Alice did not leave. She stood at the edge of the massive crater, looking at the two halves of the corpse at the bottom.
She bent down and picked up a fragment from the ground.
It was no ordinary fragment. It was a piece of Uru Metal that had shattered off when Android 18 tore Thanos's Infinity Gauntlet away.
The fragment was tiny, smaller than a fingernail, its surface bearing ancient patterns left behind by the Dwarf King's forging.
Alice held the fragment in her palm, and the Mind Stone emitted a gentle glow.
It scanned the fragment's molecular structure, energy signature, and magical properties.
The corner of her lips twitched slightly. That was how she expressed that something was interesting.
Then she raised her head and looked toward the distant Avengers Headquarters.
She looked at the Wakandan warriors clearing the battlefield, at the people weeping and celebrating their survival.
The gem on her forehead pulsed once, then dimmed.
She turned around and walked into the sky, climbing invisible steps like Android 18, rising higher and higher, drifting farther and farther away.
Her silver-white dress fluttered in the wind, while her bare feet left faint blue trails in the void.
Those trails faded after a few seconds, as though they had never existed.
"Wait!"
Quill's voice came from behind her.
He limped out of the ruins. The old injury in his right leg had been torn open again during the battle.
He still gripped his Element Gun, but his bloodshot eyes held a glimmer of hope.
He stared silently at Alice's rising figure.
"Gamora!" Quill shouted.
"Thanos traded her for the Soul Stone. Is she still alive? Or... can she still come back?"
Alice stopped.
She did not turn around, only tilted her head slightly.
"The price of the Soul