Then a ship descended in the distance, its engines echoing across the dead cliffs of Vormir before slowly settling onto the barren ground.
The Red Skull turned toward the arriving vessel, dark robes shifting lightly in the cold wind. Then he looked back toward the place where Luke had been standing only moments earlier.
Luke was gone.
The Red Skull watched the empty space for a brief moment before turning away again. In the end, it did not matter to him. Whether it was Luke, Steve Rogers, Thanos, or anyone else, the faces changed but the outcome remained the same.
Time on Vormir had stripped most personal feeling from him long ago. Hatred had faded. Pride had faded. Even ambition had become distant and hollow. Now there was only duty.
Guide those who seek the Soul Stone.
Nothing more.
The ship's ramp lowered with a heavy mechanical sound.
Thanos stepped out first. Gamora followed beside him, her posture tense as she studied the lifeless landscape surrounding them.
The Red Skull slowly descended from above, floating down the ancient stone path like a specter bound to the planet itself.
"Welcome, Thanos," he said, his hollow voice carrying through the wind. "Son of A'lars."
Gamora's eyes widened slightly at that.
Thanos narrowed his gaze.
"You know me?" he asked.
The Red Skull stopped before them.
"It is my curse," he replied calmly, "to know all who journey here."
Then his gaze shifted toward Gamora.
"Gamora," he continued, "daughter of Thanos."
Her expression hardened instantly.
"You know us both," Thanos observed carefully.
"I know souls," the Red Skull answered. "It is why I am here."
The cold wind moved through the cliffs again as he slowly turned toward the mountain path leading upward.
"To ensure that whoever seeks the Stone understands the nature of what they pursue."
Without another word, Thanos began walking.
Gamora followed him up the mountain, though unease had already settled across her face. The silence during the climb felt oppressive, broken only by the sound of their footsteps against the ancient stone.
Eventually they reached the summit overlooking the endless abyss below.
The Red Skull stopped at the edge of the cliff and turned toward them once more.
"The Soul Stone," he said, "holds a special place among the Infinity Stones."
Even Thanos remained completely focused now.
"You might say it possesses a certain wisdom."
The Red Skull's gaze settled directly on him.
"To ensure that whoever possesses it truly understands its power… the Stone demands a sacrifice."
Gamora frowned immediately.
"What kind of sacrifice?"
The answer came without hesitation.
"In order to take the Stone," the Red Skull said quietly, "you must lose that which you love."
The wind swept through the summit as silence settled between them.
Then the final words came.
"A soul… for a soul."
For a moment, Gamora just stared at the Red Skull, trying to process the words.
A soul for a soul.
The meaning behind it became clear almost immediately, and after the initial shock, something unexpected settled inside her.
Relief.
Small, but real.
Because she knew Thanos.
Better than almost anyone alive.
The Mad Titan valued purpose, balance, victory, destiny—but love?
No.
Thanos was many things. Ruthless. Intelligent. Fanatical. But not someone who truly loved anything enough to sacrifice it.
And if that was the price, then this ended here.
For the first time since arriving on Vormir, Gamora felt the crushing pressure inside her chest ease slightly.
Because his goal of collecting all six stones and erasing half of life in the universe with a snap of his fingers was finished here.
Thanos would fail.
He had no one he truly loved enough to pay the price.
A faint sense of victory began forming in her mind as she looked at him standing near the cliff.
Then Thanos reached out and grabbed her arm.
Gamora frowned immediately, confusion flashing across her face as his grip tightened. She looked up at him, expecting anger or frustration after realizing he could not obtain the Soul Stone.
Instead she saw grief.
Real grief.
And that frightened her far more.
"father…" she said slowly, the confidence leaving her voice.
His eyes stayed fixed on her.
For the first time since she had known him, the Mad Titan looked broken.
Gamora's expression changed instantly as realization crashed into her.
"No."
She tried to pull away.
"No!"
Before she could react further, Thanos moved.
He threw her off the cliff.
Gamora's eyes widened in disbelief as the ground disappeared beneath her. Her scream echoed through the mountains while her body fell into the endless darkness below.
Thanos remained standing at the edge, unmoving as the sound vanished into silence.
Even the Red Skull lowered his gaze.
The wind howled across the summit, cold and endless.
Then everything faded.
—
Thanos opened his eyes slowly.
Water moved around him in shallow waves as he found himself lying within a strange orange-tinted realm, silent and empty beneath an endless sky. The Soul World.
He pushed himself up slightly, breathing heavier than before.
Ahead of him stood a small figure.
Gamora.
Not as he had last seen her, but as a child.
She looked at him quietly.
"Did you do it?" she asked.
Thanos stared at her for a long moment before answering.
"Yes."
"What did it cost?"
The question lingered between them.
Thanos lowered his eyes briefly.
"…Everything."
The orange world dissolved around him after that.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back on Vormir, lying near the base of the mountain cliffs. His hand slowly tightened as he felt something resting within it.
The Soul Stone.
*****
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