"Thanos!" The Dwarf King Eitri's pupils slightly contracted when he saw the Mad Titan appear before him. The ominous feeling in his heart grew even stronger.
"Is this my Infinity Gauntlet? How long until it's finished?" Thanos lifted his head and glanced at Eitri before turning to the nearly completed gauntlet, asking in a calm but commanding tone.
Yes, despite Eitri being a Dwarf and Thanos an Eternal Titan—often referred to as a Titan giant—Eitri was actually the taller of the two, even taller than two Thanos put together!
However, height is not always a symbol of strength, and it certainly didn't give Eitri any courage at this moment. He didn't dare meet Thanos' gaze, unsure of how to answer the question. Eitri had long been reluctant to give the Infinity Gauntlet to Thanos.
In fact, from the beginning, Eitri hadn't wanted to help Thanos forge the gauntlet at all. He hadn't even wanted to create Thanos' double-edged sword. But neither Eitri nor his entire race of Dwarves were a match for the Titan.
Under the threat of extinction, Eitri had no choice but to comply.
Eitri had tried to resist. After all, Nidavellir was under Asgard's protection. Thanos' actions were beyond the scope of any business transaction, and Nidavellir should have been able to call on Asgard for help in confronting him!
But, unfortunately, Eitri's call for help went unanswered. Heimdall had not descended with the Bifrost, nor had the Asgardian army arrived. Odin, the King of the Gods, hadn't shown up with his Eternal Spear to drive Thanos away.
It was as if Asgard had abandoned Nidavellir. Without their protector, the Dwarves had lost their ability to stand against Thanos.
At that moment, Eitri had been filled with terror. Though Asgard had ceased its external wars and Nidavellir's importance as their weapons supplier had diminished, they were still Asgard's subjects. Asgard was supposed to protect them!
This experience left Eitri both uneasy and furious. He no longer cared about Odin's previous command not to forge the Infinity Gauntlet. With their lives in Thanos' hands, how could they resist? Would they sacrifice their people's lives to uphold a decree from a god who no longer protected them? Eitri couldn't do that.
But, in truth, Eitri was blaming the wrong person. Asgard hadn't abandoned Nidavellir. They simply didn't know what was happening there.
Asgard had been devastated by the battle that Clark and Robert had initiated. The Asgardian army had nearly been wiped out, and the nobility, those with the potential to become gods, had dwindled to just a handful.
Most critically, Heimdall had disappeared during the battle, and Odin, severely weakened, was left with little strength to fight. Asgard had neither heard Eitri's cry for help nor had the power to confront Thanos even if they had.
Unless Odin was willing to use the last of his divine power and life to take Thanos down with him, there was no way they could stop the Titan.
But sacrificing himself for a subordinate race? That was unlikely, especially now when Nidavellir held little value for Asgard.
Of course, Eitri didn't know any of this. As he gazed at the nearly finished Infinity Gauntlet, he simply felt that it was too dangerous, too terrifying, and he hesitated to give it to Thanos.
"Dwarf King, why aren't you saying anything?" Thanos' gaze shifted from the gauntlet to Eitri, who had fallen silent, and he questioned him with a penetrating stare.
"I'm sorry... the gauntlet needs more time to complete," Eitri stammered, his body trembling as he returned to his senses. He dared not meet Thanos' eyes and spoke evasively, his gaze wandering.
"Hmm? I see it's nearly finished. You wouldn't be lying to me, would you?" Thanos' expression darkened, and his aura flared with menacing intent. A wave of murderous pressure swept through Nidavellir, causing many Dwarves to collapse in terror. Even Eitri could barely hold himself together.
Killing intent isn't just about brutality; it also comes from the sheer number of lives one has taken. In this regard, few in the universe could match Thanos.
Even among beings in other dimensions beyond the universe, few could claim to have killed more than Thanos.
Before the combined forces of numerous civilizations had risen to stop him, Thanos had already wiped out half the population of countless civilizations. Even though he hadn't yet achieved his ultimate goal of halving all life in the universe, his hands were already drenched in blood.
Thus, when Thanos unleashed his killing intent, the Dwarves, who had little experience with battle or bloodshed, could not withstand it. Under this crushing pressure, Eitri seemed to see a mountain of corpses. Upon closer inspection, he was horrified to find that the bodies were the severed limbs of his own people!
"Enough! The gauntlet is finished! I just need to take care of a few final touches!" Eitri's heart clenched as if a giant hand had gripped it. Panicked, he decided it was better to hand over the gauntlet than face extinction.
It wasn't his place to worry about the gauntlet's potential problems. If it truly posed a threat, that would be an issue for later. Right now, if he didn't hand over the gauntlet, the Dwarves would be exterminated.
"Then what are you waiting for?" Thanos sneered, his twin blades flashing with a cold light as he spoke.
