A tremor ran through Thanos as he scrutinized the phantom stepping out of the mirror.
An inexplicable, cold sensation washed over him. His massive muscles involuntarily convulsed.
He stared intently at the glowing, identical image of Ernst.
"What is this?" Thanos demanded, his deep voice laced with sudden suspicion.
"I sense the unique signature of an Infinity Stone. Specifically, the Reality Stone. Shouldn't that power reside within you?"
Ernst offered a curt, clinical nod.
"Indeed. Your knowledge of the Infinity Stones is impressive," Ernst replied.
He gestured gracefully toward the phantom.
"This is a manifestation I condensed from absolute zero. I utilized the Reality Stone's matrix to forge it. It is a physical embodiment of altered reality."
Hovering nearby, Darkseid scoffed loudly.
"The Reality Stone truly goes to waste in your mortal hands," the ruler of Apokolips mocked.
"You use a cosmic weapon to condense a mere phantom? What tactical use is such a fragile thing?"
Darkseid sneered at the apparition.
"Its vacant eyes lack even basic consciousness. How could it possibly aid you in combat against gods?"
Ernst remained entirely unfazed by Darkseid's heavy mockery.
He casually retrieved the empty mirror from the air, sliding it back into his coat before explaining further.
"A mere image may seem tactically useless to a brute," Ernst began, his voice taking on a cold, lecturing tone.
"But consider the variable: what if it were an exact, physical projection of my future self?"
Darkseid's rocky expression darkened.
A vague, crawling sense of unease gnawed at his instincts, though he couldn't pinpoint the exact source of the danger.
"Your future self?" Darkseid rumbled.
"Clarify your meaning, human."
"Did you know Earth harbors a multitude of power systems?" Ernst asked, pacing slowly.
"Mimicry techniques, ninjutsu, even native, kinetic martial arts. However, the ancient Eastern tradition is the most mechanically enigmatic."
"It holds a highly classified, theoretical technique known as the 'Future Star Tribulation.' This technique supposedly allows a practitioner to summon their future self across time to fight alongside them."
Ernst held up a finger.
"However, the physics are flawed. It doesn't truly summon a chronological entity. Time paradoxes prevent that."
"Instead, it manifests a psychic image of yourself, honed to its absolute, theoretical peak through the imagined completion of your chosen biological and magical path."
"Your mental power fuels this process, forcefully solidifying the virtual body into a condensed, physical avatar."
"The raw cosmic energy required to maintain this technique is astronomical," Ernst noted.
"It is utterly out of reach under normal atmospheric circumstances. But with the Reality Stone acting as an infinite battery, anything becomes mathematically possible."
"The fragment of the Future Star Tribulation text I acquired was heavily incomplete," Ernst continued calmly.
"And Earth's ever-changing, chaotic magnetic nature makes successful cultivation nearly impossible. However, it sparked a viable hypothesis."
"I possess a unique biological advantage. From the very beginning of my ascension, I held a perfect, mathematical vision of my maximum potential."
"Thus, I began utilizing the Reality Stone years ago, meticulously, slowly crafting a flawless physical image of my imagined future self."
Ernst looked at the glowing phantom.
"This phantom, however, appears to have transcended the limitations of the Reality Stone's original programming. It technically lacks a biological form, yet that is entirely sufficient for my needs."
Over the years, Ernst rarely used the Reality Stone's power in open combat.
He had reserved its cosmic output solely to solidify and maintain this future phantom.
Despite its lack of distinct emotions or independent combat prowess, the phantom embodied the absolute culmination of Ernst's imagined future, a state where his hyper-evolved brain had reached one hundred percent capacity.
Initially, the phantom was merely a passive reflection of Ernst's optimal physical condition.
Merging with it would amplify his kinetic strength and magical output severalfold.
This exponential scaling potential made it his ultimate trump card.
Sealed within the enchanted mirror, the phantom could passively cultivate and process data within the Mirror Dimension.
Conversely, the future phantom acted as an infinite repository for Ernst's complex understanding of cosmic rules, constantly refining the architecture of the Mirror World.
The future phantom essentially held a position akin to a god within the mirrored realm.
As Ernst finished his explanation, he raised his hand.
The future phantom instantly dissolved into a blinding stream of white light.
The light rushed forward, violently merging directly with Ernst's physical body.
The atmosphere around him seemed to visibly distort and warp.
An overwhelming, suffocating influx of cosmic rules bombarded his senses.
For a microsecond, he nearly lost his tether to reality in the deluge of infinite data.
Thanos and Darkseid perceived a stark, terrifying change in their opponent.
Ernst's vibrant, arrogant presence completely vanished.
