Chapter 35: Battle in the Abyss

The Vanguards and their allies plunged through the blackness of the massive portal Ethan had created, their bodies tumbling weightlessly through the void. For a brief moment, there was only darkness, the sensation of falling, and the chilling echo of Ethan's voice reverberating in their minds: "You will all fall."

Then, suddenly, the battlefield solidified around them.

The once-flickering colors of the spotted dimension were gone, replaced by an oppressive pitch-black void. White, glitching portals shimmered around the abyss, scattered across the horizon like cracks in a broken mirror. They hovered ominously, distorting the already unstable space. Above, far in the distance, the forms of the Dimensional Whales floated silently, their massive, translucent bodies casting long shadows across the darkness. These ancient creatures, feeding on the energy leaking between dimensions, drifted around the combatants like cosmic sentinels.

Ethan floated at the center of the dimension, his body now fully engulfed in glitching energy. His skin had turned pitch black, blending seamlessly with the void, while the white lines coursing across him shimmered with violent instability. His form shifted erratically, as though his very existence was unraveling and rewriting itself with every breath.

The heroes landed roughly on the uneven ground that emerged from the void beneath them, each regaining their bearings quickly. They were fewer now, too many had fallen in the battles leading up to this moment. Tony Stark, Doctor Doom, Thanos, and Doctor Strange stood together at the forefront, while the remaining Vanguards struggled to regroup in the face of overwhelming odds.

"This is where it ends," Tony muttered, his voice hard, filled with equal parts determination and exhaustion. His suit, battered from the previous battle, reformed itself once more, the nanobots flowing over his frame to create a reinforced version, preparing for the final assault.

Doctor Strange hovered above the ground, his eyes glowing with mystic energy as he surveyed the dimension around them. "This place is crumbling, collapsing under the weight of Ethan's power. We need to strike now or there won't be anything left to save."

Thanos, still clad in his full armor and wielding the double-bladed sword, flexed his gauntlet, the Power and Reality Stones glowing faintly. "We must hit him together, or none of us will leave this place alive."

Doom, standing beside them, coldly observed Ethan's erratic form. His arcane device continued to pulse, subtly destabilizing Ethan's dimensional control. The restrictions were holding, for now. "He's weakened," Doom said, his voice as cold and calculating as ever. "But even restricted, his power is enough to destroy us all. We strike as one."

Ethan floated down toward them, his body glitching violently, his black-and-white form pulsing with raw power. The white erratic circle on his face locked onto them, and without a word, he launched forward, ready to unleash the final assault.

....

The battlefield shifted in an instant, with Ethan propelling himself into the fray. He moved with terrifying speed, closing the distance in a heartbeat. His first target was Doctor Doom.

Ethan's glitching hand shot forward, crackling with unstable energy, but Doom had anticipated the move. He raised his arm, and the arcane device pulsed, disrupting Ethan's strike just before it could land. Doom countered with a blast of eldritch energy, forcing Ethan to fall back momentarily. But the retreat was only temporary.

With a sharp motion, Ethan shifted his focus to Tony, summoning a portal mid-swing to redirect his attacks. Tony, however, had adapted. He had studied the rhythm of Ethan's powers, the momentary glitches caused by Doom's destabilizing pulse. Tony's repulsors fired in short, precise bursts, striking between Ethan's portal defenses. With every blast, Ethan's glitching body staggered, the strain on his form beginning to show.

"I've got his pattern!" Tony called out, firing a concentrated beam toward Ethan's core. But Ethan, even restricted, was not to be underestimated. He twisted in mid-air, dodging the beam and countering with a wave of raw energy that erupted from one of the glitching portals. The blast hit Tony head-on, sending him tumbling backward, his suit sparking as he struggled to regain control.

Before Ethan could follow up with another strike, Doctor Strange intervened, weaving complex spells in the air. Chains of glowing light shot toward Ethan, wrapping around his glitching form, momentarily restraining him. Strange's magic, combined with Doom's destabilizing pulse, managed to hold Ethan in place for a few precious seconds.

"Now, Thanos!" Strange shouted, his voice strained from the effort.

Thanos, seizing the moment, charged forward with his massive sword raised. The Mad Titan swung with all his might, the Power Stone flaring as the blade cleaved through the air, aiming directly at Ethan's exposed form.

