A spatial vortex carried a man and a dragon, piercing through one dimension after another, hurtling into the endless void.
"Roarrrr!"
In the midst of the vortex, Raiden was engaged in a fierce battle with Alduin. Three Elder Scrolls orbited around them, emanating a powerful force that enveloped them both.
The power of the Elder Scrolls not only protected them from the ravages of time and space but also expelled them. Time relentlessly eroded the bodies of the man and the dragon, dissolving the power within them.
Alduin, having previously crushed the Infinity Gauntlet, was left half-dead by the shattered power of the gems. Combined with the binding force of the Elder Scrolls, the man and the dragon were evenly matched in the chaotic vortex.
But as they continued to struggle, the Elder Scrolls' pull on them grew stronger. The Void awaited their arrival.
"Dragonborn! If we keep fighting like this, we'll both be banished to the end of time! Stop! I won't harm you," Alduin said, fear evident in his roars.
Alduin had already experienced that torment—countless eons alone in the Void, where you couldn't feel your body, see any colors, or sense anything but the endless passage of time. It was a fate worse than death.
But Raiden showed no signs of stopping. The power of the Elder Scrolls was consuming his strength, and he didn't know if he'd have another chance to resist if he stopped now.
Drawing from his past experience as a novelist on Earth, Raiden knew that trusting a villain words was tantamount to suicide. So he attacked Alduin with all his might, unable to trust the dragon promises.
Alduin, of course, knew that Raiden strength was also rapidly fading under the influence of the Elder Scrolls. He knew that if Raiden stopped, he would have no chance to resist.
But as a god, Alduin pride wouldn't allow him to break his word. If Raiden stopped, he wouldn't harm him. However, he would seize the opportunity to escape the Elder Scrolls' power, leaving Raiden to be banished to the end of time.
Yet Raiden had no intention of stopping, forcing Alduin to continue the fight. The dragon heart was filled with desperation.
This was Alduin last chance. If he didn't escape now, he would be sent back to that terrible place.
Due to the earlier attack by the Infinity Gems and the current chaos of the spatial vortex, the power of the Elder Scrolls was unstable. Only now did Alduin have a chance to break free from their binding.
But opportunities were fleeting.
"Roarrrr! Even if I die, I won't return to that place!" Alduin roared.
The Elder Scrolls' power bound Alduin wings and head, while the endless force of time pierced through his body, wrapping around his heart. Alduin was gradually being pulled into the end of time.
But Alduin was the World-Eater! How could he allow this to happen again?!
With his own power, Alduin tore out his heart. That corrupted heart, enveloped by countless evil forces, had become the most malevolent entity in the world.
After the last piece of flesh connecting to Alduin body was torn apart, the massive, still-beating heart was instantly exiled into the river of time by the Elder Scroll of Blood.
"Roarrr! I will retrieve it!" Alduin cast a regretful glance at Raiden before charging toward the barrier of the temporal vortex.
The temporal vortex traversed endless planes. To escape, Alduin would first have to break through the barrier with his flesh and blood, then seek a slim chance of survival amidst the countless layers of planes. Alduin would experience pain from every plane.
Yet Alduin resolutely crashed into the temporal barrier. Starting from his dragon horns, his flesh was gradually worn away by the barrier. By the time he passed through, Alduin had become a blood dragon, his fate unknown.
.....
Damn, that's determination! Raiden didn't possess flesh as strong as Alduin, nor could he extract a heart wrapped in the power of time like Alduin did.
Alduin was a god, possessing divine essence. He could continue to live even without a heart, but Raiden... After losing his heart, in this godforsaken place, he wouldn't even have the chance to become an undead, would he?
Moreover, Raiden lacked the courage to face death. He could only watch helplessly as his body was slowly consumed by time.
Just as Raiden heart turned to ashes, a crack suddenly appeared in the temporal barrier. On the other side of the crack, it seemed to be... a park?
Like a drowning man grasping at the last straw, Raiden frantically reached out toward the crack.
A masked man in a red bodysuit, with twin swords on his back, appeared before the crack.
But Raiden, consumed by the will to survive, didn't care who they are. He hoarsely shouted,
"Save me! Please, save me!"
"What?" The masked man tilted his head, looking at Raiden and surveying the environment inside. He spread his hands. "Sorry, buddy, are you in the wrong scene? I don't recall this part in our script."
"Please, save me!" Raiden could already feel everything around him beginning to reject him.
"OK, OK! But it looks pretty dangerous in there." The masked man called out to the side, "Hey, big guy, come give me a hand!"
Colossus and Domino were discussing something when they heard Deadpool call. Colossus looked up and saw Deadpool waving at them, pointing at the air beside him, asking for their help.
"Don't mind him." Colossus seemed to be speaking to himself, nodding after he finished, then lowering his head to continue his conversation with Domino.
"Hey! Buddy! WTF, are you pretending not to hear me?" Seeing that Colossus and Domino were ignoring him, Deadpool left Raiden behind and walked over.
'Damn it, save me first!'
But it was too late. The power of the Elder Scroll had completely consumed Raiden. In the last second before his banishment, Raiden maliciously grabbed a mace from his magical space and hurled it at Deadpool.
"Bonk!"
"What was that?" Deadpool turned around in confusion. Wow, it was a giant club!
On the ground in front of the crack, a strangely shape mace suddenly appeared, emitting a green mist. It was clear at a glance that this was no ordinary object.
Deadpool walked over, picked up the mace, and shouted into the crack, "Bro, did you drop this? Bro? Friend? Man? OMG, did you turn into this mace...? Well, I'll take good care of you. Feels pretty handy, actually." Deadpool gazed at the mace with infatuation, feeling as if some indescribable chemistry had already sparked between him and the weapon.
"What's that guy yelling about? And where did that weird, strange looking mace come from?" Domino tilted her head, sucking on a lollipop as she watched Deadpool swinging the mace up and down.
"Oh, he should put that dangerous thing down!" Colossus noticed too and wanted to step in to stop Deadpool.
"Do you really want to take his mace and then have him yammer in your ear or cause more trouble? He's not going to die anyway," Domino grabbed Colossus—or more accurately, was dragged a few steps by him.
"Fair point," Colossus said, spreading his hands. "Let's just continue our conversation."
Deadpool, who was having a blast playing with the mace, suddenly noticed the crack still there. Curious, he stuck his head inside and saw a scroll floating in the void.
"Maybe this thing probably unwanted, right? Well... I can't just litter, not even cosmic litter." Deadpool muttered to himself, his eyes darting around while he whistled innocently. His hand, however, stealthily reached into the crack and grabbed the ancient scroll.
"Yoink"
"What was that noise? What's Deadpool up to now?" But when Colossus turned to look, Deadpool had already vanished.
"Deadpool? Deadpool? Where'd he go?" Colossus pointed at the now-empty spot on the ground, asking Domino.
Domino shrugged, taking the lollipop out of her mouth. "Maybe he probably awakened some spatial ability or something again."