Just as Thor thought no one present would support him, suddenly...
Whoosh!
A brilliant laser beam shot in from an angle, precisely severing one of Spider-Man's web-lines.
Little Spider immediately looked toward the person who had fired it.
At the same time, he flicked his wrist, intending to attach another web to the finger Thor had just freed.
But before the new web could reach its target, another laser beam struck it with perfect accuracy, cutting it apart.
Meanwhile, beyond the distant crowd, Star-Lord Peter Quill pushed himself up from the ground.
Holding his blaster, he gritted his teeth and said,
"I think Thor is right!"
He strode forward until he reached Thor's side.
Quill raised his pistol and looked at Thor with a solemn expression.
"Though I've always thought you had a screw loose, and I also think I'm actually more of a man than you.
"But... I think you're doing the right thing.
"Thanos's appearance was a disaster. So when that disaster ends, the people taken by it should return to the world and continue living their lives.
"I'll help you, Thor. But I have one request..."
Quill paused before correcting himself.
"No, not a demand. A plea.
"I hope you... bring my Gamora back too!"
With that, Quill suddenly raised his gun toward Rocket, who was still aiming at Thor.
"Rocket, Groot, don't you want Gamora back?"
"F***, that's the first time you've actually been smart, buddy!"
Rocket paused before immediately redirecting his weapon toward Tony, who was still clutching the spider-webs beside him.
The moment his furry hand touched the trigger, the large weapon entered combat mode. Its structure rapidly expanded, and a brilliant blue sphere of energy began gathering at the muzzle.
Rocket aimed it at Tony and spoke seriously.
"Buddies, I'm sorry. That green-skinned woman, Gamora, isn't exactly easy to get along with, and she's always so cold.
"But she's one of us. We can't lose anyone."
"I am Groot!"
Groot quickly understood the situation as well.
He plunged both hands into the earth.
Immediately, thick branches burst from the ground and wrapped firmly around Black Panther.
As the branches tightened around his vibranium suit, absorbing traces of its energy, Black Panther sighed helplessly.
"Don't do this.
"Honestly, I want to resurrect my father too.
"But I know my father's soul has already reached the spiritual realm of Wakanda. He's with the Panther God, enjoying true peace.
"Besides, even we Wakandans have our own understanding of the afterlife.
"So what about you, Thor? Don't the Norse have Valhalla?
"Have you ever considered that if Valhalla truly exists, bringing those people back might actually be harming them?"
As he spoke, Black Panther raised his hand, revealing his Talon, and swiftly cut through the branches binding him.
After landing on the ground, he quickly dodged another wave of Groot's branches and joined Tony's side.
Across from him, Thor paused after hearing his words.
He instinctively glanced at the Infinity Gauntlet on his right hand.
After staring at it for a moment, the confusion in his eyes disappeared completely.
He raised his head, his gaze filled with determination.
"Valhalla only accepts warriors.
"But Thanos killed... the last of the civilians that Loki and I brought from Asgard.
"I admit that you're right. If I insist on dragging warriors like Hogun out of Valhalla, then not only Hogun, but even Heimdall would despise me.
"But besides warriors like me and the other heroes who died fighting, who is going to save the innocent women and children of Asgard?
"You tell me to let go. You tell me to forget.
"I can let go, but I will never forget them.
"Because I know that the civilians of Asgard should never have suffered through any of this!
"None of you will convince me!"
The moment his words fell, Thor slammed Stormbreaker into the ground.
Boom!
Zzzzt! Zzzzt!
Plasma erupted from his eyes and Stormbreaker, spreading throughout his body and burning away every web wrapped around his gauntlet.
And just as Thor made up his mind, something unexpected happened.
Thor should have taken the opportunity to snap his fingers.
His left hand held Stormbreaker while his right hand remained free for the snap.
Yet suddenly, his right hand began to itch.
Something was calling to him.
Thor abruptly looked toward the west.
His right hand, covered by the magnificent Infinity Gauntlet, instinctively rose.
He spread his fingers and waited.
That strange sensation of waiting continued.
Then...
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Hundreds of brilliant metallic fragments suddenly streaked across the sky like shooting stars, racing toward Thor from the distant horizon.
Thor's eyes widened in disbelief.
