Here's the final chapter!

It will be followed by an epilogue ;)

XXXX

Chapter 15:

Sharon Carter got to her feet, noting that her blue uniform had torn in half, dangling on her right side. Then, she noticed the drops of blood that had begun to dirty her hands.

The woman had joined the rest of the air force to assist the Wakandian fleet during the air battle against Ghidorah. Shortly thereafter, the Quinjet had been hit by the alien's electric beams, forcing it to an emergency landing in a devastated neighbourhood of the city.

She was certainly not unscathed from the experience, but at least she could console herself with the fact that she had survived where so many drivers had lost their lives.
She touched her nostrils, caught by a lightning doubt, and there she confirmed that ... yes, she was bleeding from her nose.

"It could be worse", she thought, while the blood liquid slid down her chin and throat.

It made her laugh, involved in a sudden surge of hilarity. Immediately, however, a twitch of cough forced her to bend her neck down and erupt a decisive sequence of cavernous verses that didn't bode well.

With each cough, explosions of thick, hot liquid went up the walls of her oesophagus, forcing her to savour the ferrous taste of blood, which she spat out into clumps of reddish matter and saliva foam.

"Shit ..."

She found the strength to hoist her head and look forward: hundreds of burned bodies adorned the streets of the city.

Some were getting up, shaken and tried. Others remained stoically on the ground.

Were they unconscious? In a coma? Dead? Sharon had no way of understanding it.

Suddenly her body was hit by other spasms, and her legs began to tremble like never before.

Now that the excitement of the moment was gradually fading like a patch of mud diluted in the water, she could listen with absolute clarity of the senses to the physical pain that lapped her body.

It was then that the shock wave hit her with the same power of a train.

A deafening scream, which many of the Avengers had learned to associate with the bark of madness, spread over all that remained of the devastation of New York.

It was followed by those of the surviving citizens, more acute and strident. Screams of fear, which dispersed everywhere, between those who were looking for shelter and those outside who had witnessed the epic battle between Ghidorah and the earth's paladins.

The three heads of the dragon rose in unison, drawn by that demonic cry.

"Impossible", the middle one hissed.

Only a few people in the city had mistaken the explosion of telekinetic energy for a thunder. A thunder was like heavy artillery in the sky. The roar, on the contrary, echoed like a giant shotgun.

The broken half of the Empire State Building rose from the ground, supported by a red glow. It got up for about a hundred meters, like a ramp with a gentle slope, remaining suspended in the air.

The north end of the George Washington bridge was uprooted from its base and the whole structure folded sideways into the Hudson River, whose flood was now at its peak. The south side plunged above a neighbourhood, while the opposite side joined the Empire.

Civilians, Avengers, Ghidorah itself ... they all turned to look at the scarlet column that rose like a volcanic eruption in the sky.

The roar was frightening and, for a moment, all the windows of the city came alive with a supernatural light in which magenta and blue mingled. Then, just a few seconds later, the shock wave was released, passing through the windows, through the doors, through the vents, like a thousand muscular and merciless arms.

The roof of a factory lifted all together like a strange spaceship covered with tiles, supported by a flame pillow, after which it crumbled into a hundred thousand fragments. Hundreds of buildings suffered the same fate, while the figure of Wanda Maximoff stood out in the middle of the catastrophe.

The woman had a primordial hatred within herself. Hate for Ghidorah and the rubble, whose blanket of soot rose from what was once the most prosperous city in the United States. Hate for the monster and the moans of the desperate, whose bodies collapsed on the ground stained the floors of the streets with blood. Hate for the monster and, simply, for its existence, which had inevitably led to the death of the beloved.

The Empire State Building and half of the suspension bridge were thrown at full force against Ghidorah, supported by an anger that only the Hulk could have matched.

The dragon, too surprised to react in time, was thrown backwards by the force of the impact, away from the startled looks of the Avengers.

The creature landed on its back, roaring in anger and pain, as Wanda glided in front of it and landed on top of a fallen building.

Shaking off the rubble that unsuccessfully tried to keep it on the ground, the three-headed monster rose to its full height.

The middle head stared intently at Wanda, losing itself in the boundless abyss that was her hatred, as if it was thinking about something, building a new Machiavellian plan.

"Interesting ... nobody has ever managed to voluntarily escape my mind control. I underestimated you, witch", it said with a vaguely impressed tone.