It was replaced by a blank, dead, emotionless stare.
His chaotic, rippling aura, instead of escalating, dwindled rapidly until it vanished entirely.
He appeared utterly ordinary, stripped of any visible magical or kinetic power.
Yet, his microscopic movements held an uncanny, terrifying precision.
He seemed to be adhering to some unseen, fundamental law of physics.
Every instinct in the two warlords screamed at them, the current, silent Ernst was infinitely more dangerous than the arrogant wizard they had just fought.
"The second combat sequence commences," a flat, monotonous voice echoed from Ernst's lips.
"A fair tactical warning: my human emotions are now completely suppressed by pure, mathematical reason."
"My actions will be driven solely by maximum efficiency and lethality. In simpler terms, I am going to eliminate you both."
"Proceed with extreme caution. Do not blame me for your demise."
In a literal flicker of nonexistent time, Ernst vanished.
He didn't fold space. He simply moved faster than their optic nerves could process.
When he reappeared, he was already standing directly before Thanos.
His fist was aimed squarely at the center of the Mad Titan's face.
The tables had violently turned.
Moments ago, Thanos was comfortably contemplating a temporary, uneasy alliance with Darkseid.
Now he was staring down the barrel of a kinetic execution.
Their blows met in a resounding, ear-shattering boom.
But this time, Ernst held his ground perfectly.
The kinetic impact rippled outward in a devastating shockwave, but Ernst's arm did not buckle.
Instead, a surge of impossible power propelled Thanos backward through the air like a discarded ragdoll.
Not expecting such overwhelming, concentrated ferocity, Darkseid lunged at the momentary opening in Ernst's defense.
Moving with surprising agility for his massive size, Darkseid aimed a devastating haymaker directly at Ernst's spine.
But Ernst seemed to possess 360-degree sensory awareness.
With a swift, impossibly smooth spin, he met Darkseid's heavy blow fist-to-fist.
Simultaneously, his free hand shot out, grabbing the Apokoliptian tyrant's thick wrist.
In a fluid, judo-like maneuver that completely defied Darkseid's immense mass and gravity, Ernst flipped the god cleanly over his head.
He sent the colossal being flying through the air like a tossed toy.
The scene was deeply surreal.
A human, seemingly insignificant in physical stature, was casually manhandling two creatures several times his size and weight.
With renewed, robotic focus, Ernst instantly located Thanos, who had just managed to regain his footing in the dirt.
Ernst closed the distance and flung him with brutal, telekinetic force.
The two cosmic titans, Thanos in his purple and gold armor, Darkseid in his obsidian shell, collided violently in a mid-air tumble.
They crashed into the wasteland, rolling across the cratered ground in a tangled heap of alien muscle and armor.
The tide of the war had turned decisively.
Ernst, now operating as a flawless, one-man wrecking crew, utterly dominated the battlefield.
The sterile, terrifying sight would have been enough to strike paralyzing fear into the hearts of even the most seasoned cosmic mercenaries.
As Thanos and Darkseid angrily disentangled themselves from the dirt, a grudging, bitter realization dawned on them both.
"We must combine our forces," Darkseid rumbled, his voice heavy with reluctant admission.
"This foe is significantly more formidable than either of us calculated. We have zero mathematical chance in a one-on-one engagement. Only by working in tandem can we hope to prevail."
"Agreed," Thanos conceded, wiping purple blood from his chin.
His voice was laced with a rare hint of begrudging respect for his former adversary.
However, the allure of the Infinity Stones remained an unshakeable, blinding obsession in his mind.
"But after we secure the victory, the Reality Stone belongs exclusively to me."
"Very well," Darkseid acquiesced smoothly.
"But I will not leave this rock empty-handed while you claim the ultimate prize."
"What do you want?" Thanos demanded, deep suspicion immediately coloring his tone.
"His body!" Darkseid declared, pointing a massive finger at Ernst.
A flicker of genuine unease crossed Thanos's face.
The idea of transforming a defeated peer's corpse into a monstrous, Apokoliptian pawn unsettled him.
Thanos harbored a grudging, warrior's respect for Ernst, even if they were on opposing sides of a universal crusade.
The thought of Darkseid wielding such a devastating biological weapon filled the Mad Titan with heavy apprehension.
"His corpse?" Thanos questioned grimly.
"Do you intend to reanimate him into some mindless monster?"
"He is a powerful being, standing on par with us. Is that not a deeply reckless tactical gamble?"
"That is my final offer," Darkseid pressed, his red eyes glowing in the dust.
"Do we have a deal, Titan?"
Thanos hesitated. The desperate allure of securing the Infinity Stones warred violently with his tactical trepidation.
