Back inside the quiet, private command room of the Stark battleship, Sam stood in front of the large window.
He held up his hand. Four incredible, glowing energies pulsed gently inside his body and his spatial ring.
He now had the yellow Mind Stone, the blue Space Stone, the red Reality Stone, and the purple Power Stone.
Hela walked up and stood right beside him.
She could feel the massive, heavy power rolling off his body in waves.
"You are getting stronger every single second,"
Hela said softly, her dark eyes looking at him with deep pride.
"Are you ready to take the final step? Are you going to reach the Nascent Soul Stage now?"
Sam slowly lowered his hand. The bright glow of the stones faded away.
"I am ready,"
Sam answered, his voice completely calm.
"My Qi is completely full. But I cannot do it here. I cannot break through on Earth, or anywhere in this universe."
Hela raised an eyebrow. She looked at him with curiosity.
"Why not?"
Hela asked.
"Because of the lightning,"
Sam explained, his face turning very serious.
"To reach the Nascent Soul Stage, I have to completely shatter my mortal shell. Heaven will try to test me. It will drop the Nine Heavenly Lightning Tribulation right on my head. It is a terrifying storm of pure, absolute destruction."
Sam looked out at the stars, shaking his head.
"If I try to take that tribulation on Earth, the lightning will not just hit me. It will completely vaporize the entire planet. Earth is just not strong enough to survive it. I need to find a dimension with much heavier, stronger laws to take the hit."
"Then let's go find one,"
Hela smiled, completely unfazed by the danger.
Sam nodded. He looked over at the pilot's seat.
"Little D,"
Sam ordered gently.
"Start the warp drive. Take us outside of our reality. Let's look for a strong universe."
"D understands!"
Little D said happily.
The small wooden doll pushed the glowing buttons.
The ship flashed with blinding light and tore through the fabric of space.
They jumped from reality to reality.
They saw dark dimensions, burning skies, and empty voids.
Finally, the ship dropped out of a wormhole into a brand new, quiet universe.
Instantly, Sam felt a massive, crushing pressure press down on his shoulders.
The space here was incredibly thick.
The laws holding this universe together were heavy, old, and completely unbreakable.
Sam smiled brightly. He breathed in the heavy air.
"This is it,"
Sam said, looking at the strange, distant stars.
"This universe is incredibly tough. The space here is strong enough to easily withstand my Nine Heavenly Lightning Tribulation."
"Are you going to do it now?"
Hela asked, resting her hand on the hilt of her sword.
"No,"
Sam shook his head.
"Not yet. I still have to deal with Thanos and protect our home. I don't want to be in the middle of a massive lightning storm when the Mad Titan decides to attack."
Sam turned to his robotic helper.
"Little D,"
Sam commanded.
"Save these exact coordinates. Lock them safely in your memory. We will come back here to break through after we finish off Thanos."
Little D nodded.
"Coordinates saved safely, Master!"
Little D said loudly.
"Good,"
Sam smiled, sitting back down in the captain's chair.
With the perfect universe found and saved, everything was finally in the right place.
Sam told Little D to turn the battleship around.
They traveled smoothly through the stars and went right back to Earth.
Sam had gathered almost all the power he needed.
All he had to do now was sit back and wait for Thanos to come.
Deep inside one of the secure rooms of the Avengers facility, Gamora stood alone in the dark.
She pressed a button on a small, alien device.
A tall, glowing blue hologram of a massive, terrifying man appeared in the center of the room.
It was Thanos.
"Father,"
Gamora said, keeping her voice steady.
"I have found them. I am sending you the exact coordinates right now."
"Speak, my daughter,"
Thanos's deep, heavy voice rumbled through the hologram.
"Where are they?"
"They are on a planet called Earth,"
Gamora reported.
"Five of the Infinity Stones are here. The only one missing is the Soul Stone."
"Excellent,"
Thanos nodded slowly, his eyes shining with dark purpose.
"I will gather the Black Order. I will bring my army to this Earth and finish my destiny."
Suddenly, the air in the room began to glow.
A gentle breeze blew out of nowhere.
Hundreds of glowing, pink cherry blossom petals swirled around Gamora.
They gathered tightly together in the center of the room. With a soft flash of light, Sam appeared right next to her.
Gamora jumped back, completely shocked.
She grabbed her sword.
"Sam?!"
Gamora gasped.
"How did you get in here?"
Sam did not even look at her. He didn't mind her shock or her drawn sword.
