provided the exact coordinates, warping Reality to make it all flesh and blood once again!
At that moment!
While the universe focused on bringing trillions of dusted souls back, Hawk took his chance. He rode the huge cosmic shockwave, letting his full power slip past the universe's notice and crash into this reality.
Clang!
A sharp cry broke the silence. A giant Fire Phoenix, with wings so wide they could block out the sun, perched on the tall World Tree. Between its burning feathers, galaxies of golden starlight spun and danced.
High above Vormir's sacrificial altar.
Hawk looked through cosmic dust and nebula clouds, focusing on his full power. A smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Beside him, Death also looked out into the cosmos, watching the Fire Phoenix spread its wings.
"So. That is your true power."
"It is."
"I finally understand why you came here." Death's voice was as cold and lazy as ever. "You want to transcend. To become a universe unto yourself. But your native reality caught onto you, so you had to smuggle yourself across the border."
Hawk pulled his gaze back and glanced at her. "I did. Are you going to stop me?"
"Is that why you kept me here? You were afraid I'd interfere?"
"...Weren't you the one who told me not to leave?"
"I tell you to stay, and you actually listen?" Death turned to face him. Her half-human, half-skeletal face curved into a seductive smile that made the soul tremble. "Your soul tells a different story. You aren't exactly a rule-abiding god. Your ambition is massive."
Hawk's pupils split, shifting into the double-pupiled eyes of the Phoenix. Deep inside his Micro-Universe, the four darkened Infinity Stones—Mind, Reality, Space, and Power—suddenly flared to life, burning brilliantly under the Phoenix Fire.
"You didn't answer my question. Are you going to stop me?"
"I won't. On one condition."
"Name it."
"When your universe is fully built, I want VIP access to come visit."
"..." Hawk raised his eyes.
Death blinked, a flash of playful laziness in her tone. She shook her head. "You have no idea how torturous it is to watch the same slightly-tweaked multiverse play out on loop. It's excruciating. So, promise me an all-access pass to your universe once it's done."
She grimaced, genuinely looking nauseated at the mere thought of watching the Marvel multiverse run its usual script again.
Hawk chuckled. "Deal. You have my word."
"Be my guest!" Death beamed. She stepped aside, gesturing gracefully with one hand. "A friendly warning, though. You'd better hurry. The cosmic shockwave is fading fast. Once it's gone, this universe is going to throw everything it has at you."
Hawk didn't waste another second. He launched himself into the void.
With a deafening Phoenix cry, the World Tree materialized behind him. The Fire Phoenix spread its wings and dove.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMM!!
He stood before the massive gateway of the Eighth Sense of Life.
A moment later, Hawk turned into pure fire. He shot across the void, heading straight for the huge gates that seemed both very close and impossibly far.
With nothing holding him back, he sped through the distance. Driven by his own idea of life, he closed the gap at an incredible speed.
A thousand steps.
Five hundred.
A hundred.
In a flash, he was less than a hundred steps from breaking open the doors of the Eighth Sense.
But...
The universe finally recovered from the Infinity Gauntlet's shockwave. Right away, it noticed the intruder trying to use the opening to transcend.
The universe was furious.
Rumble!
A roar resounded throughout reality. The universe's full force crashed down on Hawk like a huge wave.
The loudest sound is silence... Mortals heard nothing, but the gods could sense it.
Leaning casually against a stone pillar on Vormir, Death winced and rubbed her ear.
Hawk heard the roar too. He pushed harder, burning his thrusters to the absolute limit. He dragged himself forward until he was a mere ten steps away from the threshold.
Then, the full weight of the universe slammed into him.
Feeling the desperate, hysterical rage of reality bearing down on him for a fatal strike, Hawk made a split-second call. He bailed.
Clack-clack-clack!
The Phoenix on the World Tree shattered into blazing fragments. The pieces shot forward, snapping perfectly onto Hawk's body to form his armor.
