The Power Stone was still contained within the Orb, on a planet unsuitable for life due to its extreme climate changes.
Ethan did not encounter Peter. There was still some time before Peter would arrive on this planet. This time, Ethan had arrived ahead of him.
He also did not consider greeting Peter. Just like how he treated his previous acquaintances, the people in this world were not the ones he was familiar with.
After taking the Power Stone out of the Orb, he now had four Infinity Stones. The next two would be a bit more troublesome.
"The Reality Stone is hidden somewhere. Only Odin likely knows its location. Am I supposed to go straight to Asgard and ask Odin where the Reality Stone is?"
He suspected that doing so would turn into a massive battle between himself and everyone in Asgard.
Another way was to return to Earth and wait for the Convergence of the Nine Realms. He could then travel through the spatial anomaly in London to the place where the Aether was kept and obtain the Reality Stone.
"Go back to Earth first?"
He retracted the half step he had taken. Ethan decided to go somewhere else first and get the Soul Stone.
He had not figured out how to obtain the Soul Stone yet, but that did not stop him from going to check the situation first. Perhaps things were not as troublesome as he imagined.
The Soul Stone was located in a place called Vormir, a very desolate planet with almost no life.
Actually, the environment on this planet was quite good and very suitable for the birth of life. Ordinary people like Hawkeye and Black Widow could move around freely on the planet without protective gear, and there was liquid water. In this situation, the absence of life forms might be related to the Soul Stone.
After circling the planet for a bit, Ethan found the high mountain and met the guardian of the Soul Stone, Red Skull, at the summit.
Ethan was not surprised to see this unlucky fellow here. Instead, Red Skull scrutinized Ethan for a long time, remaining rooted to the spot without speaking.
"What's wrong? Are you confused because you can't discern my origin?"
After becoming the guardian of the Soul Stone, Red Skull had gained some special abilities, namely being able to see through the identity of everyone who came here.
Unfortunately, this ability was useless against Ethan. Even holding the Soul Stone would not allow one to probe Ethan's soul, let alone Red Skull, whose ability was merely derived from the Infinity Stone.
"Yes, I cannot discern your identity, noble sir!"
After Red Skull became the guardian of the Soul Stone, his life form changed. He could see through the identity of visitors, and he gained a greater understanding of the universe, realizing that it was far more complex than he had known in his time. Such an existence was simply not someone he could provoke.
Facing Ethan, he did not think he could do whatever he wanted just because he had the protection of the Soul Stone. This sir might not even need to lift a finger to kill him. A mere thought would suffice.
"Have you come here for the Soul Stone as well?"
"I need to do some things with the Infinity Stones."
Ethan did not deny it. Who would come to this godforsaken place if not for the Stones?
"To obtain the Soul Stone, you must sacrifice what you love most."
Red Skull did not play guessing games with Ethan and directly told him the method to obtain the Soul Stone.
For him, if someone could obtain the Soul Stone, he could also be freed from this seemingly never-ending guardian duty. Thus, he was eager for someone to take this Stone.
However, this sir had come alone and empty-handed. It seemed he would have to wait a while longer to end this job.
Ethan stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down.
The mountain peak was high, but not so high that he would not dare look down. With his current eyesight, he could clearly see the situation below.
There was nothing there. It was simply a sheer cliff face. And the so-called sacrifice of what was most important was actually leaving the soul of someone very important to oneself here, then obtaining the Soul Stone.
"A sacrifice ritual?"
Ethan was a lone wolf, so of course he could not leave behind the soul of someone important. Even if someone important to him were accompanying him, he would not push them off the cliff and kill them just to get this Stone.
For a god who spent all his time studying energy and rules, Ethan's first reaction was how to break this ritual.
Standing still, Ethan even took out the few Stones he had already obtained, letting them float and slowly rotate in his hand like small celestial bodies orbiting something.
Each time these Stones completed a rotation, they would release different fluctuations. Ethan continuously adjusted the waves emitted by the Stones, trying to resonate with the Soul Stone. No matter what form the Soul Stone existed in on this planet, as long as he could find its emitted fluctuations, Ethan could pinpoint its exact location and thus obtain the Stone.
As the fluctuations emitted by the Stones in his hand grew stronger, the entire planet was affected. The usually calm Vormir trembled incessantly, as if it were about to collapse at any moment.