"And this will be your last mistake", the woman retorted, lighting her hands with a familiar scarlet glow.

The creature gave her a shrewd look. "On this I can only agree", it said spreading both wings, intimidatingly. "I'm more powerful than ever, and the last time we met you barely managed to react!"

"That's not what I remember", Wanda hissed, with a provocative grin.

Ghidorah's eyes were pierced with anger.
"Allow me to refresh your memory", it growled through its teeth.

The beast launched itself into the air, charging the witch like a bulldozer. The former Avenger did the same, using a telekinetic push to get off the ground.

The two opponents met in mid-air, generating a shock wave that released golden and scarlet flashes in every direction, illuminating the centre of New York.

Strange appeared a few steps from the Avengers, flanked by Wong.

"She won't be able to keep it busy for long. We must get rid of Ghidorah before the Earth collapses definitively on itself", the sorcerer said, his gaze fixed on the titanic battle that was taking place above them.

Rocket released a loud snort.
"And how do you think we should do that? We pulled everything we had on that thing!" he shouted angrily, pointing furiously towards Carol and Thor.

Strange glanced over the group of superheroes, dwelling on their tired, battered looks ... on the lifeless bodies of Rhodey, Bucky and Drax, as well as those of many of his acolytes.

He was tempted by the impulse to turn and look around him for the consequences of the fight, but he didn't have the courage. Watching his beloved city fall apart one structure at a time had already been an unbearable torment.

How could he now stare with the same eyes at the hell that unfolded between those streets, between the high flames that lapped the skies and the rays of the moon that traced the skeletons of what remained of New York? Not to mention the corpses. All those lifeless bodies…

He stared at the ground in front of him for an indefinite lapse of time, falling back into that kind of trance that had kept him company even in a previous time, when he had lost the use of his hands.

He felt a tightening in his heart but proceeded to suffocate it. This was no time for grief, not when Wanda had given them the opportunity to turn the tide.

"I think I have an idea", he said with renewed determination. "We don't have the firepower necessary to defeat that thing ... but we can still take it to a place where it won't be able to hurt anyone, at least for a while."

Visibly confused expressions began to appear on the faces of the various superheroes.

All of them began to consider the man's words, trying to understand their hidden meaning. In the end, it was Wong who sensed the wizard's plan.

"Do you want to teleport that thing into space?" he asked incredulously, arousing surprised looks from others.

Strange nodded in confirmation. "On Titan, to be precise. It can be done?"

"Well ... In theory yes ..." Wong replied, "but we'll need all the sorcerers available to create a portal large enough to allow the transfer. Besides, someone will have to drop that monster inside it", he added with a reluctant voice.

The various fighters started looking around. Did they have the strength to perform such an act? Even after all that had happened?

Thor let out a tired sigh. "Even if we could do such a thing, in the long run it would be completely useless. Sooner or later, Ghidorah would simply return to this planet ... and when it does, it will be ready to fight us."

"And we'll be ready for it", Carol argued, receiving an unconvinced look from Sam.

"Really? Because I strongly doubt that we'll have what we need to kill it before that time arrives", the Avenger muttered, with a de facto tone.

The woman swore softly, well aware that the hero's words were true. As much as she hated to admit it, they didn't have the strength to fight against such a being.

And even if they managed to stop it for a while ... would it have been fair to speak of victory, when the city was reduced to ashes and the victims only waited for their moment to be celebrated and buried?

In addition, what made her feel worse was the awareness of knowing that the nightmare was not over yet.

Ghidorah was only one of the many threats scattered around the cosmos. This meant that more would come soon. Perhaps, who knows, much earlier than they could ever have imagined.

For too long she and the rest of the Avengers had flown over that reality, convinced that after Thanos they would be able to face everything. But they had been wrong, and for this reason many had suffered.

"It was our fault. We've been careless ... It shouldn't have ended like this!"

"What if we teleport it somewhere else?" Scott intruded, interrupting her thoughts.

The reaction was instantaneous. The heroes gathered began to stare at the scientist with strange expressions.

"Like where?" Jessica asked, peering skeptically.

Lang just shrugged.
"Inside a star", he replied, further surprising the group. "Think about it! Not even a creature with that kind of regenerating factor could survive such a thing."

Everyone turned in the direction of Strange, waiting or not for a confirmation that such a plan could work.

