Later that evening, Soren began taking out artifact after artifact, strange relics, shimmering tools, sealed containers, and weapons of every imaginable shape.
All had been seized from the Collector's vault back when the man couldn't hide them away in time.
Anything the Collector considered worthy of storing was, by universal standards, a priceless treasure.
And Soren handed them out as casually.
With his current strength, these 'treasures' were little more than decorations.
Each item he tossed to the group carried legends behind it. Divine weapons crafted by alien civilizations. Ancient tools that could bend elements.
Defensive trinkets that saved lives across galaxies. As the pile dwindled, shock turned to excitement… until the courtyard practically buzzed with joy.
Soon whispers spread…
Are we really preparing for war?
Or is Soren Macaluso… handing out loot?
By the time everyone had claimed their share, their confidence was overflowing. No one felt like they were marching toward a desperate battle anymore.
If anything, it suddenly seemed like Thanos was the one who should be worried. Some heroes even joked that they felt ready to 'slap the Black Order back into space.'
After so much preparation, Soren finally felt exhaustion creeping into his bones.
Brewing dozens of potions, distributing artifacts, and then unleashing a massive potential-stimulation field, it had taken a toll on him.
With a few simple instructions to the others, he excused himself and made his way to the quiet meditation chamber.
He invited Jean and Freyja to accompany him, hoping for their company… but both refused.
"Rest," Jean told him.
"You'll fight better with a clear mind," Freyja added.
They were right.
…
Inside the meditation room, Soren sealed the door and raised a dense spatial barrier around the walls, strong enough to contain a small starburst if needed.
Only then did he take out the Cosmic Orb and set it before him.
The cool metal casing clicked open.
Purple light flooded the chamber in a blinding flash. A wave of pure destruction surged outward, pressing against the barrier and vibrating through the air.
Soren stared at the exposed Power Stone.
He had no illusions about what was coming. Thanos was not an opponent to be underestimated.
The Titan's offensive power, defensive strength, and mental resilience were all at their peak… balanced in a terrifying triangle.
And death itself refused to claim him, making him effectively immortal.
Not even Soren was certain that his ultimate ability, space-time erasure, could destroy such a being.
He needed more power.
He needed this.
Soren remembered the Guardians of the Galaxy, five people holding the Power Stone together to stop Ronan.
They had nearly been torn apart. Soren's physical strength and healing ability far surpassed theirs.
He inhaled once, steady and controlled.
Then he reached out…. his fingers closed around the stone.
BOOM!
The chamber detonated in violet light.
The Power Stone unleashed its wrath instantly. Destructive force flooded into Soren's arm, ripping at his cells, tearing through flesh with an intent to annihilate everything it touched.
The skin at the center of his palm evaporated in an instant.
But Soren's maxed-out healing ability snapped to life just as quickly. New tissue surged forward, regenerating almost as fast as the stone destroyed it.
The two forces clashed in a brutal stalemate… obliteration and renewal battling millimeter by millimeter.
Destruction could not advance.
Healing could not fall behind.
Soren held the Stone unmoving.
Soren's expression twisted, equal parts grim determination and barely contained agony.
His body, though capable of resisting the terrifying destructive force roaring through him, trembled under the repeated cycle of annihilation and regeneration.
He had tried before… many times to channel the power gem's energy through a magic circle, attempting to create a stable conduit.
Every attempt had failed. The gem's power was too volatile, too beyond the limits of crafted structures.
In the end, Soren accepted the truth, only his own body… could serve as the vessel.
So he made his choice.
He would become the carrier and he would integrate the power himself.
The pain was beyond pain… raw destruction gnawing at bone, muscle, nerves, and even his soul… but Soren's will was carved from tougher shit.
Cold sweat streamed down his forehead, but he continued forcing the gem's violent purple energy deeper into himself.
If he wanted to control the power gem, then first he had to withstand the destruction that defined it.
Each strand of power he guided inward rampaged through him, tearing him apart from within before his remarkable resilience knitted him back together.
It was like drowning in fire, being reborn only to burn again.
Time blurred.
Then… at a single, almost imperceptible moment the threshold was crossed.
The destructive will saturating his body hit its limit… and suddenly, the agony ebbed away. The raging power that once consumed him now flowed across his flesh without harm, finally recognizing its master.
"…" Soren exhaled slowly.
He had achieved authority, the fundamental qualification to wield an Infinity Stone.
His was shredded a moment earlier, healed instantly. A triumphant smile crept across his face. Now, he could hold the power gem without being torn apart.
He could feel the immense strength coiled within it… limitless and it no longer rejected him.
He could draw on it freely.
He could reinforce his body until it became an unbreakable machine of war. Or he could unleash that force outward, shaping it into violet waves of annihilation capable of pulverizing anything in their path.
Only now did Soren truly understand the magnitude of mastering an Infinity Stone.
If Thanos hadn't forced his hand, if the threat of the Titan weren't looming… Soren doubted he would have dared to attempt this.
But the gamble had been worth it. The power was intoxicating.
Soren turned his eyes toward the heavy spatial barrier he had erected earlier. It had been designed to withstand catastrophic force… yet now holding the power gem, it felt fragile.
He clenched the gem in his fist and purple light erupted from his arm.
Soren drew back his fist…