For now, collecting the Stones remained his absolute priority.
The universe demanded balance.
A tense, heavy silence hung in the scorched air before Thanos finally spoke.
"Very well. We have an agreement."
A silent, lethal pact was formed. The two titans locked eyes briefly before simultaneously launching themselves at Ernst.
Ernst's face remained a mask of flawless, emotionless rationality.
He met their combined, pincer assault head-on.
His outstretched palms slammed precisely against their incoming fists.
The combined force of the cosmic impact pushed Ernst sliding backward through the dirt for several meters.
But a low, strange hum resonated from his palms.
A sudden, highly localized gravitational suction force erupted from his hands, violently dragging the two giants toward each other.
With a sickening, heavy crunch, their bald heads collided in mid-air.
"Ow!" Thanos and Darkseid roared in unison.
Both titans collapsed to their knees in the dirt, clutching their throbbing skulls.
Ernst, entirely devoid of human sympathy or hesitation, approached them with a single-minded, robotic purpose: eliminate the threats with maximum efficiency.
"Fist of Destruction!" Thanos roared, desperate to break the human's lethal momentum.
"Omega Sanction!" Darkseid bellowed simultaneously.
A massive surge of destructive energy erupted from Thanos's right fist, forming a black and red sphere of absolute doom.
Darkseid unleashed a pair of jagged, crimson beams from his eyes.
They instantly merged into a thick, bucket-sized beam of tracking light.
Unfazed, Ernst met the catastrophic attacks head-on.
He diverted the brunt of Darkseid's heavy Omega rays with a single, perfectly angled punch wrapped in chaotic energy.
As if possessing a perverse, angry sentience, the deflected beam arced sharply and shot back toward its source at an alarming speed.
Even Darkseid himself could not withstand the full, erasing brunt of his own Omega beams. A direct hit would be structurally catastrophic.
Fortunately, his divine reflexes kicked in just in time.
He violently contorted his neck, allowing the energy to streak past his ear, narrowly avoiding self-inflicted annihilation.
Meanwhile, Thanos's Destruction Fist materialized into a highly condensed sphere of pure, rotting energy.
With blinding, robotic reflexes, Ernst morphed his left hand into a dense, telekinetic claw.
He reached out, grabbed the volatile sphere of destruction, and physically crushed it into harmless sparks.
Unrelenting, Ernst lunged forward, aiming to permanently overpower his adversaries.
But Thanos and Darkseid were veterans of countless planetary sieges.
They reacted with brutal speed.
Thanos unleashed a ferocious roar, pounding his heavy fists against Ernst in a relentless, rapid-fire barrage.
Darkseid, capitalizing perfectly on the kinetic distraction, fired a second set of twin Omega beams from a flanking position.
The grim irony wasn't lost on either warlord.
Sometimes, your greatest enemy is the one who understands your combat rhythms best.
Despite their first-time collaboration, their synchronized movements held an unexpected, lethal synergy.
Ernst, however, remained entirely unfazed amidst the storm of cosmic attacks.
He weaved through Thanos's heavy blows with an almost leisurely, mathematical grace.
His body twisted and contorted like a willow branch in a hurricane, effortlessly evading Darkseid's erratic crimson rays.
A microscopic opening arose as Thanos slightly overextended a heavy right hook.
Ernst seized the moment instantly.
His index finger, glowing with lethal kinetic force, poised to strike a fatal blow to Thanos's exposed chest.
A jagged, scarlet streak of light flashed from behind Thanos, intercepting Ernst's fatal attack.
Forced to react, Ernst raised a localized shield and deflected the beam.
But another crimson ray curved sharply around his blind spot, striking him squarely in the back.
With remarkable, impossible skill, Ernst reached behind himself.
His palm met the beam, redirecting the volatile energy in a tight arc to collide directly with its twin, effectively canceling both rays in a burst of harmless static.
A new, massive threat emerged as Ernst sensed a heavy shadow falling over him.
He looked up just in time to see Thanos descending from the sky, both massive arms outstretched in a devastating, double-axe handle strike.
Ernst braced his stance, crossing his arms above his head to meet the crushing impact.
The sheer kinetic force of the collision drove Ernst to one knee.
But with lightning speed, Ernst coiled his leg muscles like an industrial spring, preparing to violently propel the Titan backward.
Anticipating this counterattack, Thanos didn't pull back.
He dropped his weight and gripped Ernst in a desperate, unbreakable bear hug.
He pinned Ernst's arms just as Darkseid's Omega beams converged overhead once more.
They formed a thick, inescapable beam of absolute destruction, aimed directly at the tangled pair.