Red Skull nearby was now panicking immensely. He desperately wanted to end this maddening guardian duty, but he had never imagined ending it in this way.
If Vormir exploded, this unknown powerhouse might be fine, but it was hard to say what would happen to him.
Just as he was worried about Vormir exploding, the surrounding tremors gradually subsided, and the Stones in the stranger's hand slowly became calm. As the rotation speed of the Stones gradually slowed down, a new Stone slowly appeared in the space between them.
"The Soul Stone?"
It could be obtained like this? But Red Skull knew that this method was probably not widely applicable. After all, not just anyone had the power of this mysterious person.
Ethan watched as the newly appeared Soul Stone slowly joined the ranks of the other Stones. The five Stones formed a circle, slowly rotating in his hand, and he felt a bit smug.
"I made the right choice back then!"
If he had not focused on restoring his divine power and understanding rules, it seemed the only way for him to get the Soul Stone now would have been through sacrifice.
Offering the soul of someone he cared about? Just thinking about it made him uncomfortable.
Putting the five Stones away again, Ethan did not pay attention to the somewhat nervous Red Skull. Since things had gone so smoothly, he did not want to wait any longer and instantly teleported away from Vormir, arriving in Asgard, a place he had visited countless times but was coming to for the first time in this world.
What awaited him was naturally not a grand feast, but fully armed Asgardian soldiers and Thor's few good comrades-in-arms.
Ethan looked around but did not see Thor. Thinking that Loki had gone to Earth to cause trouble recently, Thor had likely been sent to Earth by Odin.
He turned to look at the Rainbow Bridge. It was currently under repair. Without the Space Stone, it would be quite troublesome for Thor to return to Asgard.
"Too bad. I was originally planning to give him a new haircut while I was at it."
Ethan's words left the Asgardians completely bewildered, and they did not understand what this person was muttering about. Heimdall observed him for a long time, and when he had the vague feeling that he was facing Odin, he had a premonition that things were troublesome and warned everyone not to act rashly.
"Who are you? What do you want in Asgard?"
"I want to see All-Father Odin."
The Asgardians were somewhat displeased with Ethan's impolite attitude, but they did not reprimand him. This fellow had suddenly appeared here without any warning, and no one could discern his true power. They did not know if he was some legendary ancient monster.
However, this person did not show any hostility. He only stood there without attacking. The situation did not seem too bad. Could he be a friend of His Majesty?
"I need some time to report the situation to the All-Father. I hope you can wait a moment, sir."
"No need!"
Ethan gently waved his hand.
"I'll go myself!"
His words made the soldiers opposite him very nervous. The Warriors Three immediately drew their weapons. However, after Ethan took a step forward, his entire being vanished into the void. This situation left everyone stunned on the spot, unsure of what to do.
"Not good!"
Heimdall reacted the fastest, immediately turning his head to look toward the palace. His eyes could see almost every corner of the universe. He could clearly see Asgard except for a few special areas.
He saw that the stranger was already standing in the palace, confronting the All-Father face-to-face.
"Hello, All-Father."
"Hello."
Odin continuously scrutinized the young man. He could tell that this was an extremely powerful deity, much stronger than himself in his prime.
Therefore, he did not sit on his throne but walked down to stand face-to-face with Ethan and converse.
Odin had a bit of a headache. Asgard was currently in its weakest period. He was old, his body was deteriorating, and his power was far from its peak. Thor had not grown up yet and had only just begun to show signs of maturity. Loki was constantly messing around and not doing anything serious. Hela's ambition had swollen excessively, and she had to be locked up.
At this time, Asgard had no true powerhouse guarding it. Welcoming such a visitor under these circumstances, if he had any designs on Asgard, what would they rely on to resist?
Fortunately, judging by the other party's reaction, he did not seem to be looking for trouble. However, the next sentence made Odin's brows furrow.
"I hope to find the Reality Stone, and I'm afraid only you, All-Father, know its location."
"The Reality Stone?"
Ethan smiled, standing still, and did not say anything further. He simply held out his hand, revealing the five Stones.
When the five Infinity Stones appeared before Odin, his pupils contracted slightly.
He naturally knew what the Infinity Stones meant. What truly shocked him was that the Time Stone was also in this person's hand. Had the Ancient One been defeated?
(To be continued.)