Chapter 187: Sacrifice, Changing Souls
Half an hour ago...
Planet Vormir, a world with a peculiar atmosphere.
The entire planet is shrouded in a dark red hue, with desolate deserts, towering rocky mountains, and stagnant pools of water.
Though the planet seems to meet all the conditions for supporting life, no creatures are present.
The reason is the presence of the most mysterious and dangerous of the six Infinity Stones—the Soul Stone.
It took 200,000 points to locate the Soul Stone on this planet. Upon arrival, the only notable feature was a lone peak rising into the sky.
Surrounded by barren terrain, with stagnant water in the low-lying areas, this lone peak stood alone, creating a strange and eerie scene.
It must be here!
Perhaps some mysterious force enveloped this planet. Thor Odinson, finding that his flight ability no longer worked, had no choice but to ascend the mountain step by step.
Then, he encountered an old acquaintance from seventy years ago...
"Thor, son of Odin...wait, I know you."
Red Skull suddenly became excited: "Donald Blake? I can't believe it..."
Red Skull, who had accumulated various curses over seventy years, roared angrily at Thor.
Among his targets of hatred, while Thor might not be as detested as Steve Rogers, his old adversary, he was certainly among the top few.
Particularly, the power of the Soul Stone granted him abilities he previously lacked—such as knowing the identity of everyone who arrived, including things even they might not know.
"What are you, an Asgardian from an alien planet, doing here? What is HYDRA doing? Are you all out of ideas?"
"Click."
A thunderbolt shattered Red Skull's form momentarily.
Red Skull, quick-witted as ever, soon became subdued.
Although being banished to this desolate place and imprisoned by the Soul Stone for over seventy years made his existence seem meaningless, he was determined to survive!
Red Skull confessed: "All sorts of people come here, but they all seek the same thing—the Soul Stone. To obtain the Soul Stone, you must pay a price, and that price is your own love."
"Exchanging souls for souls is an eternal transaction."
Red Skull said this with a hint of satisfaction in his voice.
The thought of seeing Thor in anguish over losing his beloved pleased him greatly.
Thor nodded: "What you said makes sense."
Then, he produced a bottle of beer and threw it down.
Red Skull:
"You are cheating! That thing has no soul!"
"Is that so?"
Thor nodded, then suddenly regarded Red Skull with dangerous eyes: "I wonder if you can complete the sacrifice by tossing a soul down. Are you just deceiving people out of fear of death?"
"It's not me! I didn't do it! Stop talking nonsense..."
Even in his soul state, Red Skull broke out in a cold sweat. He denied it vehemently, only to be grabbed by Thor's neck.
"Go down!"
It was proven that Red Skull was telling the truth. In a sense, the Soul Stone was a heartless entity. The Red Skull was tossed down without any response.
Fortunately, Thor was well-prepared.
He retrieved the Tesseract, and with a flash of light, two unconscious figures appeared.
Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight—two characters who, in the original story, would rather turn to ashes together if necessary—demonstrating that if this wasn't true love, then the Soul Stone was indeed harsh.
The scene shifted back to the present. "Thor" was struck by Corvus Glaive, screamed, and fell off the cliff. With a flash of red light, he instantly transformed into another being...
Proxima Midnight!
Corvus Glaive's eyes widened in shock, and he shouted in grief: "NO!!!"
Reaching out in a desperate attempt to stop it, he missed, and could only helplessly watch as his wife fell off the cliff.
A powerful energy surged from his feet, enveloping the entire planet Vormir. Corvus Glaive lost consciousness...
When he awoke, he found himself lying in a pond, clutching a hard object.
He picked it up and discovered it was a gemstone glowing with orange light.
"Could this be one of the Infinity stones Thanos mentioned?"
His loyalty to Thanos temporarily overshadowed his grief over losing his wife.
He was unaware that a figure holding a battle axe was slowly appearing behind him.