After the impact of the god with the bottom of the abysm, he felt a colossal pain for a split second, as if everything in his body were failing, broken bones, drilled organs, nothing undamaged was left. Loki could have survived the fall, his body was way more resistant than the one of most species, but that place was made to kill. The stalagmites of an unknown material, sharpened as his best weapons, welcomed him in a deathly hug when he fell upon them.

The prince didn't have time to regret his choice, to try to reverse his acts or to simply activate the rest of his armor and save himself consequently. His skull was perforated so precisely and so fast that life vanished from him in seconds and his condemned soul was immediately put inside the stone that required his sacrifice.

A light shined and suddenly distorted his vision what seemed to be hours later. He had to blink his eyes many times until the things around him made sense again and when he finally could focus again, he saw he was in a place much different from what his last memories indicated he should be.

The sunrise moved away the darkness of the eternal plain and created a wonderful view, but for the prince, what surprised him the most was to notice that his whole body was still alive and working. Loki realized he had never felt so good in his whole life, he had no anger in his heart, no hatred, no envy, no guilt, no pain, nor sadness, only an unexplainable and constant sensation of happiness. He still didn't understand completely where he was, but his soul shouted to him that he was born to be there.

- It's good, isn't it? – A smiling, soft and feminine voice sounded so close to him that, for not having noticed its owner, at any other moment would have scared him much, in the case he was still able to feel fear.

Looking to his left side, the god noticed the presence of an orange woman. The most beautiful creature he had ever met, and although her presence should deeply haunt him for the great power he could feel coming from her, he felt absolutely nothing bad. There was a wandering moment that made him to find her alike to his earthling bride.

- I feel only good things, it's pleasant. – He admitted, trusting her, not even thinking twice.

- Do you remember why you're here? – She sounded melodious and the prince's ears associated her voice to a song coming straight from the heaven.

- Because I sacrificed what I love the most to get the soul stone. – There was no hesitation or any remaining of resentment in his answer.

- Exactly. – The woman got close, slowly, with a calm smile on her face. – Many have done the same before, taking their own lives to try to conquer my power, however, when they get here, they lose all the will to leave. – Loki perfectly understood them, he felt no need to go back to his normal life anymore. – However, I can't accept you here, your soul is more valuable out there than here.

- I don't understand... - His face expressions were completely sincere, he was as confused as a child rejected for no reason, however, he couldn't feel sadness when thinking about going back to whatever was the meaningless thing he was doing before getting to this place.

- I would do anything to have a powerful soul like yours. – In fact, there was greed masked in the innocence of her eyes, almost as if she were staring hungry at him. – But I need you, therefore I will allow you to be my bearer and to use me for your goals. – She took his hand and put inside it a little shining stone. – See you someday, trickster god.

All around him started to fall apart and to disappear, however, the feminine figure stayed still where she was, imposing and magnificent, just waiting for him to go back to his original place and to make the right decision when the critical moment arrived. Loki suddenly could associate the woman's image to someone who his bride demonstrated to know, although she had never spoken well about her while in good conscience.

- You are Utrimque... - Being in the presence of the personification of the very stone soul made him to be alert. – You used to sing to the little monster when she was a child and couldn't sleep...

She showed surprise, probably the closest thing to a legit and human feeling she has expressed since the moment she appeared in front of the god. She smiled somewhat ashamed and nodded agreeing.

- Your bride is more one of us than the one who originated us, she deserves a helping hand sometimes. – her words sounded almost as if she didn't really care about the human she was talking about, but Loki knew that from an infinity stone there would never be a good action without second thoughts in the case she didn't care.

The darkness involved him definitively, but soon after, the god felt himself waking up again, as if he were coming from a terrible nightmare. His lungs got air much stronger than the recommended and protested for that. He propelled himself toward and felt as if it were deposited in hem a terrible emotional load, all the bad feelings were back at once and seemed more intense.

He needed a self-knowledge time to calm down his nerves, to remember where he was, who he was and why he was with that so terrible sensation in his chest, but at the same time having a greatly good burning on his right hand. The memories didn't take long to come back and soon his lethargy disappeared completely. It was just to look at that hand for the reality to hit him with a powerful strike and for him to know exactly what he had to do next.

