Thor stood frozen on the spot, staring at the empty stone slab, his pupils dilating in an instant.
"Peter!" A guttural, tearing roar erupted from Thor's throat.
The arcs of electricity on his body instantly turned into a blinding blue-white, all the runes on mjolnir lit up, and the power of thunder raged through the hall, cracking the surrounding stone pillars and walls with countless fissures.
Thor kicked off the ground with immense force, his body transforming into a streak of blue lightning as he charged toward Ebony Maw at incredible speed.
Watching the charging Thor, Ebony Maw lifted his right hand gently, the Reality Stone spinning amidst red light.
Red light condensed one meter in front of Thor, forming a transparent solid.
Thor's body halted the instant he struck the transparent solid.
His mjolnir slammed against the surface, erupting in a massive flash of lightning, yet it couldn't advance even a fraction of an inch.
The layer of transparent solid began to extend outward, wrapping around Thor entirely in the blink of an eye.
Thor was fixed in mid-air, maintaining his swinging posture, unable to move. The lightning on his body struck wildly against the interior of the transparent solid, yet it could never break through this imprisonment.
"Calm down, little princess," Ebony Maw said, watching the struggling Thor.
Veins bulged on Thor's neck. He opened his mouth wide, and his voice transmitted through the transparent solid, sounding extremely muffled:
"Damn you, give Peter back to me, otherwise I guarantee that none of you will leave Asgard alive!"
Ebony Maw retracted the Reality Stone into his sleeve, folding his hands over his abdomen.
"That Earthling is beyond saving; he was torn apart by the spatial turbulence, not even a scrap remains."
"However, Titan has no intention of being an enemy of Asgard, so as compensation for accidentally killing your ally, I can return Loki to you as an apology."
Thor stared fixedly at Ebony Maw, his nails digging deeply into his palms, blood dripping down his fingers inside the transparent solid.
"Don't look at me with those eyes. In this situation, are you sure you want to choose to declare war on Titan, on the great Thanos, because of one Earthling?"
Ebony Maw persuaded Thor unhurriedly, "Believe me, that is a price Asgard cannot afford to pay right now."
Thor's teeth gnashed together, his body trembling violently within the confinement, and the lightning from mjolnir began to converge toward him, clearly preparing for a final resistance.
But just at that moment, a hand landed on Thor's shoulder.
Frigga had appeared behind Thor without anyone noticing. Her right hand pressed onto Thor's shoulder, a warm magical energy flowing from her palm into Thor's body, calming his restless thunderous power.
"Thor, do not be impulsive!" Frigga's voice was low and resolute. "The dead cannot be brought back to life!"
Thor turned his head, looking at Frigga, his eyes full of confusion and rage.
"Mother!" Thor shouted.
Frigga did not look at him, instead casting her gaze toward Ebony Maw.
"Take your people and leave Asgard," Frigga said coldly.
Ebony Maw looked at Frigga, bowed slightly, and performed a salute.
"A wise choice, Your Highness Queen," Ebony Maw said.
He took a step back, and a black rift split open in the void behind him. The rift exuded a cold aura, and countless twisted light and shadows were vaguely visible within.
Ebony Maw's body sank into the rift, and then the rift rapidly contracted, disappearing without a trace.
The transparent solid wrapping Thor dissipated instantly, and Thor dropped from mid-air, his feet slamming heavily onto the stone slab. He used his hammer to support himself on the ground, gasping for breath.
"Mother, why did you stop me?" Thor demanded loudly. "Peter came to Asgard to help us! He just replaced me on Earth to deal with Cul, and saved you at a critical moment!"
"He is our savior, yet we just chose to repay kindness with enmity; this is not the royal way you taught me!"
Frigga looked at Thor, the expression on her face unnaturally calm.
She walked over to Loki, reached out, and gently patted Loki's shoulder.
Loki was leaning against a stone pillar at this moment, his face pale, his eyes still retaining a trace of exhaustion. He looked at Thor and sneered.
"Thor, is there nothing in your head besides muscle?" Loki said.
"Shut up, Loki!" Thor roared. "If it weren't for you leading the way, how could they have entered Asgard?"
Loki shrugged, did not refute, and simply turned his head to the side.
Frigga looked at Thor and sighed helplessly.
"Thor, do you think Peter is the kind of person who would be easily killed by others due to carelessness?" Frigga asked.
Thor was stunned for a moment, mjolnir hanging at his side, the lightning gradually fading away.
"But I saw with my own eyes that he was swallowed by the spatial distortion," Thor replied. "The power of the Reality Stone is something even gods cannot contend with."
Frigga gently stroked Thor's head, the expression on her face becoming somewhat amused.
"A hint for you: that kid took out the eight The Worthy under Cul and seized their hammers," Frigga said. "Among them is the breaker of worlds hammer, which has the effect of breaking through the vast majority of magic and barriers in this World, including spatial boundaries."
Thor blinked, his muscle-filled brain beginning to turn slowly.
Loki rolled his eyes dramatically from the side and patted his own forehead with his hand.
"Idiot," Loki retorted, "It means that with that hammer in hand, it's impossible for him to be killed by distorted space. That cunning guy is just playing along!"
Speaking of which, he couldn't help but add silently in his heart: "Just like how I tricked you, and how he tricked me..."
Frigga nodded at this moment and continued to explain: "Before entering the spatial distortion, Peter didn't even open a protective barrier. He was using Ebony Maw's spatial passage to leave Asgard."
Thor scratched his golden hair, the rage in his eyes gradually fading, replaced by confusion.
"But why would he do that?"
"Because of Thanos," Frigga turned around, looking at the stone door of Odin's bedchamber. "The guy named Ebony Maw has Thanos behind him. If Peter is in the open, he will face endless schemes. Only if he disappears will Thanos lower his guard."
...At this moment, in the endless darkness and distortion, Peter was traveling rapidly.
The violent spatial storm was like countless sharp blades, constantly cutting at his body.
But Peter's body was always covered with a layer of warm white light; the power of the Horse Talisman flowed through his meridians, and any tiny scratches caused by the spatial storm were instantly healed by the white light, leaving not a trace.
And in his right hand, he held a war hammer emitting a yellowish halo—it was none other than the breaker of worlds hammer.
Just as Loki said, Peter was indeed playing along.
When Ebony Maw mobilized the power of the Reality Stone, Peter had already worked out the deduction.
The previous situation could be said that from the moment Ebony Maw got the Reality Stone, that knockoff Voldemort was already in an invincible position.
Once he used the breaker of worlds hammer to resolve the distorted space, the opponent's reaction would definitely be to turn around and run.
With the Reality Stone's ability to modify reality at will, Peter might not really be able to stop the opponent.
Since that was the case, it was better to go with the flow and pretend to be torn apart by the spatial turbulence.
He had the Horse Talisman to protect his body, and the breaker of worlds hammer to clear the way; the spatial turbulence simply couldn't cause him any substantive harm.
More importantly, he still had the Stand United skill.
Whenever he wanted, he could activate the skill, instantly arrive by their side, and let that damn Thanos see what it meant to: "Surprise, mutherfucker~"
*******************************
Enjoyed the action? Drop a review, fire off a comment, and send those Power Stones rolling! Your support keeps the updates coming fast—let's keep the momentum going! 🔥