He kept his hands relaxed in his pockets and looked directly at the giant blue hologram.
"Hello, Thanos, the Mad Titan…"
Sam greeted him calmly.
"I am Sam. I am the one holding four infinity stones."
Thanos looked down at the human.
He did not look angry. He looked deeply curious.
"You are a brave man to face me, Sam,"
Thanos said.
"Hand them over, and I will spare your planet the pain of war."
"I understand you, Thanos,"
Sam said smoothly, taking a step closer to the hologram.
"I know exactly why you want the stones. You want to wipe out half of all life to save the universe from starving. You think you are saving everyone from suffering."
"It is simple calculus,"
Thanos answered, his voice firm.
"The universe is finite. Its resources are finite. If life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist."
"Your math is broken,"
Sam shook his head gently.
"If you cut the universe in half today, life will just heal and grow back. Give it a few thousand years, and the universe will be completely full again. You will have to half them again. And then again. It will just be an endless, miserable circle of death."
Thanos narrowed his eyes. He did not like hearing that his grand, glorious plan had a flaw.
"It is my destiny,"
Thanos rumbled stubbornly.
Sam smiled. He knew the Mad Titan was far too stubborn and proud to ever change his mind just from a simple conversation. Words would not stop a man like him.
"I know you won't change your mind,"
Sam said, his voice carrying a heavy, confident weight.
"But I will not let you bring a messy, chaotic war to my home. So, I have a better idea. Let's hold a grand tournament."
Thanos went completely silent.
"A tournament?"
Thanos asked, deeply intrigued.
"Yes,"
Sam nodded.
"Send your absolute best warriors. Bring your Order. You and your champions will fight me and my champions in a grand tournament. If you win... I will gladly give you all five Infinity Stones."
Thanos stared through the hologram, looking deep into Sam's calm, peaceful eyes. He didn't see fear. He didn't see a foolish boy.
He saw a true, absolute warrior.
Thanos let out a low, rumbling chuckle.
He respected strength, and he respected a good challenge.
"You have a warrior's heart, Sam of Earth,"
Thanos said, crossing his massive arms.
"I accept your challenge. Prepare your champions. I am coming."
The blue hologram flickered and disappeared, leaving the room completely quiet once again.
The blue light of the hologram faded away completely.
The dark room was perfectly quiet again.
Gamora stood frozen.
Her heart was beating incredibly fast.
Her silver sword was still gripped tightly in her hand.
She stared at Sam, waiting for him to strike.
She had just betrayed him. She had called the most dangerous man in the galaxy and told him exactly where to find the Infinity Stones.
She thought she was dead for sure.
Sam was a powerful Cultivator. He could destroy her in a single second.
But Sam did not summon his flying swords.
He didn't even look angry.
He simply turned to walk toward the door.
"Wait,"
Gamora said, her voice shaking slightly.
Sam stopped and looked back at her.
"Why aren't you going to kill me?"
Gamora asked, her eyes full of pure confusion.
"I betrayed you. I called him here. I am your enemy."
Sam turned around completely. He looked at her with deep, peaceful, and understanding eyes.
"I am not going to kill you,"
Sam said softly.
"Why?"
She demanded, her grip on the sword loosening just a little bit.
"Because you are not an evil person,"
Sam explained, his voice calm and warm.
"I can feel the energy of your soul. Your heart is actually very good. You are not a monster. You have just spent your entire life following the wrong man. You did what you thought you had to do to survive."
Gamora's breath hitched. No one had ever spoken to her like that before. No one had ever looked past her title as the deadliest woman in the galaxy.
"You have a choice now, Gamora,"
Sam continued gently.
"You don't have to be his weapon anymore."
With those final words, Sam turned around and quietly walked out of the room, leaving her completely alone.
Gamora stared at the empty doorway.
Her hand went weak, and her heavy silver sword clattered to the floor.
She felt incredibly complicated. Her chest felt very heavy and tight.
She thought about Peter Quill's stupid jokes. She thought about Drax's loud laugh, Rocket's angry complaining, and Groot's gentle smile.
She actually really liked being with Peter and everyone.
For the first time in her violent life, she had found people who felt like a real family.
Gamora let out a long, heavy sigh.
She covered her face with her hands.
She really didn't know what to think anymore.
Everything she knew was changing.
Thanos, the Mad Titan, was finally coming to Earth.
But he wasn't bringing his massive warships to bomb their cities and burn the planet to the ground.
He was coming to participate in a grand tournament.
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