Mavuika hung up the phone and dialed Tony's number again.
This time, it rang several times before being answered. Tony's voice came from the other end of the line, carrying a hint of weariness and nonchalance.
"Mavuika? Are you asking me to help fix a car again? I'm telling you, I'm busy with a— right now."
"Tony, there's no time for jokes." Mavuika interrupted him.
"Thanos is coming. He has the Space Stone, and his fleet could appear at any moment. Stay safe during this time."
There was a two-second silence on the other end. Tony's tone changed, shifting from lazy to serious.
"Wait, what did you say?"
Mavuika informed Tony about the information regarding Thanos as briefly as possible and urged him to be careful.
She didn't get to finish her sentence.
On the other end of the line, Tony's voice suddenly changed. "Wait—"
"What is it?"
Tony's voice carried a tremor of disbelief.
"Something's not right on my end..."
Above New York, a blue space portal was slowly opening.
The edges of the portal were filled with constantly flowing blue energy, like fire, like water, like some living thing breathing.
The portal grew larger and brighter, like an inverted eye in the sky, slowly opening wide.
On the other side of the portal were countless warships.
They were arranged in perfect order, like a forest made of steel and fire.
The hulls were massive and dark, each one gleaming with a cold metallic luster. Their weapon systems had been activated, with cannons aimed at the streets of New York.
The moment the space portal fully stabilized, the first warship began to move.
It passed through the portal like a giant whale surfacing from the deep sea, slowly descending over New York.
Then came the second, the third, the fourth—countless warships swarmed out from that blue rift, blocking out the sky like a moving cloud of steel, covering the entire sky over Manhattan.
Chaos began in the streets of New York. Screams, car horns, and sirens blended together, forming a jarring cacophony.
People poured out of the buildings; some were running, some were crying, and some stood rooted to the spot, looking up at the overwhelming fleet, motionless, as if stunned by fear.
Further away, in the depths of the dark Universe, a figure wearing golden armor stood before the porthole of a massive warship.
His skin was purple, the wrinkles on his chin like a dried-up riverbed, and his eyes were dark, like two bottomless abysses.
Thanos looked at the blue Planet suspended in the darkness, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"Earth."
He clenched his left hand, which wore the golden gauntlet—the Infinity Gauntlet that had just been forged in Nidavellir and still bore fresh scorch marks.
Four slots on the gauntlet were already embedded with stones, emitting lights of different colors.
The Space Stone, the Power Stone, the Soul Stone, and the Mind Stone.
Two more remained: the Reality Stone and the Time Stone were waiting for him.
The warships began to move, slowly advancing toward the blue Planet.
Meanwhile, in distant Asgard, the golden sky was likewise torn apart.
A black rift stretched across the sky above the Golden Palace, its edges churning with purple energy, carrying an evil, ominous aura.
Countless black transport ships plummeted from the rift. Their hatches opened before they even landed, and endless Outriders surged toward the walls of the Golden Palace like a black tide; their roars echoed throughout the entire Realm.
Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight stood at the bow of the ship, their cold gazes fixed on Asgard's magnificent Golden Palace.
And in Kamar-Taj, space was torn open as well.
An oppressive force, even greater than what was felt in New York and Asgard, slowly seeped from the rift. A massive warship emerged from the rift, hovering high above Kamar-Taj, blotting out the sky.
At the warship's hatch, a tall purple figure stood, right hand gripping a massive double-edged sword, left hand wearing a golden gauntlet, on which four stones glimmered with a deep light.
Thanos.
Beside him, two figures stood, one on the left and one on the right.
Ebony Maw was thin and elegant, like a walking corpse, with gray skin, long fingers, and a cruel smile hanging from the corners of his mouth.
Black Dwarf was massive and cumbersome, like a moving mountain, covered in rough armor and holding a huge warhammer in his hand.
Behind the three of them stood nine figures—the very Eternal who had been abducted earlier.
But their state was wrong; everyone's pupils seemed to be veiled in mist, their eyes hollow and mechanical, like Marionettes with their souls drained away.
Thanos looked down at Kamar-Taj beneath his feet, his dark eyes like two bottomless abysses.
Doctor Strange stood in the center of the Kamar-Taj courtyard, the eye of agamotto glowing green on his chest.
He looked up at the sky-blocking warship and at the purple figure standing at the hatch, his hand tightening slightly.
"All sorcerers, form a defensive array!" Strange's voice echoed in the air.
Hundreds of Kamar-Taj sorcerers raised their hands simultaneously, golden magic energy surging from their palms, weaving together in the sky to form a massive golden defensive net.
That shield covered the entire Sanctum, like a golden eggshell, enveloping Kamar-Taj within it.
...
The moment the wormhole over New York fully opened, the sky seemed to split open like a massive wound.
The rift spanned half of the Manhattan skyline, its edges churning with blue space energy, like fire, like a tide, like some living thing breathing.
Deep within the rift was endless darkness and those surging, densely packed shadows—the Chitauri army.
They poured out like a tide: bio-mechanical hybrid warriors, their gray-white metal armor covering black organic tissue, their faces bearing hideous skull-like masks, holding energy spears and laser cannons in their hands.
Riding on flying skateboards, they swarmed out of the wormhole like locusts, blotting out the sky and emitting sharp, hair-raising screeches.
When the first wave of Chitauri warriors charged into the New York sky, it was just evening.
The sunset dyed the sky a golden red, and those gray-white figures stood out sharply against the golden-red background, like a torn oil painting.
On the ground, sirens, screams, and explosions erupted instantly.
The large screens in Times Square were still playing advertisements, but the next second, they were shattered by an energy beam; sparks flew, and debris fell like rain.
People on the streets fled in all directions; some were crying, some were shouting, and some were desperately making phone calls. Vehicles were stuck on the road, horns blaring one after another, like a symphony of despair.