"So, Ancient One… did you see the future where the entire Earth turned to dust and I was left alone?" Luke asked.
A thought had already formed in his mind. Maybe that was why he never found the Time Stone in the future. Not because it had been destroyed, but because it was already here… because the Ancient One had given it to him in the past.
"Yes," the Ancient One said calmly. "It was one of the possibilities."
Luke looked at the stone in his hand for a moment before speaking again.
"Then why give away the Time Stone?" he asked. "I'm pretty sure if you had it, you could've prevented that future."
That was her duty.
Protect Earth.
Protect the Time Stone.
The Ancient One had spent centuries carrying that responsibility. She wasn't the type to surrender it unless there was no other choice.
She remained quiet for a moment.
"Hmmm," she said softly. "Because I also saw futures where even with the Time Stone, I could not stop it."
Luke's expression hardened slightly.
"The only futures where Earth survived," she continued, "were the ones where I entrusted the stone to you."
"And besides," she added, her tone becoming lighter in that calm, almost amused way she sometimes spoke, "if you are taking the Time Stone, then you might as well inherit my responsibility along with it."
Luke raised an eyebrow.
"My responsibility is protecting Earth," she said. "A small task. I'm sure you can manage it."
Luke stared at her for a second.
"…You make it sound like you're retiring."
"Maybe I should retire and give up the position," the Ancient One said, looking out across the city below. "I have been doing this for centuries. Perhaps it is time to make way for future generations."
"Well, good luck finding a worthy successor," Luke said. "Although Stephen Strange is pretty good. He just isn't ready for that kind of responsibility yet."
A faint smile appeared on the Ancient One's face at the mention of the name.
"Mmm," she said softly. "There is still time before Stephen comes seeking my help."
Luke looked at her for a moment before speaking again.
"Here's my suggestion," he said casually. "Just fake your death."
The Ancient One slowly turned her head toward him.
There was a brief silence.
Then, unexpectedly—
She laughed.
Not loudly, not dramatically, but genuinely amused in a way very few people ever managed to make her.
"That," she said, "might be the most irresponsible advice I have heard in several centuries."
Luke shrugged.
"I'm serious," he replied. "You already know Strange eventually takes your place. You also know he won't fully step into that role while you're still around fixing everything for him."
The Ancient One didn't immediately deny it.
"He needs the pressure," Luke continued. "Responsibility forces people to grow faster than comfort ever will."
Her gaze drifted back toward the skyline of New York, thoughtful now.
"You say that very confidently," she observed.
"Because it's true," Luke replied. "People don't change until they're forced to."
***
Then Luke left the Sanctum and appeared on Vormir.
Cold wind moved across the endless cliffs, carrying ash and dust through the dark landscape. The planet looked lifeless, silent in a way that felt unnatural, as if even sound itself had no reason to stay there. Above, the sky stretched endlessly with strange fading light, casting everything in dull shadows.
Luke stood at the edge of the stone platform for a moment before walking forward.
He already knew what waited here.
The Soul Stone.
And its guardian.
As he moved across the ancient path carved into the mountain, a figure slowly descended from above.
The Red Skull.
Or what remained of him.
His face still carried the same twisted shape beneath the hood, though now it looked less human than ever.
"You are far from home," the Red Skull said, his voice hollow and distant, echoing strangely through the empty cliffs. "Welcome to Vormir."
Luke looked at him calmly.
"So you're the unlucky guy cursed to stand here forever," he said.
The Red Skull's expression didn't change.
"I guide others to a treasure I cannot possess."
"Yeah, sounds miserable."
"I know who you are," said Red Skull. "The stones whisper much to one bound to this place."
Luke raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Hopefully only good things."
The Red Skull ignored the comment.
"You seek the Soul Stone," he continued. "But all who come here seek it believing power alone is enough."
Luke kept walking toward him.
"And?"
"And they learn," the Red Skull said quietly, "that the stone demands a price."
Luke stopped a few steps away from him.
"A soul… for a soul," the Red Skull said, the familiar words carrying across the empty mountain exactly as they had for countless others before him.
Then his gaze sharpened slightly beneath the hood.
"But you already know that."
Luke looked past him toward the cliff beyond.
"Yeah," Luke said. "I do. And I also know your identity, Red Skull… along with a lot of other things."
The hooded figure became still after hearing that name spoken so casually.
"And I'm not the one who'll be getting the Soul Stone anyway," he added. "Someone else will pay the price for it."
The Red Skull's eyes remained fixed on him beneath the shadow of the hood.
"You know me?" he asked, his voice lower now, carrying less of the detached ritual tone he usually spoke with.
"Kinda," Luke replied. "Johann Schmidt. HYDRA's founder. Hitler's favorite science experiment gone wrong. Touched the Tesseract and got thrown across the universe instead of becoming a god."
"And Steve Rogers is still alive."
The Red Skull's gaze sharpened immediately.
"He's considered a hero too," Luke continued. "Captain America. Symbol of justice, hope, freedom… all the dramatic stuff."
The Red Skull turned his gaze away toward the endless abyss surrounding Vormir.
"When I touched the Tesseract," he said after a pause, "I believed it would reward me. That I had been chosen by powers beyond mankind."
His voice remained calm, but there was bitterness underneath it now.
"Instead… it cast me aside. Condemned me to stand here for eternity, guiding others to a prize I can never possess."
"And Rogers?" the Red Skull continued quietly. "The weak little soldier I once considered beneath me…"
He gave a faint, humorless smile.
"He became the man history remembers."
"Yeah," Luke said. "Turns out being a decent person ages better than being a Nazi."
*****
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