The shock of seeing Thanos alive quickly transformed into a surging wave of intense fury, burning away all of Rune's restraint. Plans, caution, everything dissolved. He had personally twisted this behemoth's neck, had felt the life leave him. Thanos's return wasn't just a challenge; it was an insult, a grotesque jest by Vorn against Rune's very existence.
"Thanos," Rune growled, his distorted voice echoing in the quiet alley, carrying an uncontrollable bloodlust. He couldn't wait any longer. He needed to verify this impossibility, and then crush him again. Forever.
Vorn's Awakened operatives were busy scavenging through the rubble, oblivious to the monster lurking in the shadows. Thanos, with his colossal build, directed them with an air of smug satisfaction.
Rune didn't hesitate. With a chilling shriek, he burst from the darkness, a blur of bone and flesh. He ignored the lesser grunts surrounding Thanos; his sole target was the towering traitor.
"Intruder!" A guard screamed upon seeing Rune's terrifying form. Gunshots erupted, but the projectiles bounced off Rune's bio-armor like harmless pebbles.
Thanos spun around, his face contorted in shock. "Rune?! You... impossible!" His eyes were filled with terror, not the hatred Seraphina had shown. Thanos vividly remembered who had ended him.
Rune was already upon him. He allowed Thanos no time to react. With a powerful swing, one of Rune's massive bone-and-flesh tentacles shot out, not to kill, but to seize. The tentacle coiled tightly around Thanos's bulky body, squeezing brutally, making him gasp for air.
"You survived," Rune growled, pulling Thanos closer, his distorted face inches from Thanos's. "Show me... how."
Thanos struggled, trying to use his physical might, but his own muscles betrayed him. His flesh convulsed grotesquely under Rune's control. "Aargh! I... I don't know! Vorn... he... he repaired me! He... turned me into... something else!"
As Thanos thrashed, Rune sensed it. A strange energy, not typical life force, but something processed, a blend of biomass and dark energy, coursing through Thanos's body. He wasn't simply revived; he had been reconstructed.
"Vorn... he turns the weak into tools... and the strong... into puppets," Rune whispered, his face darkening. This meant Thanos wasn't an isolated case. He was a successful "experiment."
Vorn's other Awakened began firing and charging, attempting to save their leader. But they were too weak, and Rune was now too powerful. He swung another tentacle, sweeping through their formation, reducing them to shattered masses of flesh and bone.
Rune leaned in close to Thanos one last time. "So... you're just a product," Rune growled, his eyes cold and devoid of emotion. "Now, return to your origins."
With a sickening hiss, Rune began the process of absorbing Thanos once more, but this time with a more brutal focus. Thanos's body convulsed violently, no sound escaping him. His entire colossal form was swiftly drawn into Rune, not melting, but being horrifyingly re-absorbed. Rune felt the strange, chaotic energy flow into him, more potent than any biomass he'd ever consumed. He devoured Thanos's very secret.
When it was over, Rune stood there, his form appearing slightly more stable, his bone armor even harder, and a cold gleam passing through his crimson eyes. He had confirmed it. Vorn possessed the ability to manipulate life and death. And Thanos, no matter how many times he was revived, would only ever be a tool in his hands.
Rune lifted his head, looking towards the Dark Spire, where faint, purplish light emanated from its peak, like an invitation. The coming confrontation wouldn't just be a battle for revenge. It would be a war against death itself, against manipulation, and against a force attempting to alter the very nature of life.