The moment the words fell, the swirling dust around them seemed to be frozen in mid-air by an invisible force.
Thor's lightning power instantly tightened, and gilded divine runes quietly spread along his forearm, while a glimmer of lightning surged in his eyes.
He was like a lion poised to pounce, and the Stormbreaker in his hand appeared silently, firmly locking down the creator god who held the ultimate laws of the universe.
He knew all too well the weight of death. As one of the Five Creator Gods in the Marvel Universe, she was the end point for all life in the universe, an existence that even the Celestials had to bow down in reverence for, far surpassing any opponent he had encountered before.
The Goddess of Death moved forward with silent steps, her long, black robe sweeping across the parched earth without stirring up a single grain of sand.
The black mist surrounding her surged slowly with her movements as she walked step by step toward Thor, so close that one could clearly smell the decaying, chilling aura emanating from her, a scent unique to the end of life.
She raised her hand, hidden beneath her black robe, revealing the stark white knuckles beneath her pale skin.
Finally, the skeletal fingertip, carrying an icy chill, gently touched the center of Thor's chest.
" Thor Odinson." Her voice still carried a captivating allure, yet it was also shrouded in an undeniable pressure, each word striking the stagnant air.
"You saved many lives that should have returned to my embrace. They were destined to die."
The chill from his fingertips spread along the body's texture, even causing a slight stagnation in the surging laws within Thor's body.
She paused, a hint of amusement flickering in her empty eyes, and added lightly, "So I'm very curious—"
Thor silently took a half step back, and the lightning around him instantly exploded into an invisible barrier beside him, separating him from the all-pervasive aura of death.
He frowned slightly, showing no extra emotion whatsoever. "What are you curious about?"
The Goddess of Death chuckled softly as she looked at his wary expression.
The laughter was ethereal and alluring, echoing across the desolate planet, yet it carried no warmth whatsoever.
She raised her hand and slowly removed the black hood that covered most of her face.
Contrary to expectations of stunning beauty, the moment the hood fell down, what was revealed was a perfectly sculpted, golden-ratio, stark white skull.
Deep within her hollow eye sockets, two clusters of eerie purple soul flames flickered. Despite her chilling appearance, every move she made exuded a captivating allure and charm etched into her very bones.
That seductive voice slowly flowed from the tongueless skull, carrying an irresistible obsession and certainty. "I want to witness your death."
"When you've lived long enough, or when your story comes to an end, I'll come to pick you up."
She tilted her head slightly, her empty eye sockets fixed on Thor as if examining a priceless treasure. "I think you will absolutely be my most prized possession from all these millions of years."
Just as Thor's divine power was poised to be unleashed in preparation for the next move of this creator god.
Suddenly, a nonchalant, sarcastic voice came from the side, precisely breaking the tense yet strangely ambiguous atmosphere.
"So, Thor, this skull lady traveled across half the universe specifically to have a date with you?"
Thor's expression changed instantly. He turned his head sharply, looking at Tony, who was still rooted to the spot, with disbelief. His brows furrowed into a knot.
"Weren't you frozen in place?"
Tony wore his signature smug smile as his nanotech armor slowly retracted along his face, revealing his raised eyebrows and an air of undisguised smugness:
"Come on, my armor is inlaid with some of the laws of the Infinity Stones. Although it's not perfect, it's still somewhat useful for dealing with this kind of fixed-point confinement."
Thor realized it instantly.
It was probably something that Valeria, that little brat, came up with, and Tony learned it from her.
Seeing Tony's amused expression, he was momentarily speechless, only managing a forced smile, his tone tinged with helplessness:
"So you've been pretending to listen from the very beginning?"
"What else?" Tony shrugged nonchalantly, even brushing the dust off his clothes, his gossip-loving tone practically overflowing.
"Such a spectacular scene! A skull goddess who holds the power of life and death in the universe comes all the way here to tease you and even makes a life-or-death pact with you. This is way more exciting than any Hollywood romance movie I've ever seen."
Throughout the entire ordeal, the Goddess of Death, standing to the side, didn't spare Tony even a glance.
To her, Tony Stark was nothing more than a slightly special speck of dust in the universe. Even with his genius mind and armor, he was ultimately just a mortal destined to die, not worth her time or effort.
Her gaze remained fixed solely on Thor from beginning to end.
I'll wait for you.
She glanced at Thor one last time, and as she uttered those words, the black mist around her surged upwards, completely enveloping her.
In the blink of an eye, that chilling aura of death vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
Only a crisp metallic thud echoed across the desolate wasteland.
A longsword, entirely black with dark red Symbiote patterns swirling around its blade, lay quietly on the cracked earth at Thor's feet.
The blade churned with an intense, impenetrable aura of darkness. Even when it was simply placed there, the surrounding dust seemed to instinctively shun it. This was the very weapon they had been searching for— the All-Black the Necrosword, a weapon personally crafted by the God of Symbiotes, Knull.
Tony, standing nearby, immediately whistled loudly, looking at Thor with a mocking expression.
"Wow--So now, this All-Black the Necrosword, capable of slaying gods, has become a love token given to you by the goddess?"
Thor's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.
He snapped his the Snap impatiently, and a tiny bolt of lightning shot out, precisely silencing Tony's incessant chatter. No matter how much Tony glared at him, he couldn't utter a sound.
The world is finally quiet.
Thor then bent down and reached out to grasp the hilt of the All-Black the Necrosword on the ground.
The moment the finger touched him, an extremely cold and dark power surged from his fingertips and began to drill wildly into his divine body.
The Law of Devouring, Law of Death, and Law of Darkness contained within were so dense they were almost tangible, carrying a madness and violence capable of devouring gods, and frantically assaulting his sanity.
Any ordinary god would likely have their mind completely consumed by this dark power the moment they grasped the sword hilt, turning into a puppet that only knows how to kill.
But Thor merely raised an eyebrow, and more than a dozen laws within his body surged instantly, like a golden tide, easily suppressing the Riot dark power and firmly grasping the infamous Godslayer Sword in his hand.
He weighed the All-Black the Necrosword in his hand, feeling the power emanating from the sword that was different from the laws within his body, and smiled with satisfaction.
Then, he turned his head to look at Tony, who was still staring wide-eyed and gesturing wildly beside him. He raised his hand to release Tony from his silencing, and with a casual wave of his hand in the air, golden sparks bloomed again in mid-air, and a brand new portal slowly took shape.
"Let's go." Thor, carrying the All-Black the Necrosword, took the lead and walked towards the portal.
"Let's go and retrieve a divine artifact."