Chapter 26: The Gauntlet's Genesis
"That's true, Eitri!"
Unexpectedly, Thor rebutted Eitri's words, saying, "Ned has the Reality Stone. With the power of the Reality Stone, he can easily repair your forge!"
"King of the Dwarves, how about this? I'll fix the star forge for you, and in return, you forge a weapon for me."
Ned keenly noticed that after Thor mentioned the Reality Stone, Eitri's expression changed slightly. Taking advantage of this, Ned pressed on.
"So what?!"
To Ned's surprise, Eitri suddenly roared at him after hearing his proposal.
Then, Eitri slowly lowered his massive head, his messy hair covering his face.
Ned and Thor exchanged glances, neither understanding what was going on with Eitri.
"What weapon do you want?"
After a long silence, Eitri's hoarse voice broke through. Without turning back, he walked toward his workbench and said, "Fix the forge, and I'll make you a weapon. But from now on, neither of you is welcome in Nidavellir."
"I want a weapon that can freely control the power of the Infinity Stones. It could be a glove or something else," Ned replied, saying something that left Thor utterly shocked.
"Hey!"
Hearing this, Eitri paused on his way to the workbench, but before he could respond, Thor spoke first. "You want an Infinity Gauntlet too? What do you need that for? You didn't tell me you came to Nidavellir to make an Infinity Gauntlet."
Having experienced the Thanos incident, Thor was visibly on edge when it came to anything related to the Infinity Stones, let alone someone openly saying they wanted to forge a Gauntlet in front of him.
"Thor, you know that in my world, Thanos still plans to slaughter half of the universe's population. The only thing that can stop him is the Infinity Stones, and they have to be gathered together," Ned explained. "In your world, so many people died because of Thanos trying to seize the stones—like Loki, Heimdall. They were killed by Thanos himself, people who even the Snap couldn't bring back."
"What do you mean by that?"
Hearing Loki's name, Thor's eyes immediately reddened. He summoned Stormbreaker into his hand, questioning Ned.
Loki had always been his soft spot. No matter how rational he tried to be, there was no way he could stay composed when someone mentioned Loki's death in front of him.
"Thor, you know better than anyone how it feels to watch the people around you die while you're powerless to stop it. I don't want that to happen."
At this point, Ned couldn't help but think of that scene in Avengers: Infinity War when Rocket comforted Thor.
His brother strangled to death by Thanos, his mother killed by the Dark Elves, his best friend stabbed through the heart, and his father passing away before Thor had fully matured.
His newly discovered sister turned out to be an enemy who tried to kill him, and in the end, he had to destroy his home and kill his sister himself.
Thor's life could be summed up in one word: "tragic." Thinking about all this, even Ned felt reluctant to continue, but he had to press on to prevent Thor from stopping him.
To be honest, if Ned had known the coordinates of Nidavellir earlier, he would have come alone. Explaining everything to someone was truly exhausting.
"But my power alone, even with magic, is no match for Thanos. Strange and Loki are both proof of that," Ned said heavily. "The only thing that can counter the Infinity Stones is the Infinity Stones themselves. I need to gather them while Thanos is doing the same. That way, even if I still can't beat him, at least I can protect the people around me. Don't you agree?"
Thor stared at Ned in silence after hearing his words.
For a long time, as Eitri grew visibly impatient, Thor finally put down Stormbreaker, stepped forward, and placed his hands on Ned's shoulders. His voice carried a tinge of pleading as he said, "I know Loki was mischievous, but... please, when you return, be more tolerant of him. Don't let him get killed again…"
"Don't worry," Ned said solemnly, gripping Thor's hands on his shoulders. He nodded firmly.
...
"Buzz—"
As a red glow illuminated the area, the once-dead neutron star reignited, lighting up all of Nidavellir.
Watching the forge come back to life, Eitri's eyes welled up with tears of excitement.
"Eitri, don't worry. No one will be able to extinguish it again!"
Ned marveled at the spectacular sight before him, speaking to Eitri beside him.
"Thank you…"
...
"Here."
Eitri handed Ned a normal-sized, golden glove that resembled the technologically advanced design of Stark's work. The only difference was the golden hue. "This will be your unique Infinity Gauntlet. I've added magical runes to it; only your magical power can activate it."
"Good!"
Ned took the glove and slipped it on, testing the fit. He found it to be perfect, incredibly comfortable.
"Alright, we're leaving now," Thor said, seeing that Ned was satisfied with the glove.
"Yeah."
"Boom!!!"
In the next instant, a brilliant rainbow beam shot into the sky, and Ned and Thor vanished.
Returning to Earth, they arrived just in time for one of Stark's gatherings. After quickly freshening up in New Asgard, they headed to Stark's farm.
Essentially, Thor flew using his hammer, while Ned flew by holding onto Thor.
"You two are right on time!"
The moment they landed, they heard Stark's voice behind them. Turning around, they saw him carrying little Morgan on his shoulders. Morgan was perched on his neck, holding an ice cream cone, looking irresistibly adorable.
"Honestly, you look way better now that you've trimmed down, Lebowski," Stark said casually, patting Thor's stomach with the back of his hand. He ignored the murderous look Thor gave him and continued to tease.
"Thor, Ned."
Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson walked over as well. Winter Soldier was notably absent—clearly, he was still struggling with his own demons.
"Captain."
"Steve."
"Taking it easy, huh, boys?"
While they were exchanging greetings, a new voice joined the conversation. Turning to look, they saw a familiar face—Nick Fury striding toward them. Beside him was none other than Carol Danvers. It seemed their years-long connection had not faded.
"They're certainly taking it easy, but with you around, Fury, the vibe's always ruined!"
Just then, an old man with white hair, pushing a cart, happened to pass by. Hearing Fury's words, he laughed and loudly quipped, "You're such a killjoy, you rascal!"
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