Satoru glanced at Thor, who was still busy fighting his opponent, then back at Thanos.
"Well, are we going to stand here all day, or are we going to fight?"
Thanos didn't bother answering with words. He lunged.
The Titan moved with a speed that defied his massive bulk with every stride. A second, he was a few yards away, but within that short time, he was already in Satoru's space.
He swung a heavy, backhanded blow aimed directly at Satoru's head. Satoru didn't move an inch. He simply watched through his blindfold as the massive purple fist accelerated toward his temple — and stopped.
The air between the fist and Satoru's skin rippled. Thanos's hand hung suspended in the air, separated from Satoru by an infinitesimal but absolute distance.
Thanos narrowed his eyes. He didn't pull back; instead, he pushed harder. The floor beneath them groaned and buckled from the sheer physical pressure the Titan was exerting, but the gap remained.
"Interesting," Thanos rumbled, his voice vibrating in his chest. "I feel no wall, yet I cannot reach you."
"That's because there is no wall," Satoru chirped, his smirk returning. "You're just slowing down. The closer you get, the slower you move. Infinite distance is a real pain, isn't it?"
Thanos grunted and suddenly opened his palm. Recalling the energy absorption from before, he tried to 'pull' on the space between them, his hand glowing with purplish blue hue of his energy manipulation.
Satoru felt his Infinity technique flicker. It didn't break, but if Thanos continued his absorption, it wouldn't be surprising he would be able to.
"Whoa, greedy!" Satoru laughed. He vanished from the spot, reappearing instantly ten feet in the air, looking down at Thanos. "If you like eating energy so much, try this on for size."
Satoru held out his hand, his thumb and forefinger forming a circle.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red! (Jutsushiki Hanten: Aka)."
A tiny, pinprick of brilliant red light sparked at the tip of his finger.
Thanos looked up, his expression finally shifting from curiosity to caution as he sensed the sheer density of the power gathering above him. 'This is different from the one before…' He thought.
Satoru let the spark fly. "Dodge."
The sphere of Red shot downward straight at Thanos.
Thanos braced himself, his right arm up to absorb, but the moment the technique hit his palm. It exploded with a violent, repelling force.
Thanos's hand was violently jerked back as the shockwave from Red rippled through his frame and the air. He planted his back foot as he struggled to remain upright. He let out a low, guttural grunt of effort, his purplish-blue energy flaring as he forced the repelling force to compress and dissolve into his palm.
He succeeded in absorbing the technique, but as the red glow died out, smoke curled from his open hand.
His subordinates that weren't fighting Thor stopped whatever they were doing and looked over at Satoru and Thanos, some noticed something from the hand Thanos had used to block Red.
The Titan looked down. His palm was charred and a deep laceration ran across the center, oozing purple blood. It was the first time in years anyone had drawn blood from him with a single strike.
"You draw blood," Thanos said, his voice flat but carrying a trace of genuine respect. He clenched his wounded fist, the muscles bulging as he ignored the pain. "A feat many have died attempting."
"I aim to please," Satoru replied, floating lazily in the air. He touched his chin, his Six Eyes analyzing the way Thanos's cells were already beginning to knit back together. "But you're a tough nut to crack. Absorbing Red while facing its repelling nature… that's a new one."
Thanos looked up at him, his gaze turning icy. "You are a fascinating and powerful sorcerer… What's your name again? Satoru Gojo? I'll be sure to remember you."
Before Satoru could respond, Thanos didn't lunge again. He slammed his fist into a massive cooling pipe beside him, tearing it from its housing and hurling the ton-heavy metal at Satoru with the speed of a railgun slug.
Satoru didn't even blink. He let the pipe hit his infinity, where it stopped dead and hung in the air, vibrating against the invisible barrier.
"Using props now?" Satoru teased. "That's a bit desperate, don't you think?"
"Behind you!" Thor's voice boomed from across the forge.
Satoru's eyes picked up the movement before Thor even spoke. Corvus Glaive had managed to slip away from Thor and was leaping through the air, his golden glaive aimed directly for the back of Satoru's neck.
"Just when are you going to learn that physical attacks won't work on me?" Satoru sighed. He didn't even turn around.
The tip of Corvus Glaive's weapon struck the air inches from Satoru's neck and stayed there. Corvus gritted his teeth, pouring all his strength into the thrust, but it was of no use.
However, Satoru's playful expression didn't last. His eyes caught a massive surge of energy from below.
Thanos had turned his back on Satoru entirely. He was facing the center of the forge, where the dying neutron star was encased in its massive spherical iris.
Thanos planted his feet and thrust both palms toward the star's cage.
"Thor! Sorcerer! Stop him!" Eitri, who was standing up, saw what Thanos was trying to do and called out to Thor and Satoru.
Thanos let out a roar, his muscles swelling as he siphoned the star's energy. He turned his head slightly, his eyes now burning with the light of a sun.
"Let's see if you can stop this, sorcerer!" Thanos rumbled, his voice distorted by the raw energy in his lungs.
He swung his gauntleted arm, unleashing a blinding beam of concentrated stellar energy. The air sizzled into plasma as the beam tore through the forge. Simultaneously, Thanos held his other hand out, clenching it halfway; he wasn't attacking, he was pulling.
