A sloppy, wide-open punch.
In Thanos's eyes there were a thousand ways to counter it—until the moment it arrived. Then a primal helplessness flooded his body. A certainty of doom.
Fury Punch.
Boom-crack.
A red shock gale collided with the six glittering Infinity Stones. The void detonated. Matter unraveled. On Earth, countless people died in an instant.
Too fragile.
Even though Saitama bent his punch's gale away from the planet, the merest brush of its edge made the blue world scream and splinter.
When the wind passed, fractures veined across the continents. Magma rolled beneath like a living sea. With one punch, every city stepped into the apocalypse.
Thanos's hulking frame emerged, Gauntlet still raised, a smile of relief on his face.
He had won.
The six Stones still overmatched Saitama. He had beaten him.
Crack.
A hairline fissure whispered through the Infinity Gauntlet. Thanos's smile froze.
Another crack.
A third.
Crack—crack—crack—crack—
Fractures spread like a virus, webbing the entire Gauntlet in a blink.
Snap—
The Power Stone shattered. Then the Soul Stone, the Time Stone… all six Infinity Stones burst, collapsing into glittering grit that drifted away.
Thanos's hand went with them, his arm unraveling. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came—only the sight of his own body breaking inch by inch.
Too strong.
Even wielding all six, he could not withstand Saitama's Fury Punch.
Something in him cleared. He looked at Saitama with no hatred now—only a tangle of recognition and acceptance.
Some lives are born to rule. Others, to rebel. And now—
Saitama was the true sovereign of this Marvel world, a power beyond Thanos's comprehension.
Amid the pain of unmaking, Thanos's lips curved with the faintest peace.
"Saitama, huh? Then this world is yours."
Only he heard the whisper. Then he came apart, his dust scattered into the cold.
Silence returned to the universe. Dormammu—gone. Thanos—gone. Half of all life—gone.
"Saitama! Is that you?! Earth is finished!"
A comet of flame scraped up from the planet—Tony Stark. His Mark armor was mangled, the aftershock had nearly killed him; his face was chalk-white.
At S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury, Natasha, Barton, Steve—those without flight had died to the snap or to the punch's lingering gale. Few were left. Tragedy.
"Sir, Earth will explode in sixty seconds. Please evacuate immediately."
J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice echoed in the helmet. The AI had calculated Earth's time of death.
Tony stared at Saitama with pleading eyes.
"Is… Earth going to be destroyed?"
Saitama looked down and murmured. The beautiful blue globe had become a furnace of broken crust and rivers of fire.
Hummm—
A strange ripple rolled through the void.
A crimson gem kindled before Saitama. The Reality Stone.
"Wait—that shattered, didn't it?"
He frowned. He had just smashed the Stones. Why was it back?
"I see."
A voice sounded within Saitama's mind—the Ancient One, still sequestered in the Space Cube, watching all without ever stepping out.
"You know why?" Saitama asked.
"The universe does not appear from nothing, nor vanish into nothing," the Ancient One said, gaze fathomless. "The six Stones represent its primal laws. When they are destroyed, they must reappear elsewhere. They have chosen you. You will become the world's true master."
"The… true master?"
Gems flared to life one by one around him like small, joyful flames, circling in a slow dance. When he raised his hand, they settled into his palm of their own accord.
All six. No Gauntlet. Just resting against his skin. Tony could only stare.
By every model he knew, direct contact with a Stone annihilated organic matter.
Yet here Saitama was—holding six.
Saitama closed his eyes. He felt the current of six primordial forces. Beneath his feet, Earth's cracks spidered outward; the planet glowed blood-red, trembling on the edge of detonation.
Sweat beaded Tony's brow. The man who once believed in engineering more than gods put every last hope on a single bald man.
"I… think I get it."
Saitama opened his eyes. Clarity cut through the dead-fish calm.
His fingers tightened—ever so slightly.
Soft snaps chimed from his palm.
The six mysterious powers seeped into his hand, then through his body.
"This power…"
He whispered, eyes clear as winter.
Boom-crack—
The planet below finally failed. Fractures raced everywhere. In one flash, Earth became a cloud of burning shards.
Tony stared, helpless.
"Is it over?"
Earth… gone? Why?
Has humanity ended?
Thoughts crashed together. He felt madness tug at him. He had watched the apocalypse and could do nothing, not one ounce of strength left to lift against it.
He turned toward Saitama—and stopped cold.
A soft, five-colored halo flowed around Saitama. For the first time, there was a serenity in those eyes—as if he saw through everything. Past and future alike.
A sensation Tony couldn't name rose from his bones. His knees wanted to bend. His body, unbidden, craved to kneel.
Instinct. The gulf between lower life and a higher one—the reverence carved into living flesh.
"Saitama… save the Earth!"
Tony forced the words out between clenched teeth.
Saitama didn't look at him. He gazed at the place where the planet had exploded.
He opened his hand.
"I say… let there be light."
(End of Chapter)
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