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Of the six Infinity Stones, George now held four in his possession.
The Space Stone, the Mind Stone, and the Power Stone were acquired long ago. As for the Reality Stone, he had traveled to London ahead of time during the Convergence of the Nine Realms to locate and seal it away.
Because of this intervention, the Dark Elves were never awakened by the emergence of the Reality Stone and remained in their deep slumber somewhere in the universe.
That left two. One was the Time Stone, currently in the hands of Doctor Strange (or the Ancient One). As long as he reached an agreement with the cosmic entity Eternity, borrowing it when the time came would be a simple matter.
The final one was the Soul Stone, located on Vormir. Now that he had the coordinates provided by Gamora, it was the perfect time to retrieve it.
"What a truly desolate planet."
Opening a portal, George stepped across space, traveling directly from Earth to Vormir.
He was now powerful enough to traverse parallel universes with his own strength, so moving between major galaxies within a single universe was naturally effortless. As long as he had the coordinates and performed a quick triangulation, he could instantly appear anywhere in the cosmos.
Vormir was said to have once been a very prosperous planet. However, because of the Soul Stone, the entire planet's civilization was ultimately destroyed, and all biological life was driven to extinction.
Among the six Infinity Stones, the Soul Stone was the most dangerous because it was the only one that possessed an independent consciousness. To obtain it, one had to sacrifice the person they loved the most.
"Welcome to Vormir, son of my..."
George had barely arrived when a figure, draped in tattered rags and floating like a ghost, drifted before him.
It was none other than the Red Skull, who had been teleported here by the Space Stone long ago and forced into servitude as the Soul Stone's keeper.
He looked at George and spoke, his voice hollow. "George, a biological fusion of mutant genes. I am the guide of this place. I can lead you to the Soul Stone."
"A guide? I don't need one."
George waved his hand dismissively. Utilizing his Spirit Manipulation ability, he forcibly seized Red Skull's soul. In an instant, the former Hydra leader was converted into the purest form of soul energy and tossed into George's internal world.
His actions clearly enraged the Infinity Stone hidden within Vormir. A massive surge of soul power instantly enveloped George, seemingly attempting to bind him and turn him into the new guide.
"Caught you."
Facing this surging assault of soul energy, the corners of George's mouth lifted slightly.
He had killed the Red Skull partly because the villain deserved it, but more importantly, to provoke the Soul Stone into revealing a flaw. If the Soul Stone remained intent on hiding, finding it would have been genuinely difficult.
Although George was a Single Universe Level powerhouse possessing his own world, and taming a Soul Stone shouldn't be a major issue, the stone represented one of the fundamental laws of this universe. If it simply chose to hide, it would be incredibly troublesome to root out.
"Hand it over!"
He didn't immediately resist the Soul Stone's invasion. Instead, he allowed a large amount of its power to flood in before launching a counterattack in one go. He mobilized the soul power of all his clones to return to his main body, instantly surrounding and besieging the Soul Stone's power.
With soul power equivalent to eleven times that of a Single Universe entity, combined with specialized sealing magic, any struggle the Soul Stone attempted was futile.
In less than ten minutes, George held the Soul Stone in his hand.
"Now, I'm just missing an Infinity Gauntlet."
After sealing the Soul Stone, George instantly vanished from Vormir.
When he reappeared, he was already in Asgard.
The six Infinity Stones were powerful on their own, but individually they were not invincible. Only when united, complementing and amplifying one another, could they unleash their maximum potential.
To integrate the power of all six stones, a specially crafted Infinity Gauntlet was required.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, aside from the one Thanos forced the Dwarves to forge and the nanotechnology version Iron Man later built, there was only one other: the one in Odin's Vault.
Although the Infinity Stones embedded in the gauntlet in Odin's Vault were fake, the gauntlet itself was real.
George had verified this with Odin previously.
At the height of his power, Odin had also attempted to collect the Infinity Stones. He only abandoned the quest when he reached the Soul Stone; he could not bear to sacrifice the person he loved most in exchange for power.
The reason Thanos knew the Dwarves could forge an Infinity Gauntlet was precisely because his intelligence network revealed that Odin had commissioned them to make one in the past.
In the Golden Palace, Odin, holding Gungnir, looked at George with a face full of wonder. He couldn't help but sigh.
"I really can't see through you anymore."
During their last meeting, he had realized George's strength was no less than his own, and he had marveled at how quickly the young man was growing.
But this time, it was even more terrifying. George had ascended to a level beyond him, entering a realm Odin could no longer clearly perceive. Even here in Asgard, the source of his power, Odin felt that if he were to fight George, he might not be his match.
The intuition of the All-Father was rarely wrong.
Fortunately, his son was friends with George, and George had always maintained a good relationship with Asgard.
"Your Majesty Odin, I came here this time because I would like to borrow something from your vault."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, George got straight to the point.
Odin wasn't surprised. He knew George wouldn't come all this way for nothing; the last visit had been to borrow Asgardian magic toms for research.
"You are Thor's friend, and you have helped Asgard. Ask for whatever you wish."
To Odin, there was nothing in the vault that he couldn't lend to George.
George smiled and said, "I want to borrow the Infinity Gauntlet. As a condition, I can help Asgard eliminate the future threat of the Dark Elves."
"The Infinity Gauntlet? You're collecting the Infinity Stones?"
A look of shock instantly appeared on Odin's face.
With so many treasures in the vault, he hadn't expected George to ask for the Infinity Gauntlet, which was currently useless. Without the stones, the gauntlet was merely a decoration.
George didn't hide his intentions. "Yes, I have already collected them all. I want to use the Infinity Gauntlet to harness the power of the six stones to see if I can completely eradicate Dormammu and ensure the safety of Earth and the universe."
"I have already discussed this with the Sorcerer Supreme, and she will assist me when the time comes. Once the matter is resolved, I will return the Infinity Gauntlet."
His primary goal was actually to devour Dormammu and the Dark Dimension, but he couldn't say that outright. In doing anything, one needs a righteous justification to make it acceptable to others.
It was just like in ancient times when rebels wanting to become emperor would act under banners like "clearing away corrupt officials" or "saving the common people."
"So, it is for Dormammu. Very well, I will have someone fetch the Infinity Gauntlet immediately."
Hearing that it was to eliminate the Dark Lord Dormammu, and that the Ancient One was aware and willing to lend the Time Stone, Odin's worries instantly dissipated.
The power of the Infinity Stones was too great. If obtained by an ambitious tyrant, the consequences would be unimaginable. But George—Odin felt he could trust him.
(End of Chapter)