Inside the tent in the desolate land at the end of time, Strange had already had his fourth cup of tea, and Shiller was starting the next phase of his story.
"Since the arrival of the Spider Legion, I have been thinking about the relationships between the multiverse or, to put it another way, I am dissatisfied with merely making Spider Man work in this universe and the benefits they reap here. "
"I have always held the belief that the greatest treasure for mankind is mental health, which surpasses all material things. Therefore, the exchanges between the multiverse shouldn't stop at the level of material wealth, but should focus more on the fusion and collision of the mind."
"Simply put, superheroes from the multiverse should exchange their life experiences, share their inner journeys, open their hearts to another familiar yet strange version of themselves, and let go of past regrets. After all, who could possibly understand you better than another version of you in this world?"
"Without modesty, most of the superheroes in our universe have made up for their past regrets. Many things that have happened here have appeared countless times in the dreams of other superheroes in other universes."
"Because of your existence." Strange gently blew on the surface of his tea water, and Shiller just smiled calmly, neither modest nor proud.
"Thus, I believe the most valuable asset that superheroes from other multiverses can bring away from here is to make up for their past regrets and achieve spiritual satisfaction and holistic mental health."
"Our universe shows them that in an endless number of parallel worlds, they would not have suffered so much but lived stably and prosperously. Even if they can't all come here and see this, Spider Man can still bring back this good news."
"I know that Peter has long considered establishing a more stable relationship with Gwen. Their love history and the stability of their feelings are enough to support their engagement."
"But he did not propose because he worries that once it's made public and receives blessings from everyone, and then George firmly disagrees with their relationship. The one who will be the most injured will definitely be Gwen. That's why he dares not try."
"After I solved George's worry by using the public opinion reversal of Spider Man, Peter got rid of his heart knot, naturally he would propose to Gwen, and on the day of their engagement ceremony, all Spider Men will attend."
"Although many of them have formed families with Mary Jane, Spider Man's heart is more burdened by the death of all those close to him. However, when they see Gwen and Peter in this world finally bound together, they will understand that 'with great power comes great responsibility' is not a curse, and that one Spider Man has escaped tragedy."
"Spider Man's high moral standards would make them feel that it was Peter of this universe who helped them, which can significantly enhance Peter's status in the Spider Legion. This will instinctively make them seek help from Peter of this universe when they encounter difficulties in the future, spreading the influence of the Central Universe more effectively in the greater world."
"Oh, yes, the successful progress of Peter and Gwen's relationship can also radiate to other people, such as Harry and Mary Jane, Tony and Pepper, Banner and Betty. Many of them should have already taken the next step in life, but they have been avoiding it due to various issues."
"The development of Peter and Gwen's relationship can also inspire them. At least Tony should make up his mind. After all, he needs to consider Howard and Maria's feelings, and Helen has already started primary school. He cannot lack a stable family. Compared to George and their neighbor Osborn, isn't Howard understanding enough?"
"And once Stark and Pepper officially hold their wedding, then the Divine King of Asgard, Odin, will no longer lean towards choosing the Iron Demon God as the first choice for Loki's match. But the Father of All Gods will not give up on choosing a good son-in-law for himself."
Upon hearing this, Strange's expression paused for a moment. He looked up at Shiller, and Shiller was looking at him with a delighted smile of reveling in disaster, saying: "The Father of All Gods didn't fancy Tony because he's handsome, but because the Iron Demon God is strong enough."
"But if the Iron Demon God can't be chosen, he will definitely choose the second strongest one, don't you agree? The Supreme Magician who governs the Nine Realms?"
Finally, Strange sighed softly and said, "There's no hope for Loki and me, not because of anything else, but because it would hinder our business."
"If we get married, the whole universe would know that The Sanctum and Asgard are in cahoots. Then, if The Sanctum intervenes in some accidents accidentally engineered by Asgard, it may appear as biased. When Asgard receives a call from the Interstellar Security Committee accusing The Sanctum of fraud, it won't be righteous in its rebuttal."
"I understand all of these." Shiller nodded and said: "Currently, it's optimal for The Sanctum and Asgard to play the roles of good cop, bad cop. If they were too close, it would damage the interests of Asgard at this stage. Odin, Father of All Gods, will certainly understand this, but he might think that in the long run, it is more beneficial for Asgard to intermarry with humans."
"Since the emergence of the Iron Demon God, the strength of humans has been growing stronger, and Asgard has rejoined the interstellar society. Odin always wanted Asgard to intermarry with humans, but this is not beneficial for human society. And that is the first goal I need to deal with outside of Earth."
As if recalling something, Strange looked at Shiller and said, "So what do you plan to do to stop Odin's intentions when the time comes?"
"Fake death." Shiller also took the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea. After taking a sip, he said: "Not many humans can enter the Land of Death, but this is precisely a filtering mechanism, because those who can enter the Land of Death without being driven out by Death, must be in Odin's list of powerful human sons-in-law."