With his fingers unprotected and fearless to get hurt, Loki held the orange soul with admiration and put it to the gauntlet waiting for it. After that, an energy wave spread from his body without the proper control, as if it were an advice of mercy for all the living things, telling them to hide. An almost-sick smile took over his lips, in fact, the situation he was in pleased him a lot.

When he died, his body had fell on lethal sharp structures, but after resurrecting, the god found himself on a soft, pinky and comfortable sand that surrounded a lake of beautiful crystalline water, which reflected the crystals inside that would turn anyone astonished. It was the treasure hidden in the end of the abysm for those who dared to venture out and survived, however, the prince wasn't interested at all on it and he didn't lose his time looking at it for more than some seconds. The technology in his veins formed another gauntlet and the boots, properly designed to fly. With just a thought, his feet untouched the ground and the equilibrium position he soon dominated kept him in the air smoothly.

It took no long to find the way out that would lead him to the natural light again and from there, there was just one step to find Strange. He deeply waited that the wizard was still alive just to see his face after he told him his crazy strategy had worked. Of course, if he is dead, the god will resurrect him immediately, although he had to admit that it would be somewhat bothering to have to deal with Adam possessing the stones that were with Stephen.

The natural landscape all around the territory from the forest to the plain was destroyed, the souls screamed loud demonstrating their fear, pain and desperation for having their unique source of comfort taken out so abruptly. The animals in there were not among the living. In the center of everything was the overbearing Warlock, holding the master of the mystic arts by the hair with one hand while with the other on his heart, keeping him kneed in front of him as if trying to take something from him now that he had dominated him. Stephen's eyes were turned over, his mouth was abnormally opened and his skin was paler than what is considered healthy; he seemingly couldn't breathe, there was something coming out his trachea.

An urgency not like prince's hit him and he completed the formation of his armor to get to the perfect man as soon as possible, whatever it was what the other was doing surely demanded much concentration and for this reason he could only notice his nearing when it was too late. Adam didn't risk stopping the procedure even knowing what the hand with the gauntlet over his shoulder meant. He looked at Loki as if he felt sorry for him and continued to pronounce the fast and meaningless words in the persistent attempt to expel what he believed to be inside the wizard. Fortunately, there wasn't time enough for him to get what he wanted. Warlock's body broke apart in ashes faster than he could foresee and his last words disappeared with him, with the desired effect not being able to be concluded.

Strange's body fell behind knocked out, injured and unconscious, but the worry that was also like him didn't low. The god took the stones that were with the other, completing his collection, not suffering from the damages of that due to his still-friendly relationship with the stones, and a second wave of energy was thrown to the universe. Then the voices were shut, being sent again to the orange stone; he reversed the time to bring his partner back to a less-critical state and sheltered him in his arms, using the space stone to send them back to a safer place.

The prince didn't recognize the place he was next, but his mind sheltered it immediately as home and he didn't want to question this sensation. There was no need any more of his armor, so it retracted leaving only the gauntlet on his hand. One of Strange's hand held his clothe as if he were scared and his eyes opened, slowly and weakly.

- He knew what to do... The cicle didn't work. – His voice whispered and he frowned highly-judgingly. Loki allowed himself to smile to relief the weight of the situation.

- "Thank you for saving me, Loki, you are really amazing and I own my life to your magnificent actuation to take the missing stone". – He debauched, imitating the other's voice. – Sometimes I would love you to be more thankful.

- You jumped from a precipice, left me alone to face that thing and you still want me to thank you? – An eyebrow lift, unbelievingly.

- I also want you to massage me and to bring me a cup of tea, but I didn't say anything because I was trying to be cool.

- Fuck you...

At last, it was the trickster god himself who invoked a hot tea so that they could at least relax before going to the great moment that was about to come. Reality, Time, Soul, Space, Power and Mind, they were all reunited now, waiting anxiously to get together to their seventh and to face the powerful entity that opposed them.

(...)

Egocentric people use to have the habit to value themselves too much, as they, many times, underestimate who they think to be weaker, just because they overly believe their own potential and undercut the other's. That's why when Carol started to fight against the smashing force put upon her, the one in Lin Stark's body found it funny; when she could stand on her knees, the other considered it boldness, as if it were a challenge and forced her to face something much harder to resist. She laughed when Danvers fell again and felt insulted when she kept trying.

