"I failed again. I've failed once more."
The WWII battlefield in Germany was a grim tableau of carnage.
The landscape was a desolate wasteland, hills and bases reduced to rubble by relentless bombing. Soldier corpses littered the ground, and the earth was stained crimson with blood. The air was thick with the acrid stench of gunpowder and blood.
A blood-soaked figure lay atop an overturned tank, clutching a shield. If not for the iconic Captain America uniform, he might have been unrecognizable.
This was Steve Rogers, Captain America, from the future timeline.
In his pursuit of the missing Kyle and the Space Stone, he had used his Pym Particles to journey back through time, finally arriving in the grim days of WWII.
Unfortunately, there was no sign of Kyle here either.
The divergence in Marvel's history had thrown the Space Stone off course, and the Pym Particles offered no clues – he had failed.
This was a true failure.
Dropping the Vibranium shield from his left hand, Steve gasped for breath, staring at the ash-gray sky choked with smoke. A wave of uncontrollable sorrow and guilt washed over him.
He blamed himself for failing to secure the Space Stone, for letting down the Avengers. But what pained him most was the realization that he would never see Kyle again.
The man who had always been a step ahead, the man who had once promised that their names would echo throughout history, the man who had remained invincible, frozen or not.
"I lost, but you… You were never meant to lose, brother." Steve closed his eyes, a single tear tracing a path down his cheek.
Could this truly be the end?
A dream born in WWII, only to end in WWII.
It felt like nothing had happened, yet it felt like everything had.
No, this couldn't be the end.
Steve opened his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he mustered every ounce of his remaining strength and pushed himself to his feet, using the Vibranium shield for support.
If this was the end, it would be a tragedy.
"You must think so too, right?"
Standing atop the tank, lost in thought, Steve suddenly saw a familiar towering figure. The figure stood before him, waving a hand and urging him forward, not to stop.
Was it a mirage?
Steve rubbed his eyes with his right hand, his vision clearing. Not only did he see the familiar figure, but beside him was a black silhouette.
"What are you still waiting for?"
Kyle smiled casually, extending his hand. "It's time to go home."
Steve blinked in disbelief, but without hesitation, he grasped Kyle's outstretched hand.
As always.
...
Perhaps this was the correct Marvel timeline, the very one Kyle had originally crossed into.
The former Avengers headquarters was now a war-torn ruin.
In the sky, a massive Interstellar Warship, larger than a city, loomed thousands of meters above, casting a colossal shadow over the land.
At the heart of the ruins.
A towering, imposing figure sat on a stone, wielding a sword with authority. Before him stood a time-travel platform, surrounded by a dense throng of alien soldiers and Interstellar Beasts.
The Avengers, including Tony Stark, lay scattered on the ground, wounded and defeated, imprisoned by chains and earth, unable to move.
"Master, this should be the counterfeit Infinite Gauntlet they created to reverse the current situation." Ebony Maw knelt on one knee, smiling as he presented a technological replica of the Infinity Gauntlet, along with the five Infinity Stones embedded within, to the imposing figure.
"Very good, very good." Thanos set down his double-edged battle axe and slipped the replica Infinite Gauntlet onto his left hand. The Avengers watched in despair.
They had been waiting at the base for Captain America to return with the Space Stone, but unexpectedly, Nebula had betrayed them, activating a time travel portal and bringing Thanos' fleet from the 2008 timeline to the present!
Now, with Captain America missing, most of their top-tier heroes absent, and Thor reduced to a couch potato, the Avengers stood no chance against Thanos at his peak, or his formidable generals.
With reinforcements from Carl's Kingdom, Captain Marvel, and Doctor Strange's forces still en route, the heroes at the base were all defeated, and the counterfeit Infinite Gauntlet and five Infinity Stones had been seized.
This was truly the end.
The last time, Kyle had held off Thanos – who would do so this time?
"Godfather..." Tony whispered, his eyes closed.
"Still missing one?" Thanos looked down at the empty slot on the Infinite Gauntlet and inquired in a low voice.
Nebula stepped forward and explained, "Steve hasn't returned from the past timeline yet; it should be with him."
"Then we wait." Thanos was in no hurry, his gaze fixed on the time-travel platform.
Suddenly, Thanos looked up at the sky, and his generals and subordinates followed suit. A dazzling streak of light descended from the heavens, piercing through the Interstellar Warship and landing gracefully beside the captured heroes.
It was Captain Marvel!
A surge of hope surged through the Avengers. Moments later, several portals of varying sizes opened. Led by Lucy from Carl's Kingdom, Doctor Strange's Sorcerer faction, and Black Panther with Wakanda's forces, Earth's surviving heroes emerged through the portals!
After all, in the previous battle, only Kyle had fallen, and the Avengers had mostly survived.
"Thanos!" Lucy, radiating cold white energy, her ice-blue eyes reflecting Thanos' imposing figure, declared: "For Kyle, I will kill you!"
"Kyle? Never mind, I don't need to know."
Thanos, with the five Infinity Stones embedded in his left-hand gauntlet and his double-edged battle axe in his right hand, scanned the arriving reinforcements with a cold, calculating gaze: "You're too late."