The sorcerer raised his hand to his chin, in deep contemplation.

"The idea is good, but unfortunately unachievable", he said after a few moments of silence. "I need to have a clear vision of the place where I am sending it… and unfortunately I've never seen a star close enough in all my life."

"I did!" Mantis suddenly exclaimed.

Strange looked at her oddly, followed by the rest of the Avengers.
"And how does this help me?" he asked puzzled.

The alien smiled shyly, waving the fingers of her right hand. These began to light up with a faint glow, a phenomenon that also extended to the tip of her antennae.

"My species can establish a telepathic connection with individuals of other races. I could send the images of a star directly into your brain", she offered with determination, eager to avenge the death of Drax.

After hearing her explanation, Strange glanced at Wong. The man shrugged, as if he were supporting the idea. After all ... what did they have to lose?

"So ... Problem solved?" Quill asked, still supported by Gamorah.

Next to Thor, Jane shook her head in denial.
"There is still the problem of gravity", the astrophysicist said. "You cannot open a portal of similar dimensions too close to a star, you would risk destroying the planet due to the immense gravitational force exerted by it."

"You are right. We would need a way to push Ghidorah into the orbit of the star", Bruce confirmed, provoking disconsolate expressions by the group.

An inexorable silence seemed to fall over the entire area, despite the noise generated by the clash between Wanda and Ghidorah. It was as if a ghostly hand, gloomy and formless, had fallen over the whole city, testifying to the fact that there was no longer any possibility of salvation.

This, at least, until Thor called the group's attention.

"You don't have to worry about this", he said with a reassuring smile.

Strange raised an eyebrow.
"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

If possible, the grin on the god's face seemed to widen.

"Because I have an idea", he replied. "One that will allow us to accomplish such a task without risking the security of Midgard."

Stephen narrowed his eyes, trying to find the slightest sign of lie and hesitation in the Asgardian's statement. He found none, but he wouldn't have blindly trusted the Asgardian's words. After all, he wasn't known for being the sharpest mind among the Avengers.

Noticing the wizard's hesitation, Thor laid a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.
"Trust me, you won't be disappointed. You just have to keep the portal open long enough to allow me to implement the plan", he said seriously.

Strange was silent for about half a minute, contemplating the eyes of the Asgardian.
" ... I'll do as you ask", he said finally, with a quick nod.

He held out his hand to Mantis and she seized it without hesitation. Then, he opened a portal and entered it, quickly followed by Wong and the surviving acolytes. The rest of the Avengers remained behind.

Nebula joined Thor, giving him a sideways glance.

"So, do you intend to reveal this great plan of yours, O god of thunder?" she asked with both arms crossed in front of her chest.

The Asgardian simply smiled at her. "Simple. I will launch against Ghidorah, push it into the portal and drag that monster directly into the star."

"Yes, good luck", Gamora snorted. "The force of gravity would drag you both inside. It would be suicide."

"I am aware of it", the Asgardian replied, surprising the Zen Whoberi.

A few paces from him, Matt had been monitoring Thor's heartbeat since the beginning of his conversation with Strange.

"Interesting, it doesn't seem to worry you", he observed impassively, not perceiving in the man any sign of fear or discomfort. "I deduce that you've devised a way to avoid it."

"Nope."

The answer made everyone present stumble.

Nebula raised an eyebrow, carefully peering at the absolutely serene face of the Asgardian. "But then ..."

She stopped suddenly. Then, a shocking realization began to make its way into her brain. The same conclusion that the rest of the Avengers began to reach.
"No ..." she whispered with a low voice, while Thor turned to her with a sad smile.

"Nebula, you know it's the only way."

The cyborg tightened both her eyelids, making a step forward threateningly.
"No!" she repeated with greater force, receiving a sigh from the god of thunder.

"Nebula ..."

"I refuse to accept it!" the woman growled, grabbing the Asgardian's shoulders and forcing him to stare at her. "I will not allow you to sacrifice your life. I've already lost my parents, my people, my planet, my sister ... I won't lose you too!"

Her face began to be streaked with tracks of anguished tears.

Thor approached her and crouched down in front of her, doing what in other circumstances he would never have dared to do: he held her in his arms, letting his emotions flow out of his body.

Initially surprised by the gesture, Nebula hugged him and buried her face in his chest, unable to escape that contact.