Ego didn't understand all human feelings, it's been living together with these creatures for a long, long time, but it could never understand the thing that would always keep them moving on even when facing a situation seemingly impossible to get out of. It couldn't understand how or why those inferior beings kept fighting and persisting, even when they know they aren't capable of reverse the big game in which they're in. At the moment Captain Marvel stood again and could keep it, after many falls and failed attempts to impose herself against the enemy, it was clear that it wouldn't be that easy to submit her to its will, whoever it was the defiant.

The younger's body advanced itself when she noticed that the pression she was doing wasn't effective anymore, she broke her at once, and went to execute the key point of everything she was trying to do. The only thing she needed was to make a single hit to make her blood and then she would win. Calmly and fast, she went against Carol, despite that angry could be more advantageous for her concerning her force increase it would cause, she didn't want any kind of uncontrol now. However, looking at her as an equal, Danvers felt no fear any more, neither she shook, on the contrary, she hit back immediately with an energy shot which kept the adversary away. Whoever that creature is, she spent too much time keeping herself as a goddess to be able of overcoming her with her acts of trains in a hand-to-hand combat.

Each fiber of her body yelled at her to give up and run away while there was still time, but the avenger knew that her powers and instincts weren't responsible for their actions, she could see details that differed from that person to lethal Stark and she didn't fear her moves, he oculd read them, determine her patterns and avoid them. The captain had already saw the girl fighting, that was a real unpredictable and surprising art, but that thing in front of her didn't listen to whatever made the Iron Girl so good, it was almost as if even with her massive force, something held her and impeded her to be as grand as she thought she was.

Ego was the most powerful, it has never been a doubt, but she it possesses the technique and it didn't have enough time to discover its weaknesses as the combat moved ahead, even it being each time harder to repel it and even that the gaps she got in her favor didn't cause any bigger or minimally useful damage she wouldn't allow herself to lose.

A ray of light seemed to have resulted into something promising, but this thought lasted only the few seconds necessary to realize that the other avoided, but not only that, with the little move, it could get close enough to hit her in the bulls-eyes with her hand involved by the gauntlet made from her armor. The enemy would also have released a strong energy charge straight to her skull if she hadn't reacted fast enough to hold its wrist and direct its attack to the other side, not damaging her.

With closed wrist, Carol hardly punched the other's belly and didn't stop to wait it to recover its breath, soon after, the same hand energized and discharged on the adversary the same light shot that has already caused the ruin of many of those who challenged her. Lin Stark's body was thrown meters away, but somehow, it could find some poise and with the member with less fingers, it attached it on the ground and stood up again. The next blow of the captain was received with a blade almost cutting her and a defying smile; she couldn't say why, but it seemed Ego was satisfied with the proportions of the combat and it was as if everything were going exactly how it desired to go.

For many minutes, they kept fighting, energy against energy, force against force, power against power; and eventually it seemed that Danvers was the one winning, as if she finally could trap the grandiosity of a goddess and overcome it, diminishing it until it was nothing more than any other enemy in face of her attack, without a divinity that turned it special or any other attribute that would differ it from her former adversaries. Everyone ended up fell to her feet, destroyed or defeated. But the other didn't seem to accept the result of the fight at all, it reacted a last time, willing to get rid of the victorious smile on the Captain Marvel's face, even being its human body not able anymore to go on, despite all the evolution it has been through. In an abrupt move, it found its opportunity and didn't miss it, it blew an attack and Carol reacted instinctively.

Killing Lin Stark has never been her will (although she didn't know to what point Ego and her were not the same person), however, the situation in which she was showed the exact opposite. Paralyzed and with her hand crossed through the thorax of the newest avenger, she saw herself as the one who pulled out, literally, the heart of a strong woman who was possessed by a mad entity, which she wasn't able to keep the control over.

Blood came up to her mouth and her eyes blinked countless times as if they couldn't see what was going on. Linna seemed to emit a mute scream in face of the uncontrollable pain and the golden eyes turned to brown again, losing their life. That was the moment of the day in which Danvers felt fear the most, she could see Tony Stark dying on her hands, she could see an innocent losing all the life she could have had and the worst, there was nothing she could do to reverse that.