His right hand suddenly closed around a familiar hammer handle.
Of course, it was only the handle.
But in Thor's stunned gaze, hundreds of fragments continued pouring through the air.
The broken pieces of Mjolnir briefly hovered before clattering together once more.
The hammer was covered in cracks, yet lightning still crawled through every fracture.
Mjolnir would never reject someone who wholeheartedly sought to protect Asgard.
And the sight of Mjolnir returning caused tears to immediately fill Thor's eyes.
Thor knew that his desire to use the Infinity Stones was somewhat selfish.
He was also aware that he had been stubborn before.
But no matter what, he could not accept the future that awaited his people.
Even if he had to act selfishly, even if he had to become an enemy of his old friends over the Infinity Stones, he still wanted the innocent people of Asgard who had died to return to the living world.
Perhaps that determination was what allowed the hammer to sense his confusion and resolve.
Mjolnir's return swept away the last uncertainty in Thor's heart, leaving behind nothing but unwavering determination.
No one trusted Mjolnir more than Thor.
So when the hammer returned and chose him once again, Thor knew that even if the entire world believed his actions were wrong, he had to be doing the right thing.
Thor's confidence surged.
He was no longer in a hurry to snap his fingers.
Since his friends on Earth refused to support his decision, he would use his own strength to demonstrate how determined he was.
Mjolnir in his right hand.
Stormbreaker in his left.
Plasma surrounded his entire body, turning him into the center of a sea of lightning.
At the same time, six-colored light from the six Infinity Stones swirled around him.
For a moment, Thor floated into the air, resembling a god descended upon the battlefield.
Watching the spectacle from a distance, Axel couldn't help but laugh.
Among everyone present, only Axel knew how correct Thor's decision truly was.
If Thor refused to use the Infinity Stones to resurrect his dead people, then those people would genuinely never return.
After all, there was no reason to expect someone in the current universe to travel back to a past parallel universe, retrieve the Infinity Stones, return to the present, and use them to resurrect everyone Thanos had killed.
Thanos had killed half of Asgard's surviving population, just as he had done elsewhere.
When Tony eventually resurrected everyone killed by Thanos, that half of Asgard's population returned as well.
At the Asgardian settlement on Earth, the people who had died five years earlier also returned.
Therefore, if Thor failed to act now, he and Black Panther might become two of the few unfortunate people who genuinely suffered permanent losses during Thanos's invasion.
Of course, there were other possible exceptions.
Quill and the Guardians of the Galaxy were among them.
Looking at Thor's imposing figure, Drax couldn't help but admire him.
"I really don't understand what you guys are arguing about.
"If someone hasn't been dead for very long, then we resurrect them. Isn't that perfectly reasonable?
"If my daughter and wife hadn't been dead for so long, their souls probably wouldn't have moved on yet. I'd want to resurrect my daughter too.
"And, hehe, it would be better if that woman Gamora came back.
"Without her, I'm afraid Quill would cry himself to sleep every night and keep everyone else on the ship awake."
As he spoke, Drax grabbed his dagger and walked toward Quill with a broad grin.
He didn't understand that this wasn't the time to laugh.
All he knew was that Thanos was dead.
His greatest enemy was dead.
That alone was enough to make him happy.
As for Mantis and Gamora's blue-skinned sister, Mantis nervously glanced toward Quill.
Compared with most of the people present, Mantis knew more about cosmic matters.
She had been raised by Ego for many years, and Ego had shared countless secrets with her.
Recalling some of that knowledge, Mantis shrank her neck and whispered to Quill.
"Peter, I know you're sad, but Gamora was sacrificed by Thanos to obtain the Soul Stone.
"The Infinity Stones can bring back almost everyone, except those who were sacrificed to the Infinity Stone itself.
"So... you probably can't bring the original Gamora back."
"What?!!!"
Quill's mind went blank.
Even his legs seemed to lose their strength.
"What the f*** are you talking about?!"
"Huh?"
Mantis was startled by Quill's sudden agitation.
She quickly hugged herself and timidly explained.
"I mean... uh, you could ask Thor to create another Gamora.
"He could make a new body for her and give her the same memories as the original.
"She might not be the original Gamora, but she would still be Gamora.
"And you could even remove the scars and things like that..."
Mantis cautiously hunched her shoulders.
Looking at Quill, she was nervous.
Not because she was truly afraid of him, but because she was worried about how deeply the news would hurt him.
She cared about Quill.
After all, Quill was essentially her only family in this universe.
Mantis was also Ego's child.
She and Quill were half-siblings.
Although, technically, it was difficult to say whether she should be considered his older sister or younger sister.
After all, Quill had only lived for around thirty years.
Regardless of Mantis's own fear or concern, Quill fell completely silent after hearing her words.
The hand holding his blaster trembled slightly.
He slowly turned his head toward Thor.
"Thor, do you think she's right?"
"I don't know.
"But I'll do everything I can to bring your woman back, buddy."
Thor's expression was grim as he answered.
He then looked toward the Avengers with an unwavering gaze.
Meeting Thor's eyes, the Avengers collectively swallowed.
After thinking for a moment, Black Panther sighed softly.
"Actually, I'd really like to stand with you.
"As you've seen, many of my people also sacrificed their lives.
"But I still believe the dead should remain in the world of the dead.
"They were the people we were supposed to protect, and their deaths are proof that we weren't capable enough to protect them.
"But perhaps everything is part of the gods' design and the course of fate.
"Instead of trying to change the past, we should protect the future and do everything possible to ensure something like this never happens again."
Black Panther pointed his Talon toward Thor's gauntlet and gave a bitter smile.
"In my opinion, things like the Infinity Stones are the greatest danger of all.
"I'm not saying I don't trust you, buddy. I simply think something with that much power is far too dangerous.
"Put that thing down and let the past remain where it belongs."
"Gods and fate?"
Thor gritted his teeth.
Holding an axe in one hand and a hammer in the other, he shouted at everyone.
"I am God!"
As his voice thundered across the battlefield, Thor suddenly smashed Mjolnir and Stormbreaker together.
Clang!
A violent metallic impact erupted.
Thunder spread outward like a tidal wave, instantly engulfing the Avengers.
Looking at the lightning surrounding them, Old Tony sighed before activating his armor and charging straight into it.
The moment Tony entered the lightning field, his armor was overwhelmed by the electrical energy.
Yet he broke through the storm with his armor fully charged and immediately unleashed his most powerful laser at Thor.
Seeing the laser racing toward him, Thor merely flicked Stormbreaker.
The axe, wrapped in furious lightning, met the laser head-on and effortlessly split it in two.
The plasma overwhelmed the laser, and terrifying electrical currents traveled along its path, directly boosting Tony's armor energy to more than three times its normal level.
Feeling his armor struggling under the energy overload, Tony crossed his arms.
Two lasers converged into one before firing at Thor again.
Facing the new attack, Thor swung his right hand with a nostalgic expression.
In an instant, Mjolnir disintegrated.
Its scattered fragments shot toward Tony with incredible precision, striking different parts of his armor.
Seeing the dense storm of metallic fragments rushing toward him, Tony immediately ascended to evade them.
"Hey! Are you trying to kill me?!
"Those fragments aren't exactly a hammer anymore. They're sharp pieces of metal, and there are way too many of them! I can barely defend against them, buddy!"
"What if I do kill you?"
Thor replied as he recalled the fragments of Mjolnir.
As the pieces returned and reassembled into the cracked hammer, Thor continued.
"Even if all of you die here, believe me, I will resurrect you alongside my people!
"All I want is for you to stop getting in my way!
"Don't stop me!
"Understand?!"
As Thor shouted, a violent attack suddenly came from behind.
Thor endured the impact of the shockwave before turning around.
His expression remained cold as he looked at the enormous armor several times larger than Tony's normal suit.
The attack had come from Veronica, specifically from the thick laser net deployed by the Hulkbuster armor.
Thor blocked the laser net with Stormbreaker before gritting his teeth and shouting at its operator.
"If Hulk had the ability to resurrect his friends, and if Hulk were the one making this decision, he would never stand in my way like you are, Banner!"
Thor took a deep breath.
He closed his eyes before continuing.
"You know, back in the gladiatorial arena on Sakaar, I actually lied, Banner.
"Compared to Hulk, I don't like you at all.
"Because Hulk would definitely understand me now.
"Definitely."