"Please! You don't owe anything to this world…not anymore! You already gave it everything", she continued between sobs, while Thor gently stroked her back, in an attempt to comfort her.

"Not everything… not yet", he said after a few moments of silence.

The cyborg lifted her head and snapped, staring at him with her big, wet black eyes.

Despite the situation, Thor found himself rejoiced by the affection he saw in them. An affection that at that moment was addressed to him…and only to him, the same one that he had peered for the last time about five years ago, in the gaze of his mother.

"I've seen many things, Nebula. Things mortals could only imagine", he began with a heavy tone. "I have seen countless planets, some beautiful and some ugly. I saw the end of Asgard and creations burn. And I've fought so many wars ... taken so many lives. I did worse things than you think, and when I close my eyes…I hear more screams than anyone can ever count."

He smiled sadly, in an almost ironic way.
"And do you know what I've done with this pain? Do I really have to explain it to you?" he said, raising his right hand and closing it in a vigorous punch. "I held it tightly, until it burned my hands ... and I said to myself only one thing: 'No one else will ever have to feel like this ever again. No one else will have to try this pain anymore. Not if I can avoid it'."

Having said that, he began to slowly caress her cheek, wiping away the tears that still fell copiously from the cyborg's eyes.

"Losing my life for those who I love ... would be the greatest of honours", he finished, pouring all the conviction he was capable of into those last words.

Nebula looked at him stunned. In that moment, she understood with absolute certainty that, after years of struggle and countless sufferings, she had finally found someone who really understood her. A companion ready to defend her against the difficulties of the future.

Then slowly, almost hesitantly, the cyborg pushed herself up with her tiptoes ... and kissed him.

The moon briefly appeared over the storm clouds, one ray at a time, only to sink into the mysteries of the distant and stormy blanket. Gloomy night fell over New York as the woman projected her body forward and clung further to that of the god.

Thor responded to the kiss, gently cupping Nebula's face, deepening the contact. Then he parted, continuing to stare at her gently.

"You will sleep safe tonight. All of you", he said, turning to the rest of the heroes. They all had grim expressions on their faces, now fully aware of what the Asgardian would try to do to save them all.

"There could be another way", Spider-Man muttered, without too much conviction.

The god of thunder simply shook his head.
"There isn't. Not in this case", he said with a de facto tone.

The wall-climber lowered his gaze to the ground. "This…this is not fair."

"Life is rarely", Thor admitted, engaging in a laugh without joy.

Carol, who had witnessed the confrontation between him and Nebula with a heavy heart, broke away from Peter briefly and made a military salute.

She wished she could help, assist the Aesir in some way, but Ghidorah's latest attack had drained her of every ounce of energy. The only reason the god of thunder was still capable of fighting, was because of his Asgardian nature.

"It was an honour… Thor, son of Odin", she said with a sad smile, quickly imitated by Frank, Daisy and Sam. All of them had served in the military ... and would have honoured the warrior's sacrifice in the only way they thought fit: officially recognizing him as a companion in arms.

Rocket leapt forward, hugging the Asgardian's leg.

"I'll miss you, golden curls", he said with his face wet with tears, while Groot put a hand on his shoulder.

Thor stroked the head of the genetic experiment, looking towards the rest of the Avengers.

Quill, Gamora, Luke, T'Challa, Scott, Hope, Peter, Matt and Bruce ... all of them gave him respectful nods, trying to hide the swirl of sadness and resignation that permeated their souls.

The thing, however, didn't go unnoticed by the Asgardian, who had witnessed a similar behaviour in many of the warriors with whom he had fought during his long life.
"Don't be sad, my friends!" he exclaimed suddenly, calling Mjolnir back to him and hoisting him towards the sky. "The great men are forged in fire. It is the privilege of smaller men to light the flames ... Whatever the price."

In that precise moment, a blur came alongside Nebula, wrapping the god of thunder in a warm hug.

Thor looked down, finding himself staring at Jane Foster's brown pupils.

"I still remember when I met you for the first time. You were a real asshole", the woman said, through tears.

She sniffled, tightening her grip on the Asgardian's body. "Now you're even worse. You're an asshole with a good heart!"

Thor smiled warmly, affectionately running his fingers through the long hair of the one who had been his first love.