In a desperation act, Carol tried to bring the woman's heart back to her chest, but she realized that her regeneration, in the attempt of saving her, advanced and hooked the avenger's arm inside her, to bring it back, she needed to force it out, destroying the tissues recently regenerated and putting it back to the place where she had taken it from. However, all these last movements didn't even cause any reaction from the woman, she was already dead and the Captain couldn't believe what she had done. Or, at least, not until feeling the blade drilling her back and seeing the image of the youngest in front of her to disappear.

- We were discussing about how I am a liar and a manipulator less than one hour ago, you should have expected something like that.

Linna's body appeared again behind her, things really made more sense now, she usually didn't shake so much about the death of one of her adversaries. However, it didn't seem applaudable to lose its surprise element just to spend it in a so simple and easy blow to recover of, mainly for someone with a so high healing attribute as its.

- And even so you couldn't do anything surprising. – Captain's unbeatable image turned to her ready to continue from where they had stopped, but her legs failed and she fell on her knees.

- Did you really think I would come to fight against you without some tricks as guarantees? – Ego held a laugh – All that story about curing the cancer bringing cells back to their original state was really touching, however I can't say I was involved in it with my best regards.

- What have you...?

- What was given can be taken. It wasn't the Krees that made you who you are, I did, therefore, I believe this sentence is more effective coming from me.

A strange move arose in the air next to them, there, a portal opened and from it, one of the last people she expected to see got out together with the trickster god. Loki and Stephen got closer with elegance and triumph in a spaceship, they gave Carol nothing more than a recognizing look and soon after all that attention was turned to the victorious woman whose expression relaxed and changed in such a way that it seemed another person. It was with a kind of terror that the Captain noticed the complete infinity gauntlet on the jotun's hand.

- It was about time! – Lin with her typical Asgardian accent claimed, pretending to be mad, raising her hands to the waist and forcing a frown.

- You're seemingly having no problem without our presence – The prince wistfully commented, holding her in his arms even with the protesting grumbling coming from her, act that, at last, she set aside and held him back, hiding her own face on his chest, now, definitively satisfied.

- Sorry to interrupt the reunion moment, but I must remember you have work to do. – Strange, who seemed to be ill-tempered for what was about to come, got close with the intention to push them into the spaceship, willing to send them back to the space.

- Do you think that if we run away for another galaxy someone will miss us before Eternity destroys this planet? – Loki whispered to Stark's ear, nonchalantly.

- I doubt. – She answered, humorously, seeing the grimace the wizard did. – They wouldn't leave us alone if we ran away. – Lin turned to the other human and invoked a mystic artifact. – Take this, it's the last remaining, you know what to do.

After saying that and hanging over the artifact, they entered in the vehicle that would take them straight to the battle awaiting them. They said good bye mockingly and led for the confrontation that would probably indeed cost their lives. Seven stones were reunited, hundreds of mystic artifacts were spread all around the world ground during the fight, Carol had her powers drained so that she couldn't interfere and, therefore, she could stay alive for some event that depended exclusively on her in the future. Everything was going as planned.

Spephen observed the ship taking off and driving more and more away, to the point it turned to be a simple point in the sky, invisible for human eyes. There was obviously the option of using the stones' power to take them directly to the place where the Entity was, but those minutes they would spend alone were probably the last ones they would have together, and that was something they weren't willing to waive. Despite the fact that a structure that obeyed them could be very useful if they ended up alive wandering around the universe.

There was an indeed important job to be done by the wizard, so he promptly moved ahead ready to take the next step, and he would have gone straight to the top of the mountain near him if the hybrid figure, striving not to contort on the ground, hadn't caught his attention. Captain Marvel, the woman who brought the hope that it would be possible to win in the hard times they would face in the past for thousands of peoples and civilizations around the whole universe, the supposedly most strong avenger alive and one of the symbols that the humanity kept and respected with so great devotion... they have destroyed her.

Carol's body didn't react well at all to the removal of her gifts. She got her eyes and nose bleeding while stared at him very angrily. She foamed through her mouth and fought against involuntary contractions. Strange knew she wouldn't die, he trusted Lin Stark's abilities and had already checked her future after the choices they made; none of the possibilities indicated that the woman would die now, there was no reason to worry. However, he couldn't help helping her, maybe his human side were stronger than his reason in situations like these, that's why instead of using his magic to open a portal for the mount and conclude his objective, he walked towards the hybrid, got down and then helped her.

