87 Chapter 83 : Time Travel!
A brilliant white light flashed, and Thanos found himself in a space with a constant twilight view.
[This place was serene and empty, with a mirror-like water surface beneath him.]
At that moment, a young girl with green skin appeared and turned to look at Thanos with clear eyes.
[Gamora, Thanos suddenly realized where he was; this was the space within the Soul Stone.]
The young girl spoke, her voice resembling a daughter asking her father, "Did you do it?"
Unexpectedly, the question came from his "daughter" rather than blame. Thanos nodded, tears welling up in his eyes. "Yes."
"Then what was the price?" The question forced Thanos to confront the memory of pushing Gamora off the cliff with his own hands, and the sadness in his eyes could no longer be concealed.
"The price... my everything."
In Sanctuary II, Thanos wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye, and his eyes returned to normal.
But Gamora, down below, was in total disbelief.
It wasn't her own death she couldn't accept, but the realization that Thanos truly regarded her as a daughter.
The fatherly love and profound grief from her enemy pierced her heart like a knife.
And Nebula, who lowered her head, glared at Thanos with intensified hatred.
[A white light appeared, and Thanos returned to reality.]
His right hand, adorned with the Infinity Gauntlet, was charred black, a clear sign of the great cost he had paid.
In the next moment, a blue light flashed, and Thanos vanished, leaving Thor with a bewildered expression and a heavy sense of unease in his heart.
What would happen when half the universe's population vanished?
Would they explode? Disappear into thin air?
Countless viewers were about to witness the ultimate manifestation of fairness.
The strong and the weak, the old and the young, the noble and the humble, the evil and the righteous – without warning, all random individuals disintegrated into dust in mere seconds.
Dust to dust, ashes to ashes; the departed gave their all back to the universe without pain.
In that moment, countless viewers fell into silence.
Whether through screens or in the world they inhabited, nearly everyone watched as countless lives perished for the first time.
This wasn't just a single planet; it was half of the universe!
It was a series of numbers that knew no bounds.
Life held immense weight, and the scene overwhelmed all who beheld it.
[The camera returned to Planet Titan.]
The butterfly girl, along with Siedra and Quill, turned into flying dust with expressions of terror.
Tony stared at Doctor Strange desperately, wanting to blame him, but his words caught in his throat.
Doctor Strange simply met his gaze with complex eyes and spoke his final words, "Tony, we had no other choice."
As the words fell, Doctor Strange also turned to dust.
Before Tony could process this, he heard a panicked voice from behind – Peter Parker.
Startled, Tony had a foreboding feeling. Peter Parker trembled, his eyes pleading, and he looked at Tony like a frightened child looking at his father, his voice quivering, "I don't want to die, sir. I don't want to die."
At that moment, this sixteen-year-old high school student fell into Tony's arms, revealing his yearning for life like any ordinary boy.
But the fate of the chosen was already determined.
Peter Parker slumped to the ground, gazing at Tony with sad eyes, and the fear in his heart slowly faded.
He watched as Tony whispered his final words, "Sorry..."
"Unfortunately, this time, I couldn't save Mr. Stark."
Unfortunately, the last words went unspoken as Peter Parker turned to dust.
Tony felt the weight lost in the palm of his hand and couldn't accept the death of a child before his very eyes. His hands shook, and he couldn't find a place for them.
Eventually, he instinctively curled into a ball, seeking warmth in the cold reality.
He had failed, and the nightmare that had haunted him for countless nights had become a reality.
In that moment, Tony's mind revisited the illusion. The deceased Steve Rogers suddenly opened his eyes and angrily grabbed Tony's arm once more.
"You could have saved us! Why didn't you do more? Why?"
"Yeah, why didn't you do more?"
Tony clutched his hair in agony, his heart riddled with guilt.
In the Marvel world, those who had been terrified and blamed were silenced as they watched the man in excruciating pain and self-blame.
Someone had given their all, and there was nothing more to ask of them.
Perhaps, this was what it meant to be a hero – to provide others with spiritual strength.
On Earth, as Strange gazed in horror at the future, he contemplated how to train the other.
Meanwhile, Tony sat cross-legged on the ground, his face marked with unparalleled determination.
This time, he wouldn't let the same outcome occur, nor would he let another child die before his eyes.
He remembered the mage's address, and he knew he had to go there. Perhaps the mage could contact Thor, and he needed that peculiar blend of metal and runes.
At that moment, only Tony and Nebula remained on Planet Titan.
The next day, they repaired the spaceship and traveled through space for 48 hours with the remaining fuel, eventually stopping in a desolate part of the universe.
Compared to Planet Titan, Tony wanted to die somewhere else, and using the spaceship as his grave seemed a fitting choice.
(But just as he was about to let go of his life, a light appeared, and Captain Marvel finally arrived!)
(…)
Tony returned to Earth, and Thor and the others, led by Nebula, located Thanos.
However, the Infinity Stones were destroyed and couldn't bring the dead back. Thor, filled with rage, beheaded Thanos, but it was only a momentary release.
In Sanctuary II, Nebula had already knelt down.
He didn't yet understand why he would betray in the future, but admitting his mistakes was the most important step.
Thanos regarded his other daughter with cold indifference, allowing her to kneel continuously.
Everything seemed predetermined, and the Avengers had no choice but to maintain order in the New World.
Five years later, Tony lived in a lakeside villa, married to Pepper, and had a lovely daughter named Morgan Stark.
This daughter was his greatest solace, and he no longer blamed himself; he had buried the past.
In the real world, Tony's heart raced as he gazed at his daughter. He couldn't wait to find Little Pepper.
The strange feeling filled him with happiness, astonishment, and an indescribable joy.
That was the essence of being a father.
However, their peaceful life was soon disrupted when Ant-Man returned from the quantum realm.
At the same time, a new possibility emerged.
Time in the quantum realm existed in a superposition state, potentially allowing them to travel to the past.
Though Tony initially refused, the buried responsibility in his heart rekindled.
He began to analyze day and night, and eventually, he successfully developed an "anchor point" and a time-travel device.
This time, he chose to forgive Steve and stood up once more.
Next, they would travel back to the past, where the Infinity Stones remained intact.
In this battle, he had not yet been defeated.
*****
Support me on my ko-fi account and read upto 15 early chapters,
https://ko-fi.com/aayume
