As the Sorcerer Supreme and protector of this world, the Ancient One was also a powerful being who controlled and guarded the Time Stone. Even Odin could not simply ask the Ancient One for the Time Stone.
There were only two ways to obtain the Time Stone: become the new Sorcerer Supreme, or snatch it from the Sorcerer Supreme's hands!
This unfamiliar invader was clearly not the new Sorcerer Supreme, which left only the other possibility.
"You killed the Sorcerer Supreme?"
"No!" Ethan denied it resolutely. He was not about to take the blame for that. "Besides, I helped the Ancient One resolve some minor troubles that had plagued her for many years."
"..."
Odin thought for a moment and did not doubt Ethan's words. A powerhouse of this caliber likely would not bother with such lies. Furthermore, he could tell that the other party's desire to obtain the Infinity Stones was very firm, and it probably was not something that could be easily brushed aside.
"May I ask a question?"
"Please do."
"What exactly do you intend to do by collecting the Infinity Stones?"
As the King of Asgard and guardian of the Nine Realms, Odin felt it was his duty and responsibility to protect this universe. If the other party intended to use the power of the Infinity Stones to do something that threatened this world, then even if he died here, or sacrificed all of Asgard, he would not tell this person the location of the Aether, the Reality Stone.
"I know what you're worried about!"
Ethan did not hide his purpose, as he did not intend to harm this world.
"I intend to use the power of the Infinity Stones to go home. It won't cause any harm to this universe."
"Go home?"
The experienced Odin guessed some information about the other party from his words. This powerhouse came from another world, and he currently had no way to return to his own world.
"Is that really all?"
"Of course."
Ethan casually used his power to "play" some images, mostly showing how he obtained the Infinity Stones. From beginning to end, he had not harmed anyone.
In addition, Ethan also gave Odin another piece of information as a bonus.
"Furthermore, if I take the Reality Stone, it will allow Asgard to avoid an attack."
"What do you mean?"
"The Dark Elves are about to return. You should know what those guys want to do with the Reality Stone."
The Dark Elves were attempting to use the power of the Reality Stone to turn the Nine Realms into a world of darkness. If Ethan could really take the Reality Stone away, the Dark Elves would likely wander aimlessly throughout the universe like headless flies, never finding any information about the Reality Stone.
The premise was that this person would directly take the Reality Stone out of this universe.
"Are you planning to take all the Infinity Stones?"
"What use would they be if they were left behind? Such things have no value to higher beings, but they are too dangerous for some individuals who are quite powerful yet have enormous ambitions, easily causing immense harm to the entire universe."
Ethan's outstretched finger trembled slightly, and a purple-skinned being appeared in the image on his hand.
"You should have heard the name Thanos. He has quite a few ideas about the Infinity Stones."
Odin, of course, knew Thanos's name. He had been eager to see Thor mature in recent years, not only because his own health was deteriorating and he needed a qualified successor, but also because he had a premonition of the threat this Titan might bring.
If Thor did not mature quickly, Asgard would be powerless against Thanos.
"Rather than having someone take them and do things that threaten the entire universe, it's better for me to take them away."
What Ethan said seemed to make some sense, but Odin always felt that something so important should not be taken away so easily by an "outsider."
Moreover, the power of the Infinity Stones was too great. If Ethan suddenly decided to do something to this universe after obtaining them, he would not be able to stop him then.
To put it simply, Odin did not trust the other party!
Ethan knew this. He did not expect to convince Odin just by talking. His real confidence lay in his own absolute strength.
Even if Odin did not agree, he could not do anything to Ethan. And if Ethan could not get the information from Odin, he could simply search slowly. At the very least, he could wait until the Convergence of the Nine Realms and go to London on Earth to find the spatial anomaly.
However, the situation suddenly took a turn for the better. After silently hesitating for a while, Odin actually agreed to Ethan's request and was willing to personally take him to the location of the Reality Stone.
"I have one condition. I want to see you leave this world with my own eyes."
"That's not a problem."
Although this request sounded strange and gave him the feeling that Odin wanted to see him gone permanently, Ethan still agreed.
Under Odin's "supervision," Ethan successfully obtained the Aether and extracted the Reality Stone from it right in front of Odin.
