Remember when I told you that it took me forever to edit and write chapter 46 because I hated it and the chapter hated me at times? Well, I had different outcomes written for it as well, which made it also difficult, and here are two of them:

Version 1:

"And here you are," the stone murmured. "The sons of Odin Allfather, destroyer of my dreams. My disappointment in you cannot be overstated. I placed my hope in you beautiful creatures but you tainted my creation. You corrupted the dream I dreamed. You abused my children. You brought me nothing but sorrow. You ruined everything. This universe cannot continue to exist, which is I will have to take it from you. Things must return to how they were before its dawn."

Before he could catch one coherent thought, the Soul broke free with an outcry of reluctance that Loki could feel in every single one of his bones, hurtled through the room and crashed into the seventh stone. Well, it did not precisely crash, he marveled. It was more as if the seventh stone had suddenly turned liquid, swallowing the Soul, and then the stone grew to the size of a woman's torso.

"Kill it!" screamed Rocket.

"I-I d-don't think we can," stammered Valkyrie.

Mind was as reluctant to surrender as the Soul and Loki felt their resistance but the pull of Nemesis's magic was—naturally, you imbecile—far stronger than anything he had ever sensed before. When Nemesis devoured Mind, her face took shape.

[…]

"Last one," Nemesis whispered with a voice as soothing as the waterfall in the garden of the Valkyries. Loki kept the box locking the Reality Stone inside his mind shut with all his might and the shadow of a smile scurried over Nemesis's lips when she encountered the full strength of his magic but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. A lightning bolt of pain struck his brain and broke Reality's prison open. When the Aether diffused through the molecules of his skin, the pain became so intense that it drove Loki to his knees. The cold returned to his body. He reached for his magic but there was nothing. His glamour was burned down to the last spark.

The others stood rooted to the spot as the Aether hovered in the air for a second and then squiggled towards Nemesis, who opened her mouth and greedily sucked it in, imbibing the last of the ancient forces of infinite destruction and with it the last thread in the fabric of their reality. Does that mean …

Yes, it does.

As soon as Nemesis swallowed the Aether's last drop, everything turned dark. Not dark, really. Utterly black. Loki's body became weightless. He heard screams. A hand grabbed his and squeezed it tightly, as if for reassurance. He pulled away and, when he did, he heard Stark gasp, the skin of his good hand burned by Loki's Jotun touch.

"Ragnarok," whispered Pepper. "The end of everything."

"But Ragnarok is just a prophecy, right?" asked Stark, his voice lost in the nothingness of space that no longer existed. "Right?!"

Loki drew in a sharp breath. "Well, that was more of a wild guess, really."

"A wild guess?" Rogers shrieked.

"It seems he told a lie to tell the truth," Loki murmured, his body slowly recovering from the pain.

"That bastard," Thor grumbled breathlessly.

"That accursed old bastard," Valkyrie concurred.

"So, he never wanted a successor, huh?" asked Bruce. "It was more of an 'if-I-can't-have-that-power-nobody-can' type of thing?"

"That accursed old bastard," Thor said again, through clenched teeth this time, his voice vibrating with anger.

"How can it be the end of everything though," Rocket exclaimed, "if we're still talking?"

"Are we dead?" asked Shuri.

"Not yet," the voice of Nemesis rang out from somewhere far away and everywhere at once, like a cacophony of demons chattering in the depths of Hel. "This is how I existed for eons before I dreamed your universe into being. The universe you ruined with your weakness and your greed and your hatred. And now, you shall perish!"

Version 2:

"Oh fuck, it's really talking," Rocket gasped.

"Aesir, Valkyries, giants, little ones, animals," said the stone. "I placed my hope in you beautiful creatures, all of you, but you tainted my creation. You befouled the dream I dreamed. You abused my children, tormented them, corrupted them. You blighted my universe and now things must return to how they were before its dawn."

Oh no, Loki thought. His mind almost tripped over itself when Reality stirred inside of him and the Soul Stone began to flicker in the demolished Infinity Gauntlet, struggling against the magical pull rising in the air. "It was not us who tainted your children," he shouted even though his whole body was shaking with fear before this ancient force. "It was your children who tainted us!"

