Chapter 177: Chapter 172
Future chapters at patreon.com/FFAddict.
Additionally, I have many new works readers may be interested in. Go look, if you wish!
According to the previous entries in the diary, Kamar-Taj already possessed a Time Stone, the Tesseract containing the Space Stone was intact in SHIELD's base, and the Mind Stone would eventually be installed on Vision.
Wait a minute—are there really three Infinity Stones on Earth?
Tony couldn't believe it. For a moment, a saying flashed through his mind: "An ordinary person is innocent, but they get in trouble for holding a treasure."
Earth hadn't even entered the interstellar age. Even though Tony hadn't seen interstellar civilizations, he knew that a planet struggling with lunar exploration would be pathetically backward among the stars.
And what about Thanos, the interstellar warlord, who was collecting Infinity Stones? Under such circumstances, Earth was in extreme danger no matter how you looked at it.
True, Odin wasn't dead yet, and the Ancient One was still around, which meant Earth had some protection for now. But the problem was, these two wouldn't last forever!
When they're gone, Earth would be in grave danger.
The diary had revealed that the Battle of New York happened because SHIELD's research on the Tesseract sent a signal into space, alerting Thanos. But now, Tony felt that even if SHIELD hadn't researched the Tesseract, Thanos would still come for the three Infinity Stones eventually.
Thanos, an interstellar warlord, wouldn't miss such an opportunity, right?
The pressure and sense of urgency Tony felt were overwhelming.
"Poor Vision, his fate was truly tragic," Tony thought. "With the Mind Stone and a body made entirely of vibranium, his power was immense. In another universe, Ultron took over his body, and Vision even managed to kill a multi-Stone wielding Thanos. But what did he do here? Just fought Ultron a bit and played a minor role in the Civil War. He never truly showcased his full potential and ended up being destroyed twice in a matter of moments—first by Scarlet Witch, who destroyed the Mind Stone, and then by Thanos, who revived him only to rip out the Mind Stone again."
Vibranium body! Tony's eyes widened in realization. Vibranium was the most durable metal on Earth. Captain America's shield was made from the small amount of vibranium found on Earth. Such a body would be nearly indestructible by any Earthly weapon.
A body entirely made of vibranium plus an Infinity Stone—such a configuration was undeniably impressive. A robot of this caliber inevitably had immense power, no wonder Vision could single-handedly overwhelm the Avengers.
A robot this formidable—how could the Avengers ever hope to win? Even if Vision stood still, attacking him non-stop wouldn't make a difference. And let's not forget, he had the record of having defeated a multi-stone Thanos!
That's multiple-Stone Thanos, who might have been as powerful as Odin or the Ancient One. To be killed instantly—no, not just defeated but instantaneously killed—Vision's strength was indeed exaggerated.
But how did Ultron take over Vision's body in another universe? Tony's eyes brightened as he grasped something.
Iron Man had always been curious about his connection with Ultron and Vision. It was a tangled mess. He created Ultron, who later turned against him, but they then collaborated to create Vision.
The diary hinted that Ultron "successfully" took over Vision's body in another universe, implying that Ultron had failed to do so in their universe. Most likely, because of Tony.
It was apparent—Tony and Ultron engaged in a battle to control Vision's body, and Tony won. Yet, in some universes, Tony lost.
Now, the pieces started to fit. Tony also pondered why Scarlet Witch would kill Vision—her lover—in such a drastic move.
As it turned out, Scarlet Witch destroyed the Mind Stone to prevent Thanos from getting it, making Vision collateral damage. But Thanos revived Vision using the Time Stone and took the Mind Stone.
Ultimately, Scarlet Witch and Thanos' primary goal was the Infinity Stones, not Vision himself. The mystery of Vision's twice-fated death was finally clear.
However, one question remained. If Thanos could restore even destroyed Infinity Stones, why didn't he just revive the Stones without Vision?
Tony hypothesized that Thanos must have used the Time Stone to reverse time. Therefore, Thanos likely obtained the Time Stone before seeking Vision's Mind Stone in Wakanda.
"Wait a minute!"
As Tony combed through the information, he suddenly thought of another matter. The diary had mentioned that Thanos and Doctor Strange had fought on Titan before. However, in that battle, Doctor Strange did not use the Time Stone.
Why?
Is it because the Time Stone was already taken by Thanos? So Thanos first obtained the Time Stone on Titan and then went to Wakanda to seize the Mind Stone?
Up until now, the mystery of Thanos' quest to collect the Infinity Stones was finally somewhat revealed.
[That's the last Infinity Stone! Once Thanos gets it, he can snap his fingers and wipe out half the life in the universe!]
[If Shuri had a little more time, she could have successfully removed the Infinity Stone.]
[Vision wouldn't have to be killed by the Scarlet Witch, and the Avengers might still have a chance to stand against Thanos.]
[Unfortunately, the world doesn't work that way.]
[Thanos' army is not that easy to resist.]
[Not to mention, Thanos himself showed up personally.]
[That was definitely not a situation the Avengers could handle.]
Tony Stark, standing in front of the diary, immediately turned serious and fell into deep thought. There was no denying that this portion of the spoiler revealed some incredibly explosive information.
First, Vision's Mind Stone was Thanos' final stone? The last one!
Even though Tony didn't know the total number of Infinity Stones, if there was only one left to collect, didn't this mean Thanos was just one step away from reaching his peak power?
Damn it.
Does this mean Earth will face an invasion from a nearly peak-state Thanos in the future?
What level would Thanos be at in that state?
On par with Odin and the Ancient One!
At the very least, he would have control over the Time Stone, Power Stone, and Space Stone.
In other words, he could manipulate time, space, and possess immense strength!
Aside from these three Infinity Stones, Thanos likely also had other Infinity Stones, granting him other terrifying abilities!
This situation was indeed very bad, disastrously bad even.
Thinking about it made Tony's scalp tingle.
Despite knowing this in advance, there wasn't much Tony could do about it. The only thing he could do was to fully develop and upgrade his armor as quickly as possible.
"Sir, at least now we understand Thanos' goal in collecting the Infinity Stones."
Jarvis' voice interrupted Iron Man's thoughts.
Tony agreed; this was another critical piece of information revealed by the diary.
The "snap" mentioned in the diary had always been a huge mystery to everyone. Because that snap could either bring the dead back to life or wipe out half the universe's life!
No matter how hard Tony racked his brains, he couldn't comprehend what that snap was about.
Until this moment, Tony finally understood.
The snap was driven by the power of all the Infinity Stones?
No wonder it had such frightening power, capable of wiping out half the universe's life.
Thinking back to the diary's mention of the "Infinity Gauntlet," everything made sense.
It must be that whoever wore the Infinity Gauntlet with all the stones could snap their fingers, and that snap would unleash the power.
Alright, it turns out the snap was exactly the gesture everyone commonly understood.
Nothing special there.
Right, the special thing wasn't the snap but the Infinity Gauntlet.
The snap was simply a signal to release the power of the Infinity Stones, akin to a magic spell's incantation.
Tony suddenly saw things clearly.
Thanos' motives became equally clear.
Previously, no one knew why Thanos was collecting the Infinity Stones, but now it was evident that Thanos' goal was to wipe out half the universe's life!
Iron Man finally realized, yet at the same time, a bigger question emerged in his mind.
Why?
Why did Thanos want to eradicate half of the universe's life?
Surely not every single one of them had offended him?
What was his purpose in doing so?
Tony couldn't figure it out.
That question clearly wasn't something Tony could solve at the moment.
However, one thing Tony did understand better now was why the Scarlet Witch would sacrifice Vision to destroy the Mind Stone.
It seemed that the Avengers at that time must have known the catastrophic consequences if Thanos took the stone!
[Just don't know where Wakanda's guardian god was. They never showed up.]
[Although it's unclear how powerful this god is, being a god, they must be quite capable.]
[Yes, Wakanda does have a guardian god—Bast, the Panther God, exists!]
[When Thor and the female Thor visited the pantheon to seek Zeus' help, Bast was present!]
[Who would think that this god, worshipped by Wakanda for generations, would disappear when Wakanda faced a crisis?]
"Wakanda actually has a god!?"
Tony was genuinely shocked.
From previous spoilers, Tony knew gods indeed existed in this world.
It wasn't just the Norse deities; even the Chinese pantheon existed.
Tony had also inferred that other pantheons likely existed too.
In other words, there should be many gods in this world.
But Tony never expected that there would be a god right on Earth, in Wakanda.
So what was up with Wakanda, the world's most impoverished and backward country?
Not only was it the most advanced country in the world, but it also had a god?
This country was totally hacking reality!
However, judging by this diary's revelation, it seemed that Bast, the Panther God, really let them down.
Of course, Tony couldn't know the details of why Bast didn't save Wakanda.
After pondering briefly, Tony shifted his attention back to the rest of the spoilers.
A pantheon?
This term was new, but its meaning was clear: a gathering place for gods.
If such a place existed, just how many gods were there in the universe?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone