"Boom!" An explosion resounded throughout Nidavellir. Facing the energy attack from the Mind Stone scepter, Thor had no intention of taking it head-on. After all, the power of the Infinity Stones was not to be underestimated.
Of course, the main reason Thor dodged was that he didn't fully understand the Mind Stone.
Although King Odin had told him a little about the Infinity Stones before they set out, Thor still knew very little about them. Even though he had lived for thousands of years, his knowledge and understanding of many secrets were far less than Loki's. Recognizing that Thanos held the Mind Stone was already impressive enough.
Now, Thor was reluctant to directly confront the energy released by the Mind Stone. He was concerned that it might have some special effect, such as affecting his mind during the energy clash.
Having been brainwashed by HYDRA before, Thor deeply understood the importance of one's mind. Especially after experiencing the power of runes, his mentality had changed once again. He felt that his current state was good and did not want to fall into another unknown mental state.
Thor wasn't confident in resisting the Mind Stone's influence over his mind. After all, it was an Infinity Stone that bore the name of "Mind," symbolizing the ultimate power of the universe's mental force. While Thanos might not be able to fully harness its power, Thor thought it best to be cautious.
However, Thor was being too cautious this time, and as a result, he missed the best opportunity to deal with Thanos.
The energy Thanos had just unleashed from the Mind Stone was not meant to control Thor; it was merely to stall him. Once Thor dodged, Thanos gathered a terrifying amount of power, grabbed the Mind Stone embedded in the scepter, and held it in his hand.
As a powerful Titan, Thanos possessed the ability to handle the Infinity Stones. Even though the Mind Stone shone brightly in his hand, it didn't harm him in the slightest.
With a "snap," Thanos swiftly placed the Mind Stone into the groove of the Infinity Gauntlet. With a light sound, a wave of mental energy surged through the gauntlet, up Thanos' arm, and into his body.
Thanos could clearly feel the immense pressure on his body, but correspondingly, he also gained greater control over the Mind Stone's power.
While the Mind Stone scepter was a vessel for the Mind Stone, its capacity to utilize and develop the stone's power was far inferior to that of the Infinity Gauntlet. The scepter was only a basic tool for using the stone's power, but now Thanos was wielding it at a whole new level.
With a "hum," in an instant, Thanos clenched the gauntlet, and the power of the Mind Stone surged forth.
Everything happened too quickly. As the dust settled, the power of the Mind Stone had already invaded Thor's consciousness. It didn't even need to touch Thor's body—just a flash of light from the stone was enough.
"Hm?!" Thor's body froze in place, trembling slightly. The remaining eye in his head seemed to reflect two different lights, or rather, two forces clashing within him.
One force was from the runes Thor had begun to comprehend, though it was still incomplete and immature. The other was the controlling power of the Mind Stone.
Thor's understanding of rune magic was indeed powerful, but he hadn't fully mastered it. In the face of the ultimate cosmic mental power from the Mind Stone, Thor held on for a while but ultimately lost himself once again.
"Master," Thor stood respectfully before Thanos, slightly bowing as he spoke.
"Good. From now on, you will follow me and carry out my commands," Thanos nodded in satisfaction after carefully sensing the Mind Stone's power. He confirmed that Thor was now completely under his control, and whatever orders he gave, Thor would carry out without hesitation.
For Thanos, this was an unexpected reward. Although the battle had been tough, the gains far exceeded his expectations.
Thor's formidable combat ability would greatly aid Thanos in his future endeavors. Without external assistance or the Mind Stone, even Thanos was not Thor's match. This alone demonstrated Thor's immense power.
With Thor on his side, the loss of two of the Black Order members was more than compensated, and there was still a surplus.
If there had been news about the Power Stone, Thanos would have been eager to send Thor to retrieve it right away.
"Yes, Master." Upon hearing Thanos' command, Thor respectfully nodded and stood beside him.
"Your hammer is quite impressive. Can I take a look at it?" Thanos' gaze fell on Mjolnir, the hammer in Thor's hand. He hadn't forgotten the massive energy it unleashed during their battle.
To Thanos, Mjolnir was undoubtedly an artifact. While his double-edged sword was sharp and durable, it couldn't compare to Mjolnir in terms of energy and combat empowerment.
"Of course, Master." Even though he was about to hand over his most cherished weapon, Thor's expression remained unchanged. He passed Mjolnir to Thanos.
"Boom!" But the next moment, as soon as Thor let go, Mjolnir fell heavily to the ground, causing Thanos to stagger slightly.
"Hm?!" Thanos stared at the hammer lying on the ground in disbelief. He summoned all his strength, trying to lift it, but couldn't budge it an inch. Mjolnir seemed to have become one with the ground of Nidavellir, inseparable from it.
"How could this be?" Thanos frowned. During the battle, he had felt the force behind Mjolnir, but not to this extent. He could casually lift objects weighing hundreds of tons, yet Mjolnir was completely immovable, deepening his interest in the hammer.
