Although the past two years had been peaceful and comfortable, Ethan Blake had never allowed himself to become complacent.
He knew very clearly that, unless something completely unexpected occurred, New York would soon face a massive battle within the next few months.
And that battle would only be the beginning.
After that event, Earth would become the center of a storm that would sweep across the entire universe.
With that in mind, Ethan hoped this next summon would grant him something truly powerful.
He closed his eyes and allowed his consciousness to sink deep into his mind.
Then he activated the summoning technique.
A moment later, a glowing card appeared in front of him.
"Summoning successful."
"You have obtained an 'Obelisk the Tormentor Summoning Card.'"
"Obelisk the Tormentor Summoning Card: Crush the card to summon Obelisk the Tormentor. The divine giant will obey your command and use its overwhelming Divine Fist to eliminate all obstacles before you. Duration: 30 minutes."
Ethan's eyes widened instantly.
Joy burst across his face.
Jackpot.
And not just any jackpot—a massive one.
As one of the three Egyptian God Cards, Obelisk the Tormentor symbolized the ruler of the earth, the king of raw power, and a god capable of crushing storms themselves.
With a divine entity like that at his command, Ethan suddenly felt much more confident.
If necessary, he could even stroll into Asgard without fear.
And if Thanos showed up early?
Ethan would dare to fight him.
Of course, there was one unfortunate limitation.
The activation requirement was crushing the card.
That meant the summon was a one-time consumable.
In other words, it could only be used as a last-resort trump card rather than something he casually showed off.
Even so, Ethan was more than satisfied with this summon.
After carefully storing the card, he returned to the bedroom.
Wanda was still asleep.
Ethan smiled softly, climbed back into bed, and wrapped his arms around her before drifting into sleep himself.
Technically, Ethan no longer needed much sleep. One hour per day was enough, and sometimes he could go several days without sleeping at all.
But he enjoyed the act of sleeping.
And lately, he enjoyed sleeping with Wanda in his arms even more.
...
While Ethan slept peacefully, a very different scene was unfolding at a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base.
Late at night.
A helicopter landed on the facility's landing pad.
Nick Fury stepped out immediately after it touched down.
Phil Coulson was already waiting nearby.
"How bad is it?" Fury asked without preamble.
"That's the problem, sir," Coulson replied. "We don't know how bad it is."
Fury frowned deeply.
The worst situation wasn't a known disaster.
It was not knowing how severe the disaster might become.
Without that knowledge, preparation became nearly impossible.
"Dr. Selvig detected a massive energy surge from the Tesseract about four hours ago," Coulson began.
Fury interrupted him immediately.
"But Selvig wasn't authorized to run tests inside the facility."
"He didn't run a test," Coulson replied. "He wasn't even present when it started. The energy spike occurred naturally."
Fury's expression hardened.
"What level has the energy reached now?"
"It's still increasing. Dr. Selvig can't shut it down, so we've ordered a full evacuation."
"How long until everyone is out?"
"Thirty minutes."
"Speed it up," Fury ordered.
Coulson nodded and left to carry out the command.
Standing nearby, Maria Hill spoke up.
"Director, evacuation may not be enough. If we lose control of the Tesseract's energy output, the resulting damage could exceed anything we've predicted."
Fury didn't hesitate.
"You want everyone to sit around waiting for it to explode?" he said sharply. "Transfer every piece of data from the underground archives immediately. Also move the second-generation prototype."
"Yes, sir."
Hill turned and began issuing orders.
Fury walked deeper into the facility until he reached the laboratory housing the Tesseract.
Dr. Erik Selvig stood near the glowing cube, monitoring the rapidly fluctuating readings.
"Doctor," Fury said. "What's happening?"
Selvig turned toward him, his face tense.
"The Tesseract is behaving strangely," he said. "It's not just active. It's… acting on its own."
"Why not cut the power?" Fury asked.
Selvig shook his head helplessly.
"It is the power source. Even if we shut everything down, it will simply restart itself. If the energy output continues rising and reaches a peak, the consequences could be catastrophic."
Suddenly, one of the researchers shouted.
"Doctor! The energy levels just spiked again!"
"Is there any solution?" Fury demanded.
Selvig hesitated before answering.
"Director, you should know something about the Tesseract."
"It's essentially a gateway to another part of the universe."
Fury's expression turned grim.
"And gates can be opened from both sides."
"What are you saying?" Fury asked.
Selvig swallowed.
"I think… someone on the other side might be forcing the door open."
At that exact moment, the Tesseract erupted with power.
A blinding blue beam of light shot upward from the cube.
The beam expanded into a swirling energy tunnel.
Then two figures stepped out from the other side.
The portal collapsed a moment later.
One of the figures was Loki.
The other wore a large black hooded cloak that obscured their appearance completely.
"Damn it," Fury muttered.
He recognized Loki immediately.
Without hesitation, Fury drew his pistol and fired.
"Open fire!"
The surrounding agents reacted instantly.
Their training kicked in as they raised their weapons and unleashed a barrage of gunfire.
But the bullets did absolutely nothing to Loki.
They bounced harmlessly off him.
The hooded figure beside Loki was even stranger.
Everyone in the room could clearly see that person standing there.
Yet every agent—including Fury himself—instinctively assumed someone else would deal with the hooded intruder.
Instead, they all focused their fire on Loki.
"Loki," the hooded figure said coldly. "Stop wasting time. Take the Tesseract and fulfill the master's order."
The hooded servant didn't understand why their master insisted on retrieving the Tesseract through Loki.
The Black Order had destroyed countless planets across the universe.
If their master commanded it, the Chitauri army could invade Earth directly and seize the Tesseract within hours.
But questioning the master's orders was not something the hooded servant dared to do.
Nor would he ever consider it.
Loki frowned slightly at the commanding tone.
"Don't forget," Loki replied coldly, "your master ordered you to obey me."
"If you fail to deliver the Tesseract to the master in the end," the hooded figure answered flatly, "I will kill you."
After saying that, the hooded servant fell silent.
Loki no longer had any interest in playing games with the mortals around him.
Ice spikes formed in his hands and launched forward repeatedly.
Agents fell one after another.
Within moments, the entire room was littered with bodies.
Only Dr. Selvig remained standing.
Loki approached him slowly.
With a faint smile, he tapped Selvig's chest using the glowing scepter in his hand.
The blue light instantly took control of Selvig's mind.
Once Selvig was under his influence, Loki removed the Tesseract from its containment device.
Then he and his companions left the facility together.
....
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