But Ethan, even in his restrained state, was too fast. He opened a portal inches from his body, redirecting the sword strike just enough to avoid a fatal blow. Thanos' attack missed by mere inches, but the force of the swing sent shockwaves across the battlefield, cracking the ground beneath them.

Ethan retaliated swiftly, summoning multiple portals around Thanos. White-glitching tendrils shot from the portals, wrapping around Thanos' limbs, attempting to pull him apart. But Thanos was not one to be taken down so easily. He activated the Power Stone, and with a surge of strength, he shattered the tendrils, breaking free from Ethan's grasp.

"Fool," Thanos growled, his gauntlet glowing menacingly. "You face the inevitable."

....

As the four titans clashed in the center of the battlefield, the remaining Vanguards fought to survive the chaos surrounding them. The glitching portals continued to tear through the dimension, sending waves of unstable energy in all directions. The ground cracked and shifted, and the sky above seemed to twist in on itself, as if reality itself was being devoured.

Various buildings and things floated on the spotted dimension, a collateral of Ethan unstable control.

Peter Parker, still in his Iron Spider suit, swung between the crumbling structures, dodging debris and stray blasts from the battle. His heart pounded in his chest as he tried to process the scale of the destruction around him. "This is insane," Peter muttered, firing a web to save one of the remaining Wakandan soldiers from a falling piece of debris.

"Focus, kid!" Tony's voice crackled through the comms. "We've got to keep the pressure on him!"

Tony fired another salvo of energy blasts, his suit shifting continuously to counter Ethan's attacks. He ducked and weaved between the glitching portals, trying to outmaneuver Ethan at every turn. Despite the strain, Tony refused to give in.

Doom, Strange, and Thanos worked in near-perfect coordination, their combined strength forcing Ethan into a defensive position. But Ethan was far from defeated.

"You cannot win," Ethan snarled, his voice glitching as his body flickered violently. "You fight against reality itself!"

With a sudden burst of power, Ethan broke free from Strange's chains, his body glitching more violently than ever. The white lines across his pitch-black form pulsed with raw energy as he opened multiple portals around the battlefield. In a single, terrifying motion, Ethan launched himself into close combat once again, targeting each of the four warriors in rapid succession.

Ethan's movements were a blur as he engaged Thanos first, his glitching fists slamming into the Titan with incredible force. Thanos blocked the strikes with his gauntlet, but the sheer speed of Ethan's attacks forced him to take a step back. Ethan opened a portal behind Thanos, attempting to strike from multiple angles, but Doom's device pulsed once more, disrupting the portal just long enough for Thanos to counter with a powerful punch that sent Ethan reeling.

Before Ethan could recover, Strange unleashed a barrage of mystic blasts, each one aimed at the unstable energy coursing through Ethan's form. Ethan twisted and dodged, but the combination of attacks from all sides was overwhelming even for him.

Doom followed up with a devastating strike, his gauntlet crackling with arcane energy as he sent a shockwave toward Ethan. The blast hit Ethan square in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground.

But Ethan's irritation only grew.

His form flickered violently as he rose once again, his glitching body now fully unstable. "You cannot contain me," Ethan roared, his voice echoing through the void. "I am the master of this dimension!"

With a final, earth-shattering scream, Ethan's body erupted in a surge of power. His glitching portals expanded, tearing through the battlefield as the very fabric of the dimension began to unravel.

....

As the ground shook and the sky above cracked, the remaining heroes knew they were running out of time. Ethan's power had reached a critical point, and the spotted dimension was on the verge of collapse.

Tony, battered but determined, landed beside Doom and Thanos. "We hit him again," Tony said, his voice strained. "Everything we've got."

Thanos, his gauntlet glowing with the power of the Infinity Stones, nodded grimly. "This ends now."

As the final battle raged on in the heart of the spotted dimension, the fate of the universe hung in the balance. Ethan, though restricted by Doom's device, was still a force unlike any they had ever faced. But the combined strength of Thanos, Doom, Strange, and Tony was relentless.

With one last, desperate charge, the heroes prepared to deliver the final blow, even as the dimension was crumbling.

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