"This is a mystical stone. Legend has it that whoever holds it can see their own death."
"Of course, that's just a rumor. So far, no one has successfully seen anything, though I've experimented with it," said the Collector, Taneleer Tivan. "Perhaps it's missing a specific kind of energy."
With that, he stopped explaining the black stone, which he had kept specifically due to the rumors and a sense that it was special.
At this moment, his gaze fixated intensely on the mysterious man in white before him.
"Sir, would you permit me to purchase your body?"
"Of course, I would only take it after you've died."
Hearing the Collector's creepy request, Syd's mouth twitched, and Star-Lord and the others shuddered in disgust.
Gamora, unable to stand it any longer, spoke up, "Enough with the chatter, Tivan. We're here for serious business."
"We have something you need."
As she spoke, Gamora glanced toward the mysterious man in white not far away.
Syd, noticing this, understood what she meant.
He glanced at the Collector briefly and, after a moment of thought, decided not to use his Chaos Magic.
Instead, he reached behind him and pulled out a black backpack.
As he rummaged through the bag, the sound of clinking objects echoed, drawing the surprised and curious eyes of the Collector and the others.
"What is that sound? Gems? Stones? Or something else?" Star-Lord wondered instinctively, growing more curious about the backpack.
Aside from the orb, what else was inside? What treasures could it hold?
Soon, as they speculated, Syd pulled out a silver orb from the bag—the Orb containing the Power Stone.
At that moment, Gamora said, "Tivan, we're here to show you this orb."
"Alright, then. Let's take a look at your item now," the Collector nodded.
With that, he took the silver orb from Syd's hand.
As the Collector walked toward the mechanical room, Syd cast a glance at the black stone in the distance.
Truth be told, he had some interest in it.
He thought that perhaps the rumors surrounding it weren't entirely false. After all, it was an artifact, and it likely did possess some form of divine power.
Because of this, he briefly considered acquiring the stone for study.
However, he didn't voice his thoughts aloud. Taking something from the Collector's collection would be no small feat, and it wasn't likely that a few words would convince Tivan to part with it.
Syd remembered that later, the Power Stone would go out of control, destroying much of the Collector's collection.
Perhaps, he could use that opportunity to obtain the black stone.
With that thought in mind, he followed the Collector into another room.
After a series of manipulations, the Collector placed the orb on a disassembly device.
Then he said, "Oh, my new friends, let me explain. Before the birth of the universe…"
As he spoke, the Collector began explaining the origin of the orb while operating the machine to dismantle it.
The mechanical arms twisted in a rhythmic pattern, and the orb was successfully opened slightly.
In an instant, purple light spilled out.
At the same time, something the Collector did caused projections to appear in the room—projections of the six Infinity Stones.
The Collector began to explain.
"These are the Infinity Stones. These stones can only be controlled by beings of immense, supernatural power. Watch this..."
In the holographic projection, a massive Celestial clad in armor appeared—none other than Arishem the Judge.
Holding a scepter embedded with the Power Stone, Arishem struck the ground with it.
The Power Stone's purple energy surged forth, instantly destroying vast expanses of land and life, reducing everything to ash.
Moments later, the purple energy engulfed an entire planet.
"The wielder of these stones can destroy entire civilizations in an instant, like harvesting wheat... effortlessly."
The projection ended there, but it was clear what fate had befallen the planet.
This also meant that, if it were Earth, Arishem could easily annihilate it as well.
"I'm so scared I might wet myself," Star-Lord gasped, dumbfounded.
He quickly turned to Syd, shocked. "So what you told us earlier was actually true?"
Then he turned toward the Collector, muttering, "Hey, what you just said sounds exactly like what he told us before. Are you two in on this together?"
Gamora and the others nodded in agreement, confirming that the mysterious man in white had indeed said something similar earlier.
"Wait, that huge guy... was that a Celestial?" Star-Lord asked.
"What did you just say?" the Collector asked in surprise, staring at Star-Lord, astonished.
"How do you know about the Celestials?" he asked.
Star-Lord glanced at the mysterious man in white.
Realizing the answer, the Collector was taken aback, deeply observing Syd.
This man knew far more than expected.
He even knew about the Celestials?
Mysterious… far too mysterious…
After regaining some composure, the Collector continued his explanation. "There was once a group of people who tried to absorb this energy into their own bodies, but they were instantly turned to ash…"
In the projection, figures clad in black attempted to draw energy from the Power Stone. The purple energy exploded, erasing them from existence in an instant.
At that moment, the orb was completely opened!
A purple, glowing, oval-shaped stone floated quietly, unaffected by gravity.
Gazing at the radiant Power Stone, the Collector trembled with excitement and admiration, exclaiming, "Magnificent! Absolutely unparalleled!"
Meanwhile, Rocket, growing impatient, sarcastically remarked, "Yeah, yeah, we're all scared of you, old man. But we'd rather see some money!"
"How would you like to be paid?" the Collector asked in his soft voice.
"Cut the nonsense, old-timer. Cash!" Rocket snapped impatiently.
"Very well." The Collector walked over to a cabinet and opened it, preparing to retrieve something.
But just then, he noticed something.
His gaze shifted toward the purple-skinned woman who had guided them in earlier. She was slowly approaching the Power Stone.
The Collector's voice rang out in warning, "Karina!"
"Step away!"
(End of Chapter)
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Just as the words left his mouth, the purple-skinned woman named Karina shouted, "I don't want to be your slave anymore!"
From a distance, Star-Lord and the others had a bad feeling about this.
