The illusion Shin created was built using the Tsukuyomi as a framework and Wanda's chaos magic as the filler.
Originally a false illusion, once infused with chaos energy, it could be made real. As long as the power was strong enough, it could even envelop the world and reshape reality.
Though Wanda had undergone power development under Apocalypse and studied at Kamar-Taj, her current ability, while greatly improved, was still far from the level where she could tear Thanos apart barehanded. Let alone rival her comic counterpart, whose words alone could reshape reality.
Compared to her chaotic outbursts from before, the current calmer Wanda was still significantly weaker than a split Phoenix-Force-enhanced Jean Grey.
The set pieces and spectacle in Thor: Ragnarok were far grander than those in the first Thor film. With Wanda's present chaos magic, reproducing all of it was a tall order.
Because of that, Shin had no better option but to lean heavily on his own genjutsu skills to push the narrative forward.
The arc where Thor is stranded on an alien planet had to be heavily condensed. Instead, it was rewritten so that Loki rescued him directly, and they immediately allied with the Asgardian rebels for a final confrontation against the Goddess of Death, Hela.
At the battle's climax within the illusion, Thor was pushed to the brink of death. At that moment, lightning surged from his body, and his eyes glowed with radiant light.
Then the entire illusion space shattered completely. Thor froze, disoriented, as the power of Thor, which had surged within him, now seemed to fade like a retreating tide.
Back when Thor was a mortal, he was easily manipulated by illusion. However, after awakening the power of Thor, he had developed significant resistance to such effects.
Especially during the moment of his awakening, the overwhelming divine power inside him ripped apart the Tsukuyomi entirely.
Granted, the illusion had weakened over time, but even so, this demonstrated just how resistant Thor now was to mental tampering.
Shin was confident he could pull Thor back into another illusion but making him believe in the illusion again was another matter. It was clear that Thor's "awakening arc" had reached its conclusion.
"What just happened?" Thor muttered. He still seemed caught in the aftermath of the grand battle he had just experienced. Shaking his head, he looked around in confusion.
"Did I... travel through time? Is this the past?"
Shin gently patted Thor on the shoulder, noting that his physical strength had increased by several magnitudes. It was clear that the power of Thor had been unlocked.
However, it wasn't a full awakening like in the movie, where even without Mjolnir, he could wield thunder and lightning freely.
He was in a semi-awakened state. Right on the edge of full power, but held back because the illusion had collapsed prematurely.
"You didn't time travel. What you experienced just now was an illusion," Shin said, a hint of regret in his tone.
"A shame. If you'd stayed under a little longer, you might have fully awakened the power of thunder."
"The power of thunder..." After a moment, Thor finally came to his senses. Realizing it had all been an illusion, his mood didn't sour, instead, he grew ecstatic.
"My power is back!" Thor clenched his fists, feeling the boundless energy coursing through him. It was far beyond anything he'd felt before, even in his prime.
"I've returned! I am the Thunder God of Asgard once more!"
"No harm has come to Asgard! It was all just a dream! Hahahahaha!"
"My Mjolnir... my hammer is still intact!"
Thor was overwhelmed with joy, breaking into hearty laughter.
"Is this guy crazy?" Pietro muttered under his breath.
"No," Tony Stark sighed. "Considering the script he just went through, this is a pretty normal reaction."
Quicksilver fell silent. Thinking back to the mental script Shin had shared with them, it really had been quite the ordeal.
"But does this mean he's recovered?" Tony asked again, frowning. "Aside from the lightning burst, I don't see much difference."
"There's a huge difference," Wanda replied, slightly out of breath. Even though the second half had relied mostly on Shin's Tsukuyomi, her initial work of turning fiction into reality with chaos magic had been immensely taxing.
Still, as a sorceress, she could sense the raw divine energy within Thor.
"Thor is now brimming with divine energy... as if he's become a living star."
"Oh really?" Tony said skeptically. Thor's earlier performance had hardly impressed him.
But Wanda's demonstration of turning illusion into reality had already earned his full respect. Hearing her speak with such certainty made him reconsider.
"So this is the real Thor now?... Wait, what the hell?!"
At that moment, Thor had picked up Mjolnir from the ground. Instantly, the sky darkened. A bolt of lightning struck him, and Thor appeared clad in his full Asgardian armor. Divine lightning arced across his body, making him appear regal and awe-inspiring.
"This is completely unscientific! Where did that armor even come from? Then again... I've seen plenty of unscientific things by now. I'll just chalk it up to magic," Tony muttered in disbelief.
"My friends, thank you for helping me regain the power of Thor. You have earned the friendship of Asgard!" Thor declared proudly after landing.
Shin gave Thor a sidelong glance. "Now that you're holding the hammer again... can you still use the power of Thor without it?"
Thor blinked, surprised. "I haven't tried... but I can feel the power inside me now. Even without Mjolnir, if I spend more time getting used to it, I should be able to wield it directly."
Only now could Thor truly sense the divinity inside him. He finally realized that he had been just a "hammer god" before.
After all, if Odin's removal of his hammer had completely stripped him of his powers, it meant those powers had never truly belonged to him.
What surprised Thor most was that this seemingly ordinary Earthling had immediately seen through his previous weakness. Reflecting on the illusion he had just experienced, it was now obvious that these people were far from ordinary.
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