"I'll drag you all into the Land of Death, so Odin won't be able to find anyone for a while. Then I'll join forces with Frigga to dissuade Odin."
"So, when things here are finished, if you find that I am dead, you must help me bring these powerful humans to the Land of Death. We have this tacit understanding, don't we?"
Strange blew on his tea water, snorted softly, and continued his silence.
In this mansion in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Stark was sitting in front of a mirror, letting a makeup artist brought by Eddie fix his damaged beard.
"I'm really curious why you got hit by a lightning strike and even more curious why the only thing damaged when you were hit by lightning was your beard."
"Of course, it's because Stark is a lucky chosen one." Stark grimaced at the tweezer the stylist was using to pluck his beard, and stubbornly replied.
"He must have been fooled by Loki." Venom spoke through Eddie's mouth: "The symbionts can't forget the smell of thunder from the Asgard God Clan. He was struck by Thor's lightning. It's not possible for Thor to deliver a mortal blow."
Just as Eddie was getting used to Venom's straightforward rational analysis, Venom spoke again.
"Why did the Chosen One Stark only get his beard hurt? Because you're a weakling! If Thor exerted a bit more effort, you'd be struck to death. The lightning he struck was thinner than grass, of course it only hurt your beard. He is trying to show restraint!"
Stark picked up a makeup bottle from the dressing table and threw it at Eddie.
But at this moment, there was a knock at the door. Eddie walked over to open it, only to find Loki leaning against the door frame, arms folded, speaking to Stark.
"I'm sorry, my brother has a bit of a temper, prone to striking down people with lightning... Oh, what am I saying, the lightning strike was thinner than grass."
Loki grinned, revealing his teeth, and said to the incoming Stark, "But I guarantee the next thunderstrike will be thicker."
Stark withdrew his fist, gritted his teeth at Loki and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I asked him to come." Eddie said from behind. "His relationship with Thor, his brother, is also a part of this documentary – displaying the characteristics of Asgard."
Stark turned and looked at Loki, who was leaning against the door frame, displaying a brilliant smile.
"I'm starting to think that the Loki from our universe is not that bad!" Stark said, brushing off his co-stars and sitting down in front of the mirror to reapply his fake beard.
After a while, Thor, who had just cut his hair, pushed the door open and peeked in. He saw Eddie giving makeup instructions to the stylist, Stark applying his fake beard in front of the mirror, and Loki, sitting on the waiting chair next to the mirror, playing with her phone.
Observing this, Thor said to Loki with a stern face, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting your makeup done?"
"Nothing much, just stopping by for a chat." Loki then stood up from her chair and walked towards the door. Thor watched her suspiciously as she left, looked at Stark in the mirror, then back at Loki, his face gradually turned serious.
Ten minutes later, in the sleep chamber of Odin, the Father of all the gods in the Fairy Palace, Thor threw his spear aside and angrily stated to Odin and Frigga: "That Tony Stark is a good-for-nothing scum! He must have seduced Loki, how else would Loki look at him?!"
"You guys don't know what I saw today! There were other waiting rooms available, yet Loki insists on sitting in the makeup room with Stark, constantly texting on her phone, definitely sending messages to Stark!"
"Recently, I saw Loki fresh out of the shower in her nightdress and Stark barged in. He invited her to stay for the evening and even tried to touch her hand, this damn rascal!!"
At this point, Odin gently coughed and said, "Thor, when it comes to love between men and women, it should be based on mutual consent, and we cannot interfere arbitrarily…"
Thor stared at Odin with wide eyes: "But you previously warned me not to fall in love with humans."
"That was in the past. Now that Asgard has re-entered the Interstellar Society, we should treat romantic issues with tolerance and openness…"
After Thor stormed out, Odin displayed a slightly triumphant smile, gave Frigga a cheeky glance as if to say, "See, even if I don't interfere, they are fervently infatuated with each other."
Then he sent out a raven, as usual, to keep an eye on everything within the Nine Major Kingdoms through its single eye.
But when Odin's gaze focused on Stark, who was applying his beard in front of the mirror, he froze.
"This Tony Stark... he's not Tony Stark?"
Odin whispered to himself, and then upon realizing the absurdity of his words, jumped up to clarify.
"What I mean is, this Tony Stark, he isn't the Iron Demon God from our cosmos??!!"
Finally finished with his beard, Stark turned his head to see a delicate white hand holding a cup of water placed on his table. He glanced at the side of Loki's delicate face.
The sparkle that flashed in her green eyes made Stark's head spin. His hand reached involuntarily for the cup.
Just as his fingertips were about to touch Loki's hand, a sudden gust of wind rose from the ground, followed by a massive clap of thunder. A roar echoed from above.
"Tony Stark!! I knew you were up to no good!!!!"