"We all change, Jane. If you think about it, we are all different people throughout our lives. And that's okay ... it's good, you have to keep moving. However, we must not forget all the people we have been before. I will never forget anything of what I have experienced ... not even one day, I swear it", he said with conviction, throwing one last look to the group. "I will always remember ... when I was an Avenger."

XXXX

The clash between Wanda and Ghidorah was continuing with no holds barred.

A riot of lightning, thunder and glitzes of scarlet energy that hovered in the abandoned streets of New York like shooting stars.

The buildings collapsed, the windows poured out on the ground in a clinking cacophony, while the spectators still alive watched helplessly a battle that seemed to come directly from the Book of Revelation.

Still, the fighting was getting more and more unbalanced. In fact, Wanda had begun to lose strength. She wouldn't be able to resist Ghidorah's power for much longer ... and this the dragon knew well.

The three heads opened their jaws, preparing to attack the witch at the same time. The woman clenched her teeth and began to summon a telekinetic sphere to curb the impending onslaught.

Ghidorah shouted its offensive.

The monster immediately sensed the power of Wanda trying to lick the electric beams, and increased the power of the attack, while the telekinetic ball wrapped them in a whirlwind of pure energy.

With great effort, the projection of the Scarlet Witch managed to contain the shock wave caused by the beams, thus avoiding that her body was thrown away before the end of that tug of war between titans. An end that came with a great detonation of light that enveloped New York in a blanket of debris, plunging it into a silence worthy of a ghost town.

Wanda fell to her knees, panting from the effort, as the red glow surrounding her body began to dissolve.

At the same time, the huge figure of Ghidorah emerged from the cloud of dust, practically unharmed.

Scarlet Witch tried to get up, but found herself unable to do so. She stumbled forward, looking down at the ground.

Damn it, she thought with a snarl. She had spent too much energy during her previous battles and now she no longer had the strength to fight.

The hydra's middle head noticed it and smiled dangerously.

"So weak, so ... vulnerable ... look at me. Look at death itself!" the monster hissed through its fangs.

However, the former Avenger didn't raise her head. Instead, to the dragon's surprise ... she started laughing. A low and guttural sound, which gradually grew, until it became a full-fledged laugh.

Ghidorah stared at her oddly.
"Why are you laughing? Have you finally lost your mind?" it asked with a mocking tone.

Wanda finally looked up, meeting the alien's scarlet eyes with a fierce smile.

"No ... I laugh because of you!" she shouted, surprising the monster. "Our scientists say that, millions of years ago, huge beasts roamed this world, as big as mountains. But of them there are only bones left in resin. Time wears down even the most powerful of creatures. Look what it did to you!"

Ghidorah opened its eyelids dangerously, while a blind and heavy anger began to make its way into its malevolent mind. Was this ... wretched creature mocking it?! Even after all it had done to her and her miserable allies ... did she dare make fun of it? Unacceptable!

If possible, almost as if she had read the dragon's thoughts, the grin on Wanda's face seemed to widen.

"One day you will perish. You will lie on the earth, together with the atrocities you've committed. What about your actions? Forgotten. Your horrors? Deleted. Your bones will turn to sand. And right on that sand the universe will keep going on, until you are nothing but dust in its memories", she said with an amused glint in his eyes. "Do you think I'm weak? No, you are the weak! Because you will never know love ... or friendship ... and I feel sorry for you!"

Apparently, that was the drop that made the vase overflow.

Ghidorah's gills shot up, illuminated like lanterns, ready to pour all the anger held up to that moment on that woman. She had dared to feel pity for it ... the destroyer of worlds! She would have paid such an affront with her life.

But at that moment, before the beast could complete the attack, the arrival of a familiar figure behind it forced it to turn around.

Thor rose imposingly in front of the hydra, his body burned and bleeding, Mjolnir and Stormbreaker in his hands.

Ghidorah's middle head smiled mockingly.
"Ah, son of Odin! Welcome back, we missed you", it said with a mischievous background, while the one on the left snarled in the Asgardian's direction. Evidently, it had not yet forgotten the beheading that took place less than an hour earlier.

"It will end today", the god of thunder said, tightening both his eyelids and putting himself in an attack position.

Ghidorah barked a chilling laugh.
"I know it will end today, I've already seen the outcome. For this I will allow your companions to enjoy the show. Because we are all aware that I will beat you!" it hissed with sadistic pleasure.

Then, the three heads began to pour bundles of electric beams across the area, almost randomly.

