As events unfolded, Arthur felt as if a lunatic had threatened a machine, and the machine had responded.
It was still unclear what the response would be, whether the machine would bow its head in submission or topple over and smash the lunatic to death, but one thing was obvious: the situation was far from calm. Enormous ripples had appeared.
This was not what Arthur had expected. Truthfully, he hadn't really expected anything at all. He had simply run out of options and was completely cornered, so he spoke up based on the peculiar nature of the Soul Stone.
He hadn't intended for it to respond at all.
But since it had, that meant there was an opportunity!
Arthur's pupils contracted. He stood tall and focused, prepared for whatever might happen next.
Light flowed through the empty space before his eyes, gradually carving open a hole.
In an instant, orange light flooded the vision of both Arthur and Red Skull. Immediately afterward, a gemstone floated into existence right in front of them.
Red Skull's pupils shrank. In a flash, he reached out to grab it but pulled his hand back halfway through.
It was a lesson learned from past experience.
Hadn't he been exiled to the far reaches of the universe in the first place because Arthur had used some strange, insidious trick?
The Super-sized Tesseract?
Something like that. Its main method of attack had been to smash the Tesseract straight into his face, forcing direct contact between him and the Tesseract, and thus condemning him to countless days and nights of ultimate torment.
So now, even with the Soul Stone right in front of him, just an arm's length away, he instinctively hesitated.
It was precisely that hesitation that caused the Soul Stone to suddenly transform into a streak of orange light and shoot straight toward Arthur.
In an instant, Arthur's palm was filled with pure cosmic energy. He raised his hand, and the gemstone landed firmly in his grasp. His body and mind were fully prepared for an overwhelming surge of energy.
Yet, the moment it entered his hand, he suddenly realized...
It was quiet.
There was no disturbance or strange reaction. It was obedient, just like an ordinary gemstone.
What was going on?
Arthur snapped his head up and saw Red Skull's figure mist over and begin to dissipate. A strange intuition surged through his mind. Without thinking, Arthur stepped forward and declared,
"Strip!"
The instant the word left his mouth, Red Skull's figure froze abruptly. Countless afterimages peeled away from his body, fluttering upward before finally collapsing back into one.
Red Skull spat out a mouthful of blood and whipped around to stare at Arthur.
"That's impossible!"
Arthur tilted his head slightly and spoke again:
"Bind!"
Red Skull's body froze on the spot, suspended motionless like a wooden stake driven into the ground.
But Arthur knew...
Only his soul was bound.
His body had never been restrained.
A body without a "driver" clearly can't control itself. It could only remain frozen in its current posture, unable to move.
Arthur finally had the leisure to look down at his palm.
The orange gemstone shimmered with a unique radiance. Had he achieved the two abilities he had just used through this stone?
"..."
For a moment, Arthur was at a loss for words. After a brief silence, he decided not to rashly store the gemstone in the Disassemble Space. Instead, he walked up to Red Skull.
He slapped his hand against Red Skull, who vanished from sight in the next instant, reappearing inside the Disassemble Space.
Red Skull was completely bound and clearly unable to resist or struggle.
Arthur silently observed the Disassemble Space. Only after confirming that Red Skull was indeed inside did he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
An earlier illusion had already shown him that not even the Soul Stone could observe what happened inside the Disassemble Space. Based on that, this was enough to prove that what he was facing now was real.
But still...
Why?
He picked up the Soul Stone again. It was said to contain a ravenous, insane soul, but judging by its behavior now, it seemed rather well-behaved.
"So, in the end, the truly overpowered technique is actually the Talk no Jutsu: The Persuade-the-Stone Technique?"
Arthur couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
What kind of ridiculous technique was that supposed to be?
After scanning the surroundings and confirming there were no further issues, Arthur unfurled the Wings of the Raven God. Acceleration enveloped his body, and the next second, he vanished from the spot, leaving behind only a thunderous boom as the air exploded.
…
…
In the blink of an eye, Arthur appeared inside the spaceship's conference room.
Everyone was still unconscious and deeply immersed in the "illusion," unable to break free.
Arthur took out the Soul Stone. Before he could speak, he had a sudden intuition and uttered a single word:
"Wake up!"
Almost everyone opened their eyes at the same time.
However, their reactions upon waking were all different.
Little Spider was drenched in cold sweat. The moment he woke up, he jumped around frantically.
"Oh God, oh God... Gwen! Gwen!"
His intense reaction startled Arthur. "What happened?"
"Gwen died..." Spiderman stared at Arthur in a daze. "She fell from so high, so high! God, if only I hadn't hesitated. If only I'd grabbed her a little sooner."
As he spoke, his eyes reddened.
Arthur's heart jolted for no reason. Had he seen the fate Spider-Man was originally meant to suffer before ever meeting him?
He quickly patted Spiderman on the shoulder. "It was just a dream. Gwen is fine and waiting for you back on Earth."
"A dream... right... a dream..." Spiderman looked around. "This is our combat briefing room. It was all fake. That's great. That's great."
He let out a shaky breath, then collapsed to the ground as if all his strength had left him. He leaned against the wall and gasped for air.
The others didn't react as violently, but each had their own response.
Some shook their heads and sighed. Some looked smug and satisfied. Some were frustrated.
And some, even worse, had expressions bordering on despair.
The one who caught Arthur's attention was Mordo. He stood up, and the dark expression on his face seemed to grow darker.
He paced back and forth, muttering under his breath over and over: "I don't believe it! That kind of thing is impossible! The Sorcerer Supreme would never touch such dark and evil power. I don't believe it! I don't believe it!"
Arthur frowned.
That part of the storyline shouldn't have started yet.
(End of Chapter)
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