Syd narrowed his eyes slightly but didn't stop her from acting.
Realizing what was about to happen, the Collector's heart sank, and he shouted, "No!"
The next second, Karina's gaze locked onto the Power Stone, and without hesitation, she reached out her right hand and grasped it tightly.
Instantly, a violent reaction occurred, like hot oil meeting water!
Sizzling sounds filled the air as the Power Stone's purple energy surged outward, sparking like small missiles.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions followed, and under the impact of the Power Stone's energy, the various display cases shattered, leaving deep craters in the ground.
"Ugh…"
The Collector, Rocket, and the others scrambled for cover in panic.
At that moment, as Star-Lord ducked and dodged, he instinctively turned to see how the mysterious man in white would avoid this catastrophe.
What he saw left him speechless. The man merely lifted his right hand, and a layer of red light appeared, standing like a barrier before him.
The flying purple energy from the Power Stone collided with the red light as if it were raindrops hitting a window, with hardly any effect.
Seeing this, Star-Lord's jaw dropped, utterly bewildered. "Oh my god…"
But before he could think further, Karina, who was holding the Power Stone, began to experience the consequences.
The energy overflowing from the Power Stone was enough to destroy the surroundings—so what about Karina, who was facing the full brunt of its power?
After all, she was just an ordinary person.
In an instant, purple energy marks appeared on her body, her skin being eroded and disintegrated.
"Ahhh!" Karina screamed.
Purple energy filled her entire being, cracks forming across her skin…
With a final scream, a terrifying explosion occurred. The immense purple energy surged outward, detonating and spreading across the room.
Everything around was obliterated, and the entire building exploded in a blast!
Groot carried Rocket as they fled, while Star-Lord and Gamora hid behind a wall, their hearts pounding with fear.
In the midst of the destruction, as everyone thought they were all running for their lives, there was one figure calmly floating in the midst of the purple energy.
Syd, using a barrier of Chaos Magic, was holding off the Power Stone's energy.
While the Power Stone's energy was violent and powerful, it wasn't a full-force outburst. Coupled with Syd's Chaos Magic, which had reached level four and was further enhanced by other abilities, the explosion wasn't a threat to him at all.
It felt like a breeze to him as he floated toward the case holding the black stone just moments before the explosion reached it.
Using his Chaos Magic, he wrapped the black stone and guided it into his backpack.
By the time he finished, the explosion had mostly subsided.
In the distance, the Collector lay on the ground, slightly injured but otherwise unharmed.
As for Groot and Rocket, they had already fled the scene.
Then, a voice echoed through the air.
"You…"
Star-Lord and Gamora cautiously peeked out from behind the wall, only to be shocked by the scene before them.
Amidst the ruins, a figure in white floated in the air…
In the surrounding devastation, he appeared completely unscathed—not even the corner of his clothes or their color had changed.
This fact was not lost on the Collector, Star-Lord, or Gamora, who were all well aware of what it meant.
It meant that this mysterious person had resisted the blast of the explosion head-on!
Star-Lord was utterly dumbfounded.
"The terrifying explosion caused by the stone was blocked? Is this guy even human?"
The scene fell into a stunned silence. No one said a word.
At that moment, footsteps could be heard from outside.
It was Rocket and Groot, who had come rushing back in, worried after realizing the others hadn't made it out.
Charging in, they reached the room.
There, they saw Star-Lord, Gamora, and the others frozen in shock, as well as Syd, who was floating in mid-air, untouched by the chaos around him.
"Am I seeing things?" Rocket rubbed his furry paw over his eyes.
Had there not been an explosion just now?
If there had been, how was Syd completely unharmed?
As Rocket and Groot stood in disbelief, the floating figure moved.
Syd drifted toward the Power Stone, which was now exposed. He extended his right hand.
The red glow of Chaos Magic appeared once more.
The purple-glowing Power Stone floated up, enveloped in the red light.
Syd reached out, as if preparing to grasp the Power Stone.
Seeing this, Gamora and the others gasped in shock.
"What are you doing?" Gamora cried out.
Star-Lord exclaimed in disbelief, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, are you crazy?"
Rocket's fur stood on end in fear.
"Put it down!" the Collector shouted frantically.
At that moment, they found it hard to believe—was this mysterious man insane?
Had he not seen what had just happened?
Not to mention the destruction that had occurred in mere moments, but Karina, who had tried to hold the stone, had been turned to ash!
Didn't he realize the danger of this stone?
They were in utter disbelief.
Even Rocket, who had earlier thought the Collector was exaggerating, now believed the stories about the Power Stone were true.
This was indeed a dangerous object!
At that moment, Rocket wished he could be as far away from the stone as possible!
It was as if they could already see the moment when the mysterious man touched the purple stone, was overwhelmed by its energy, and exploded into dust.
As they trembled in fear and couldn't stop him in time, Syd's calm expression didn't change as he grasped the Power Stone.
Instantly, the stone emitted an intense purple glow, its terrifying energy surging out.
The purple light began to spread across his body!
"We're doomed..." Rocket and the others muttered under their breath.
Just as they felt overwhelmed with fear and were about to flee, the scene before them left them speechless.
The purple light surrounding Syd's body was rapidly retracting, flowing back into him.
Moreover, they noticed something peculiar.
When Karina had tried to hold the stone earlier, her body had been covered in cracks and energy marks, unable to withstand the Power Stone's energy. But now, Syd showed no signs of damage whatsoever.
What was happening?
What was going on?
Star-Lord and the others were left utterly stunned.
(End of Chapter)
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