Grimlock wrapped his claws around the colossal blade.
And began to pull.
A terrifying surge of power erupted, the ground beneath him split open like cracked glass.
Yet the sword didn't budge.
Its weight defied all logic, far exceeding its sheer size. It was as though the weapon was anchored to the planet's very core. Trying to lift it felt like trying to drag a star out of orbit.
"Huh?"
Grimlock loosened his grip and stared down, utterly baffled.
"What kind of sword is this?! Why's it so damn heavy?!"
Eyes wide with disbelief, Grimlock let out a primal roar, pounding his chest with both claws. The shockwave thundered across the entire steel citadel, his brute strength was overwhelming. Even Optimus Prime couldn't match him in raw, unrestrained might.
"I, Grimlock—!"
"—will lift this sword today and claim the title of Supreme Commander of the Autobots!"
With a deafening stomp, Grimlock braced himself. He clutched the sword once more, cobalt optics blazing with savage determination.
Nearby, Optimus Prime watched impassively.
"I'm waiting for you to pull it out," he said flatly.
The calmness in his voice only stoked Grimlock's rage.
"RAAAAGH!!"
Power detonated from Grimlock like a bomb. The steel base trembled violently under the strain. Fortunately, the facility's infrastructure was reinforced with vibranium alloy, its resilience prevented total collapse.
Even so, less durable materials across the base began fracturing one by one.
Dr. Bruce Banner, caught in the tremors, gawked in awe.
His body shuddered involuntarily.
"T-This is... insane..." he muttered.
Then, half his face turned green. Hulk surged forth in a brief outburst.
"Even stronger than Hulk!" he roared.
The admission stung. Hulk prided himself on his strength, yet Megatron had nearly pummeled him into submission, and now Grimlock seemed to outmuscle even him.
Grimlock screamed again, legs now buried halfway into the floor from the sheer pressure he exerted.
But the sword remained unmoved.
"What the hell is this sword made of?! Why can't even I budge it?!"
He was lost, utterly and completely.
This defied everything he understood about science and force.
It should've at least trembled slightly, but there wasn't even a flicker of motion. It really was like it was rooted in the Earth's core.
Optimus stepped forward.
He placed a single hand on the hilt.
And effortlessly lifted the sword like it weighed nothing.
"???"
Grimlock went silent.
His already-limited processors practically short-circuited.
After a long pause, he bellowed:
"Fine, Optimus! You win! From now on, I follow your command!"
Optimus gave a simple nod, face emotionless, as if what he'd done was entirely unremarkable.
Yet in that calm, there was a quiet impatience, a sense that this was all a waste of his time.
The subtle glance he cast back at Grimlock carried something deeper, something commanding, unknowable.
Grimlock couldn't comprehend it, but he felt it.
And suddenly, he respected Optimus in a way he never had before.
"You're stronger than me, Optimus," he said in a low, guttural tone. He thumped his chest again. "I'll keep my word. You're the leader now. But don't get cocky, one day, when I'm even stronger, I'll challenge you again!"
Optimus strapped the massive sword onto his back and replied evenly:
"Talk to me about challenges once you've pulled the sword out."
"RAAAAGHHH!!"
Grimlock roared furiously and stomped away, each step quaking the ground beneath him. His pride was shattered.
Once he was gone, the others finally broke into laughter.
"When he finds out the truth, he's gonna go berserk," Martin said, chuckling as he looked at Optimus.
Optimus shrugged slightly.
"He chose the sword. I didn't force him. Let him try."
It was a comical scene.
That sword? No normal being could lift it.
Even Martin, with the Apex Armor and the Infinity Stones, would've had to break the rules of physics just to shift it.
This wasn't about brute force.
This was about something far more nebulous: worthiness. And Grimlock... well, Grimlock was many things. Pure of heart wasn't one of them, unless we're talking about pure ambition.
The sword was forged from a fusion of Uru metal (like Thor's Mjolnir), the Stormbreaker, converted gold, and an enormous cache of vibranium Martin had excavated recently.
The result? A weapon laced with mind-testing enchantments.
Martin stared at the sword on Optimus' back, awe in his eyes.
That blade had reached the threshold of a universe-tier artifact.
To be clear, Optimus was the only one present who could wield it without external power-ups. Anyone else would have to brute-force their way through mystical safeguards, and even then, only barely.
The sword was crafted specifically for Optimus, the culmination of Shockwave's and others' most ambitious research efforts.
Grimlock? He never stood a chance.
Days passed. Peace, at least on the surface, returned.
Martin lived his "ordinary" life—quiet, methodical, quietly scheming the next phase of his plans. Every week, he performed three full-zone random draws.
Most of the time, the rewards were underwhelming—more converted gold, a few high-energy crystals.
Still, there were breakthroughs.
Ratchet had harnessed the power of the Eternal Flame, using its properties to develop Dark Energon Crystals, a potent new energy source that could even reanimate those on the brink of death.
On the battlefield, they were artifacts of godlike power.
But in top-tier combat scenarios, their effectiveness was... limited.
The calm didn't last.
Suddenly—a pulse.
A terrifying psychic shockwave swept across the globe.
It came and went in an instant.
Most people didn't even notice.
But those with heightened mental or cosmic sensitivity?
They felt it.
Martin gently set down his freshly reheated cup of coffee.
Even he looked genuinely stunned.
"Under Creator-level scale, this was at least sub-Skyfather-tier psychic output," Shockwave reported immediately.
Martin nodded.
"Technically, it wasn't pure psychic energy... More like emotional force."
He stood silently, hands in pockets, gazing out the window.
This power...
It was the Phoenix Force.
One of the Three Primal Powers of the Multiverse.
Across all of Marvel canon, it had never truly appeared in full, never been fully mastered, never shown its complete form.
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