Chapter 108: Ch.108 It Was You After All...
Ronan looked at the hooded man in front of him, unable to suppress a cold laugh.
He had already anticipated the man's arrival, including from the very beginning, and Ronan had been waiting for him.
Because when they had last met, Ronan remembered the words he had spoken.
It all boiled down to one sentence:
"Stop the destruction of the TVA!"
What did that mean?
Would the TVA be destroyed?
Not necessarily.
Even if Kang the Conqueror was dead, the TVA still had two individuals who could hold it up.
Mobius and B-15.
Along with the small timeline branches that had appeared at the beginning, it was clear that many within the TVA had awakened their self-awareness and were no longer deceived by their previous memories.
So, given these circumstances, it was highly likely that the TVA would continue to exist.
If the TVA wasn't going to be destroyed, then what the hooded man had meant was undoubtedly about Kang the Conqueror.
Only with Kang's death would the sacred timeline shatter, and the countless Kangs sealed within it would begin to rule various parallel universes.
If Ronan was right, the hooded man before him was probably one of the victims.
Maybe even...
Ronan narrowed his eyes.
"Who are you people?"
Sylvie raised her sword, looking at the newcomers.
She had thought that the people who arrived were Ronan's allies, but from their conversation, it seemed that wasn't the case.
Their goal was to stop her from killing Kang the Conqueror.
But this young man before her had shown no intention of stopping her from beginning to end.
"Sylvie."
"You were deceived by Kang the Conqueror into killing him."
"Countless parallel universes are now in catastrophic turmoil."
"You are the one responsible!"
The hooded man turned to Sylvie, and the anger in his voice was undeniable.
Upon hearing this, Sylvie showed no sign of regret.
She had made the right decision for her own free will, and Ronan had no intention of judging her actions.
He only knew one thing.
"Life is precious, love is more so; if freedom be dear, both can be forsaken."
This saying was like a universal truth in the hearts of Western people.
All Ronan could say was that the story before them proved that love was incredibly dangerous.
The last time they fell in love, it almost led to the collapse of the timeline.
This time, a spat between a young couple had cast countless parallel universes into the shadow of Kang the Conqueror.
Just look at how tragic it was!
"If anyone else lectured me, I might accept it."
"But you, hiding your face, what gives you the right to educate me?"
Sylvie sneered, refusing to show weakness.
She had realized that, even if these two new hooded individuals weren't with Ronan, they were still her enemies.
And if they were enemies, there was no need to spare them.
The atmosphere in the office grew tense, and Ronan sat on the side, smiling as he watched everything unfold.
The hooded man seemed desperate.
He was eager to find a scapegoat, to place all the blame on someone else.
But did this approach really work?
"You have no idea what you've done!"
The other person, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up.
A woman?
Ronan raised an eyebrow.
The voice that had spoken sounded young, almost like it was coming from a girl around Ronan's age.
And from the sound of it, it was clearly a young girl.
"I only know that I did what I had to do."
"The TVA is nothing but a bloody slave factory!"
"These people don't know who they are, have no past, no future, and even the things they firmly believe in are false."
"It is all utterly absurd."
Sylvie grew more agitated as she spoke, to the point where she used magic to shatter a nearby table and chair.
It was clear what her emotions were.
To Sylvie, the TVA had essentially destroyed her entire life.
She could have been a carefree little girl living in Asgard, enjoying the love of her parents.
Even if she was a descendant of the Frost Giants, even if she wasn't Odin's biological child.
At least she could have felt the love of her parents.
But all that had changed because of the TVA.
She had been forced from a young girl into a constant fugitive, running from the TVA's hunters.
Every day, she had lived in fear, always cautious, never daring to make any changes to the world.
For if she did, the TVA would come for her, and she would be forced to run again.
So Sylvie's hatred for the TVA was no less than anyone within the TVA itself.
"But he did protect the safety of the parallel universes!"
"With his death, almost every parallel universe is at risk of destruction."
"All because of your revenge!"
The young girl's voice wasn't backing down.
She had her reasons too.