The stone trembled, shaking the palace's foundation. "You dare to raise your voice against me, Loki of Asgard? You dare to insult me? Your body shall no longer harbor what is mine!"

Loki held on to the latch of the box containing the Reality Stone inside his mind with all his might but it was useless—of course it was—because Nemesis was stronger than him and before he could think anything else, a lightning bolt of pain struck his brain and broke Reality's prison open. When the Aether diffused through the molecules of his skin, the pain became so intense that it drove Loki to his knees. Stark slid down beside him, reaching for his ungloved hand. Loki startled, jerking away. The cold returned to his body and his pale skin darkened into sapphire. He reached for his magic but, again, if by illusion or fact, his glamour had burned out.

The others stood rooted to the spot as the Aether hovered in the air for a second and then squiggled towards the seventh stone, which greedily sucked it in and imbibed the ancient force of infinite destruction with what sounded almost like a slurp.

The stone grew in the air, turning from a little gem into the size of a grown woman's torso, and the reality around them began to fade.

"It's happening again," murmured Nebula.

"I shall have back my dream," the stone whispered.

Loki swallowed as he mentally held on to the gauntlet and tried to bind their signatures to his own, knowing that all his attempts were futile. One by one, the stones broke free of Shuri's gauntlet. One by one, the seventh stone ate them.

The first was Power. Arms, legs, and a head began to grow from the stone, black crystal paling into blue skin, and the matter on which they stood began to crumble.

The second was Space. Hair sprouted from the faceless head of the being, long black locks flowing down its back, and gravity was no more. Screams of horror filled the room.

"Please don't take the Soul Stone," cried Barton. He was holding the demolished Infinity Gauntlet, clutching it to his chest, as the fabric of the universe around them unraveled at a dazzling speed. "It must give our families back!"

The third was Time. Thin lips, black eyes with stars sparkling in them and a slender nose appeared on the face, and, then, everything turned dark once more. More screams of naked terror filled the, well, the void and their echo was swallowed by the nothingness of space that no longer existed.

The Mind Stone remained on the gauntlet as Nemesis halted for a moment, breathing greedily. Loki could not imagine the feeling of finally being again after fourteen billion years of captivity inside a tiny gem. But then again, there would be no reality left to enjoy for her.

"No!" cried Barton, his voice breaking. "Nooooooooooo!"

You must show her, Loki pleaded with the Mind Stone. You must. I am begging you. Show her the truth. SHOW HER! Mind stirred in protest at first but then the stone complied and a cacophony of voices poured into the nothingness, voices speaking of the desire to possess, to kill, to destroy, to enslave, to mow down entire civilizations like wheat in a field; Odin's voice, Thanos's voice, and the voices of many, many others. "I did that to them," said the Mind Stone and Loki was no less astonished than the mortals were when he heard its voice outside of his own head. "I filled their thoughts with poison."

"Why?" gasped Nemesis.

"Because I enjoyed it," replied the Mind Stone. "And because I needed a mind I could devour and a body that I could make my own."

"You too shall return to me promptly," said Nemesis, her voice like a sad song. Magic roared through the void. Mind screamed and then, Loki guessed, Nemesis ate her fifth child. "I erred," she whispered and he could hear that she was licking her lips. "How could I err so terribly?"

"You did not," said Thor and by the confident sound of his voice, he was drawing himself to his full height; if that was at all possible without gravity. "Oh, Nemesis, Goddess of all Gods, may I ask you for a chance to speak?"

Oh, please no, thought Loki.

The second one is the one I actually wanted to use for what is now chapter 49 when they converse with Nemesis but then I found the concept of them talking to a stone and trying to convince a stone too weird to go with, which is why I changed it to them talking to a projection of her that eats the stones. Even though, I have to admit that I still find this one a little more stylish; it's just that it didn't go all too well with the whole trying to convince her thing because I needed facial expressions and stuff.