The visor slammed shut. Phoenix Fire erupted outward, forming an invisible shield that violently collided with the universe's suppression.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Fueled by the raging flames, Hawk's previously suppressed power violently blazed back to life. He stabilized his output exactly at the Chief God tier.
He didn't need to go further. This wasn't a fight to the death. With his Micro-Universe anchored, his energy was endless. But there was no point in fighting a mindless, instinct-driven thing like the prime universe.
Even if he "won," what was the point? The element of surprise was gone. He couldn't shatter the Eighth Sense in this reality anymore.
It was fine. He'd just jump to another universe and run it back. Hawk was totally unbothered.
So! The exact second he dropped his attempt to transcend, the furious cosmic immune system backed off. But just like back home, the baseline suppression stayed locked onto him like a heat-seeking missile, watching his every move.
Hawk dropped back onto the sacrificial altar. He looked at Death, who was leaning against the pillar with her arms crossed, giving him an understanding smirk. He laughed. "You knew it wouldn't work here, didn't you?"
"If not this one, try the next. It's like that game humans on Terra play called hot potato. The universe doesn't care if you ascend, as long as it doesn't explode while it's holding you."
"...You've been to Earth?"
"I am the physical manifestation of all souls in the multiverse. Wherever there are souls, I am there. But yes, out of all the inhabited worlds, Earth is my absolute favorite."
"...Fair enough." Hawk shook his head at her deadpan explanation. He looked at her. "Do you know where the Celestials hide out?"
He only came here for two reasons.
One: Smuggle himself in and crack the Eighth Sense.
Two: butcher Gargaratus.
He didn't reach his main goal today, but he went far beyond what he expected. Before coming here, he only wanted to see the gateway. Now he was just ten steps away. He was way ahead of schedule.
Ten steps. The next time he hopped dimensions, he could clear that gap in a single moment.
So, Hawk let it go without a second thought. He quickly turned his focus to his second goal.
Unlike his ascension, Hawk had zero acceptable margins of failure for his second goal. He only had one thought.
Gargaratus had to die.
Death shrugged against the pillar. "They are Eternity's servants. Not mine."
Hawk said. "Their souls belong to you."
"Who told you they have souls?" Death scoffed, rolling her empty eyes. "I control all souls. Eternity can give them life, but he can't give them a soul. However, if you kill them, the moment they die, that raw life force turns into a soul I can control."
Hawk nodded, perfectly understanding the transaction. "Thanks. Got it."
"Don't mention it." Death smiled faintly. "Come back to my palace. Have a drink before you go."
Hawk chuckled. He turned his gaze toward Earth. Something crossed his mind, and he instinctively touched his forehead. He looked back at Death.
"I'll take you up on that drink right before I leave this universe."
"Perfect. My doors are always open."
"I'm out."
"Take... care."
Death watched Hawk blast into the sky, fracturing into a beam of golden light that tore toward Earth faster than the speed of light. She pulled her gaze back and glanced down.
The Red Skull, trapped on the planet as a wraith, had been kneeling face-down in the dirt since she arrived. Death let out a quiet, amused laugh. Her body turned into black mist, and she disappeared.
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Meanwhile, on Earth.
Like Hawk, Thanos found a loophole. With help from a compromised Nebula from the past, the Mad Titan brought his whole army through the quantum tunnel into the present. As soon as he arrived, a nonstop orbital attack turned the Avengers compound into a smoking crater.
Pushed by willpower, the original Big Three—Cap, Iron Man, and Thor—pulled themselves out of the rubble. As soon as they stood up, they saw him.
Thanos sat completely alone atop a mountain of broken concrete and warped metal. It looked like he had been waiting specifically for them.
They locked eyes.
Steve tightened his grip on his shield.
Tony's nanotech suit flowed over his body, locking into place.
Thor, with one real eye and one prosthetic, reached out and grabbed Stormbreaker and the time-displaced Mjolnir.
And Thanos?
He looked at the three broken heroes and smiled.
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