But hearing this so-called reason, Ronan couldn't help but laugh.
"I know it's impolite to interrupt, but I have to say that your reasoning is downright laughable."
Ronan pointed at the hooded girl, unable to contain his laughter.
It was as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
Aside from Sylvie, the others looked at Ronan in shock.
Countless universes were on the brink of destruction, so why was he laughing?
"What are you laughing at?"
Finally, after a full minute of laughter, the girl couldn't hold back any longer.
She voiced her question.
Ronan slowly stopped laughing, wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes.
"I'm just laughing at how little you know."
Ronan looked at the two in front of him, his smile fading.
The hooded man grabbed the girl's arm, signaling her not to act impulsively.
That single statement had almost made her want to charge at Ronan.
What did he mean by how little she knew?
"Do you think I'm mocking you?"
"Sorry, it's not a mockery; it's simply a fact."
Ronan wasn't laughing anymore, but the odd emotion on his face was still irritating.
Especially to the two standing before him.
"Is there a possibility—I'm just suggesting a possibility here."
"The issue you've brought up is a well-known problem—the Trolley Problem."
"A runaway train is speeding down the tracks, and it turns out five people are tied to the tracks ahead."
"There's no way to stop the train in time, and so there's no chance to rescue them."
"You have a lever by your side that can switch the train to another track, saving those five people."
"However, on the other track, there's also one person tied down."
"The question is, do you pull the lever?"
Ronan looked at the hooded girl, curious about her response.
As expected, the "kind-hearted" girl was left speechless.
To sacrifice one or to sacrifice five?
From a numerical standpoint, the choice seemed simple, not requiring much thought.
But once the question involved life and death, it became far more complicated.
"It seems you're struggling with the answer."
"Why not hear my thoughts?"
Ronan smiled, standing slowly from his chair.
"Whether you choose to save the five or deem the one person innocent and not deserving of such a fate, neither choice is wrong."
"These are decisions made from the heart—individual decisions."
"To save five or save one, in my mind, neither is wrong."
"But have you considered something?"
Ronan walked up to the hooded pair, his expression filled with frustration.
Almost like he was dealing with two unruly children.
"What is it?"
The girl finally responded.
"It's simple."
"When those tied to the tracks are trying to save themselves,"
"Do you really need to stand on a moral high ground, blaming someone for saving their own life at the expense of others?"
"Isn't there another possibility—to stop the runaway train altogether?"
Ronan's words brought silence.
People are selfish—most people are, at least.
Especially when it concerns their own lives and their family. Most will choose what's best for themselves.
This was just human nature.
The Trolley Problem was a question said to be left by God for human hearts to answer.
But remember, this question was for ordinary humans.
These two had traveled through time and the multiverse—couldn't they stop a runaway train?
"But have you considered that facing him is like an ordinary person facing a runaway train?"
The hooded man, silent until now, finally spoke up.
By "him," he meant Kang the Conqueror.
If it were an ordinary person facing a runaway train, they could at least run far away, not having to worry about their safety.
But when it was Kang, no one could survive his terror.
"You all defeated Thanos. Now that it's Kang, there's nothing you can do?"
Ronan raised an eyebrow.
He always thought Kang was powerful, but was he really so strong that he left everyone feeling helpless?
Was he really beyond any form of resistance?
"You know who I am?"
The hooded man seemed surprised.
Ronan couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"I don't know who you are, but I know that there are only a few Avengers who could accomplish what you've done."
"You must be an Avenger."
"In fact, I think you're Doctor Strange."
Ronan sighed. He had suspected as much.
Out of the Avengers, aside from a few second-tier heroes, there were only a handful of major players left.
Steve Rogers had become an old man, leaving only Doctor Strange and Tony Stark as the prominent figures.
Mastering multiversal travel like this could only mean Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme.
Hearing this, the hooded man sighed and reached up to his hood.
Seeing his action, the girl behind him was startled, grabbing his arm.
"Don't reveal yourself!"
"We agreed revealing our identities would be too dangerous!"
The girl protested.
