Thor and the others stepped onto the planet Vormir one after another. A deathly still, dark purple sky stretched out before them.
Dark brown mountains rose and fell in the distance, their rocks cracked and jagged, with no trace of life anywhere.
The air was cold and heavy, and a faint grayish-purple mist wound through the craggy mountains.
The desolate world felt oppressive, its silence chilling. It was as if this place had never belonged to the living, but only to death, sacrifice, and the final resting place of souls.
"Let's go meet an old acquaintance of United States' Ass."
Looking out at the oppressive planet, Thor took the lead and headed toward the tallest mountain in the distance.
"So who's United States' Ass?"
Betsy followed Thor. She was genuinely curious whether he came from a universe much like Valeria's.
Otherwise, why did he always know things they didn't? He even knew that what she had once desired most was to return to a body that belonged solely to her.
"An American soldier from Earth. A guy who wears a ridiculous little blue clown suit and goes around smashing things with a shield bearing the American flag."
Thor's description reminded Classic Loki of something, and he explained to Betsy.
"Then why call him United States' Ass? Don't tell me he really has the perkiest butt in the United States?"
Betsy pressed.
"In a sense, you're not wrong."
Classic Loki walked at a snail's pace, and at some point had taken out his thermos and begun drinking tea again.
"Loki, you're only three thousand, in the prime of your life. How did you end up living like a retired official?"
Thor looked back at Classic Loki, who was silently drinking tea, and teased him.
"I'm not like you, Thor. You're an old man over five thousand and still so full of energy. Isn't it normal for a mage to be a little weaker physically?"
Classic Loki shot back without thinking. Besides, he was the God of Mischief. If he didn't show weakness to his enemies, how could he better launch a sneak attack?
"Speaking of which, didn't you tell me before that you couldn't use Kamar-Taj's portals? Then how come Betsy said you used that sparkly golden portal magic to escape with Groot and the others?"
Thor stared at Classic Loki with a faint smile.
"Ahem... Thor, as a mage, isn't it reasonable for me to be a little quick on the uptake? I watched you cast it several times before I barely managed to learn it, and I even opened the wrong portal."
Classic Loki looked at Thor with an innocent expression.
If Thor hadn't known the guy well enough, he really wouldn't have been able to tell he was lying. He could only say that living so long, combined with being the God of Mischief, meant he could lie without even rehearsing.
As the two bickered, a dry, hoarse voice with a slight hiss drifted down from the mountaintop.
"Thor, Son of Odin."
"Loki, son of Laufey."
"Betsy Braddock, daughter of James Braddock."
Betsy was the first to react. She drew her twin blades and instantly enchanted them, watching warily as a black-robed figure emerged from the cave ahead. This strange red-faced man who had suddenly appeared actually knew her biological father. Such an ability was simply unheard of!
"Betsy, this is Red Skull, an opponent of United States' Ass. He's just a nobody, essentially a guide to the Soul Stone."
Thor patted Betsy on the shoulder, indicating that the man posed no threat to them.
"Thor Odinson, whether you know me or not makes no difference to me."
Red Skull's expression did not change as he continued speaking calmly.
"Since you have come for it, follow me."
With that, Red Skull ignored their reactions, turned around, and walked into the cave.
"This stone is different from the others."
Classic Loki seemed to have sensed something and spoke slowly.
"It is different. This one is relatively difficult to obtain."
Thor was the second to enter the cave.
"How is it different?"
Betsy moved up beside Thor and asked.
"The Soul Stone has a will of its own.
To obtain it, you must pay a price."
"A soul for a soul."
"Sacrifice the one you love most to this abyss, and only then will the stone reveal itself to you."
Red Skull's voice came from ahead, answering Betsy's question.
"No wonder there's so little information about this stone in the entire universe. That price really is rather steep." This was the first time Classic Loki had learned that obtaining the Soul Stone came with such a requirement.
"Thor, I remember you said that in most universes, this Thanos ultimately succeeded. How did he get the Soul Stone?"
Betsy looked at Thor's back, her eyes flickering. It was unclear what she was thinking.
Thor gazed down at the bottomless abyss beneath his feet and answered without turning around.
"Thanos sacrificed his daughter Gamora and obtained the Soul Stone."
Betsy frowned slightly, as if she had realized something. She walked up beside Thor and looked up at him.
"So? Do you need me to jump down and help you?"
"After all, you gave me a new life."
Her voice was even, with no discernible emotion, as if giving her life for this were no big deal.
Classic Loki leaned against a rock behind them, watching the scene with great interest.
As it turned out, when a person was speechless, they really could be speechless.
Thor looked quietly at Betsy, then stepped forward and smoothed her silky long purple hair.
"Betsy, do I look like someone who would stop at nothing for power?"
"Then how do you plan to get this stone, aside from that method?"
Betsy folded her arms. She really couldn't figure out how Thor intended to obtain this Infinity Stone.
"Only a law can deal with another law. Let me think."
Thor walked to the edge of the cliff and, while Red Skull was off guard, kicked him over.
Thor didn't know whether sacrificing the Soul Stone's guide would work. If it really didn't, he would have to resort to a desperate measure.
The group waited where they were for more than ten seconds before hearing Red Skull hit the ground. Yet another five minutes passed, and still nothing happened.
"Well, Red Skull, you really are useless. You worked so diligently like a beast of burden, and your boss didn't even think to save you."
Thor remarked, then drew upon all his divine power and invoked the Law of Reality. Soon, the Mjolnir he remembered most vividly appeared in his hand.
"Still not enough. I wonder if giving Mjolnir an artifact spirit will work."
Thor spent quite a while restoring Mjolnir to the form he remembered, in both power and feel. Of course, he also fashioned a soul for it.
"Goodbye, Mjolnir, my beloved."
Grief on his face, Thor raised Mjolnir with an expression of reluctance. After mourning the innocent newborn for a while, he decisively threw it down.
Boom!
With a tremendous crash, Mjolnir fell to the valley floor, the sound reverberating through the valley.
A minute passed, however, and just as Thor thought he had failed again, he sensed a spatial fluctuation suddenly appear, trying to forcibly whisk him away.
He instinctively used the Law of Space, directly negating the forced teleportation.
After several failed attempts to teleport him by force, the other party switched to making a request. Sensing this, Thor became even more certain of what he had suspected: this thing really did have a consciousness of its own.
After confirming that the Soul Stone meant him no harm, he stopped resisting. The next moment, he vanished from where he stood and reappeared in the pool they had passed when they first arrived.
Thor slowly rose from the water and looked at the Soul Stone, which glowed orange in his palm.
Wait, what? I just had a brainwave, and it actually worked?!
You'll take any beloved soul?!
You don't even care whether it's human?!