"What's the trouble?"
Yelena spoke first.
She was still in the same pose, arms crossed, shoulders against the wall, looking at me sideways with her chin slightly raised.
Thor glanced around at the people in the room.
Yelena Black Widow 2), Melina, Alexei the Red Guardian, Kate Female Hawkeye ), Kamala (Ms. Marvel ), Erik the Blade Knight, America Miss United States ).
A bunch of noobs who haven't even escaped Earth's gravity.
Explaining the rules governing the universe's top-level operation to them is about the same as explaining quantum mechanics to kindergarten children.
But what needs to be said still needs to be said, otherwise if something happens later, these people won't even know how they died.
"I just did something big in another universe," Thor said casually, leaning back against the doorframe. "I saved an entire universe. If I were to help you clear out the zombie virus now, it would be too much of a commotion, and we'd get targeted."
Who's targeting you?
This time it was Melina who spoke. She stood to Yelena's side and slightly behind, and was the oldest among the group. Her questioning pace was also the most steady.
"Die."
The two words were uttered, but there was no reaction in the room.
This is normal; these people's understanding of "death" is still at the biological level, limited to the heart stopping and brain waves returning to zero.
Thor rephrased it.
He held up Five Fingers, "At the very top of the entire universe—the entire multiverse—are five primordial gods: Galactus, Death, Infinity, Oblivion, and Eternity."
He collected each finger one by one.
"You can think of them as the underlying code of this universe. The creation and destruction of matter, the flow of time, and the expansion and contraction of space are all part of them. The five entities check and balance each other, maintaining the balance of the multiverse."
Kamala's mouth opened slightly, then closed again; she was probably trying to process this information.
Thor glanced at her and added a comment.
"The relatively weaker one, Galactus —he has to eat a planet for every meal."
"Including all life on it, the oceans, mountains, and the atmosphere, he swallowed it all in one gulp, converting it into energy to sustain his own existence. The Earth was no different from a grain of rice in his mouth."
Kamala's face paled slightly.
Kate gripped the sofa armrest, her lips moved slightly, but she ultimately swallowed the words that were about to come out.
The Red Guardian —that burly Russian man, as big as a bear, who had been standing silently in the corner, finally muttered something.
"So that guy who eats planets is the weakest one?"
"Right."
Alexei was silent for three seconds, then quietly lowered his crossed arms.
Yelena's posture remained unchanged, but Thor noticed that the weight on the leg against the wall had shifted to the other side.
" Thor, can you beat them?"
Thor thought for a moment.
This issue relates to an assessment of his current potential.
Having just entered the Multiverse Level, and possessing more than thirty kinds of laws, he can roam freely within a single universe without any problem.
However, the Five Cosmic Entities are not a concept of a single universe; they are the basic framework of a multiverse.
"The clone can be fought," he gave an objective answer, "The main body... it's hard to say."
Whether he can win or not is one thing, but what he really needs to worry about right now is not the issue of combat strength.
The balance among the Five Cosmic Entities is extremely delicate. His actions of causing trouble in two universes and rewriting large-scale causal chains are themselves shaking the foundation of the balance.
Death will not stand idly by.
Before he could finish speaking...
Thor's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an external force.
The way that power penetrated his mental barrier caused the laws within his body to instinctively sound an alarm.
A voice resounded from the depths of his consciousness.
Gentle, tender, with an ancient allure whose origins are untraceable.
" Thor."
The Goddess of Death has arrived, and in her true form.
Her "voice" had no physical vibration; it resonated directly on his Soul Stone level. Each syllable carried an indescribable gravitational pull, attempting to drag his consciousness deeper.
"You just need to keep our agreement."
Thor's body remained motionless, standing by the doorframe, but his consciousness had been pulled into a Void.
Death has no physical form; only that voice echoes in all directions.
"After you die, return to my embrace."
Her tone was so calm that it sounded more like she was stating a given fact than negotiating terms.
"I'll turn a blind eye to these unilateral changes you've made to the cosmic balance. How about that?"
Thor's mind completed the deduction in a fraction of a second.
What does death want? It wants him.
To be precise, it was his Soul Stone after death.
An existence that has stepped into the Multiverse Level and has mastered more than thirty laws, the "nutritional value" of its Soul Stone is self-evident.
What were her conditions? To let him continue rewriting the balance of the universe without interference.
What's the price? To return to her after death.
This is a very simple calculation.
Agreeing now is like exchanging a worthless check for a credit card with Infinity credit.
As his strength continues to rise— from Mid Multiverse Level —even the physical form of death might not be able to hold him back at a certain point.
In that case, this "agreement" will be nothing but empty words.
What's even better is that with this verbal agreement, he can simply shift all the blame onto Death if he causes trouble in other universes.
"What do you want from me?" Death said, "Sure."
Absolutely perfect.
"Make a deal."
Thor answered decisively in his mind, without any hesitation.
The "sound" of death paused for a moment.
The gravitational pull that had been clinging to his Soul Stone slowly receded, leaving behind a barely perceptible ripple at the very edge of his consciousness before it left.
I can't say whether I'm satisfied or something else.
Thor's consciousness returned to his body.
From the outside, he just stood there by the door frame, stunned, for about four or five seconds.
" Thor?"
Wanda's voice came from the side, tinged with a hint of suppressed concern.
She clearly noticed Thor's sudden pause; for someone who practices magic, this abnormality was all too obvious.
Thor turned his head.
Everyone else in the room was looking at him. Kamala blinked her big black eyes, Kate's hand rested on the bow, and Yelena's body unconsciously moved a few centimeters away from the wall.
"It's nothing." Thor glanced around at everyone present, looking at each of their faces one by one.
Miss United States, Wanda, Yelena, Melina, Red Guardian, Kate, Kamala, Blade Knight.
"I just had a brief conversation with Death."
"I can help you."
The air in the room relaxed for a moment, Kamala's shoulders slumped slightly, Kate's hand slid off the bow, and the Red Guardian let out a heavy breath.
But Melina didn't relax; she took a step forward, blocking Yelena's path by half a body length.
"What's the price?"
This woman was a seasoned spy, and Thor's assessment of her was clear: calm, suspicious, and habitually looking for traps in any promise.
In this apocalyptic environment, they are actually the ones who can survive the longest.
Thor raised his hand, pointing one finger at the sofa.
To be precise, it refers to the black-haired girl sitting cross-legged on the sofa who had just picked up half a cookie.
"It's simple, I want her."
The silence was deafening.
America's cookie stopped at her lips.
Kamala and Kate exchanged a glance, then looked at Thor, then at America, their expressions of confusion almost synchronized.
The Red Guardian scratched the back of his head.
Erik, the Blade Knight, leaned against a cabinet in the distance, his expression unreadable behind his sunglasses.
Melina's eyes darted back and forth between Thor and America twice.
Yelena's reaction was the most direct; she raised one eyebrow and tilted her chin towards America, her expression clear: What are you talking about?
The only person in the entire room who didn't show any confusion was Wanda.
She stood diagonally behind Thor, showing no sign of surprise.
This is the third time she's seen Thor steal potential people from other universes: Doctor Strange, who fell into darkness; Black Swan; two other cosmic survivors; and now, Miss United States.
This person's addiction to collecting talents from the multiverse is truly growing stronger.
America slammed the cookies on the coffee table and stood up from the sofa.
"Impossible."
Her chin was held high, her hands were in her jacket pockets, and her entire posture instantly switched from relaxed to hedgehog mode.
"I am a person, not an object! You cannot use me as a bargaining chip."
She glanced around at the others; Kamala and Kate were companions she had spent some time with, but no one spoke.
It wasn't that they didn't want to speak up for her, but everyone present knew that Thor had snapped his the Snap thirty minutes ago, annihilating thousands of zombies.
What leverage do you have to negotiate with this kind of person?
America wasn't stupid; she knew how much leverage she had.
But she has been wandering alone in the multiverse since she was six years old, traversing more than a dozen universes, relying on her indomitable spirit.
No one should try to use her as a pawn.
Thor looked at her.
This little girl has the exact same personality as in the original story.
Stubborn, obstinate, and clinging to pride, but deep down, he lacks security more than anyone else; he just hides it all behind his thorns.
To deal with this kind of person, you don't need to reason with them or threaten them; you only need one sentence.
A statement that hits the bullseye.
I'll help you find your two mothers.
America's expression went through three phases in 0.3 seconds.
The first second, the confrontation.
His lips tightened, and he instinctively wanted to retort.
The second second, a wavering occurred.
His hands tightened in his pockets, and the fabric of his jacket made a slight rustling sound.
The dam collapsed in the third second.
Her defenses weren't broken; rather, the load-bearing walls were precisely dismantled.
ten years.
She wandered through the multiverse for ten years, traversing countless universes, each jump carrying a thought she dared not voice: perhaps in the next universe she would find her mothers.
But each time it failed.
"Really?"
Her voice was still firm, but most of the fierceness had dissipated.
He pulled both hands out of his pockets and let them hang at his sides, his fingertips trembling slightly.
"How do you think you can find them? I can't even find them myself—how are you going to find them?"
Thor didn't reply; he just leaned against the doorframe and watched her.
No need for extra promises at times like this.
The more you talk, the more suspicious the other party becomes.
Silence itself is the best answer—I won't explain, because no explanation is needed.
America bit her lower lip.
Kamala, who was standing nearby, finally couldn't hold back any longer. She ran a few steps to America's side and grabbed her sleeve.
" America, this Thor —he seems really powerful." Kamala lowered her voice, but everyone in the small room could hear her. "He wiped out the zombies on the entire street with a the Snap, maybe he really can..."
"I didn't say no," America interrupted her.
She looked up again, stared at Thor, and her lips twitched.
Her expression was complex, a mix of desperate gamble, annoyance at being exploited, and a hint of suppressed expectation that she herself was unwilling to admit.
"If you could really help me find my two mothers—"
Her voice steadied.
"Going with you isn't out of the question."
Thor smiled. He knew that no one could refuse him when he made such a request, not even Tony Stark, Doctor Strange Supreme, or the Black Swan.
What's this called? Precisely identifying pain points!
You don't want to never see your mothers, right?
This trick always works!
Wanda didn't say anything, but lowered her gaze, a tiny curve appearing at the corner of her mouth.
"Then it's settled." Thor straightened up and stretched his shoulders. "Let's deal with the mess in your universe first. Let's go, we're heading to New Asgard."