"It's alright. They already know."
"Ronan, at least, knows."
Ignoring her objections, the hooded man took off his hood.
Seeing his face, Ronan's expression shifted to one of confirmation.
It was Doctor Strange.
No, it wasn't entirely accurate to call him that.
Upon seeing him, Ronan noticed that Strange looked exactly the same, but his aura had changed.
Dark energy surrounded him, and there was a third eye on his forehead.
He was Strange, yet he was also not Strange.
It sounded strange, but it was true.
"If I'm not mistaken, you used the Darkhold, didn't you?"
"You merged countless versions of yourself from parallel universes into one body."
"To keep your soul from shattering, you needed dark energy to suppress all those versions."
"You did this for greater power, but the price is evident."
"You don't have much time left."
Ronan looked at Strange, recognizing his condition.
The Darkhold had an ability called dreamwalking—it allowed one to project their soul into versions of themselves in other worlds.
But that was just a basic use.
Strange's condition was the result of an extreme method.
The Strange before Ronan was no longer the Doctor Strange he had known.
This Strange was the fusion of numerous versions of himself, all concentrated into one body.
In essence, this Strange wasn't merely different in personality—he could hardly be called "human."
"When Kang arrived, all of us fell under his shadow."
"We fought, and we lost."
Strange's face was devoid of sorrow. Given his current state, there wasn't much left to mourn.
Everything he had to lose was already gone.
He had wanted to save that lost past, but he realized there might never have been any chance.
"So you tried to find a way to defeat Kang through time and parallel universes."
"Until that angry variant of yours came to find me?"
"Asking me to stop the destruction of the TVA?"
Ronan raised an eyebrow; he understood Strange's plan.
If they couldn't beat Kang, they could prevent him from ever appearing.
That was the only solution.
"One of my variants remembered you once told him about a place linked to the TVA."
"I tried everything to find the universe where the TVA was located—your universe."
"I went to great lengths to reach this place, but each time, I faced one problem or another."
"Every single time, we failed."
Strange's expression darkened, clearly finding it hard to accept.
The only solution, and yet it was impossible.
It left Strange deeply unsettled.
"So every time you reached this point in time, you couldn't prevent his death."
"And each time, I didn't stop Kang's death either, right?"
Ronan glanced at Strange.
Strange nodded, looking back at Ronan, his eyes filled with sincerity.
"Ronan, I need your help!"
"My Earth needs your help. Tony, Natasha, all of them need your help!"
For once, Strange showed a hint of emotion.
He finally revealed his true purpose.
"Help?"
"How do you need me to help you?"
Ronan smiled at Strange, almost as if he was interested in helping.
Strange's face lit up.
"I just need to borrow some of your power to open a portal through time and space, allowing me to go back before Kang's death."
"After countless attempts, I realized that neither of us could go that far back in time—that's why we kept failing."
"So I need your power."
Strange looked sincere, as if this were his last hope.
But Ronan turned his attention to the figure behind Strange.
"America..."
"With the rumored power to open portals to parallel universes."
"A mutant, right?"
Ronan raised an eyebrow, half-talking to himself and half-asking.
The girl remained silent for a moment before removing her hood.
"Yes, it's me."
The girl—no, America—confirmed her identity.
Her ability was to open doors to other universes, allowing her to travel through them.
It was a powerful ability, even more than what Ronan could manage, as his ability to traverse the multiverse came with a six-month cooldown period.
Was this what made mutants so extraordinary?
"The Darkhold, plus a mutant who can travel across the multiverse."
"Strange, it seems you've gathered something truly extraordinary."
Ronan shook his head, seemingly in awe.
Strange blinked in confusion, not understanding Ronan's comment.
But soon enough, Ronan gave him an answer.
"If you've read the Darkhold, you should know that when a sorcerer 'borrows' power,"
"Another term for that is 'stealing.'"
"You say 'borrow,' but from the beginning, you intended to take my power, didn't you?"
"In fact, from the start, you planned to take everything from me—my power, my soul, all of it."
"Isn't that right?"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone