Levi appeared in the New Mexico desert, over a hundred kilometers away from Puente Antiguo.
The night wind carried sand across the empty wasteland. No one around.
He didn't leave immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes and reviewed the gains from this trip.
[S-Class Ability: Adaptive Armor]
Secured.
Worth the trip.
His regeneration factor and Divine Physiology ensured he could survive getting beaten down.
This new armor? It ensured he simply wouldn't get hurt in the first place.
Stack the two together—and dying would be difficult.
More interestingly, its core principle was learning.
The more punishment it endured, the stronger it became.
Let Hulk pound on him for a day, and the armor would analyze gamma radiation patterns and generate defensive structures specifically optimized to counter Hulk.
And that wasn't the best part.
The key feature was: fusion-capable.
He could infuse it with spatial energy—turning it into a spatial deflection armor. Future punches and bullets would simply bend away through warped space.
Or graft Infinite Rage into it—creating a "thorned counterstrike armor." Hit him once, and you'd receive the same force back. Possibly more.
Its potential exceeded expectations.
It wasn't a static ability.
It would evolve with him.
Levi opened his eyes, faintly sensing the invisible layer hugging his skin. Weightless. Intangible.
But very real.
"Not bad."
He vanished—returning to New York.
…
Meanwhile, Asgard.
In the control chamber of the Bifrost, Heimdall stood like an unmoving statue.
In the throne room, Loki shot to his feet so abruptly his crown tilted. Gungnir slipped from his grasp and clattered loudly against the floor.
His face was pale. His lips trembled.
Through the Destroyer's eyes, he had witnessed everything.
That man—who looked little different from a mortal—had stopped the Destroyer's beam with one hand.
Then crushed its head as if squeezing an egg.
The mental link between Loki and the Destroyer had been torn apart by an overwhelming, tyrannical force. The backlash had rattled his mind.
What was that power?
Not Asgardian divine force.
Not Jotun frost.
Something purer. More absolute.
One punch.
The greatest war machine in Odin's vault—feared across the Nine Realms—reduced to scrap.
"Impossible… impossible…" Loki muttered blankly.
His flawless plan had crumbled like a joke.
He had intended to kill Thor via the Destroyer, then annihilate Jotunheim with the Bifrost under the banner of vengeance—proving himself the rightful heir.
Now everything was in chaos.
Earth.
That backwater realm hid a monster.
"Heimdall!" Loki shrieked into the vast hall. "Find him! Use your sight—find that man!"
In the control chamber, Heimdall's golden eyes opened fully.
After a long silence, his voice resonated directly in Loki's mind.
"My king… I cannot see him."
"What do you mean you cannot see him?!" Loki snapped. "You are guardian of the Nine Realms!"
"He is an exception," Heimdall replied calmly. "When I direct my sight toward him, it is twisted… devoured. Like a singularity beyond the Nine Realms. A blind spot. I see only what he permits."
A blind spot.
The words extinguished Loki's final thread of confidence.
He slumped onto the steps below the throne.
The unknown was the most terrifying of all.
Earth had become an unpredictable variable.
…
Puente Antiguo.
S.H.I.E.L.D. reinforcements arrived. Coulson coordinated cleanup and civilian containment—along with standard memory management.
Thor, now in clean clothes provided by Coulson, stood amid the wreckage saying goodbye to Jane Foster.
His power had returned.
But he was no longer the same man.
The arrogance was gone.
"I must return," Thor said quietly. "Loki must answer for this. Asgard cannot fall into his hands."
"Will you come back?" Jane asked softly.
"I give you my word," Thor replied solemnly.
He thanked Erik and Darcy as well.
Erik adjusted his glasses. "I suppose I'll need to revisit mythology textbooks."
Darcy snapped a photo. "Bring souvenirs next time, big guy."
Thor smiled—genuinely.
He raised Mjolnir.
"Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!"
A column of rainbow light descended.
Thor vanished.
…
Asgard.
The control room lay in disarray. Heimdall stood frozen in ice. Thor shattered the frost and freed him.
"Where is Loki?"
"The throne room."
Thor stormed toward it.
Loki stood at the Bifrost control, Gungnir embedded in the console. The Rainbow Bridge projected a colossal beam of annihilation toward Jotunheim.
"What are you doing?!" Thor roared.
"Finishing what you began!" Loki snapped, eyes wild. "I will destroy Jotunheim! Father will see I am worthy!"
"This is genocide!"
"This is protection! I am the rightful king!"
Illusions multiplied around Thor.
Thor closed his eyes.
He slammed Mjolnir down.
Lightning erupted outward—obliterating every illusion instantly.
The real Loki staggered back.
"Your tricks no longer work on me, brother," Thor said, advancing.
Loki fired a blast from Gungnir.
Thor deflected it with wind from Mjolnir and charged.
Hammer and spear collided repeatedly, each impact shaking the Rainbow Bridge.
Thor was stronger.
But Loki was desperate.
"The energy is unstable!" Heimdall shouted. "It cannot be stopped!"
Thor looked at the beam tearing toward Jotunheim.
Then at Loki.
Decision made.
He raised Mjolnir—
And struck the Rainbow Bridge beneath his feet.
"You fool!" Loki screamed. "Destroy it and you'll never see your mortal girl again!"
Thor struck again.
Cracks spread across the crystalline structure.
The third strike shattered it completely.
The Bifrost exploded.
Both brothers were thrown into the void.
The bridge broken—below them lay endless cosmic abyss.
Thor was caught by a golden light.
Odin—newly awakened—grasped his son's leg.
Thor, in turn, clutched Gungnir.
At the other end—
Loki dangled over infinity.
"I could have done it, Father!" Loki cried. "For you! For all of us!"
Odin looked at him with deep sorrow.
"No, Loki."
Those words broke him.
The light in Loki's eyes faded.
He looked once at Thor—
Then released his grip.
"No!" Thor roared.
Loki fell.
Into the endless darkness.
Swallowed by the stars.
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