Danvers couldn't say a thing, but her expression indicated how furious she was and how intense the pain she was feeling was. Stephen knew he couldn't do much for her at that moment, however he knew some manners to low her perception of suffering and he would never deny this to her. For the proximity they were of each other, the woman got even more restless and angry, trying to attack him even not being able to move properly, accusing him of betrayal and denying the help she refused to believe that would really come. The wizard raised his hand, ignoring her weird moves and, with a sequence of gestures, he invoked a sleeping spell which he thought to be capable of relieving her agony.

Gradually, Captain's body relaxed, lost its senses and slept. The wizard concluded that leaving her there, alone, abandoned, in the middle of nowhere, wasn't exactly the best to do, so he gave up on a little bit more of his time to take her straight to the house of the pilot he knew that has been a great friend of the avenger in the past. Arriving there, he saw a very cozy room, while crossing it with the woman being taken by the levitation cloak. He didn't take longer than needed observing the place, though, resting her sleeping body on the red couch. After that, he finally opened a portal to take him to where he was supposed to be already.

The cold on the top of Apo Mountain didn't bother him, he was so focused that he wouldn't let himself to get distracted by so-banal things till the moment he started to freeze. Stephen buried the last artifact in the snow and, after a last deep breath, he levitated over it, reciting the ancient text whose words' meanings had been lost a long time ago by humanity. His hands moved again, almost automatically, and his eyes instantaneously closed.

All the artifacts around the world were activated at the same time and under the atmosphere, thin lays of energy started to form, quick and in gigantic proportions, this increased to the point that anyone in the planet could see, forming a so-powerful magic shield that no one or anything without the control of the Space and the Time could surpass. Strange finished, uniting his middle and index fingers, keeping this position until the moment the war was over. Everyone were protected now, there was no way of an idiot to risk to get involved in the battle and nothing coming from outside could enter, avoiding, therefore, grave damage to the planet's structure.

(...)

Traveling to the space has ever been one of the things Linna really wanted to do if she had the chance; she knew a lot of places, she had seen the most beautiful and weird landscapes, she knew a lot of stories about these distant planets, however, everything she could admire in her mind has never been in fact something seen by her own eyes, but were mere memories in the god's conscience, that's why this time it was even more special. This time it was real.

The autopilot allowed her to stare at the beauty of the way without worries. Her eyes almost shined in blissfulness for what at last she could contemplate and her happiness made her to completely ignore the presence of the mocking being by her side. None of that was news for Loki, but it was still funny for him to observe the enthusiastic reaction she tried so hard to hide. Whether for external influence or not, the jotun felt much more attracted by her than usual, her body seemed to call for his, and his hand begged for finally touching her as he pleased. Oh, god! How hard he wanted to kiss her now, how hard he wanted to take her as his right there on that improvised bed in which they were sit to observe the stars until they arrived to where Eternity was; however, he knew that he very likely wouldn't do any of these things, he had already seen her expressions when someone submitted her to sexual interactions too many times to be willing to watch so much repudiation again, mainly being it directed for him.

Stark could feel her partner's look on her skin, even if her expression didn't change, it wasn't that hard anymore for her to read what was really going on his minds at those moments. It was hard for her to verify that Loki was attracted to her to the point of desiring her physically; in the beginning, she really didn't know what to think about that and even felt kind of scared during some existential crisis in which she reminded her past and related it to her friend, but in time, every time she would mentalize the matter, excluding the memories of her traumas, she ended up realizing that imagining herself with him wasn't that terrifying as with other creatures, on the contrary, it didn't include any remaining of fear and it even seemed to her that she could feel delight. Maybe that was the effect of trusting someone a little bit more than minimally.

- If you don't stop making this face I will be forced to take an action, princess... - She deviated the look from the stars, finding the green eyes staring at her.

- I can already say that throwing me out of the ship won't work. – The playful smile didn't take long to appear, as if only purely innocent thoughts were through his mind.

- I must agree it wouldn't work... - she got closer, pretending dissatisfaction, as if thinking about a solution to get rid of him without harming herself. – It seems to me that unfortunately I will have to do something a little bit more drastic. – Her voice was a very dangerous and slow whisper, together with a poisoning malice that she had perfectly learned with the man by her side.