"Only those deemed worthy can lift Mjolnir. Otherwise, its weight is nearly infinite," Thor explained calmly while Thanos struggled with the hammer.
"Asgardian magic?" Thanos asked, letting go of Mjolnir.
"You could say that," Thor nodded.
"So how does one earn Mjolnir's approval?" Thanos asked with interest. "And does the wielder gain additional power?"
"In theory, if Mjolnir deems someone worthy, they can lift it and gain the power of Thor. While it's not as strong as my current strength, they would still be considered a Thor," Thor explained, sounding somewhat unsure.
To be honest, Thor himself didn't fully understand what qualified someone to lift Mjolnir. Especially when he was under HYDRA's control, he didn't think he was worthy of wielding the hammer.
Then there were people like Peter Parker. Although they were superheroes, if simply being a superhero were enough to lift Mjolnir, the standards might be too low.
"So there are others who can lift your hammer?" Thanos asked, frowning at Mjolnir.
"Yes, a few people on Earth can lift it. I don't know how they did it, but they managed to. Fortunately, I still have the strongest connection to Mjolnir, or it wouldn't have returned to me…" Thor replied, relieved.
"It seems my double-edged sword suits me better after all," Thanos chuckled, though he was now wary. His caution wasn't directed at Thor, but at Earth.
Earth was already home to many powerful beings. Although Clark, the son of Krypton, was dead, that didn't mean Earth could be easily invaded. Who knew when more mysterious beings with immense power might emerge?
"One Mind Stone isn't enough! I still can't fully unleash its power. It even took me time to control Thor. Controlling all the powerful beings on Earth at once is impossible. I need to find the Power Stone and Soul Stone first if I want a better chance of retrieving the other three Infinity Stones," Thanos thought. He raised his double-edged sword and pressed a button, signaling his ship to send down a retrieval beam.
"Boom!" But just as Thanos thought things in Nidavellir were settled, a radiant burst of energy, as bright as a star, blasted toward him. Even though Thanos reacted quickly, he was still caught off guard.
The energy of the Mind Stone blocked part of the attack, but Thanos was still hit directly. Already wounded, he immediately lost consciousness.
"Now! Thor, kill him!" A distant voice shouted excitedly. It was Sif.
It turned out that when Thanos attacked the four Asgardians, he hadn't managed to kill them. As the dust from the explosion rose, a nearly ten-meter shield protected them.
The one who intervened wasn't anyone else but the dwarf king, Eitri!
Eitri had already taken out the dwarven shields when he handed over the bows and arrows earlier. He feared that if the Asgardians' attacks didn't bring down the ship, they would provoke a counterattack, so he had prepared the shield in advance.
Eitri's foresight was crucial. Although the shield was eventually shattered by Thanos' energy blast, the Asgardians and dwarves only suffered minor injuries. None were killed in the explosion.
Afterward, the Asgardians and Eitri hid, watching the battle from a distance.
However, what happened next was beyond their comprehension. Thor, for reasons unknown, suddenly stood beside Thanos, as if the two had come to some agreement.
No! It wasn't even an agreement. Judging by their positions, it looked more like Thor had submitted to Thanos!
This was something the Asgardians couldn't accept, so they urged Eitri to find a way to launch a sneak attack on Thanos.
Eitri knew that if As
gard lost, Nidavellir would suffer as well. So, he used the neutron star energy, the same energy the dwarves had harnessed to forge weapons, and fired it at Thanos.
If Thanos had been fully alert, the neutron star energy wouldn't have hit him. The reason they didn't use this tactic earlier was the fear of accidentally injuring Thor, who was fighting Thanos.
And during Thanos' earlier massacre of the dwarves, Eitri hadn't had the strength to control the neutron star energy. But now, with Thanos standing still, awaiting his ship's retrieval beam, this was the perfect opportunity for Eitri to strike. Hence, Thanos was knocked unconscious by the powerful energy.
However, what happened next shocked both the Asgardians and Eitri. Seeing Thanos fall unconscious, Thor's face twisted in anger, and Mjolnir crackled with terrifying energy. Thor unleashed the power of lightning, aiming it at the Asgardians!
"How can this be?!" The four Asgardians stared in disbelief. But before the lightning could hit them, a beam of rainbow light enveloped the Asgardians and the dwarves, instantly transporting them away.
"Boom!" The lightning struck the ground of Nidavellir, leaving a deep crater. Thor's eyes burned with fury as he stared in the direction where the Bifrost had vanished. At that moment, the ship arrived overhead, lifting both Thor and the unconscious Thanos aboard.
Thor averted his gaze from the Bifrost, placed Thanos in a medical chamber on the ship, and piloted it back along the path they had come, disappearing quickly from the skies of Nidavellir.
The entire forge fell into silence, with only the bodies of the slain dwarves and the deep craters left behind to tell the story of the terrifying battle that had just occurred.
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