"Mephisto, I don't want to start a war," Thor stated firmly, his blue eyes locked onto the demon.
"My father taught me that unprovoked wars bring only destruction and fear. A true king doesn't seek conflict—he prevents it."
Mephisto's lips curled into a sly grin.
"Very noble, Prince of Asgard," he drawled, his voice dripping with deception.
"Then return home, where you are most needed. Your father was once the most powerful ruler in the Nine Realms, but he grows old.
He cannot live forever like I can. His reign is crumbling, and soon, you will wear the crown."
Thor's grip on Mjolnir tightened as he cut Mephisto off. "No. If I turn back now, I will never be worthy of that crown."
Mephisto's smile faltered, but Thor continued, his voice unwavering.
"My father also taught me that a king must never compromise out of fear, no matter how powerful his enemy or dire the situation. Those who hunger for power will never be satisfied.
If you bow to them once, they will demand you kneel forever. Asgard does not seek war, but we are never afraid of it. No matter the cost, we will never surrender!"
Mephisto's face twisted into a scowl. "Enough! You foolish son of Odin, you have tested my patience for the last time."
Hellfire erupted from his body, surging upwards before taking the form of a massive demonic visage, towering over Thor like a living inferno.
"You dare speak to me this way? In the presence of the Lord of Hell, even Odin is but a child. And you—nothing more than an insect." Mephistos' eyes burned with malice as its voice shook the air.
Thor, undeterred, raised Mjolnir, lightning crackling around him.
"I am Thor!"
A deafening crack of thunder split the sky, and bolts of lightning illuminated the battlefield, transforming the darkness into a storm of raw power.
Thor shot into the air, lightning coiling around him like an extension of his will.
"For Asgard!" he roared, gripping his hammer tightly before hurling it toward Mephisto, the storm's fury at his command.
The impact was cataclysmic.
Thunder and hellfire clashed like warring titans, their elemental forces battling for dominance.
The demonic visage shrieked as it was torn apart, unable to withstand the unrelenting surge of Thor's lightning.
"Did he... win?" a voice murmured.
Ethan's eyes widened in disbelief as she watched the flaming behemoth dissolve.
"No," the Ancient One said calmly. "This is only the beginning."
As if to confirm her words, the hellfire stirred once more.
The embers left in the wake of Thor's attack flared up, merging with the scattered flames that had consumed the town.
The fire did not merely burn—it moved, as if possessed by a greater will.
The flames gathered, swirling into the sky to form a massive, dark-red fire curtain, stretching across the heavens like a bleeding wound.
"Here we go," the Ancient One muttered before swiftly beginning an incantation.
In an instant, Ethan felt reality distort around her.
The town, once ravaged by battle, suddenly restored itself.
Buildings that had collapsed stood once more, as if time had reversed.
The massive crater left by the Destroyer's destruction was gone.
Yet, the streets were empty—no people, no life. A perfect illusion of what once was.
"Time magic? No... this is the Mirror Dimension," Ethan whispered, glancing around.
The realization sent a shiver down her spine.
The fact that the Ancient One resorted to this meant that what was coming next was beyond ordinary danger.
Ethan's breath hitched as he turned toward the Ancient One, urgency in his voice. "What did you just say?"
"Mephisto's true form," the Ancient One replied, her voice steady yet grim.
Before Ethan could respond, a sound like shattering glass echoed across the battlefield—a chilling, unnatural crack that sent a ripple through the very air.
Then, the sky tore open.
From the depths of the infernal rift, a massive claw, larger than a mountain, erupted from the hellish flames above.
Its surface was charred black, yet it pulsed with a deep, molten red glow, as if fire itself coursed through its veins.
The air trembled with its sheer presence, waves of heat distorting everything around it.
The claw flexed, sending embers raining down like falling stars, and the sky itself seemed to darken in response.
A guttural growl, ancient and menacing, rumbled from the abyss beyond the flames, shaking the ground beneath their feet.
