The very air trembled as Maxim's golden energy crackled to life, shimmering like a living storm around him. The Mind Stone's power hummed, a boundless ocean of thought, will and sheer mental force.
Standing across him inside Madripoor's combat training room was Hela, with an amused smirk on her lips, flexing her fingers as her black and green armor shifted subtly, "Are you going to make me wait?"
"No." Maxim said and exhaled.
In an instant, his body flickered, disappearing into thin air as he blurred through space itself, instantaneously appearing behind Hela. His hand lashed out, not physically, but with raw telekinetic force, a tidal wave of unseen energy crashing towards the Goddess.
~SWOOSH!~
"How intriguing." Hela muttered as she noticed the attack. She waved her hand and a dozen razor-sharp Necroswords exploded from the void, forming in the air around her like a black crown.
~SLASH~SLASH~SLASH!~
The various Necroswords exploded forward, slashing through the telekinetic force. The sheer force of these Necroswords cracking through Maxim's attack sent shockwaves throughout the arena, sending spider-esque cracks throughout the floor.
The Necroswords continued charging forward towards Maxim, but once they reached him, they phased through his body, and Maxim himself vanished like dust.
"An illusion, impressive." Hela muttered, and looked around curiously as she spotted the environment around her shifting.
The room shifted, gone were the dim walls of the training room, the walls rippled and the floor flickered and distorted. Hela remained calm, her eyes narrowing as her perception twisted.
Maxim appeared before her in an endless void, the training room now becoming an infinite abyss with stars blooming in the darkness, swirling in impossible patterns.
"A psychic illusion? No… this is more."
He had dragged her consciousness into his domain.
"Impressive," she admitted, glancing around at the psychic construct. "But let's see how well you handle, "
She didn't get the chance to finish.
Maxim tore through the mental space, bending the illusion to his will. The stars collapsed inward, morphing into jagged golden spears of psychic energy. They shot forward, raining down in an onslaught that could pierce through the very soul.
Hela laughed, "This is a real battle."
Hela's hand snapped up and the shadows around her burst to life, forming an impenetrable shield. The spears struck the shield venomously, detonating like mental artillery.
~BOOM~BOOM~BOOM!~
With a flick of her wrist, the shadows coalesced around Hela twisting into a spiraling onyx vortex. It devoured the golden spears like a bottomless maw before launching outward, a writhing storm of death, howling toward Maxim.
Maxim remained still, his mind expanding.
"Slower," Maxim muttered and his abilities once again activated within his domain.
The very concept of time warped under his influence. The shadows sluggishly crept toward him, their deadly edges dulled by his sheer will.
He lifted a hand, fingers flexing, and in response, the shadows unraveled, dissolving into golden motes, stolen from Hela's control.
Hela's smirk faltered, "Ah. That's new."
Maxim didn't respond. His power surged, and the void itself obeyed. Behind Hela, space folded, twisting into jagged, towering constructs of pure mental energy.
A labyrinth of shifting golden monoliths rose, trapping her within a prison of thought.
Hela exhaled, amused. "You think a cage can hold me?"
Her fingers twitched, and the space around her fractured.
~CRACK!~
The labyrinth buckled, hairline fractures spiderwebbing through its surface. Then, with a single step forward, Hela willed reality to break. The monoliths shattered into countless shards, their golden dust dissolving into the void.
Maxim barely had time to react before she was there.
A Necrosword materialized in her grip, wreathed in darkness, slashing toward his throat with terrifying precision.
~CLANG!~
The impact resonated through the void as Maxim's own blade, forged of crystallized psychic energy, met hers in a clash that sent shockwaves rippling outward. The stars around them shattered under the force.
Hela grinned, her strength pressing down on him, "You learn quite fast boy."
Hela looked up and the domain immediately shattered, returning them to the training room, but Maxim wasn't done at all.
A telepathic wave burst out of him, and he immediately read her mind, predicting her next move before she made it. He saw the way her muscles tensed, the flicker of magic coiling in her fingers.
Before she could unleash her counterattack, his own will wrapped around her, pressing down on her with pure psychic energy to slow her done.
Hela's movements slowed down and she narrowed her eyes, her perception still functioning at full speed even as her body refused to obey. "Interesting," she mused. "But do you think slowing me down will stop me?"
Maxim didn't answer.
Instead, he telekinetically gripped her entire form, forcing her to kneel. He could feel the sheer density of her essence, Hela was not a mere mortal, not even close. Holding her in place was like trying to cage a hurricane.
But he had the Mind Stone now, and his will was absolute. A golden pulse flared from his palm.
A direct psychic attack. Not just any attack—he was reaching into her very core, peeling apart the layers of her mind, seeking to overwhelm even a being as ancient as her. Memories, emotions, desires—all were laid bare before him.
For a split second, he saw everything.
The cold abyss of Helheim. The endless centuries of isolation. The wars. The betrayals. The loneliness beneath the power.
And for the first time since the battle started, Hela faltered.
Then—
BOOM!
An explosion of dark energy erupted from her, shattering Maxim's hold as black chains snapped into existence, coiling around him like the grasp of the underworld itself.
Maxim barely had time to react before he was yanked forward, straight into Hela's waiting fist.
He immediately shifted the density of his body, allowing the fist to pass through him as he shifted to the left and regained his balance, staring at Hela as he whispered into her mind
"Nice try."
Maxim reappeared behind her, fingers crackling with golden fire as he thrust his palm forward. The Mind Stone's energy surged, forming a concentrated psychic explosion that tore through the air toward her.
Hela turned, grinning like a beast. She dove straight into the blast. For a moment, it seemed like the explosion would consume her, the raw psionic force threatening to unmake even her form.
But then,
She walked through it.
The flames of the Mind Stone flickered against her skin, but Hela kept moving, her smile widening as if she were savoring the sensation.
Maxim's eyes narrowed. "You really are something else."
Hela's voice was a purr of amusement. "And you're just getting started."
Then she moved.
And the battle truly began.
For what felt like hours, they fought, exchanging blows.
Maxim tested every psychic ability he had—telekinesis, telepathy, mind control, astral projection, illusions, precognition, pushing each to their absolute limit.
And yet, Hela matched him at every turn, her raw power and battle-hardened instincts proving why she was a goddess of war.
Finally, as the sun began to rise, bathing Madripoor in golden light, the two combatants stood within the ruined training room, panting.
Hela wiped a streak of golden energy from her cheek, smirking, "Not bad."
Maxim exhaled, rolling his shoulders, "Not bad? I had you on your knees at one point."
She raised a brow, "I let you have that moment."
He snorted. "Sure."
For a long moment, they simply looked at each other. And then—
Hela chuckled. "You're dangerous, Maxim Novikov."
Maxim smirked. "I intend to be."