With the six Infinity Stones in hand, there was no need for Ethan to stay in this world any longer. Holding the Stones, Ethan directly tore open the world barrier nearby, and then a white light door appeared before him.
"Thank you for your help, King Odin."
Odin's expression was cold and blank, as if he was not thinking about anything. He just stood there coldly. Ethan glanced at him a few times, and finally, without saying anything more, stepped into the white light door.
The scene before him instantly changed back to the familiar staircase and the inconspicuous door. The six Infinity Stones floated in Ethan's left hand, and he fully expected to be able to open the door and leave this time.
To his surprise, as soon as he touched the doorknob, he realized that obtaining the six Infinity Stones was merely the beginning.
"What the hell?!"
It was then that Ethan learned the method of using the six Stones as a key was a bit special. He had to completely master the power within them, and then, having mastered these powers, Ethan himself had to open the door.
He felt as if something was not quite right, but Ethan's attention was quickly drawn to another matter.
That was, to open the door, he needed not only these six Infinity Stones but also another item. Only then could Ethan open this door.
"..."
With a helpless sigh, Ethan looked at the six Stones in his hand. He casually took out a few stones that looked ordinary but were actually very sturdy and about the same size as the Infinity Stones. Then, he used divine power to string these stones and the six Infinity Stones together alternately, making a bracelet.
"At my age now, wearing a bracelet doesn't seem out of place."
There was no one to talk to, and no entertainment facilities to pass the time. He could only find ways to amuse himself.
After doing this, he stood with his arms crossed, looking at the large door in front of him, and sighed again.
"It didn't open a new portal directly. Does this mean I have to complete this task before the next stage can begin?"
He seemed to have no other choice but to sit down and quietly sense the power of the six Infinity Stones.
After calming down, he felt strange again.
Was there something special about these six Infinity Stones? If they simply represented the rules of the Marvel Universe, they definitely would not be related to the door in front of him.
"In other words, there's something else in these six Stones?"
He kept feeling that something was off, so Ethan carefully sensed the power emanating from the six Infinity Stones.
Soon, he discovered that these six Infinity Stones contained the purest rule power and vast energy. The power within them was definitely not limited to the rule power of the Marvel Universe.
"What's going on?"
He had had the six Infinity Stones for a while, and he was certain that these six Stones did not have such immense power before. Now, the power of these six Stones was countless times stronger than "true" Infinity Stones, and the rule power they contained was not limited to a specific universe but was a power that was universal across most universes.
Even without considering the rule power, just the pure energy contained within them was a tremendous draw for a being like Ethan.
Attempting to mobilize the power of the Space Stone, he started with the Space Stone, since he was most familiar with spatial energy. If anything felt wrong, he would immediately notice.
He sat there for who knew how long. The energy of the Space Stone was gradually absorbed by Ethan. At the same time, the rule power contained within it gave him a deeper understanding of space. His strength was increasing almost every second.
After the Space Stone came the Time Stone, Power Stone, Reality Stone, Mind Stone, and Soul Stone.
After completing the absorption and fusion of the energy and rule power, Ethan reopened his eyes.
The bracelet was still there, but the Infinity Stones on it had reverted to "ordinary Infinity Stones."
"..."
Ethan glanced at them a few times before withdrawing his gaze, his lips unconsciously twitching slightly. However, he suppressed the urge to complain and said nothing, simply releasing a surge of divine power and blasting it onto the large door in front of him.
As the energy blast released by Ethan hit, the large door suddenly emitted waves of white light, then also released energy that surged directly toward Ethan.
Ethan did not dodge, standing where he was and allowing the energy to hit him. He was then enveloped by this energy and carried away to another world.
This energy transmission was somewhat like the Bifrost. Ethan could only see white light all around him, and by the time the white light dissipated, he had already arrived at his destination.
Turning his head to see his surroundings clearly, he immediately felt the urge to curse. Countless Amazon warriors, whom he was very familiar with, surrounded him. Each female warrior held a weapon, most of which were bows and arrows.
Seeing their stance, with arrows nocked on bowstrings and drawn back, Ethan felt like he could turn into a pincushion at any moment.
This was not even the most frustrating thing for Ethan. What truly made him speechless were the words spoken by the very familiar woman in golden armor standing before him.
"Die! Steppenwolf's lackey!"
"What the fuck!"
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)