Satoru felt the cursed energy maintaining his Infinity flicker as Thanos began to siphon it.
Satoru's mind went into overdrive. If he dodged, the dwarves would be vaporized behind him. If he used his Domain, Thor and Eitri would be caught in the crossfire since they're nearby.
"Rethinking the plan," Satoru muttered.
With a blur of motion, he snatched a Sling Ring from his pocket. He didn't just open a door; he threw his arms out in a wide, aggressive arc. Orange sparks exploded, forming a massive portal that didn't lead to another place, but pulled the entire area into the Mirror Dimension.
In a heartbeat, the forge geometry shattered like glass.
Satoru, Thor, Thanos, and three other members of the Black Order and some foot soldiers were yanked into the ever-folding space and reality of the dimension.
To those outside that weren't caught up by the portal, they just disappeared. Thanos's subordinates stood on alert, and the dwarves, seeing Thanos and a few of their heavy hitters gone for the time being, raised their own weapons.
The two sides went into a stand still.
…
[ Mirror Dimension ]
As they landed in the distorted world, the stellar beam was still inches away. Satoru folded his hands into a complex mudra, his Six Eyes glowing with a frantic blue light.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red — Rings of Raggadorr! (Jutsushiki Sonten: Aka - Ragadōru no Wa)."
Instead of a single orb; several rotating, interlocking rings of crimson repelling force manifested in front of Satoru.
The stellar beam slammed into the rings. The impact was blinding. The repelling force of the Red rings met the raw heat of Thanos's stellar beam, creating a spectacular explosion of energy that rippled through the Mirror Dimension's glass-like structures.
With a sudden, violent yank of his hands, Satoru manipulated the local space of the Mirror Dimension. The blinding white heat of the stellar beam and the crimson sparks of the Rings of Raggadorr didn't explode or dissipate; instead, they swirled together in a chaotic vortex before shattering into thousands of glowing, fluttering butterflies.
The insects — some vibrant red, others a brilliant, sun-like white — filled the distorted air, flapping their wings harmlessly against Thanos's face and the stunned Black Order members.
Satoru let out a playful chuckle, floating in the center of the kaleidoscopic void. "A bit more colorful than you're used to, right? I call that 'Divine Redecoration'."
Thanos lowered his smoking arm, his eyes scanning the impossible environment. He swiped a white butterfly away from his face, watching it dissolve into nothingness.
"What is this place…" The Titan Eternal looked genuinely wary of the place they ended up in.
Satoru this time didn't bother answering. He reached up for the blindfold relic and gently lowered it to his neck, exposing his Six Eyes.
Thor landed on a floating, inverted platform nearby, his hammer crackling with renewed vigor. "Fine work, Gojo! Now, monster, there are no innocents left for you to hide behind!"
Corvus Glaive, Cull Obsidian and Ebony Maw scrambled to their feet on a section of the floor that was currently slanted at a forty-five-degree angle. Maw tried to reach out with his telekinesis, but the ever shifting space, reality, and geometry of the dimension made his spatial anchoring slip.
It was at that moment that Satoru reached into his trusty pocket, pulled out a small, glowing golden pebble and sat it on his palms comfortably.
He began to focus his energy, intending to use his Domain. He threw a glance over at Thor. "Thor, you might want to back up a few hundred yards."
Thor nodded, sensing his intention on what he was going to do, as this was the same thing he told him and Stark back in Sokovia. Not wasting another moment of time, he swung Mjolnir around and flew off.
Thanos's eyes locked onto the object in his hand. The Titan's stoic expression shattered, his eyes widening in surprise with a mix of shock. Not expecting to see the Mind Stone in this Sorcerer's possession.
Thanos took a heavy step forward, this time his eyes set completely on the stone.
"You have something of mine, Satoru Gojo," Thanos said.
Satoru tossed the stone an inch into the air and caught it. He raised a confused brow when he heard what Thanos said. "Yours?"
"What's your name again? I don't believe I caught that yet."
Thanos frowned as he took that as an insult, but he still answered. "You will call me, Thanos."
"Hmm," Satoru thoughtfully hummed as he eyed the Mind Stone on his palms with scrutiny. "Sorry, Big Grape. I don't see your name on it. Besides, a guy who wears a glove that ugly and kills dwarves doesn't deserve nice things."
Thanos's fist tightened. "That stone is a fundamental part of the universe's balance. You are merely a thief holding onto a power you cannot comprehend."
"Maybe," Satoru shrugged. "But I'm a thief who's about to kick your ass with it."
He formed the Shunya Mudra with his hand. "Domain Expansion (Ryōiki Tenkai)…"
He smirked under the wary gazes of Thanos and his subordinates. He clenched the hand holding the Mind Stone, as he began to channel the Infinity Stone's energy for his usage.
"Unlimited Void: Nihility! (Muryōkūsho: Kyomu)."
"My lord," Ebony Maw, sensing the danger behind that smirk, threw something at Thanos, who caught it with one hand.
...
[Author's Notes]: Do you think Thanos would be able to withstand this? Or, no? What did Ebony Maw threw at Thanos? Do you know?
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