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"Sir, there's an urgent matter that needs your attention."
Tony Stark, engrossed in his lab work, immediately received a message from Jarvis. Although Jarvis was vague, Tony quickly understood his meaning. Iron Man was already on top of it.
"Banner, Reed," Tony briefly halted his work, greeting his two colleagues, "I'll leave this to you for now; I have to step out."
"Go ahead with your business; the two of us can handle things here," Dr. Banner, wearing glasses and focusing on the data in front of him, hardly paid attention to Tony's words. Mr. Fantastic, however, acknowledged him.
Iron Man, no longer mincing words, turned and left the lab.
"Has the journal been updated?" he confirmed with Jarvis as he closed the door.
"Yes, sir," Jarvis promptly confirmed.
Without further ado, Tony jumped into his sports car and sped back to his luxurious villa. He could have checked the journal in the lab's lounge, believing it was "following" him and "hidden" inside the lounge. However, considering the risk of Banner or Reed walking in, Iron Man felt it was safer to read it at home.
Comfortably leaning on his sofa, Tony took out the journal and turned to the latest entry. Indeed, there was a new update: The assembly of the nine stars is imminent! This news didn't surprise Iron Man too much, as he had been forewarned by an early tip-off.
That's why Tony had agreed to Mr. Fantastic joining, pouring all his effort into studying Vision. The journal had already spoiled details about adversaries like Malekith and the Dark Elves, which was nothing new. However, Loki's death during the Dark Elf invasion came as a surprise. Wasn't he choked to death by Thanos? This contradicted earlier spoilers from the journal!
After a brief contemplation, Tony figured it out. Undoubtedly, this version of Loki's death, like the previous one where he fell into a cosmic abyss, was an illusion seen by Thor—a subjective belief of death, not an actual demise. With so many previous spoilers, there was no doubt Loki was killed by Thanos. However, when Loki fell into the cosmic abyss, Thor had experienced the pain of losing a brother, believing Loki was truly dead.
This pain was genuine! Oh, and there was also the time Loki was killed by Thanos. It almost seemed like Loki kept dying repeatedly just to mess with Thor's head. Surely Loki wasn't just tormenting him for fun, right?
After a slight internal remark, Tony focused back on the journal, only to be struck by another surprise. Malekith of the main universe was that formidable! The "War of the Realms" mentioned was unclear to Iron Man, but from the term, he could guess it was a war sweeping across multiple worlds. Considering that Malekith was a Dark Elf from the Nine Realms, could this inter-realm war also reach Earth?
Thinking this, Tony started worrying about Earth in another universe. If the War of the Realms indeed reached Earth, it would be a far more devastating war than the Battle of New York! And Malekith of the main universe seemed far too strong, needing four versions of Thor to defeat him—this was far more daunting than how things played out in their own universe with a spaceship incident.
The idea of past, present, and future Thors coming together suggested that the main universe's Thor might also travel through time. Was this ability intrinsic to Thor, or did it involve a time machine like the one Tony himself had made in Universe 199999? Confronted with the potential for Earth being drawn into the "War of the Realms," Tony couldn't disregard this possibility. Regardless of how Thor managed to traverse time, recruiting his past and future selves seemed rather clever. Inspired by Thor's actions, Tony's mind lit up. If ever faced with an insurmountable enemy or ultimate trouble, maybe he could ask other universes' Avengers for help—similar to the multiverse Avengers assembled to fight the omnipotent Ultron, or the alliance of multiverse Spider-Men.
This wasn't a bad strategy. Imagine, during the ultimate battle, Thanos from the past encountering a legion of Iron Men, Captain Americas, and Thors. That would indeed be an amusing sight.
Most likely, Thanos would be utterly baffled. Of course, this all depended on Tony developing the time machine first. But was that really a problem for him? Absolutely not—if another universe's Tony could do it, so could he!
"Loki died?" Meanwhile, in front of another journal, Thor quickly realized something. When the journal had previously hinted at it, Thor had wondered if Loki had escaped prison with his typical tricks, such as exiling their father. But now, it seemed Loki had faked his death. Clearly, Thor, who had read the journal, knew Loki eventually died at the hands of Thanos, not Malekith. Knowing Loki's nature, Thor naturally concluded that Loki had used his "death" as a deceit to exile their father and then impersonate him to rule Asgard.
Truly, a seamless ruse by the god of mischief—using his tricks on his family seemed almost a tradition.