He had already acquired the counterfeit Infinite Gauntlet and the five Infinity Stones. No matter how strong the reinforcements were, they were ultimately too late.
"Let me erase all of you." Thanos sneered, clenching his left fist with the Infinite Gauntlet. A colossal surge of cosmic pressure emanated from him.
Though one Stone was missing, and he couldn't perform the reality-altering finger snap, defeating Earth's reinforcements was more than enough!
Lucy, Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, and the others tensed, preparing to act when they suddenly heard a crack. The space beside Thanos rippled like a mirror, splitting open!
A portal large enough for a person to pass through appeared, and from it, a young couple stepped out, followed by a hunched elderly man.
At the sight of this unexpected intrusion, both Thanos and Lucy's forces fell into stunned silence.
"What timeline is this?" The beautiful woman blinked her eyes, curiously surveying her surroundings.
"It seems like a war is happening here." The elderly man spoke slowly, his frail body seeming to tremble. But when his murky eyes met theirs, a terrifying sense of omniscience sent shivers down the spines of even Thanos' generals and the Avengers.
"You... You are... Caesar!"
Among Carl's Kingdom forces, Venom Agent Eddie suddenly exclaimed in recognition.
"Eddie?" Caesar, the Superman avatar, blinked in surprise, then burst into a hearty laugh, nearly in tears. "This is it, I've finally come back!!"
Who knew how many timelines and universes they had traversed, only to accidentally return here after countless journeys?
"No way, it's really Caesar?!"
The Avengers were stunned, unsure of what they were witnessing. It had been years since Caesar had mysteriously vanished during the New York battle when he was just a child, and now, he had returned as an adult!
"These people..." Thanos, who had been momentarily ignored, narrowed his eyes. Although he didn't know who the returning Caesar trio were, their presence sent a shiver down his spine.
He had no choice but to utilize the power of the Infinity Stones to defeat them!
Thanos clenched the Infinite Gauntlet tightly, and an almost cosmic power began to emanate from him.
"Caesar, stop him!" Lucy shouted.
Caesar's eyes flashed with a brief glimmer, and with an unexplainable speed, he lunged toward Thanos, but someone was even faster.
Snap!
A hand firmly grasped Thanos' left hand, preventing him from closing it, the Infinite Gauntlet held in place!
"Why are you in such a hurry?" A cold, teasing voice echoed.
With a forceful press of the fingers, cracks began to form on the replica Infinite Gauntlet, and terrifying cosmic energy erupted, resembling colorful lightning.
That was...
Everyone on the battlefield widened their eyes, stunned as they watched the blonde young man, who had appeared out of nowhere, stopping Thanos from tightening his grip on the gauntlet.
"Who are you?!" Thanos stared at him, incredulous.
"Didn't you already say my name earlier?" The blonde young man replied with a slight smile.
"So you are... Caesar..." Before Thanos could finish his sentence, the replica Infinite Gauntlet – and his left hand – was crushed by the blonde young man's hand!
Just as Thanos had hoped the Infinity Stones would still help him, there was a crack, and the Infinity Stones were also crushed by that hand!
"How is this possible!"
That was the last thought that crossed Thanos' mind before he was consumed by a surge of cosmic energy.
Meanwhile, the blonde young man remained unscathed within the blast that could have shattered space and time.
Looking at the stunned heroes around him, Kyle turned back and casually greeted them:
"Everyone, long time no see."
...
Many years later.
On the bustling streets of Tianhe City.
"Kyle, is this really your hometown?"
"It looks pretty much the same as our side."
"No, it seems there are no super-powered individuals here..."
Under the envious and curious stares of passersby who had stopped in their tracks, a handsome, tall blonde young man was surrounded by four or five beautiful women with unique personalities, engaged in lively conversation.
Some people instinctively reached for their phones to take pictures, but for some reason, all the phones suddenly stopped working.
Lucy, Raina, Lorna, Princess Sakura...
Among them, Raina was cradling a baby in her arms, who looked absolutely adorable.
"Let me hold Kaiya." Lucy laughed, gently taking the baby from Raina.
"Kyle, I want to see that!" Lorna, seizing the opportunity, wrapped her arm around Kyle's and pouted.
Following the direction she pointed, Kyle saw a large poster on the side of a cinema: "[Avengers 3] Now Showing!"
"Then let's watch it." Kyle smiled helplessly, unable to refuse, and led them all into the theater.
After purchasing their tickets, Kyle noticed something, his gaze drawn towards one of the screening rooms. A slight smile played on his lips.
He reached out and pointed.
Meanwhile...
In the screening room where [Avengers 3] had just finished, everyone else had left, but one student named "Lu Ming/Kyle" remained seated.
As he was about to leave, he suddenly saw a line of glowing text appear on the screen.
"Do you wish to enter the Marvel world?"
[YES/NO]
Without hesitation, no matter how many cycles or reincarnations he'd experienced, the answer was always the same!
Thus, Lu Ming/Kyle made his decision as soon as he saw the question...
——————
(The End of this Chapter)
This is the End of this Novel.
Thank You all for reading this and supporting this work.
You guys can also read my other translations. they are also good novels.