Thor clenched the Soul Gem tightly in his hand, a confident sneer playing on his lips. "If you dare to appear in your soul state," he said, his voice cutting through the silence like thunder, "even as the Dark Lord, you'll kneel before me!"
The orange light of the gemstone flickered, then dimmed, as though it had feasted on an enormous meal. The gem, after all, had just devoured a being of immense power.
The Dark Dimension no longer had a ruler. Though many years from now another Dark Lord might rise, there would never be another Dormammu.
Thor turned his gaze toward Jean Grey, but his expression grew serious. There was another pressing issue to deal with.
"Don't come any closer!" Jean's voice trembled, filled with fear and desperation as she clutched her head.
Dormammu was gone, obliterated by the Phoenix Force. Yet, instead of retreating, the fiery power surged wildly within her. The glowing energy lines etched across her face remained, and her entire body seemed to be teetering on the edge of collapse.
"Stop!" Jean screamed as Thor took a step closer. Her voice cracked with anguish. "I can't control it! You don't understand this feeling—when this power surges, it's beyond my control!"
Tears welled up in her eyes as she trembled violently. "Every time it erupts, someone gets hurt. I don't want to hurt you. Please... just go!"
Thor didn't stop. He couldn't. He knew that if he turned away, Jean's emotions would spiral, unleashing destruction far worse than what they'd already endured.
He smiled gently, his tone calm but resolute. "I'm the one who asked you to release the seal. I caused the cosmic flare. If I abandon you now, I'd be nothing but a coward." He stepped closer, his voice steady. "I told you—I'll take you home. I'm not giving up on you. Trust me, we'll get through this together."
He reached her, placing a firm yet reassuring hand on her trembling shoulder.
"Don't—"
The words barely escaped her lips before the Phoenix Force erupted like a supernova. Flames engulfed them both, consuming everything in their immediate vicinity and freezing the surrounding air in an eerie stillness.
Jean's face twisted with pain and desperation as she struggled to maintain control. "No! I can't control it... Please, Thor, leave!" she begged, her voice breaking under the strain.
Thor met her gaze, his expression unwavering. "I told you—I'm taking you home!"
The flames surged higher. In her despair, Jean's golden eyes reflected the primal fury of the Phoenix.
In that moment, as the Phoenix Force surged uncontrollably, Thor finally understood Dormammu's terror.
The Phoenix Force was more than a cosmic power—it was the embodiment of universal passion, capable of both creation and destruction. It could ignite the spark of life in the universe or burn it to ash. This was the "Phoenix's Judgment."
Thor felt his once-immovable, godly physique begin to dissolve under the immense power. Even his superhuman regenerative abilities were suppressed. And yet, Jean was trying. Her desperate effort to rein in the power was the only thing keeping him from being completely obliterated.
"Stop hesitating," Jean cried, her voice raw with pain. "It's too late. You have to kill me!"
"Kill me!"
Thor's response was immediate. His weapon, Stormbreaker, fell to the ground with a resounding clang. He would not yield.
At that moment, the Phoenix Force coalesced into a blazing, golden form—a fiery phoenix so vivid it seemed almost solid.
Meanwhile, on Earth, the battle between Wanda Maximoff and Nightmare raged on.
The battlefield was a clash of titanic forces, with Wanda wielding Chaos Magic and Nightmare relying on the dark energy of fear. Both were among the most formidable entities in existence, but Wanda's control was far from perfect.
Suddenly, Wanda froze. Her breath hitched as a sharp pang pierced her chest.
She felt it—a tremor that rippled across the cosmos. Her expression turned grim as her eyes glowed blood-red.
A scream echoed across the battlefield, faint yet piercing, carrying with it an unshakable sense of foreboding.
The sound wasn't loud, but it reached everyone.
Wanda's energy surged uncontrollably, a flood of chaos spilling into the air. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the ground as a red wave exploded outward.
For a moment, the entire world seemed to shift. Colors faded, replaced by a blood-red hue that stained the sky. Everyone froze, their eyes drawn to Wanda in stunned silence.
Nightmare, the self-proclaimed master of fear, was the first to feel the effects. The green light of its dark energy flickered and dimmed as Wanda's Chaos Magic overwhelmed it.
"Ahhhhhh!" Nightmare screamed as its form began to disintegrate, unraveling under the relentless assault.
"I will not die!" it shrieked desperately. "As long as there are nightmares in this world, I will always have a chance to be reborn!"
Wanda's voice cut through the chaos, cold and emotionless. "You have no chance."
Nightmare's gaze widened in terror as it realized what was happening. The connection between itself and the Nightmare Dimension—the very source of its power—was severed, erased as if it had never existed.