"Son of Odin, you have made a grave mistake." Mephisto's voice rumbled through the air like an earthquake.
The space around them twisted violently as endless hellfire gushed forth, setting the sky ablaze in crimson fury.
The earth beneath them began to melt, and the pungent stench of sulfur choked the air.
With a terrible rending sound, another monstrous claw, glowing with molten lava, tore through the fabric of reality.
The two colossal hands gripped the edges of the rift and forcibly widened it, stretching the portal into a massive chasm in the sky.
From within, a towering, horned figure began to emerge—Mephisto's true form.
"This is... his real body!" Ethan gasped, staring at the demonic overlord whose flame-covered wings now darkened half the sky.
The sheer scale of Mephisto's presence sent a chill down his spine.
Thor's expression hardened as he beheld the entity before him.
This was no mere illusion or avatar—this was Mephisto himself, a being whose power rivaled that of his own father, Odin.
And if Mephisto feared Odin, then that meant... Odin, the father he had often clashed with, the man he had once considered too hesitant, was even stronger than he had realized.
The thought stunned Thor for a brief moment. He had underestimated the strength his father once wielded.
"Son of Odin, do you truly believe you can stand against me?" Mephisto's voice was laced with mockery as his gaze fell upon Thor, who seemed no larger than an insect in comparison.
"You look shaken. Are you beginning to understand how small you really are?"
Thor snapped back to reality, tightening his grip on Mjolnir.
He could feel the raw power radiating from Mephisto, but Asgardians did not cower in fear.
"Asgardians never yield!" he declared, raising his hammer.
The sky roared in response.
Thunder crackled, and the heavens ignited with blinding lightning as Thor became one with the storm.
Electricity coursed through his body, transforming him into a living spear of light.
Then, like a comet tearing through the void, he hurled himself at Mephisto.
"You are nothing compared to Odin!" Mephisto snarled, swinging his massive claw.
Boom!
The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield.
Hellfire and divine lightning collided in a chaotic explosion of power.
But when the flames settled, Thor's figure was seen hurtling backward, crashing into the earth with a thunderous impact.
Mephisto, though slightly scorched from Thor's assault, remained largely unscathed.
As hellfire wrapped around his wounded hand, the burns faded in mere moments, his flesh regenerating effortlessly.
He flexed his fingers with a smirk, amused by the so-called "God of Thunder."
Reaching out, Mephisto extended a massive claw toward Thor, intending to finish him off.
But then, something unexpected happened.
His entire body tensed, and for a brief moment, he hesitated.
The sky rippled.
Behind him, the massive portal he had torn open began to shrink at an alarming rate.
Mephisto's eyes narrowed. "You..." he growled, turning toward the sorcerer standing calmly in the distance. "Ancient One."
Ancient One, unshaken, met his glare with an air of quiet confidence.
"I'll admit," Mephisto continued, his voice laced with irritation, "your mastery of space is impressive. But that is precisely why I created the San Venganza Contract
—to bypass such meddling. It allowed me to tear open the gates of Hell and step into the mortal world. Do you truly think you can stop me now?"
As if to prove his point, Mephisto's body surged with violent energy, forcing the closing rift apart once more.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the sky as the barriers between worlds strained against his will.
Ancient One remained unfazed. "No, I cannot stop you," she admitted.
"But someone else can. All I need to do is slow you down."
Mephisto let out a deep, guttural laugh. "Who? That broken god lying in the dirt?
Or perhaps the young mutant beside you, still fumbling with his newfound power?" His fiery gaze flicked toward Ethan, dismissing him outright.
Ancient One said nothing.
Instead, she turned toward Ethan, her silent message clear.
"Damn it, you really expect me to do this, huh?" Ethan's eyes widened as he felt the Ancient One's gaze shift toward him.
"Can I be honest? This feels a bit unfair," Ethan muttered.
