Soren hurled another devastating punch, but the moment his fist connected with the Infinity Gauntlet, his expression grew solemn.
The destructive power that should have torn through a planet simply… vanished, swallowed into the golden gauntlet as if consumed by an endless abyss.
Less than a third of his full strength remained.
BOOOOM
The explosive backlash forced both of them to recoil.
Between them, the collision point twisted inward and collapsed, forming a black void… a newborn singularity.
It devoured energy, devoured light, devoured everything. But neither Soren nor Thanos was moved even an inch by its pull… the two giants floated steadily, unshaken in the vacuum.
"Soren," Thanos growled, sounding like grinding stone, "I'll give you one last chance."
"The Infinity Gauntlet restrains the power of every stone. It guides the energy you rely on. Do not delude yourself, wielding a few Infinity Stones does not make you untouchable."
His words were calculated, an attempt to fracture Soren's confidence.
Soren's gaze stayed cold. A single breath escaped him, half-snort, half-war cry.
Then he launched himself forward once more. The aura of destruction roared to life around him, and three glowing sigils… time, space, and power blazed upon his hands and brow.
They expanded into rings of divine radiance, orbiting him like halos of a god descending upon the mortal realm.
For the first time, the oppressive power pressing against Thanos was overwhelming… even for someone who fancied himself nearly omnipotent.
Even with the Gauntlet's immunity to many Infinity Stone abilities, this force was something he respected… and feared.
Under the dual formation of space and time, Soren's speed shattered the limits of physics.
He flickered through the void faster than thought, teleporting through space. He could appear anywhere around Thanos with a mere impulse and unleash an attack.
Booooooooooom!
A thousand blows landed in an instant.
From the outside, Soren didn't seem to move at all… he disappeared and returned in the same breath, while the universe itself struggled to register the passage of time.
Thanos staggered in place, face contorted.
Even with the Infinity Gauntlet attempting to siphon the damage, too many overwhelming forces had surged inside him at once.
For a moment, even the Gauntlet failed to guide or suppress the energy.
"ROAR!" Thanos' massive body exploded!
Chunks of violet flesh scattered into the void, each fragment crackling with wild energy. The cold, obsidian throne that carried him through the cosmos… a divine artifact in its own right, shattered into drifting powder under the onslaught.
Only one thing remained intact was the Infinity Gauntlet still clutched by a severed hand.
"…" Soren hovered above the carnage, face expressionless. Blood dripped from his fists… not his own, but Thanos'.
Yet he could feel it clearly… despite his body being blasted apart, Thanos' vitality had not diminished.
He was still alive.
The pieces of Thanos' flesh and blood writhed in the void, twisting and crawling unnaturally.
Within a heartbeat, they coalesced, reforming his massive body.
Every muscle and detail was restored, except the obsidian throne behind him, now shattered.
"I am immortal! How do you hope to kill me?!" Thanos bellowed, his voice echoing like rolling thunder.
Soren gazed on. The remnants of Thanos' flesh in his palm writhed violently, seething with a strange, corrosive energy.
It tried to re-enter Thanos' body, to feed and unleash a poisonous, devouring force. Even broken and torn into fragments, Thanos radiated power.
The Power Gem on Soren's body flared, reinforcing his physique, granting him absolute resistance.
Slowly, the writhing fragments attached to his hand were neutralized, dissolving into nothingness. Soren felt a pang of awe… even the shattered remnants of an EX-class being like Thanos carried unfathomable destructive energy.
Soren's gaze sharpened. He had anticipated a tough battle, but the sheer difficulty of this fight surpassed all expectations.
Any hesitation now would be fatal. It was time.
He would end it… completely.
"Immortality?" Soren's voice cut through the void. "Even the gods of creation dare not claim absolute immortality. And you, cursed monster dare speak of it to me?!"
With a sudden motion, Soren activated his full mastery over time and space. The time circle and space circle on his brow and hands flared brilliantly, merging seamlessly.
The Power Gem amplified their control exponentially. But Soren did not aim for mere integration.
He sought disruption.
The goal was conflict. Time against space, the universe's very laws torn asunder.
The more violently they clashed, the more energy would erupt. The more terrifying the force unleashed.
No dazzling flash. Yet the effect was absolute.
In an instant, time and space warped and shattered around Soren, radiating outward in rippling waves. The distortions spread faster than sight, reaching Thanos before he could react.
Thanos roared, a sound of rage and desperation, as his body began to glow with cosmic fire.
The Infinity Gauntlet blazed with golden light, splintering across the shattered star field. But it was futile.
The very fabric of reality had been undone. Every point Thanos occupied became unstable, flickering in and out of existence.
Soren struck.
In the blink of an eye, Thanos' body, piece by piece, he was torn apart by the violent collision of forces.