Chapter 449: Silas Defects? The Snap!
"Interesting. Can you even replicate me?" Thanos watched his identical double before him and couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
The fake Thanos cracked his neck. "I think it's pretty interesting too."
"Hmph." Thanos raised his left hand, displaying the Infinity Stones. "Unfortunately, Silas, this is the one thing you cannot replicate."
As he spoke, the red Reality Stone flared with light. Behind him, fifteen figures stepped out—replications of the Black Order. The Reality Stone's power was even more domineering than the Rat Talisman; it could ignore any rule. As long as the user willed it, it became reality.
"Honestly, I didn't want to come. I'm not even getting paid a cent for this," Deadpool said, unsheathing his twin katanas. He was internally protesting, but Silas was the one in control.
"I... this time, I will definitely take your head." Fat Thor gripped Mjolnir and Stormbreaker, his entire body wreathed in tens of thousands of volts of lightning.
"Father, this time I am going to stop you," Gamora said, looking directly at Thanos.
Thanos caught Gamora's gaze and felt a momentary lapse in focus. She looked so real—identical to the daughter he knew.
"ATTACK!" the Avengers roared.
Tony Stark was once again the first to strike. This was the Tony from the original cinematic universe; in his memory, everyone had been turned to ash by a single snap.
Thanos waved his hand, and the fifteen replicated Black Order members surged forward to intercept the statues.
Gamora lunged with her blade, but Thanos easily caught her arm. "You will always be my daughter, Gamora," he said softly. He then placed his massive hand over her head and gave a sharp twist.
Crr-ack!
Gamora reverted into a headless statue. Before the transformation completed, a flash of relief flickered in her eyes.
Bam!
Just as Thanos finished with Gamora, the original Tony and Fat Thor arrived, their combined strike sending him flying back.
"Argh!" Fat Thor raised both weapons high. Endless lightning cascaded from the heavens, coiling like a thunder dragon and channeling into his body with a deafening roar.
"Thor!"
Tony stood in front of Fat Thor, his back's energy absorption ports fully open and his laser arrays aimed at the recovering Thanos. Thor understood the signal immediately. He unleashed the totality of his lightning power, driving it straight into the ports on Tony's back.
Boom!
The massive recoil nearly knocked Tony off his feet, but he braced himself. The armor's internal systems converted Thor's raw, violent lightning into concentrated energy. Red lasers, so intense they seemed to tear the fabric of space, lanced out with a searing heat that began to melt the surrounding Antarctic ice.
Thanos didn't dare be careless. He activated the Reality Stone, and his familiar double-edged blade materialized in his hand. Spinning the weapon with blinding speed, he created a shield that deflected Tony's laser barrage.
Tony watched in disbelief and pushed his suit's power output even higher.
"ARGH!" Thanos roared against the pressure of the beams. He charged through the energy storm until he was right in front of Tony, raising his blade to strike.
"Watch out!" Fat Thor hurled Mjolnir, forcing Thanos to break his attack to parry the hammer.
Tony took the chance to put distance between them. "The Stones are too much! We have to stop him from making a fist!"
"Leave it to me!" Fat Thor caught Mjolnir and wove a dance of destruction with both artifacts, engaging Thanos in a brutal melee.
System Space
"System, what is the clue for the Dog Talisman?" Silas asked urgently as he retreated into his mind.
[The Dog represents immortality, yet it exists in a place of nothingness.]
"Keep unlocking! Use the usual rules!" Silas commanded. He knew the statues and the Avengers couldn't hold out forever against a Gauntlet-wielding Thanos. If Thanos used the full power of the Stones, the battle would end in an instant.
[The Place of Nothingness is a realm where the living can never tread.]
"A place where the living can't enter?" Silas's heart skipped a beat. Did that mean the Dog Talisman was in the Realm of Death?
In Marvel, that was the final destination for all life. Did he have to die to get the Talisman? But even if he got it, he'd be dead—unless he could be resurrected.
Resurrection. He thought of the original timeline where the Avengers traveled through time to retrieve the Stones and snap everyone back to life. Strange had given Thanos the Time Stone; that meant he had seen a path to victory.
"Silas, you must look past the surface to see the essence. Reality and illusion, illusion and reality—everything depends on your own heart."
Ancient One's final words to him echoed in his mind.
Mirror Dimension
Thanos had defeated all the statues, reverting them to stone. Only the Captain Marvel statue had been truly troublesome.
"Silas! Come out! You have nowhere left to run." Thanos was covered in scars and dents from the battle.
Silas's figure appeared to Thanos's left. His expression was complicated. He didn't know if he was making the right bet. If he lost this, it was truly over.
"Hand over the Mind Stone," Thanos said, extending his hand again. "I promise you will not die."
"No, I don't need that promise. But you must agree to one thing: Peter cannot die." Silas pulled the glowing Mind Stone from his jacket.
Thanos narrowed his eyes. "Why? Doing this might cost you your life." If possible, Thanos intended for the Snap to take Silas out, as he was a dangerous anomaly.
"He's my brother," Silas said simply. He tossed the Mind Stone to Thanos.
Thanos caught it. He hadn't expected to get the final Stone so easily. Throughout the entire ordeal, he had never actually fought Silas directly—only his animated constructs.
"I agree," Thanos said, thinking of Gamora. He slotted the Mind Stone into the final socket.
BOOM!
"ARGH!"
A violent shockwave erupted from Thanos. It felt as though the entire universe was now resting in the palm of his hand. The combined power of the six Stones surged through his body. Had his constitution been any weaker, he would have been vaporized instantly. Without the Gauntlet forged by Eitri, no single being could control this power.
"You are a hero. A hero who sacrificed for the sake of the universe. I will ensure they know of your bravery."
Thanos looked at Silas one last time before opening a Space Portal and stepping out of the Mirror Dimension.
The Real World
The Avengers sat on the ground, exhausted. They had finally finished off the alien foot soldiers.
"Where did Silas and Thanos go?" Tony asked, panting as he retracted his helmet.
"Look!" Steve pointed ahead.
Thanos stepped out of a portal, followed by a blank-faced Silas.
"Silas!" Tony shouted. Why was Silas standing with the Titan?
Silas didn't answer. Instead, Thanos stepped forward. "Silas has made a very wise decision. He surrendered the Mind Stone so that the lives of the remaining half may flourish."
"Silas! Why are you on his side?!" Wanda screamed, her voice cracking with betrayal. Was Silas the Titan's hidden blade all along?
The Avengers looked at each other and shook their heads. It made sense now—why Silas had the Mind Stone. Everything had been a setup.
"THANOS!" Thor roared, flying in with Stormbreaker raised high.
Thanos flicked the Gauntlet. A deep crimson beam of energy struck Thor, sending him spiraling away.
"Brother!" Loki ran to catch him as he fell.
Thanos displayed the Gauntlet, now complete with all six Stones. He touched his thumb to his middle finger. "Goodbye, everyone. You will thank us for this."
Snap!
A sharp, clear sound echoed from Thanos's hand. With his body as the center, an invincible wave of power rippled across the world. Then, everything returned to a haunting silence.
Thanos vanished.
"Silas..."
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