The Nine Realms — Asgard.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
Inside the golden, resplendent great hall, tens of thousands of citizens had gathered. Endless cheers thundered across this divine land.
On the throne sat the All-Father, Odin, watching his eldest son Thor, who was proudly raising Mjolnir in his hand, basking in the adoration of the people. A look of satisfaction flickered in Odin's eye.
Today, his firstborn, Thor Odinson, was about to be crowned as the new king of Asgard.
Odin rose to his feet, bringing the handle of Gungnir, the Eternal Spear, down against the ground.
WUUUUMMMMMM!
Instantly, the grand hall fell silent.
"Thor Odinson, my heir."
At the sound of the word heir, Loki, standing to one side, lowered his gaze. He didn't want anyone to see his expression.
But just then — a flash of light streaked across!
Loki's body suddenly vanished from the hall, as if he had never been there at all.
"What?"
Odin's one remaining eye widened in disbelief.
As the All-Father, the supreme ruler of the Nine Realms, he instantly knew — Loki hadn't used invisibility magic, nor teleportation. He had simply vanished, without reason.
But who?
Who possessed such power that they could snatch away his son right in front of the king of Asgard himself?
The hall erupted in chaos, filled with shocked and bewildered voices.
"Where's Loki? Where did he go?"
"By Odin's name, what just happened just now?"
"Loki?"
Even Thor looked around in astonishment, completely confused.
Though his brother loved mischief, he would never pull a prank at such a solemn moment.
And then — a massive rectangular holographic screen suddenly appeared in midair, right at the center of the great hall.
….
Kamar-Taj.
In this secluded sanctuary, a group of apprentices were training in the courtyard.
"Mastering the use of the Sling Ring is essential for spellcasting…"
A dark-skinned sorcerer walked among them, observing. His brow furrowed slightly.
The others had already managed to form the outline of a portal with their Sling Rings, but one apprentice — Stephen Strange — had barely managed anything at all.
At that moment, a bald woman with an extraordinary presence emerged from a chamber.
"I'd like a private word with Mr. Strange."
It was the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One.
Stephen Strange spread his hands helplessly. "It's all because of my hands…"
The Ancient One's gaze was calm, her tone even.
"This has nothing to do with your hands."
The moment her words fell — a flash of light! Strange's body suddenly vanished.
"!!!"
The Ancient One's pupils constricted, her composed expression vanishing in an instant.
Beside her, Mordo flinched, thinking she had teleported Strange away.
"Master, this is—"
The Ancient One raised her hand, signaling Mordo to be silent.
To see Strange disappear before her eyes, by some unknown force, was already astonishing enough.
But what shocked her even more was this: she had once peered into Strange's future using the Eye of Agamotto. And yet this event had never appeared in her visions!
What was happening?
Could the power that had just spirited Strange away… have already surpassed the Time Stone itself?
And then — a gigantic screen appeared before the Ancient One and the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj.
….
A private jet soared through the skies, bound for Afghanistan.
Inside the cabin, two men lounged on sofas, both already drunk.
Tony Stark glanced at Colonel James Rhodes, who was already passed out drunk, and shook his head, trying to stay awake himself.
Once they landed in Afghanistan, he still had to host a demonstration of a new weapons system.
If all went smoothly, Stark Industries would secure yet another major contract.
But just then— a flash of light!
Tony's body vanished from the cabin in an instant.
In an unknown space, four men stood staring at one another, all equally dumbfounded.
In the blink of an eye, they had been "transported" into this strange place.
Tony frowned as he looked at the three figures around him.
One was a middle-aged man in monk-like robes.
Another looked about eighteen, wearing black-rimmed glasses.
But the strangest of all was the black-haired young man.
He wore "ancient-style" clothes, a green cloak draped around him, and most bizarre of all— atop his helmet curved two long, horn-like protrusions!
Tony shrugged, utterly unfazed.
"Well, whoever you people are, I have to say—snatching me straight off a plane? That's impressive. You've earned my respect.
"So go on, how much ransom do you want?"
Then, curiosity flickered in his eyes.
"And how exactly did you manage to pull me out of that jet? Some kind of new tech?"
The moment he mentioned technology, the drunken haze in Tony's eyes cleared, replaced by a feverish excitement.
"If possible, you have to sell me this tech. Name your price—whatever you want!"
"Tony Stark. As arrogant as the rumors say."
The man in robes—Stephen Strange—let out a cold laugh, his expression full of disdain.
"Even if you're the world's richest man, your wealth is worthless in the face of magic."
As a public figure constantly seen on TV and in magazines, Tony Stark was no stranger to Strange.
And ever since Strange had witnessed the Ancient One's world-shaking sorcery, little could truly surprise him anymore.
In his mind, this had to be the work of some powerful spell that had drawn them all into this bizarre place.
"Magic?"
Loki stepped back two paces, eyes narrowed in wariness at Strange.
What kind of sorcery was this—powerful enough to rip him away right under Odin's very eye… and cast him into an unknown space?
"You're insane," Tony muttered, glaring at Strange like he was out of his mind.
He was a scientist, an engineer—how could he possibly believe in "magic"?
"Kidnapping?"
Peter Parker's mouth fell open at Tony's words, his face full of bewilderment.
At that moment, his heart sank.
Earlier that day in high school, Peter had been beaten badly by a bully. He thought his luck couldn't get any worse.
But then—right after getting home—he was suddenly teleported into this crazy place!
Still in shock, Peter couldn't help but feel confused.
Tony Stark? Who was that supposed to be?
The world's richest man? Yeah, right.
He'd never even heard the name before!
And then—
A cold, emotionless voice echoed through the space:
[Dimensional Livestream Q&A System initializing!]
[Marvel Multiverse binding complete!]
[Stephen Strange has joined the livestream room.]
[Loki Odinson has joined the livestream room.]
[Tony Stark has joined the livestream room.]
[Peter Parker has joined the livestream room.]
[This system will randomly broadcast past and future major events from the Marvel Multiverse.]
[At the end of each broadcast, the system will ask questions. Correct answers will earn livestream points and random rewards.]
[Livestream points can be used to request events from your own past or future.]
[Once the Q&A ends, participants are free to leave.]
[The first livestream Q&A will begin in one minute!]
[Now playing… Avengers: Infinity War!]
[Good luck with your answers!]