Thor opened his pupils wide and tried to avoid them as much as possible. Because of this, he didn't notice Ghidorah's long tail hitting him from the side.

He rolled to the ground, losing his grip on Stormbreaker, while the dragon laughed mockingly.

The god thunder got to his feet and spat blood, visibly tired by the blow.

He launched himself against Ghidorah, tightened his grip on Mjolnir's handle and hit the dragon's middle head, and again, and again. And he continued, even if he lacked air, even if every movement was a jolt that ran through his muscles. Even if every blow to that beast had an echo of suffering.

Ghidorah stepped aside, and the last attack of the Aesir failed.

The middle head coughed, spitting two of its sharp teeth, while the left one opened its jaws wide.

Soon, Thor found himself once again trapped in the relentless grasp of the beast.

The dragon slammed the Asgardian onto the ground, then grabbed him again between its teeth and threw him against the carcass of a building. Thor's figure pierced it from side to side, tumbling on the street and lifting the pipes that ran under the neighbourhood.

He groaned in pain and put his fists on the ground, feeling every muscle in his body go up in flames. Yet, despite all that suffering, despite his mind telling him to stop, the man didn't give up.

He appealed to the energies that still flowed through his veins like condensed magma ... and he got up from the ground, while the blood was pouring copiously from the open wounds.

Ghidorah looked at the whole scene incredulously.

"Why, Thor? Why are you doing this? Why do you get up? Why do you keep fighting?" it asked with a snarl, its red eyes illuminated by a furious glint. "Do you really think you're fighting for something other than your blood thirst? Can you tell me what it is, assuming you are aware of it?"

The god of thunder, however, didn't seem to have heard its words and simply put himself in an attacking position.

"Are you fighting for pride?! Vengeance?! Don't tell me it's love, son of Odin! It's just an illusion, a simple whim created to justify an existence devoid of the slightest meaning or purpose!" the dragon continued, to then indicate the Avengers gathered a few hundred meters from the clash. "Are you fighting for them?! For these filthy humans? They're just a species that craves death! They need it. It's the only way they have to renew themselves, the true way they have to progress. They pretend there's poetry in that, but instead it's just pathetic! At least I kill out of necessity!"

But the Asgardian continued to remain silent, supporting the alien's gaze and tightening his grip on the hammer.

Needless to say, the action only increased Ghidorah's anger.
"You should have understood by now, Thor, you won't win, fighting for this world is useless!" the beast exclaimed, while thunder and lightning illuminated the skies of New York.

At those words, Thor curled both his lips into a little smile.

"This is your problem, Ghidorah, you've always chosen to see the ugliness of this universe. The chaos", he said, surprising the dragon. "I chose to see its beauty. I chose to believe that our days have an order, a purpose. I like to remember what my mother once said to me: sooner or later, we are all new to this world. And the new ones look for our own things. A place to be free, where to realize your dreams ... a place with infinite possibilities."

The expression on his face returned serious and resolute, as he pointed Mjolnir towards the opponent.
"And I will protect mine ... even in death", he ended with determination.

Ghidorah snapped its forked tongue out of anger.

Meanwhile, a golden glow, a few blocks away, caught its attention.

The dragon saw Strange, accompanied by the figure of Mantis and those of his disciples. While the alien had her eyes closed and her hands resting on the sorcerer's temples, his acolytes had begun to convulsively wave their arms in mid-air.

A huge portal, the largest ever seen in Earth's memory, began to form in that same point. Beyond its circumference, Ghidorah saw the immensity of the space. And much further away ... a luminous sphere that stood out in the void, surrounded by thousands of small flashes.

The dragon stamped its feet a couple of times, lifting pieces of asphalt and debris. It was blinded by anger and tired of those miserable humans who tried to fight it. At that point, it would resort to any expedient in order to destroy them.

The three heads opened their mouths in unison ... and turned abruptly.

Thor, who had tried to attack the alien from behind during that brief moment of apparent inattention, found himself hit by the full power of the beams. He was shot on the ground like a bullet, his body smouldering and covered in burns.

Ghidorah smiled maliciously at the exhausted figure of the Asgardian.

"Do you feel the end, son of Odin? But before killing you, I will give you one last pearl of wisdom", he said with a mocking tone. "You really want to know what the real purpose of life is? I'll reveal it to you! The purpose of life ... is to end!"

