บท 203: Chapter 197
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After some light complaints, Tony refocused his attention on the diary. He couldn't help but show a bit of regret on his face.
During the recent encounter with the future Avengers, he did not see Black Widow. So, just as described in the diary, Black Widow must have gone to Vormir and sacrificed her soul, ending in an eternal sacrifice. Even the Hulk's snap couldn't bring her back. What a pity!
But, Thanos actually slaughtered half of Asgard's population? That guy dared to wield his blade against Asgard? The diary clearly states that it wasn't Thanos' snap that erased half of Asgard's population; Thanos slaughtered them! This is entirely different. According to the diary, Hulk's snap only brought back those who Thanos had erased. Doesn't this mean Asgard has permanently lost half its people?
Thanos, what have you done? Truly a blood-stained executioner!
"Thanos!"
Thor had just returned to Asgard and hadn't even had time to quell the rebellion when he became furious, and there was a murderous glint in his eyes. Thanos had some nerve! Daring to provoke Asgard! Was it because he brought back the Tesseract? Did Thanos attack Asgard to collect the Infinity Stones? But did Thanos have that capability? To slaughter half the population of Asgard? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! The mysterious owner of the diary must be exaggerating. Thor couldn't believe such a powerful force existed in the universe, not even Thanos. Asgard was not an easy target; looking across the entire cosmos, they were one of the strongest races!
But regardless, Thanos wielding the blade against Asgard is unforgivable. Not only Asgard, but Thanos also attacked the Dwarves. This infuriated Thor even more. The Dwarves were good friends and allies with Asgard. Many artifacts of Asgard were forged by the Dwarves, including Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. Thor would never allow Thanos to target the Dwarves!
But why would Thanos target the Dwarves? Thor didn't believe the Dwarves possessed the Infinity Stones. Was it because of their forging skills? After a brief contemplation, Thor made this obvious assumption. Just like his father sought out the Dwarves to forge the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos likely sought them out for the same purpose. After all, the use of Infinity Stones requires the Infinity Gauntlet. But even so, there was no need to kill!
And didn't he usually kill half and leave half? Why, when it came to the Dwarves, was there only one left alive? Damn it! Unforgivable! Thor was truly enraged. He had secretly decided in his heart that after handling Asgard's mess, he would focus on dealing with Thanos.
At the very least, he had to uncover this person's identity!
[But Star-Lord's luck might not be as good. He won't encounter Gamora at all!]
[Without Gamora's interference, Star-Lord should be captured by Rocket Raccoon and taken back to Yondu!]
[The Power Stone would fall into Yondu's hands!]
[At that time, Ronan should still be seeking the Power Stone on behalf of Thanos, right? It feels like Yondu's Ravagers wouldn't stand a chance against Ronan.]
[So, the Power Stone would eventually end up with Ronan?]
[Without the Guardians of the Galaxy's protection, wouldn't Xandar be destroyed in advance?]
[Poor Xandar, even if they avoided Thanos, they couldn't escape Ronan.]
"So Gamora was taken to the future by Thanos too."
This was so evident that Tony figured it out instantly. It showed that Gamora wasn't just Thanos's daughter but was also highly valued by him. Otherwise, he wouldn't take her on such a dangerous mission. Unfortunately, Thanos pushed his daughter into the fire. If Thanos hadn't taken Gamora to the future, she wouldn't have been erased. As for Star-Lord being captured by Rocket Raccoon without Gamora, Tony had no idea how or why that would happen.
But clearly, at this time, the Guardians of the Galaxy didn't know each other. So, this was the beginning of the Guardians of the Galaxy's journey? Was it like the diary stated, "Unreliable Rocket Raccoon meeting the unreliable Star-Lord and forming an unreliable team in an unreliable way"? Tony thought this was quite possible. But only the diary's owner, Zhou Cheng, would truly know.
Additionally, another important piece of information was confirmed. At that time, Star-Lord, a lackey under Yondu, was seeking the Power Stone on Yondu's orders, not his own will. Thinking back, this made sense. After all, a nobody like him wouldn't have a chance to contact something as significant as the Infinity Stones.
One thing Tony hadn't expected was that Ronan was collecting Infinity Stones as an errand for Thanos! Previously, Tony had thought these two galactic overlords would clash over the Power Stone. Turns out he was overthinking it; Ronan was just working for Thanos! It seemed that the gap between Ronan and Thanos was considerable. But only compared to Thanos. Compared to Star-Lord and Yondu's Ravagers, Ronan was still strong.
The diary's owner, Zhou Cheng, confidently predicted that the Ravagers couldn't keep the Power Stone from Ronan. It was a given that Ronan would destroy Xandar. Tony wasn't surprised. Although the reason was unclear, the diary's many spoilers indicated some grudge between Ronan and Xandar.
But why would Thanos also destroy Xandar? Reading the diary, it seemed that if Ronan didn't do it, Thanos would have. Did Xandar offend Thanos? Why would Ronan still destroy Xandar even if Thanos was gone? Could it be that Xandar offended both Ronan and Thanos simultaneously?
"Well, Xandar really knows how to make enemies!"
Despite inwardly grumbling, Tony came up with another hypothesis.