Eitri gulped nervously. Despite having forged the double-edged sword himself, the weapon now felt foreign to him. The overwhelming bloodlust emanating from it exceeded his expectations.
It seemed that after Thanos had killed so many with the blade, its power had far surpassed what Eitri had originally crafted.
Fearing that his people would die by the very weapon he had created, Eitri hurried to the gauntlet to complete the final steps.
But as he worked, cold sweat ran down his back. He could feel a gaze boring into him, filled with murderous intent.
There was no need to guess who it was—Thanos' killing intent was palpable. Eitri grew even more fearful, realizing that even after handing over the gauntlet, Thanos might still kill him and his people.
"Done!" Under Thanos' watchful eyes, Eitri wasted no time. He quickly finished the Infinity Gauntlet and respectfully handed it over to Thanos.
"Honored Titan, the gauntlet is finished. Please spare the Dwarves of Nidavellir," Eitri pleaded, knowing he had no other choice.
Thanos took the gauntlet and immediately slipped it onto his hand. The Dwarves' craftsmanship was impeccable, and the gauntlet fit him perfectly, as if tailor-made.
Seeing this, Thanos nodded, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes. The Dwarves were indeed master craftsmen, among the best in the entire universe.
But now that the double-edged sword and Infinity Gauntlet were complete, the Dwarves were of no further use to Thanos. Coupled with Eitri's earlier hesitation, Thanos' murderous intent resurfaced.
He knew that if he could find Eitri to forge the gauntlet, so could others. If Earth managed to create their own gauntlet and obtain more Infinity Stones, it would be hard for him to recover.
Thanos couldn't allow that possibility to exist. The Infinity Gauntlet was the only artifact capable of channeling the full power of the stones. It was the one thing that could threaten him.
"Boom!" Before Eitri could react, Thanos' kick sent him flying, crashing hard to the ground. The pain was so intense that Eitri couldn't get up.
"Please! No! Just kill me! Spare my people!" Eitri struggled on the ground, pleading for mercy. "If you must kill, take my life, but spare my kin!"
"Hmph. From the moment you had second thoughts, your fate was sealed," Thanos said coldly, brandishing his twin blades. But instead of walking toward Eitri, he headed for the terrified Dwarves. "You know it too, don't you? From the moment you could forge the gauntlet, your doom was inevitable."
"Originally, I planned to spare you, cripple your hands, and take your people so no more gauntlets could be made. But your thoughts betrayed you."
"No! Run! Run!" Eitri screamed in despair as he watched Thanos approach his people, urging them to flee.
But how could the Dwarves escape Thanos' wrath, especially under the weight of his killing intent? Few even had the strength to move.
Thanos, however, wasn't in a hurry. He left Eitri for last, making him witness the massacre of his people, killing them one by one before his eyes.
"No! Why?! Why are you doing this to us?! Asgard! Where are you? You promised to protect us! You've broken your word. May you die horrible deaths!" Eitri cried in anguish as he watched his people fall, his voice filled with sorrow, rage, and utter helplessness.
"Buzz!" At that moment, a beam of light from the Bifrost illuminated Nidavellir, drawing both Nidavellir and Thanos' attention. Both Eitri and Thanos instinctively turned toward the light.
Emerging from the beam were several figures, led by a one-eyed man with golden hair, crackling with lightning.
Thor! The same Thor who had hung from the World Tree for days, eventually rejected by it, but gaining a portion of its power. He hadn't yet reached his ultimate form, but after an indeterminate period of unconsciousness, Thor had awoken, now wielding terrifying strength that was growing stronger with time.
Odin had felt a mix of excitement and regret over Thor's current form. He had said that if the World Tree hadn't rejected Thor, allowing him to sacrifice his other eye and gain the full power of the runes, Thor's strength would have surpassed even his own, giving him the ability to face Ragnarok with ease.
But, alas, Thor's despair and desire for the runes hadn't been strong enough during his sacrifice, which left his current state less than perfect.
However, Thor himself had no regrets. After experiencing the power of the runes, his mindset had evolved yet again. He was now more composed than ever, surpassing both his once hot-headed nature and even the brainwashed, Hydra-controlled version of himself. Thor wasn't in a rush to achieve ultimate power—he knew that this strength would eventually be his in time.
As Thor was still familiarizing himself with his newfound power, Heimdall had brought him the news from Nidavellir: the Mad Titan had struck the Dwarves, not only forcing them to forge the Infinity Gauntlet but intending to wipe them out entirely.
This was something Thor could not tolerate. Though he was not yet the King of Asgard, Nidavellir was under Asgard's protection. No matter which version of Thor—whether the impulsive one, the Hydra-controlled one, or his current self—none would have stood by and watched as Nidavellir was invaded.
Thor's appearance, along with the Bifrost, was the beacon of hope that Eitri had desperately prayed for.
Thanos narrowed his eyes as he faced Thor, fully aware that this confrontation would not be simple.
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