The beast opened its mouth wide, preparing to incinerate that annoying enemy once and for all. It had no chance.

A bullet of scarlet light hit the dragon straight on its right muzzle, causing it to stumble backwards.

It turned, casting a furious glance at the person who had dared to stop the execution.

Wanda was there, a hundred meters from the beast, trying to remain standing. Her hands were pointed forward, and her eyes lit red.

"They are really persistent", Ghidorah commented, visibly irritated.

It lifted its tail, and the sharp tips at the double ends straightened. Then the creature snapped the long bump like a whip.

Dozens of quills shot towards Wanda with the sole purpose of stabbing her and ending her life.

The woman let out a sigh and closed her eyelids, aware that she would never be able to dodge them, nor did she have the strength to block them telekinetically. She waited for the pain ... but this never came.

A strange sound was heard, like egg shells being crushed. Then, the Scarlet Witch sensed a distinct copper smell. She opened his eyes ... and screamed.

Bruce Banner stood in front of her, partially transformed into a Hulk, with green skin wet with blood. At the centre of his chest and on his stomach stood two huge quills the size of a tree branch, stuck in the flesh. He had stood before her to save her.

The man coughed a trickle of blood and fell to the ground as Scarlet Witch lunged for him.

"Bruce! Oh my God", the woman whined, crouching beside the Avenger. "Oh God, Bruce, why ... why did you do that?!"

"What kind of doctor would I be ... if I didn't take care of my patients?" the man whispered, his pupils dilated and his lips curled in an almost imperceptible smile.

The woman began to cry, trying to use her powers to stop the bleeding ... but every attempt proved futile. She had lost too much energy.

Ghidorah merely snorted, disgusted by that manifestation of emotional weakness.

Then the three heads turned in Thor's direction.

The middle one raised an eyebrow, while the Asgardian tried to get back on his feet.

"Wait ... I've already seen all this", the creature muttered. "This is the end. It has come. Yes ... you were lying on the ground ... everything coincides! And I ... And I ... I was here, where I am now, and at this point I should say something. I should say, 'Now you will die', and then ... what?!"

Time seemed to stop. Surprised by their leader's sudden outburst, the other two heads stared at it in alarm.

"What? What did I see? No, no ... this is not right", the middle one said, shaking its muzzle as if it was trying to erase treacherous thoughts.

It looked up and looked at Thor, who had managed to get up and now kept Mjolnir raised in mid-air, ready to resume his attack.

For the first time since it had come to that planet, Ghidorah's scarlet eyes were pervaded by a shadow of panic.

In the meantime, the god of thunder took a run and rushed towards it.

The dragon glanced briefly behind itself, noticing the huge portal still open.

"It can't be ... that's not the way it should be ... Stay away from me!" the monster shouted angrily, charging another bundle of beams towards Thor. The other two heads followed their leader. They would put an end to the life of the Asgardian!

But in that moment...

FOOSH!

It all happened in a flash.

Of the arrow the dragon recognized only a blurred shadow, which made a curve along the left side of the middle head.

Ghidorah acted on impulse, closing the scaly eyelids that protected its eye, but it was too slow to react ... and it paid the consequences of that oversight in the most serious way.

Who from below stared with dismay at the whole scene saw the middle head bend backwards, struck by the foreign body exactly in the pupil.

From that moment, no one would have forgotten the howl of suffering that the creature emitted in that moment when, in the end, the arrow exploded in its eye, blinding it.

The left head jerked upright, alarmed by the sudden attack. It turned its muzzle to where the bullet had come from, just in time to see a mysterious figure stand on the rubble of a building.

Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, met the creature's gaze fearlessly. It had taken nearly three hours to reach the city, laboriously making his way through the streets clogged with debris and stray lightning generated by the storm. But now he was there, ready to support his old companions in times of need. Ready once again to protect his family and the planet they lived on, as he had done for many years.

He raised his bow at arm level ... and fired another arrow.

The left head was hit between the teeth, some of which broke due to the subsequent explosion. The same thing happened the one on the right, which had also hoisted itself to check the status of its brother.

As the two skulls screamed in anger and pain, the middle head eye had begun to regenerate. At the same time, it noticed that Thor had continued his charge undisturbed, now covered in lightning.

Although its sight was no longer as efficient as it was at the beginning, the dragon immediately recognized the meaning of those discharges that rose in the glow of the moon: its prey was fortifying again, ready to counter it.

