Marvel: I became an ancestor by sacrificing offerings.

Ebony Throat held the scarlet gem in his fingers.

The red glow reflected dappled light and shadow within the palace, illuminating his noseless face.

"You pride yourself on being the one in the Nine Realms who knows the Aether best," Ebony Maw said, turning to look at Malekith lying on the stone slab, "yet you don't even know how to harness its power."

Malekith glared at Ebony Maw:

"That's a sacred relic of us dark elves!"

Malekith roared, "Give it back to me!"

His voice echoed in the empty palace hall, trembling with a hoarse tone.

Ebony Throat did not answer.

He simply looked at the gem in his hand, his right index finger gently tracing lines in the air.

Malekith turned his gaze to the cursed warrior not far away.

"Kill him!" Malekith said, pointing at Ebony Maw. "Take back the relic!"

The cursed warrior's remaining left arm swung in the air, his knuckles making a dull cracking sound.

The stone slab beneath his feet shattered instantly under the immense pressure, turning into countless tiny fragments. With a low roar, his massive body transformed into a black shadow, charging towards Ebony Maw.

Malekith struggled to his feet and lunged at Ebony Maw.

Faced with the attack from both of them, Ebony Maw simply stood still and lightly swiped his right index finger downwards.

The Reality Gem's red light expanded instantly, forming a red light curtain.

The moment Malekith's feet touched the light screen, his thigh bones made a series of cracking sounds.

Without being subjected to any external impact, his legs spun three times at an irregular angle within the light curtain, after which the muscles and skin of his entire thigh were torn apart and broken into several pieces.

The lower half of the cursed warrior also fell into the light barrier.

His thick leg bone snapped instantly, black blood spurting from the broken wound and landing on the red light screen with a hissing sound.

The two men's upper bodies fell from the air and crashed heavily onto the stone slab.

Their lower limbs had completely disappeared into the distorted space, leaving only their upper torsos wriggling on the ground.

Thor was taken aback by what he saw. His knuckles, which were gripping Mjolnir, turned slightly white from the force, and tiny blue arcs of electricity crackled across his body.

Frigga took a step back, blocking the door to Odin's bedchamber.

Her hands were hidden in her wide sleeves, and her fingers moved in a series of hand seals at lightning speed, drawing magical energy from the air toward her.

Ebony Maw's gaze passed over Thor and Frigga and landed on Peter.

"Finally, I'll mercifully tell you one last fact," Ebony Maw said, raising his right hand and pointing his index finger at Peter.

"My true purpose isn't actually the Reality Stone, or rather, not only the Reality Stone, but also... you!"

Peter stood there, his hands still in his pockets.

He looked at Ebony Throat, whose body showed no signs of tension.

"Did Thanos send you to find me?" Peter asked.

Ebony Maw held the Reality Gem in his palm, red light shining through his fingers.

"Our great master has taken notice of your actions on Earth," Ebony Maw said. "To be able to single-handedly destroy five Chitauri whales and then defeat the God of Terror, the existence of someone like you in this world is detrimental to our future plans."

As he spoke, Ebony Throat clenched his right hand tightly.

The Reality Gem's red light burst forth in an instant, transforming into concentric red ripples that spread outwards at an extremely rapid speed.

The space around Peter began to ripple violently like the surface of water the moment it came into contact with the red ripples.

His body refracted in the ripples, and the lines of his arms and legs began to become irregular.

Loki lay on the ground, his hands clutching his neck, blue light flickering in his eye sockets before fading completely.

He was breathing heavily as he looked at the scene before him.

"Damn it..." Loki muttered, "You bunch of lunatics."

Ebony Maw adjusted his collar with his left hand, the movement elegant and slow.

"Rulers of Asgard," Ebony Maw said, "you should be grateful. If it weren't for your master's orders, this gem would have reduced the entire Asgardian palace to dust today."

Malekith crawled on the ground, leaving a long trail of blood.

He reached for Ebony Maw's boots with his remaining right arm, but his fingers were repelled by an invisible red barrier when they were still ten centimeters away from the boots.

"You...liar..." Malekith's voice had become extremely weak.

Ebony Maw didn't even look down at him.

He simply held the Reality Gem above his head.

The red light completely enveloped Peter, Malekith, and the Doom Slayer, and at the same time, the entire space visibly began to collapse in a funnel shape.

Peter raised his right hand, trying to grasp something in his pocket, but his movements became extremely slow in the distorted space.

"It's useless," Ebony Maw said. "Your physical strength is meaningless in the face of changes in reality."

Frigga's ten fingers stopped changing.

A golden circular magic circle appeared out of thin air ten centimeters from Peter's feet.

The runes on the magic circle emitted a soft golden light, attempting to forcibly pull Peter's collapsing body back down.

"Asgardian magic?" Ebony Maw said. "It's just child's play compared to the primal power of the universe."

He tightened his grip on the gemstone slightly.

Red ripples collided with the golden magic circle.

The runes on the magic circle stopped rotating instantly, then emitted a crisp sound, turning into countless golden fragments that dissipated into the air.

Frigga's body jolted violently, her face turned even paler, and she took three steps back, her back slamming against the stone door of Odin's chambers.

Thor roared, raising Mjolnir high in an attempt to charge at Ebony Maw, but a red wall of light formed before him, forcefully blocking his path. Lightning struck the red wall, only creating ripples of red energy.

Peter's body was now completely deformed.

His head appeared to be half a meter longer in his field of vision, while his legs were compressed into a single point. Yet, the expression on his face remained calm, and he didn't even close his eyes.

"Is this the power of the Reality Stone?" Peter's voice came from that distorted space, the sound becoming extremely strange and hollow after being refracted by space.

Ebony Maw failed to discern the hidden emotions in Peter's words; a smile, unique to victors, slowly appeared on his ugly face.

"Farewell, Peter Parker."

The moment the words fell, the red light suddenly contracted, turning into a blackish-red dot.

Then, the light completely vanished, leaving only emptiness where Peter had stood...