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675. Beating Heart
🕑 Added 2025-06-06 01:11:05 +0000 UTC“Tony, Tony, listen to me. This is not your fault,” Natasha said, speaking gently to Tony as he sat down in the pool of blood. However, Tony could not hear a word as he started ventilating. Jarvis started releasing all kinds of notifications about his elevated body functions, but all the noise made things worse.
“Jarvis, enter sleeping mode,” Tony ordered. However, he barely said these words before the world started shifting around him. Tony raised his hand to touch his head.
“Tony, Tony,” Natasha kept calling, but to no avail. “Is there anything you can do?”
“I’m the only reason he hasn't passed out yet,” Wong replied as he used a Spiritual Spell to alleviate Tony’s symptoms.
“Then, do better.”
“His panic attack is amplified by the Killing and Fear Authority. This is beyond my abilities,” Wong admitted. Natasha gritted his teeth as she looked in the distance. Thor’s Killing Legion mercilessly slaughtered her Shadow Legion. She could feel her energy rapidly depleting, not to mention the fact that Thor was playing around since he did not attack directly.
‘Time is running out,’ Natasha thought. She looked at Wong: “Can you protect my mind and soul?”
“Protect? In what context? And from what?”
“I need my soul to resist the corruption and invasion of a Demon God’s consciousness.”
“You’re not thinking of it?” Wong asked her with a somber tone.
“That’s the only option,” Natasha said with no hesitation. Wong was briefly silent: “You’re in luck. Dealing with Demon Gods is my specialty. But, what do we do with him?”
Natasha looked at Tony. “Put him with Banner and Sam.”
Wong opened a portal to send Tony away. He immediately started casting numerous protection spells. He used Karma-Taj Magic, Asgardian Magic, and Arcane Magic, creating a trip-layer protection around Natasha’s soul.
She closed her eyes, and Natasha’s body started to change. Her clothes and body turn into shadow as if she were an elemental creature. Her complexion turned paler, and her hair turned vantablack. Two small tattoos manifested below her eye socket, and when she opened her eyes, her pupil was all red. She had fused with the Shadow Demon God, Sav’von.
“Assimilate,” Natasha said coldly. Her shadow enlarged, surrounded every corner of this domain before swallowing it. The blood on the floor turned into shadow, the blood creatures turned into members of the Shadow Legion, and soon afterward, the entire dimension of this Domain was swallowed by the Shadow Dimension.
The Domain disappeared, leaving a few people still standing. Natasha calmly looked at Thor standing before him. “Your soul reeks of Dormammu, Felton, and Kirsha.”
“You mean the losers that my father conquered?” Thor calmly asked.
“So, they are dead in this timeline? Interesting. I’ve always been interested in Dormammu’s [Darkness Authority]. However, it seemed only your soul was branded from his dimension, and the authority should be in your father’s hands.”
“You’re not Natasha, are you?”
“Of course, I am n—” A pained expression flashed on her face before the red hue faded. “Of course, I am.” Wong immediately sighed in relief after hearing her normal tone of voice.
“You conquered the will of a Demon God? I have to say, I’m impressed,” Thor said. “However, this will not change anything.”
Natasha looked him in the eyes. “You know you don’t have to do this, right?”
“Hmm?”
“Your existence does not have to be defined by the name Odinson. Yes, you’ve made mistakes, but that’s only because your father is a monster. There is still time to break free from his control and be who you truly are.”
“Shut up,” Thor yelled. He jumped into the air and smashed his axe with unparalleled strength. However, Thor only destroyed the ground. Natasha appeared behind him as if she had always been here.
“How did it feel to kill your brother, whom you have loved for your life? What about your friends? The Avengers? They were all good people with good hearts. It must have broken you to do such a horrible thing, but you don’t have to blame yourself. Odin is the one responsible for their death.”
“Enough,” Thor yelled as he swung his sword backward. “I’m the one who killed them. Father is not responsible.”