No! It wasn't fair! It shouldn't have allowed him to do it again!

The beast tried to reload the bundle of gravitons ... but it was too late now.

Thor launched at a speed of a thousand miles per hour beyond the pile of rubble and bones, projected like a missile, now in a very precise trajectory, but not towards a light, but towards the darkness of the sidereal space.

He hit Ghidorah's body in the chest, dragging it with him.

He passed the portal and exploded in a space of absolute darkness, where darkness was everything, darkness was the cosmos and the universe, and where the depth of darkness was warm, bright, a slab of flames leading to the star that soon would end his life. It was on the dance floor of eternity ... and eternity was black and white at the same time.

He barely raised his head.

Ghidorah's faces were a barely recognizable lump in the cacophony of the moment, but Thor still managed to catch a glimpse of its eyes. They were filled with hatred, contempt and the security shown throughout the battle.

"And this bastard killed three of my friends without batting an eyelid", he thought angrily. So he would make those looks disappear forever!

He called Stormbreaker with one hand. The axe, which had followed him through the portal, began to spin towards him, while with his free limb the he lifted Mjolnir.
He struck Ghidorah's middle head, sending it to collide with the one on the right.

Then he grabbed its left head while it tried to bite him, and then he pressed his thumbs into its muzzle with all the strength he had left. And when the beast finally let out a cry of pain, Thor allowed the lightning to explode.

The discharges attacked the hydra's head, with a crackle that was lost in the void of space.

At the same time, the middle head threw itself towards the Asgardian, ready to sink its fangs into its body. It had no chance.

Stormbreaker severed it at neck height, cutting through the flesh as if it was butter.

The head didn't even have time to express its surprise as it detached itself and began to spin in the void of the cosmos.

The other two shrieked in surprise. For the first time in billions of years ... they were without their leader. Sure, it would only take a few minutes to regenerate, but that was all the time Thor needed.

Bewildered, alone and in pain, the pair of skulls began to fidget as if mad. And then came the fire.

The thunder and the beast sank into the surface layer of the star, immediately finding themselves wrapped in a red and inconsistent mass of neutrinos.

Not even a thread of darkness could pass through that mixture of fire, magma and pure light.

Right away, Thor realized he couldn't breathe, and he didn't hear any more sound than the pops of his own skin that was starting to burn, now audible due to an atmosphere that exceeded 5700 K.

For a moment he felt fear, but didn't panic. At that point it no longer mattered whether he would come out alive or not. He had accepted his fate long ago.
He drew Stormbreaker once more and began to sink it into Ghidorah's chest.

Time a few thousandths of a second and it seemed to him that he no longer remembered anything of his previous life, he was thinking only about that moment, and having to continue raging on his opponent as long as he would have the strength to continue.

His mother's face appeared before his eyes for a short period of time, only to end up devoured by the light. What was her name? Why didn't he suddenly remember it? It didn't matter. He had to continue.

Something snapped him in the shoulder, and vaguely recognized the scarlet eyes of the right head.

He holds a scream of pain.

He felt far ... insignificant. He felt everything flow away from himself, together with the blood of his life ... all his anger, all his pain, all fear, all confusion and anguish. He assumed he was about to die, but he felt ... ah, for Odin, he felt so lucid, so clean, like a properly washed window. That now let in all the glorious light of an unexpected sunrise.

The light ... for Odin, that perfect light that went from everywhere was sweeping the boundless horizon, in every second of time.

"Father ... mother ... brother ... soon I will hug you again", he thought with a tired smile.

Meanwhile, Ghidorah's middle head had finished regenerating.

It looked around briefly, becoming aware of the surrounding environment. A world made of flames and heat ... a world in which not even a being like it could have survived.
"I can't die like this ..." it whispered to itself. "I CANNOT DIEEEEAAAAAAAAARGH!"

There was a high-pitched scream of pain and fear and Ghidorah's heart exploded inside its body, burning with the muscles and skin.

The scream began to wane, to run out. Thor felt the body of the beast suddenly lock on him, like a gloved fist. Then everything relaxed.

For a moment, dragon and Asgardian were merged together. Finally came the last blaze ... and with it… the nothing.

XXXX

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So...yeah, Thor is dead. Ghidorah? Well...it's complicated...

I really hope you liked this final battle, I worked A LOT on it.