"Absolutely useless when facing the enemy, though it was quite a show before."
"What a troublesome character!"
"This level of power could only be equated to Gorr the God Butcher among Thor's enemies in Universe 199999."
"Even Thor, Female Thor, together with Valkyrie, had been defeated repeatedly by this fearsome foe!"
"By that time, Thor had already undergone transformation, possessing Stormbreaker in his prime, presumably his strongest phase!"
"He even killed Zeus outright during the chaos at the Pantheon!"
"Yet, in front of Gorr the God Butcher, he was still no match."
"Despite all attempts to stop Gorr the God Butcher, he still managed to reach the Gate of Forever and found Eternity!"
"Without Thor's quick-witted persuasion, Gorr would have made a wish that would have wiped out all gods from existence."
"It would have taken just one small wish from Gorr!"
In front of Gorr the God Butcher, Thor's face instantly grew very grave. This was the adversary Thor feared most among many enemies from Asgard. Holding the legendary Necrosword, even beings like Zeus acknowledged their fear. Even with Thor's arrogance, equal to that of Tony Stark, he felt immense dread and gave unprecedented attention toward Gorr. At this moment, Gorr's immense power was unquestionably revealed in the journal. Not only was Thor no match for him, but even the combined might of two Thors and a Valkyrie failed. Multiple defeats followed even at Thor's peak! Truly, the Necrosword was legendary! Knowing the legend of the Necrosword, Thor was just dumbfounded by Gorr's brutality, but it wasn't surprising.
However, Thor was genuinely shocked about causing chaos in the Pantheon. Previously, it was written in the journal that Thor went to the Pantheon seeking Zeus's help! How did it turn into causing chaos there? Even... killing Zeus? Why would there be such a severe conflict with his lifelong idol? Thor's brow furrowed deeply. Due to the lack of information, Thor couldn't figure out a clear reason. Was his peak really that strong? Strong enough to kill Zeus instantly! Remarkable! It was indeed the mighty Thor! Zeus was on par with Thor's father, Odin, a super-god equivalent! Was this saying that his future would reach and even surpass his father's stature? With this thought, a proud smile couldn't help but appear on Thor's lips.
"The Gate of Forever!" However, Thor's smiling face soon turned solemn once more. The Gate of Forever was well known to him. Reaching the Gate of Forever could lead to Eternity, the supreme entity of legend. It was said that the first person to reach this gate could make any wish, and Eternity would grant it. For many gods, including Thor, it had always been just a legend—a legend, much like the Necrosword. Until now, Thor finally realized it was true, not a myth.
But Gorr had found the Gate of Forever? It was actually discoverable? The real problem wasn't the discovery. It was what a "God Butcher" named Gorr might do with such power. Swallowing hard, even a being of Thor's standing was profoundly worried by the thought. Such power was a catastrophe for all gods.
"This madman! To wish for the disappearance of all gods in the world?" When the exact answer was found in the journal, Thor felt himself sweating. Gorr, that madman, was planning to eradicate all gods! A seriously dangerous lunatic! Thor couldn't understand why Gorr harbored such a deep grudge against gods. To slaughter and even attempt to eradicate them? Especially when he nearly succeeded!
"Talking him out? Convincing the God Butcher?" In front of another journal, Tony was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected the crisis of the gods to be resolved in such a way. It was literally due to Thor's intellect? That was unexpected. The muscle-bound, usually roaring Thor had managed to "convince" the God Butcher? It was utterly unforeseen.
"As one of the five cosmic gods, possessing unbelievable power to erase all gods is just trivial! But can this tremendous power solve the problem with Tiamat? An interesting topic indeed. If someone could reach the Gate of Forever and wish to save Earth during Tiamat's emergence, it should be simple, right? It does seem quite promising. After all, though mighty, the Celestial beings aren't comparable to Eternity."
"The five cosmic gods? Eternity?" A glint of realization flashed in the eyes of Thena of the Eternals. Having been on Earth for 7,000 years, it was the first she heard of Eternity in a journal. Regardless, the ability for someone's wish to eradicate all gods was terrifyingly powerful! Even by Thena's standards, she was truly astonished.
So here's the question. Could such powerful Eternity, as claimed by the journal, truly preserve Earth? Despite the significant power of the Celestial beings, other approaches seemed more reliable. At least, compared to the methods previously discussed by the Eternals, this seemed more plausible. Just one issue remained. How can one reach the Gate of Forever?