Given more time, he was certain he could defeat Mephisto one day—but right now, he knew there was still a gap between himself and beings of this caliber.
"I understand your hesitation," the Ancient One replied calmly.
"But what you lack is not confidence—it's a weapon capable of harming Mephisto."
She turned her gaze toward Mjolnir, lying a few feet away from the fallen Thor.
Ethan followed her eyes and immediately understood. "You're saying…?"
"Hurry. I can't hold Mephisto back for long." The Ancient One's voice was firm, leaving no room for doubt.
Ethan hesitated only for a moment before stepping toward Thor's hammer.
There was no turning back now.
"What do you think you're doing?" Thor demanded, finally pushing himself up from the ground.
His body ached from his previous battle, but the sight of Ethan reaching for Mjolnir sent a jolt of shock through him.
Then he felt it.
The ground trembled.
A deep, resonating hum filled the air.
And before Thor could process it, Mjolnir itself began to shake.
"How…?" Thor's eyes widened in disbelief. Ethan had told him before about his unique ability, but hearing it and seeing it firsthand were two completely different things.
Impossible.
That hammer belonged to him.
It answered only to the one deemed worthy.
There was no way a mortal could—
A violent surge of electricity erupted from Mjolnir, sending arcs of lightning crashing through the battlefield.
The very air itself seemed to warp under the sheer power radiating from the weapon.
Ethan tightened his grip around the handle, turning slightly toward Thor with a smirk. "Then consider me your new Overlord."
Mephisto's gaze darkened. "Mortal!" The weight of his voice sent shockwaves through the air.
For the first time, Mephisto regarded Ethan with something beyond mere disdain.
This mortal had ignored Odin's enchantment and lifted Mjolnir through sheer force of will. But that wasn't the most troubling part.
No, what truly unsettled Mephisto was the sensation creeping down his spine—the feeling of true danger.
Mjolnir's restrictions were unraveling, its dormant might awakening.
Mephisto could feel it. And he did not like it.
Snarling, he raised his massive hand.
"Burn to ashes!"
The flames of Hell surged forward, forming a tidal wave of fire, hot enough to melt through reality itself.
Ethan didn't flinch.
He simply swung Mjolnir.
The hammer crackled with raw, divine energy, transforming into a miniature sun as a blinding bolt of lightning erupted from its core.
The electric storm tore through the hellfire like a blade slicing through silk, extinguishing the infernal flames in an instant.
Ethan stepped forward.
The ground beneath him cracked violently, deep fissures spiderwebbing outward.
Buildings trembled, their very foundations crumbling under the sheer gravitational force emanating from Mjolnir.
Chunks of debris lifted into the air, drawn by an invisible force, but before they could get close to Ethan, they were disintegrated by the storm of energy surrounding him.
Mjolnir had recognized his control over physics itself—gravity, motion, impact.
The longer he wielded the weapon, the more of its hidden powers were revealed.
Thor could only watch, stunned, as the mirror dimension warped and fractured.
The very space around Ethan distorted under the sheer pressure of his presence.
The hammer, forged from the core of a dying star, was showing its true destructive potential in the hands of someone who could manipulate fundamental forces.
"Are you ready, Lord of Hell?" Ethan's voice boomed as he launched himself forward, shattering the ground beneath him.
Mephisto roared in fury. "You are nothing but a mortal! You dare challenge me?"
The hell lord's massive claws lashed out, a desperate attempt to crush this growing threat.
Ethan didn't slow.
He didn't waver.
He lifted Mjolnir high, and as he brought it down with unstoppable force, a single phrase echoed through the battlefield:
"Let's put physics to the test!"
A supernova of light erupted from the impact, obliterating everything in its path.
The very fabric of the mirror dimension was torn apart, consumed by the raw, incomprehensible energy unleashed by the strike.
And amidst the destruction, Mephisto's roar of agony echoed—his power, his very essence, swallowed by the wrath of physics itself.
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Word count: 2143
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