CHAPTER 154

[Draul St. Cross POV]

I walked out of the portal and stepped onto the barren soil of Morag. 

I could already feel an attraction deep within me, no doubt the stones reacting to each other.

A path opened up in front of me as I used my ability to telekinetically push everything away from me, constructing a bridge that led straight into the inner chambers where the Power Stone was hidden. 

The wall crumbled, the trap mechanisms in place were destroyed as the Power Stone escaped the orb in which it was kept. 

"No other being has ever had the might, nay, the nobility, to wield not one, but two Infinity Stones huh?"

I guess Maw was onto something when he said that. 

Even with the Power Stone in my hands, I could already feel the vast energy, unbridled, unparalleled in might, emanating from it. 

One stone made Thanos the most powerful warrior in the universe, two made him have control over space, three made reality bend to his whims. 

Four made him so strong that he could affect an entire solar system, even stretching it to a galaxy. 

Five extended his reach and magnified his power, giving him absolute control over time. Affecting multiple galaxies was no longer a stretch to him. He controlled space and time, his influence could stretch to the farther end of the universe. 

Six made him a singularity. Holding the power of an entire universe in his hands was so strong that he couldn't even use it more than two times without dying. 

But the thing was Thanos could have been much more stronger than he was portrayed if he had utilized the full might of the stones. 

Yes he was strong, there was no doubt there, but he could have been much stronger had he really tapped into the power the stones granted him. But I guess the problem with that had been his body. 

His body was nowhere near as adaptable as mine was. 

I looked at the purple stone in my hands, the gem that symbolized 'power' in the universe. 

Holding it made me realize why the Power Stone had been the most volatile of the Infinity Stones. 

This much power was more than any mortal or god could handle. 

It felt like the amount of energy inside the Power Stone was 'more'. 

The Power Stone glowed purple and the most ridiculous sense of power washed over me as I harnessed its energy. 

Without something like Thanos' gauntlets, using the Power Stone destroyed the user but that rule didn't apply to me given that I had the most absurd level of resistance to its energies because of being the Space Stone. 

With an infinite amount of power flowing through me, I channeled both the energy of the Space and Power Stone and held the planet of Morag in my phantom grasp. 

I could feel everything, each and every single kilometer the planet spread out for and just as I could easily feel it, so I could easily destroy it. 

The planet shook as pressure was exacted on its core and it cracked.

Purple light seeped through the cracks that appeared causing hills and valleys to sink in as everything collapsed in on itself. 

The view before me changed as I appeared thousands of kilometers away from the planet's surface. 

I formed a gigantic red orb bolstered by the energy of the Power Stone and shot it towards Morag. 

The orb sailed with incredible speed towards Morag before it abruptly disappeared only for it to reappear directly above the planet's surface, and pierced through it. 

I watched as Morag exploded, sending rocks and debris into the void of space. 

There it was, I destroyed a planet and felt at peace? A soothing feeling overcame me as I watched the burning remains of the planet that once was. 

It felt as if I was placated, comforted on a weakness that was no longer there. 

The cost of this feeling, a planet. 

'How the times have changed.'

I was hit with a sense of nostalgia as I watched the burning light in front of me. 

It still remained a vivid memory in my head how 3 years ago I was being tortured. Held as a prisoner and an asset under HYDRA. 

It wasn't intentional, nor was it a distant goal I had in mind. Me being stronger just happened. 

I adapted to the danger always lurking around me, now look where I am.

A planet burning because I felt the need to see it burn. 

That was the plateau I currently stood on, and while it was an impressive feat of going for a normal guy to this level in 5 years, it still wasn't enough. 

I had to do more, I had to be more. 

I was at a point where I could no longer be bothered by repercussions as those who could judge me were few in numbers, and none of them actually cared. 

"I should have brought Yelena with me. She would have loved something like this." I muttered to myself as I knew that no one in the house loved blowing things up as much as Yelena did. 

That was therapeutic. 

Sure, it was advice to vent when you are mentally frustrated but I don't think any psychologist would recommend blowing up a planet. 

"Better head back now."

I turned back and opened a portal that sent me back to earth. 

"You are back."

A sleepy Yelena in her nightwear came out of the kitchen with a cup of juice in her hand. 

"You're still up, why?" I asked her as she joined me on the couch. 

She just nudged herself into me and used my shoulders as a pillow. 

"I woke up and felt parched. Thought I should come down for some juice. It's almost 1 AM, are you just coming back home?" She asked after she got a comfortable position. 

"Yeah. Time zones are confusing when you are off-world."

"Off world? Did you leave Earth?" She turned her head in an angle that enabled her to look at me in the face. 

I chuckled at her reaction and ruffled her already ruffled bed hair. "Yes, I left Earth. Had to run delivery on something." I pointed to the orb that housed the Power Stone. 

She dropped her glass and held the orb. "It's in here?" I nodded. "Can I?"

After my affirmation, I opened the orb and the purple stone shone its hue around the room. 

"A crazy world we live in, right? A stone and you have all the power you could ever dream of. And there are only six of these in the entire universe. Meaning that through eternity, only less than six people would ever be able to wield the Infinity Stones at a time. But that's only if everybody only wields one, but we know that there is no general consensus for this kind of thing." She turned to look at me. "And then we have you. Wanting all six stones for yourself, to be honest I still don't understand what would happen after you get all the stones… but I'm fine with it. Sometimes, ignorance is better." She dropped the orb, picked her juice back up and nestled once more into my shoulders. 

"Ignorance is better huh? I agree with you." She was right. There were times I wished I was just a normal guy without all these powers because while they were great, they also came with a lot of complications – I hate complications. But I'm afraid the right to choose our circumstances is not a choice we have. We just have to make do with whatever we were given. 

"So who did you fight to get this stone?" Her question drew out of my internal monologues. 

"No one. The stone was hidden in an abandoned planet, so I just went there and pulled it out. The next few stones won't be that easy though. I would have to fight for them or there are barbaric complications in regards to getting them."

"Mhm."

"You should get to bed. You are already feeling sleepy." I nudged her a little. 

"Ugh, too far." Of course it would be since you came downstairs for some juice. "Draul, carry me?"

Great, another giant baby. 

"You know, most 17 year olds would rather die than get carried to bed." I said as I took the younger assassin and carried her to her room. 

"Well most 17 year olds have never lived with a dude who keeps collecting relics of the universe and eating them." She defended back. 

"Fair."

I tucked her in bed after she dozed off the moment her back touched the fabrics. "Beautiful dreams, Yelena."

Beautiful dreams. When last did I have those? 

She groaned out a reply. 

I felt like I was too indulgent when it came to her. It was like a synergy between the youngest and the oldest at home.

Yelena would never act this spoiled in front of anybody else, not Nat, not Steve and definitely not Bucky. She would butt heads with any and everyone, but when it came to me it was like she was this spoiled cat. 

Not that I was complaining, it was our thing. 

I locked her room and went back to the living room. 

"Let me guess, you felt parched and came to collect some juice?" I asked our resident red hair. 

"Nope. That's all Yelena. Power Stone?" She pointed at the orb

"Yup."

"…What did you do to get it?" I raised a brow at her question. 

"What makes you think I did something to get it?" I asked. 

"I take pride in the fact that I can read you more than others in this house. Talk to me." She patted the seat at her side, beckoning me to sit. 

"The Power Stone was kept on a dead planet. The only life forms there were small animals that could survive the swampy planet. Anybody could walk into it and come out with the Power Stone. It is arguably the easiest of the stones to acquire-"

"You are stalling… You never stall." Nat cut me off at what I was saying. 

"I don't… I destroyed a planet, Nat. It was very simple. It's not like I'm complaining or besides myself with an existential crisis, it's just that my perspective changed the moment I held the Power Stone. I had thought that the Space Stone already changed the way I think and see the universe but there is a hidden knowledge in the Power Stone. It's like I already lost something that was vital to me when I fused with the Space Stone and holding the Power Stone made that very apparent."

"Oh you big softie. Are you shaking in your boots because of a little change." She teased. 

"God's no. Change is inevitable. What preoccupied my thoughts then was 'how I've changed'. I would continue changing until a point where I would fail to even recognize myself. That's the scary part. Everyone wishes that while circumstances should change, they never want to. We are afraid of change because change is easily influenced. More so when you are factoring in the power of the universe." I said. 

"What's there to be afraid of? Yes, you've come a long way since you and the others freed us from the Red Room. Yes, you allowed me and Yelena to live with you, although reluctantly… Yes, you've changed. You will change, I can already see it happening, but, we still have a house to build, remember? As long as you don't forget that then we are cool."

"Was that a pep talk?"

She shrugged. "I learnt from the best."

"Full points. Well, that's enough talk for today. Let's hit the bed." I said and picked up my orb. 

"Carry me?" I deadpanned at her. "What? Why does Yelena get it when I don't?" She huffed and stood up from the chair. 

"Because she's…"

"See!"

"You are not a little girl, Nat. Take your own ass to bed."

=======================

Don't forget to vote

Can't wait to find out what happens next?

Read up to 30 chapters ahead at pa*treon.com/Draul_TheOminous