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Alright, the Skrulls' involvement might be temporarily excluded. Regardless of whether the Skrulls were ever working for the Eternals, their current situation is indeed quite dire. Their home was destroyed, with only tens of thousands of surviving Skrulls hiding like rats on Earth, particularly in radioactive zones.
Upon discovering this shocking truth, Tony developed specific drones to continuously monitor these Skrulls around the clock. Nick Fury also deployed appropriate satellites to keep an eye on every move these aliens make.
Apart from the ones openly assisting Nick Fury, the rest of the Skrulls are merely interstellar refugees, doing nothing but surviving. It's unlikely they're working for the Eternals.
As for the Kree, according to Thor, they remain a relatively powerful and advanced civilization. However, there's no record in the diary of them invading Earth again after their war with the Skrulls.
Therefore, Tony is currently more focused on the Eternals than on the Kree.
"Ikaris" and "Sersi." These names immediately piqued Tony's interest. These are the first two Eternals' identities revealed in the diary.
Ikaris only provides a name, and Tony can't deduce much at the moment. But his extreme method of suicide—flying into the sun—indicates a lot.
This points to two things: First, Ikaris can fly, and he can effortlessly fly from Earth to the sun, signifying his incredible speed and formidable physical endurance. After all, such speed requires a corresponding physique. Second, his body can survive within the sun, at least for a brief period.
These two points alone—flying and temporary survival in the sun—are enough to be astonishing.
As for Sersi, it's clear that she can control water, but the extent of her power is still unknown. Her abilities might be stronger than most Eternals, as the diary mentions an internal conflict among the Eternals over the birth of Tiamut.
Although the diary is vague, Tony deduced that Ikaris wouldn't oppose using Pym Particles to save Earth if it were a perfect solution. This implies that, in the future or another universe, other Eternals attempted to save Earth from Tiamut. However, these attempts likely weren't as flawless as using Pym Particles and might have endangered Tiamut.
Thus, the loyal Ikaris opposed this plan, leading to a battle. This so-called internal conflict was likely Ikaris and Sersi fighting against the other Eternals, highlighting their formidable strength.
Tony now better understands the Eternals. They assisted Asgard against the Frost Giants, and except for Ikaris and Sersi, others tried to stop Tiamut's emergence. Hence, Tony considers them potential allies, at least those not named Ikaris and Sersi.
After this revelation, Tony plans to look for the Eternals.
[Okay, not all Eternals, Thanos didn't betray Arishem, did he?]
[Who would have thought, Thanos is an Eternal too?]
[However, Thanos' origins are clearly different from Ikaris and his like.]
[Thanos spent his life collecting Infinity Stones and had no concern for Tiamut's birth.]
[In fact, Thanos significantly interfered with Tiamut's emergence!]
[But strangely, Arishem took no action and let it be.]
What! Thanos is an Eternal?
Tony's face was filled with undeniable astonishment. This revelation was completely unexpected. He's always viewed Thanos as a formidable alien and never considered such an origin, especially with his generally positive impression of the Eternals.
Yet, the diary provided a massive twist, shocking Tony.
"Eliminate the Deviants?" "Ensure Tiamut's creation?"
Tony frowned. These are unmistakably the tasks of Ikaris' faction of Eternals, aligning with his previous speculations. The Celestials, much like preserving species, paid close attention to Tiamut's birth, even creating the Eternals for this very purpose.
So, this explains the Eternals' origins, succinctly described as mere tools.
However, what exactly are the Deviants? Why would the Celestials create a race to eliminate them?
Tony distinctly remembers the Deviants were also created by the Celestials! Could it be because they were interfering with Tiamut's birth?
Iron Man fell into deep contemplation, his mind a swirl of confusion. The relationship between the Deviants, the Celestials, and the Eternals is clearly complex, an intricate web of connections. The specifics remain elusive.
But Tony was quickly distracted by another unexpected piece of information:
"Did Thanos actually interfere with Tiamut's emergence?"
"Who is Thanos anyway?"
"No doubt, the ultimate villain!"
"The super-villain who exterminated half of the universe's life!"
"And Tiamut's emergence?"
"It represents the destruction of Earth!"
"So the diary suggests that Thanos, this super-villain, actually interfered with Tiamut's plan to destroy Earth?"