Loki allowed her to come to him without complaining, being very curious about what she intended to do. The woman interlaced her left hand with the one inside the gauntlet, got even close to his face, keeping a betraying face that would make anyone to want to run away; on her wrists, she made the red laces reappeared linked to each other and, before the jotun could pay attention to what this gesture meant, she took the lead to put her lips on his. Much as it seemed a cliché, the god really felt amazing with the simple contact of that kiss, not just for deeply willing it, but also for the sensation of power that he put to himself. While he retributed it, he felt all his body to strongly energize, as if all her energy were suddenly migrating into him; he felt as the god who he really was and as if he were definitively complete this time. Lin stepped back with a shy smile and with red chicks, Loki took his hand to her face and caressed her inferior lip with his thumb, desiring more of that conection.

- You're starting to become bolder and to express your wills, I like that. – He didn't try to hide the malice on his voice.

- It's funny to see you being surprised about something I do. – She opened a little bit more her smile and invoked a dagger, putting it really close to his throat. – But don't you even dream to get used to it. – it was a real threat; however, her expression didn't show, at any moment, anything but care. Trusting the body language is never a smart thing to do when dealing with these both.

- I wouldn't fantasize something like that, my Lady. – His eyes didn't stray from hers, not even his hand wanted to slip away her face, as if he really intended to hold her for him.

- You're weird, Loki... - Lin almost purred near him, seeing how she attracted him closer so easily – you lowered too much the guard, I've never thought that someday it would be me alerting you about that. – A shock came as a reaction from the god, when suddenly all his magnitude was stripped off of him and that affection and power-sharing bubble was broken. – NOW THE STONES ARE MINE, GOOD BYE.

His eyes bulged when the prince noticed that she had in fact transferred the stones for her own gauntlet and left with the Space stone for somewhere else, leaving him alone in the ship taking him to his death. Loki realized he was trembling for the abrupt draining and felt uncappable of taking an action, all that attraction disappeared, giving room for the angry he felt for having been abandoned and betrayed, what wouldn't last more than two minutes, after all, that was the time he took to realize that the girl's presence was still very near. He got up as quickly as he could with his head spinning round and walked (alias run with dignity) to the place where he felt her aura being exhaled. Seeing his bride standing there in the pilot cabin backwards to him, looking again at the stars, caused him a relief he couldn't even describe.

- Don't you ever do this again. – he took his hand to his chest, dramatizing. – You're starting to get me heart problems. – A funny smile appeared on his face, he felt really pleased with people brave enough to do such a joke to him, although the jotun had killed all the other ones who have, he wasn't willing to hurt his partner at all. Stark didn't react. – Little monster...?

Lin was paralyzed, almost like a real inactive rock and she seemingly couldn't hear him. Suddenly it came to his mind that a human shouldn't be able of carrying an infinity gauntlet without being destroyed; he sometimes forgot that, besides being a real powerful stone, she still belonged to the species of the inferior Midgardians. The god walked to her side and witnessed her vague look, he held the gauntlet hand and shared the charge with it through the same mechanism the other had used to steal him. Gradually life returned to her eyes and slowly she could focus her vision to the things around her. Her body hanged down to where her partner was and she grumbled relieved for he was there, hiding her face on his shoulder.

- Why do you let me to do such crazy things? – he claimed with a weak voice and with a shadow of fun. – I was just trying to chill a bit, completely innocent, and out of nothing I experience a terrible sensation of almost death...

- It's called karma, nobody's asked you to trick the trickster god. – With his free hand, he involved the shoulders of the younger possessively as if it would somehow guarantee she wouldn't leave again with his "magical little stones".

- If I don't die maybe I remember not to counteract the gods. – Loki felt her body hair raising. – but no matter what happens, never let me to hold the gauntlet alone again.

However anyone understood that a common human passing through the experience of carrying six of the infinity stones is enough for he or she never want to get involved with these singularities again if surviving and keeping his or her mental faculties intact, the prince realized that there was something going much further than the fear of death in his friend's ask, something much more complex than simply not being willing to repeat the torment of feeling that the body can't stand so much power. However, it wasn't the proper time to think about that, the power wavering around increased in density and in front of the spaceship it was visible the threatening figure of Eternity in a living representation of its real magnitude.