"This… how can this be?"
Odin's one eye narrowed; a wave of shock swept through him.
A whole drawer full of Infinity Stones — how was that even possible?
He remembered how his father Bor, when fighting the Dark Elves, had endured years of brutal war before finally defeating them. One of the main reasons that fight had been so difficult was that the Dark Elves possessed Aether particles — the power of the Reality Stone!
And Odin could see clearly: in that drawer there were as many as two of those crimson Reality Stones.
For a moment Odin even felt the impulse to rub his eyes in disbelief.
That showed how utterly startling the situation was. Even with all the kingly composure and experience Odin possessed, he felt his mind reel — he half-wondered whether he was hallucinating.
"Time Variance Authority?"
Whispering the name, a storm of thoughts rose in Odin's chest. It seemed this organization's power and menace might exceed anything he'd imagined.
…
"Ancient One — this… this can't be real, can it?"
At Kamar-Taj, Mordo's eyes were wide and his face had gone pale; his voice trembled. Those were Infinity Stones — relics capable of shaking the whole cosmos! Yet at the TVA they were apparently being used as paperweights!
Earlier, the Ancient One had said the Time Keepers weren't as invincible as they appeared, and Mordo had felt relieved. Now he realized the Ancient One might have been wrong. The TVA was terrifying beyond description.
Master Wong, standing beside Mordo, had his round face frozen; he was rooted to the spot as if turned to stone. Knowing how rare and precious the Infinity Stones are, their shock was understandable.
Sensing the alarm in her two lieutenants, the Ancient One gently sighed, stilled her waving fan, and spoke in measured tones:
"Mordo, Wong — you should remember what I told you before: the universe we occupy is but one among infinite universes."
At those words both Mordo and Wong shuddered; like people struck dumb, a faint spark of comprehension lit their eyes.
"The multiverse is infinite…"
The Ancient One resumed fanning slowly and added, in a low voice, "And within that infinite multiverse, countless Infinity Stones have been born."
"Only…" she paused and then smiled slightly, "those stones are only effective in the universe where they originated. Once removed from their 'home' universe, they're just ordinary rocks — useless."
She hesitated, then remarked lightly, "Ah — perhaps they still make decent paperweights."
"Really… is it like this?"
Mordo and Wong exchanged a glance and suddenly both burst out laughing.
…
Otherworldly Live Stream
"Hey, hey — this is way too over the top."
Stephen Strange shook his head, his expression dark.
In previous streams, his future self had risked his life trying to stop Thanos from collecting the Infinity Stones! Who would have guessed that in this bizarre TVA, these incredible stones were treated like ordinary pebbles lying on the roadside?
Standing beside him, Loki's expression had turned extremely grim.
If the Time Variance Authority truly possessed power to this degree, then that meant… the so-called "sacred timeline" they spoke of was actually real?
If that were the case, Loki could only walk the path of his predetermined tragic life — all the way to the end!
Any attempt to change his fate, and the TVA would come for him immediately!
With their nonchalant attitude toward Infinity Stones, their hidden power must be terrifying!
To kill a small fry like Loki would be easier than crushing an ant!
As Loki shivered, overwhelmed by these thoughts…
Mordo suddenly spoke up in the chat group:
Mordo: "Hey! Strange, are you all scared out of your minds?"
Tony Stark: "Of course! After seeing that scene, what else could you do?"
Mordo: "Hahaha, exactly — this is the difference in perspective."
Mordo: "Listen, these Infinity Stones were probably collected by the TVA from various multiverses."
Mordo: "Maybe they took one from Universe A, two from Universe B, and so on, which is how they accumulated so many."
Mordo: "But… only if all six stones are gathered in a single universe and remain there can they actually function."
Mordo: "So this drawer full of stones? Scary-looking, yes — but completely useless."
"What?"
Seeing Mordo's explanation on the big screen, a group of people, including Odin, were dumbfounded, frozen in place, unable to speak.
They hadn't expected that kind of trick!
~~----------------------
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