Chapter 222: Vormir (Patreon)

"You must really love your daughter, don't you?"

Kenji's words, paired with his sinister smirk, struck Thanos like a bolt of lightning. The Mad Titan's eyes instantly filled with raw, naked fury. His dying body unexpectedly erupted with a massive surge of strength. The vibranium-laced chakra chains piercing his flesh actually creaked and groaned under the strain!

"Do not touch my daughter!"

"That's not for you to decide."

Kenji stepped forward, carrying Thanos with him. The golden portal snapped shut behind them. They had crossed the sea of stars and arrived directly in front of the Sanctuary II.

Detecting the intruders, the warship immediately went on high alert. Hundreds of massive cannons swiveled, flashing with intense energy buildup as they locked onto the two sudden arrivals.

"Wait! Is that..."

Ebony Maw, Thanos's most loyal subordinate, stared wide-eyed in absolute shock. He realized that the giant purple figure being carried like a dead dog by the blue-haired man was none other than...

"...Lord Thanos?!"

'What in the universe is going on?!'

The seasoned telekinetic's pupils dilated massively, as if his mind had just suffered a magnitude-15 earthquake. His brain simply refused to process the impossible sight before him. The psychological shock was immense.

"Do not hurt my daughter! Gamora, run... Mmph! Mmph!"

Held firmly by Kenji, Thanos was still roaring. A golden chain materialized out of thin air, wrapping tightly around his jaw and gagging him.

The next second, using the precise targeting of his telepathic network, Kenji bypassed the Sanctuary II's heavy defenses entirely. He teleported directly into a quiet, secluded room deep within the ship.

Clack.

Sensing an intruder, the green-skinned, elegantly built Gamora smoothly drew the Godslayer from beneath her pillow. The twin blades snapped open with a sharp metallic clack. She gripped the weapon, dropping into a combat stance.

"Who are you... Father?!"

The shocking sight before her caused Gamora's jaw to drop. She had never imagined that the tyrant she both loved and hated would ever appear before her bound, broken, and utterly humiliated.

'What happened?'

Gamora was old enough to remember the day Thanos 'adopted' her. She vividly recalled how her family, her people, and her entire home world were decimated by this purple warlord. Even though he only ordered the slaughter of half the population, the ensuing chaos, natural disasters, and societal collapse ultimately turned her civilized planet into a barren wasteland.

Yet, this man—whom she should have hated down to her marrow—had reached his hand out to her amidst the ruins and corpses, raising her as his own daughter.

This tangled web of hatred and twisted familial love often left Gamora completely conflicted on how to face the enemy who had raised her.

Before she could react further, the blue-haired man standing before her casually snapped his fingers.

Her mature, curvaceous body instantly went rigid. The next second, she found herself tightly bound in a turtle-shell tie by the exact same golden chains wrapped around Thanos!

"Mmph! Mmph!"

Tears of agonizing regret welled up in Thanos's eyes. No matter how much blood he had spilled in his life, his love for his adopted daughter was unquestionably genuine.

Meanwhile, the captive Gamora was still completely bewildered. Relying on the agility honed by years of assassination training, she instinctively tried to break free. But the golden chains seemed to possess a will of their own. The more she struggled, the tighter they constricted, drawing a pained groan from her lips.

Seeing Gamora finally surrender and stop struggling, Kenji nodded in satisfaction.

Just as he was about to leave, the cabin door suddenly burst open. It was the ever-loyal Ebony Maw, leading a squad of soldiers to surround Gamora's quarters.

"Cursed intruder, I order you to release the Master, or else—"

The Maw's words were cut short. The fierce red glow in the eyes of the elite Outriders behind him flickered and died.

Before their eyes, the dark figure draped in a crimson cape turned his head. His eyes flared with a golden light as brilliant as the sun. The sight made the hair on the back of Ebony Maw's neck stand on end. With a frantic wave of his hand, he instantly erected hundreds of psychic barriers in front of him!

However...

Whoosh!

An impossibly brilliant beam of light tore through the silence. The deadly heat vision pierced straight through the hull of the Sanctuary II as if it were wet paper!

Taking the brunt of the blast, Ebony Maw's upper body was instantly vaporized by the core-of-the-sun temperature. The psychic barriers he had desperately summoned proved completely useless.

After effortlessly erasing Ebony Maw, who had rushed in to save his master, Kenji raised his hand. Golden light gathered and crackled in his palm.

"Heh, heh. I was originally going to let you all go," Kenji said, bringing his hands together. The Ki condensing between his palms sparked with golden lightning, compressed to its absolute limit. "Then let destruction fall!"

Final Flash!

The Prince of all Saiyans' ultimate attack erupted within the Sanctuary II. A shockwave resembling a planetary collision swept outward, forming a blinding ripple of light across the cosmos.

The three of them, having teleported out into the vacuum of space just in time, watched the unprecedented fireworks display in silence. They witnessed the countless members of Thanos's army pulverized and completely erased in the star-shattering explosion!

[F-Boy: Now this is a proper New Year's celebration!]

A massive amount of soul particles scattered into the void. Sensing the opportunity, F-Boy decisively burned an SR Chitauri card to activate its exclusive skill, 'Fantasy Time.' The ten-minute, ten-times stat boost wasn't for fighting enemies; it was for...

Card creation!

The Stand's ability kicked into overdrive. The Destiny point counter surged forward like a runaway train, jumping by +10086 over a dozen times before finally slowing down.

Consequently, F-Boy's deck was suddenly flooded with over a hundred thousand Outrider dog-food cards. The Stand was actually a bit distressed.

'When am I ever going to use all these?'

Kenji was speechless.

Witnessing his army, his generals, and his flagship utterly annihilated in a terrifying explosion, Thanos's eyes showed absolutely zero pity or sorrow.

Despite his life force being sealed and his grievous injuries constantly draining his vitality, his weak, anxious gaze remained firmly locked on Kenji. He was silently pleading with him to spare his most beloved daughter.

Gamora, on the other hand, was too busy being confused to notice her adoptive father's pure, unadulterated paternal love. She was currently marveling at the fact that she wasn't experiencing any discomfort despite floating in the vacuum of space.

Kenji's plan to abduct the father-daughter duo was premeditated. He had already established a life-sustaining pocket of space around them, ensuring Gamora wouldn't freeze into a lifeless popsicle from the extreme cold, vacuum, and radiation.

"Alright, we can't just dwell on past achievements. We have to look forward." Kenji, suddenly acting like a life coach, casually patted the Mad Titan's shoulder. Ignoring Thanos's murderous glare, he offered a kind smile. "Oh, no need to thank me."

Thanos remained silent.

"Let's go. We have another mission to complete."

The swirling, golden lines of magic appeared once more. A dimensional portal rapidly unfolded before the three of them. Through the gateway lay a desolate planet, a third of it permanently shrouded in a thin, mist-like cloud of dust.

Vormir, 2012.

Beneath a purplish-red sky stretched an endless, barren desert. In the center of the wasteland stood a towering, castle-like mountain. Two perfectly symmetrical obelisks loomed at the summit, looking like the gateway to a demon-infested abyss.

'This is...'

Seeing the planet's distinct topography, Gamora recalled the intelligence she had gathered while helping Thanos search for the Infinity Stones. An inexplicable surge of anxiety washed over her.

Thanos, maintaining his near-death state and resisting the agony of his draining vitality, looked at Kenji with deep suspicion. Gamora hadn't reported all the intel she had gathered, so Thanos was completely unaware of the secret hidden on this desolate rock.

Arriving at the base of the mountain, they found a steep, winding path leading straight to the summit. Perhaps to test the sincerity and resolve of those who sought the prize, the climb looked exceptionally grueling.

So... Kenji snapped his fingers again.

His two companions felt their surroundings blur. In the blink of an eye, they bypassed the climb entirely, appearing directly at the mountain's peak.

A figure draped in a tattered, mist-like black cloak slowly turned around. His voice was eerie and hollow. "Welcome..."

"Thanos, son of A'lars..."

"Gamora, daughter of Thanos..."

"Kenji... Huh?" The mysterious cloaked figure stumbled over Kenji's introduction. He sounded genuinely confused. "Strange Earthling, why can I not see your past?"

As a ten-year veteran fan of the MCU, Kenji knew exactly who this Grim Reaper cosplayer was. It was the Hydra officer, the Red Skull, who had tried to seize the Tesseract from Captain America over seventy years ago and failed spectacularly.

Perhaps due to his exceptional "talent," he was directly chosen by the Space Stone and banished to this desolate planet, forced to serve as its guardian for over seven decades.

"You can't see it? That's right..." Kenji smiled, stepping forward warmly as if greeting an old friend. He leaned in close to the Grim Reaper cosplayer's ear and whispered, "Hail Hydra!"

'(?ω?)?'

The Red Skull was speechless.

'(─.─||)'

"...Ahem. It seems you know my past, Kenji," the Red Skull replied, his tone reverting to cold detachment, struggling to maintain his mysterious persona. "That is all behind me now. I am merely a guardian imprisoned here for eternity. Or rather, a guide. For you, and for all who seek the Soul Stone."

Thanos's eyes widened.

At that moment, the Titan tyrant finally understood the purpose of Kenji's trip. One of the Infinity Stones he had been desperately searching for—the Soul Stone—was actually hidden on this barren wasteland!

But one thing still confused him: if this man was here for the Soul Stone, why bring him and Gamora along?

"Come. What you seek lies before you. As does what you fear."

It was clear that decades of imprisonment had mellowed the Red Skull's temper considerably. He now acted like a true guide of the underworld, dutifully fulfilling his role.

Kenji, leading his two 'minions,' followed the Red Skull to the edge of the mountain. Passing between the two towering stone spires, they stepped onto an ancient, circular magic array carved into the rock.

Beyond that, the path abruptly ended, dropping off into a terrifying, bottomless abyss.

Kenji peered over the edge. He felt absolutely nothing.

He didn't detect any spatial folding or temporal distortion. He hypothesized that the "magic" of this array was simply gravitational acceleration. At this height, anyone without the ability to fly—even powerful alien races—would likely die from the sheer impact of the fall.

Behind him, the Red Skull continued reciting the rules like a broken record. "To ensure that whoever possesses it understands its power, the stone demands a sacrifice. In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange..."

"A soul for a soul."

Hearing this, Thanos and Gamora finally understood. Their expressions grew incredibly complicated.

Snap.

Kenji snapped his fingers. The crisp sound echoed across the abyss, and the golden chains gagging their mouths instantly vanished.

"If you have any last words, say them now," Kenji said benevolently, patting the dying tyrant's shoulder. "After all, this is a final goodbye."

Thanos remained silent.

"Wait, I have a question." Gamora ignored Thanos's intense gaze, frowning at Kenji. "Your name is Kenji, right? The man in black said obtaining the Soul Stone requires sacrificing the soul of the person you love most. Out of the three of us here..."

"I don't even know you. And I have never, ever loved the monster who slaughtered my people. As for him..." Gamora turned her gaze to the dying Thanos, a bitter sneer on her lips. "The whole universe knows he loves absolutely no one."

Thanos remained silent.

Kenji clasped his hands behind his back, a knowing smile on his face. He walked over to Gamora and explained, "The truth might be slightly different than you think. Aside from the Goddess he can never have, the person he loves most in this universe is you. His daughter!"

"That's impossible..." Gamora instinctively tried to deny it, but Kenji gently tapped two fingers against her forehead.

"See for yourself."

Gamora froze.

In an instant, her gaze shifted from blank confusion, to utter shock, and finally back to a hollow stare.

Thanos roared furiously, "What did you do to her?!"

Kenji didn't answer. Gamora, having just speed-read through the memory of her own death in Avengers: Infinity War via quantum reading, looked at Thanos with incredibly complex eyes.

"No... this can't be real..."

Accustomed to playing the role of life coach, Kenji spoke in a gentle, magnetic voice. "Think about it carefully. Deep down in your heart, do you truly have no feelings for this 'father' of yours?"

"This..."

Guided by Kenji's almost hypnotic voice, Gamora's memories flashed before her eyes like a slideshow—the devil's whispers. Every detail of her upbringing. The warm, massive hands that patched her up after training. The rare, quiet embraces.

It was true. In some twisted way, wasn't the man she hated so much also the only person she had ever truly relied on?