“Really?” Natasha said while still standing behind. “Did you not lose consciousness when you killed Loki? Odin knew you did not have it in you, so he controlled your mind to finish the job. He also ensured you remembered the process vividly to break your psyche and ensure the darkness would take over your mind.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Thor released a lightning storm, trying to kill everything in the room. However, Natasha calmly swallowed Wong into her shadow before entering the Shadow Dimension to evade the attack. And once Thor finished, she appeared right behind him.
“What happened to your mother?” she asked.
“Don’t bring her into this.”
“It’s a simple question. Why are you so agitated?” Natasha uttered.
“My mother died during the invasion of Niflheim. It’s why my father accepted the power from the Dark Dimension. It’s why we needed to remove all weakness: to be strong enough so that nothing like that happens again,” Thor roared as he smashed his surroundings.
“Is that what Odin told you?”
“It’s the truth.”
“Then, why is your mother protecting your soul?” Natasha asked.
“What are you talking about?” Thor asked. He stopped his rampage, looking her in the eye. Natasha did not immediately reply but snapped her fingers. A phantom of Frigga slowly elevated from Thor’s body. She looked at him, smiled, and then returned to her body.
“Mother,” Thor called out, reaching out to touch her. But she was intangible, so his palm passed through her body.
“What’s the meaning of this? What kind of trickery did you use?”
“A brilliant type of magic,” Natasha commented. “If I had to guess, she saw how your father had lost himself to the corruption of the Dark Dimension. She knew she could not save him, but wanted to save you. So, she sacrificed herself to place a protection around your soul.
“It’s the reason you haven’t been fully corrupted. It’s why you still feel regret and pain for all you’ve done. It’s why you still have your humanity left.”
“No, no, that can’t be,” Thor muttered as he staggered backward. He felt his world was about to fall apart.
“Your highness, don’t listen to her.”
Thor turned to look at Heimdall. “Look me in the eyes and tell me she’s lying.” Heimdall knew everything because he could see everything. So, Thor knew he was probably the only one who knew the truth.
“It’s a lie,” Heimdall said without hesitation.
“I’ve known you for thousands of years,” Thor said calmly. “That’s why I know that when you’re lying, you will slowly bat your eyes once.” The atmosphere immediately became tense.
“Do you really want to go against the Allfather?” Heimdall asked.
Thor closed his eyes. “Loki, Sif, Vostagg, Hogun, Fandral, Tony, Colonel Rhode, Steve, Natasha, and Clint: I’m sorry. Mother, I won’t let your sacrifice be in vain.”
Thor opened his eyes and looked at Heimdall. “Are you going to stop me?”
“Nothing can stop the Allfather’s grand ambition,” Heimdall said calmly.
“We’ll see about that.” Thor jumped toward him. Natasha watched everything calmly. Her plan was successful. She knew the danger of using her powers in this form, so she decided to use the tactic that requires the least ability possible, not giving Sav’von the opportunity to swallow her mind.
While Natasha was rejoicing in her victory, she suddenly sensed something. ‘That damn demon found us.’ Garz-Tar was in the vicinity, and she sensed it. Natasha no longer hesitated to rush to the Rainbow Bridge’s control. However, she was not Tony, and her understanding of Asgardian Magic was limited to a basic understanding.
‘I guess we’ll do this the hard way,’ Natasha said as she used her shadow to assimilate the entire bridge and forcefully take control. She heard the sound of armor rushing toward her, so she hurried up. She activated the bridge, not caring what she broke in the process. She turned into a dark light that reached Midgard, or Earth, instantly.
“Wong,” Natasha yelled as she released him from her shadow.
“I’m on it,” Wong said as he immediately opened a portal to their timeline. The team rushed in before collapsing it behind them. They were lucky as one hand had pierced the portal, and it cut it off as it closed.
Comments
Jdotbenzo
Finally I’ve been waiting for an update