"Setting aside other factors, analyzing just the outcome, Thanos actually did a good deed?"
"Iron Man didn't see this coming."
[If Thanos was willing, not only could he interfere with Tiamut's emergence, but I believe solving this problem entirely would be within his capability.]
[After all, with all the Infinity Stones, Thanos wields the most potent power in the universe, almost omnipotent!]
[But unfortunately, Thanos wouldn't do it. The Avengers, however, could give it a try.]
[Compared to Pym Particles, the Infinity Stones are obviously more reliable.]
[After all, there is still a certain degree of risk with Pym Particles.]
[I remember in TRN666, the planet-eater was restored to normal after being shrunk for a while!]
[The Celestials are also unpredictable.]
[Some individuals among them are even stronger than the planet-eater.]
[No one knows Tiamut's exact power level.]
Tony: "..."
Iron Man was speechless.
Earlier, when the diary mentioned even the planet-eater fell to Pym Particles, he had great confidence in them.
He thought he had found the ultimate way to deal with the Celestials.
But the truth?
Zhou Cheng only told half the story!
He wondered, how could beings who create worlds seem so vulnerable?
Being shrunk by something developed by an Earth scientist?
It turned out it was only temporary!
Of course, considering the planet-eater's identity, even if Pym Particles can only temporarily shrink him, that's already impressive.
However, Tony could never have imagined that some Celestials are powerful to such a suffocating extent.
Comparable to creators?
Even with the diary's spoilers, Tony knew the Celestials were incredibly powerful, but not to this degree!
This knowledge further undermined Tony's confidence in Pym Particles.
As for the Infinity Stones...
Tony couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.
The idea sounded much more reliable but also exponentially more challenging!
What are the Infinity Stones?
Over time, even though the diary didn't extensively describe them, everyone understood these were incredibly precious treasures in the universe.
The diary explicitly stated: collecting all the Stones grants the most potent power in the universe.
Almost omnipotent!
This level is astronomically high.
Even without thinking too hard, Tony knew what collecting them would mean.
It's something Earth isn't even qualified to touch right now.
Just think of Odin.
Why did the God-King ultimately give up on collecting the Infinity Stones?
The reasons are unknown, as the diary didn't mention it.
But whatever the reasons, it speaks volumes that a God-King gave up.
But soon, Iron Man regained his spirit.
Yes, gathering the Infinity Stones would be incredibly difficult.
But if anyone could handle difficulty, it was him, Tony Stark!
No challenge is insurmountable if Tony sets his mind to it, even collecting the Infinity Stones.
The diary even spoiled it: the future Avengers did start gathering the Infinity Stones!
Thanos collected the Infinity Stones to snap away half the universe's life.
But the diary never mentioned the Avengers' real goal in collecting the Stones.
Everyone assumed it was to stop Thanos.
Undoubtedly, the Avengers failed because "All-Stone Thanos" appeared and snapped in the Infinity War, successfully eradicating half of the universe's life.
This failure likely prompted the Avengers to time-travel to gather the Stones to rival Thanos, leading to the Endgame!
That was Tony's earlier guess.
Now, Tony wondered if besides dealing with Thanos, could the Avengers' other objective be resolving the Celestials' threat?
[In the Endgame, the Avengers did successfully collect the Infinity Stones from the past, didn't they?]
[They even snapped again, bringing back all the beings Thanos erased.]
[One snap or two, what's the difference?]
[Hulk might be unlucky and lose another arm, but it's minor considering how resilient he is.]
[Whether naturally healed or treated, his arm did recover from the Infinity Stone's energy.]
[But there's no other way. Hulk losing an arm is minor; others face death, like Tony who died tragically.]
The Avengers' quest to collect the Stones succeeded!
Tony wasn't surprised by this outcome—the diary hinted at it.
The only regret was that Black Widow died permanently in the mission and wasn't revived by the snap.
Other than Black Widow, did any other Avengers die in the mission?
The diary didn't say, so Iron Man didn't know.
But one thing was clear.
The diary implied, it's Hulk who snapped to bring back those Thanos erased?
Tony wasn't surprised by the restoration itself; he even predicted it.
Such a massive catastrophe could not go unanswered by the Avengers.
But Hulk?
The one who snapped in Endgame was Tony Stark!
Moreover, the diary previously mentioned Tony died saving the world.