Considering Thanos' goal is to collect the Infinity Stones, is it possible that Xandar indeed possesses one of them?
[Ronan is not Thanos. He might not collect Infinity Stones, but it feels like after obliterating Xandar, he would target Earth next.]
[After all, when Ronan invaded Earth before, he was scared off by Captain Marvel. That was a humiliation Ronan could never wash away.]
[Previously, he feared Captain Marvel. Now with an Infinity Stone, he might make a comeback!]
[And with Captain Marvel frequently absent from Earth, could the Avengers hold off Ronan?]
[Even if they could, it would undoubtedly be a tough battle.]
[Damn, even in a world without Thanos, Earth is still unsafe.]
Tony: "..."
Iron Man was speechless because, indeed, what the diary said made a lot of sense!
The diary had mentioned before that Captain Marvel scared off the accuser Ronan.
However, the details were never really elaborated.
It wasn't until Tony specifically asked Nick Fury about Captain Marvel that he finally got an idea of what happened.
As it turns out, during the war between the Skrulls and Kree, the accuser Ronan led a fleet to invade Earth.
But Captain Marvel single-handedly destroyed Ronan's various "interstellar missiles" and wiped out most of his fleet, scaring Ronan away.
Considering this, if Ronan indeed gained more powerful strength, like obtaining the Power Stone, it wouldn't be impossible for him to come to Earth seeking revenge.
This is logically reasonable!
And what is the Power Stone?
People among the Celestials can use it to destroy a planet!
Given Ronan's fleet, Earth's situation does seem quite dire.
At least it looks like a stronger threat than Loki's Battle of New York leading the Chitauri.
Fortunately, although Earth lacks Captain Marvel now, there's him, the great destroyer Tony, along with the Avengers!
While Tony didn't dare claim the Avengers would definitely defeat Ronan like Captain Marvel did back then, there is one thing for sure:
Destroying Earth would not be an easy task for Ronan.
[No, don't even wait for Ronan; Earth itself doesn't have many years left, right?]
[After all, Tiamut's emergence relies on life's energy! As soon as Earth's population reaches a certain number, Tiamut will awaken!]
[If Thanos hadn't wiped out half the Earth's population, it's hard to say if Earth would even make it to the Endgame.]
[Haha, it's interesting. Thanos, who mercilessly wielded the knife against Earth, paradoxically saved it in some sense. Would you believe that?]
[Of course, it's not the final salvation, but it at least postponed Earth's destruction, didn't it?]
"So, this is the truth of Earth as a womb?"
"This is how Tiamut grows?"
Tony's expression turned incredibly solemn.
When Tony first learned that Tiamut was being nurtured at the center of the Earth, he was sure that it would draw energy from Earth in some form.
Though he didn't know the exact nature, the law of energy conservation cannot be violated.
Now, Tony finally knew the shocking answer: Tiamut absorbs life energy!
In other words, it's the living humans it feeds on.
Of all the ways Tony could think of, this was the most brutal.
The impact of Tiamut's absorption on Earth's human population is yet to be discussed.
But a harsh reality stood before Tony:
The more humans on Earth, the quicker Tiamut awakens!
If so, the diary wasn't wrong.
Thanos did something "good" by halving Earth's population.
Of course, this is only from the perspective of Tiamut's emergence.
This, then, is the truth behind Thanos interfering with Tiamut's emergence?
Tony had always been curious about this when the diary mentioned it.
He even wondered what Thanos did that inadvertently aided Earth.
It turns out that it was his crazy method of erasing half the population of the universe.
Undoubtedly, Tony would never agree with such a method, nor would any other diary holder.
So, ultimately, it comes down to the Infinity Stones.
For both Thanos and the Celestials, the key or the endpoint is the Infinity Stones!
These words weighed heavily on Tony's mind.
[Seriously, without Thanos, Earth is equally dangerous!]
[It might even become more dangerous.]
[But beyond Earth, it should be better, given there's one less obsessive maniac in the universe.]
[As for the Infinity Stones, someone is bound to collect them.]
[If nothing goes wrong, it should be the Collector.]
[When Asgard entrusted the Reality Stone to the Collector, he showed his ambition.]
[He also plans to collect the Infinity Stones.]
[And in the TRN877 universe, in T'Challa Star-Lord's universe, with Thanos gone, the Collector becomes the new overlord!]
The Collector.
It was the second time this name appeared in the diary.
Tony initially judged that this person must be an interstellar big shot, and it seemed confirmed now.
Although the diary didn't elaborate on his power, anyone daring to collect Infinity Stones couldn't be an ordinary human.
Especially in T'Challa Star-Lord's parallel universe, this person became an overlord comparable to Thanos!
But why did Asgard store the Reality Stone with the Collector?
Wait a minute, the Reality Stone!
Tony's eyes lit up.
After the Time, Power, Space, and Mind Stones, the diary finally revealed another Infinity Stone.
Considering the naming pattern of the Infinity Stones, the Reality Stone must have the ability to alter reality!
Just like how Scarlet Witch altered the reality of Westview, changing reality?
If that's the case, this Infinity Stone is truly overpowered!
Wow, these Infinity Stones never cease to amaze with their extraordinary characteristics.
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