[Puente Antiguo, New Mexico]
A cluster of black-and-blue flames suddenly appeared on the open plain, and a sturdy figure flew out of them.
The black-and-blue flames disappeared immediately afterward.
"CONQUEROR!"
A furious roar echoed across the sky.
Lightning exploded all over Thor's body as he regained his freedom of movement. But when he came to his senses, he realized he was no longer in Wakanda.
He had no idea where he was, but that didn't matter. The Bifrost could take him anywhere he wanted to go.
Thor raised Stormbreaker high, about to summon the Bifrost.
Then he suddenly heard a familiar voice.
"Thor?"
"Is that you, Thor?"
Thor turned around in disbelief and saw a car parked not far away.
The door opened, and a woman jumped out.
It was Jane Foster.
A few years ago, Jane Foster had accidentally come into contact with the Aether, and Thor had taken her to Asgard for treatment.
Later, after Alex extracted the Aether from Jane's body, it became the Reality Stone.
After that, Odin and Alex fought their final battle in the Frost Giants' realm.
After returning from there and learning that his sister Hela had been released, Thor hadn't dared put his girlfriend in danger, so he had sent her back to Earth.
He hadn't expected to meet her again today.
While Thor stood there in a daze, Jane Foster's assistant waved from the distant car.
Thor forced a smile in response.
Jane had already walked over. Holding his face with both hands, she looked him over carefully.
"Where's your hair? Why is it so short?"
Thor said awkwardly, "It's more convenient for fighting, so I cut it."
"And where's your hammer? Why are you carrying an axe now?"
Jane looked at the Stormbreaker in Thor's hand, "My sister crushed it. This is Stormbreaker. I just had it forged."
Jane took two steps back, "So you really are Thor?"
Thor nodded, "Yeah. It's me."
He put on a smile.
"Jane—"
Before he could finish, Jane slapped him across the face.
Smack!
The crisp slap was loud enough that even her assistant inside the car heard it.
"Wow, she's got quite a temper."
The assistant shrank back a little.
"You dumped me."
"Twice!"
Jane said angrily, "So why are you back today? Planning to mess with me again?"
"No, no, that's not it."
Thor hurriedly explained, "Something major has happened, Jane. I'm dealing with a crisis that threatens the entire universe."
Jane let out a sarcastic laugh.
"Right. You're always busy."
"You're the strongest Avenger."
"You always have another crisis to deal with."
"Then go."
"Just don't show up in front of me again."
Thor said helplessly, "I'm not joking."
"Jane, Stark already gave his life because of this."
"I have to fight."
"Because your life is involved too."
Jane froze, "Stark? That billionaire? Iron Man is dead?"
"Didn't he leave Earth chasing an alien spaceship?"
Thor nodded.
"Yes. He went to Titan."
"He died there."
"A sorcerer brought his body back."
"I swear, I'm not lying to you."
"Once I've dealt with this, I'll come back for you."
"I promise."
Jane stepped back, "You'd better remember what you just said."
"Of course."
Thor smiled.
Then he raised Stormbreaker and summoned the Bifrost.
A magnificent rainbow beam descended, lifting Thor rapidly into the sky until he disappeared into the Bifrost.
———
[Wakanda]
After Alex left, T'Challa ordered his people to clean up the battlefield.
He himself was taken to his sister Shuri's laboratory.
"Lie down over there."
Shuri pointed at a nearby examination chair.
T'Challa smiled and shook his head, "I'm perfectly healthy."
"I don't think there's anything wrong with my heart."
"Maybe Lord Conqueror made a mistake."
Shuri said expressionlessly, "I said, lie down, Brother."
T'Challa shrugged and lay down.
Shuri controlled several robots to perform a comprehensive scan of his body, paying special attention to his heart.
After lying there for a while, T'Challa grew bored.
"What exactly did you say to Lord Conqueror?"
Shuri thought for a moment, leaned over, and whispered a sentence into T'Challa's ear.
The next second, everyone in the laboratory heard the king cry out, "WHAT?"
"Lie back down."
Shuri pushed T'Challa, who had sat up, back onto the chair.
T'Challa laughed helplessly.
"How could you say something like that?"
"Why couldn't I?"
"That was Lord Conqueror."
"Aren't you afraid of making him angry?"
"I earned a huge contribution."
"You were there. You heard what Lord Conqueror said."
Shuri smiled, "Besides, he didn't reject me outright."
"So from now on, I'm going to work hard to become the kind of woman Lord Conqueror likes."
T'Challa sighed, "So you're willing to change yourself for someone after all, little sister."
Shuri was about to reply when her expression suddenly became serious.
"Brother, Lord Conqueror was right."
"There really is something wrong with your heart."
"Luckily he warned us."
"Otherwise, by the time you noticed such a hidden problem yourself, it might have been too late."
"I'm going to deal with it now."
Inside the laboratory, one of the guards glanced at the siblings before walking into a corridor.
After making sure no one was there, green light flowed across his body.
In the blink of an eye, he transformed into Loki.
While the Avengers and Wakanda had been fighting, Loki had disguised himself as a Wakandan using magic.
Originally, he had planned to find an opportunity to steal the Conqueror's Infinity Gauntlet.
But he had never found a suitable chance.
Then, after seeing Thor and the others forcefully sent away, he simply maintained his disguise and stayed in Wakanda.
"I'm sure I can do something."
Loki muttered to himself.
In the next moment, he transformed into one of the royal guards again.
"Maybe... I can give Wakanda a new king?"
He chuckled softly and quickly walked away.
———
[Inside Thanos's Flagship]
Proxima Midnight, Cull Obsidian, and Corvus Glaive were shocked when they saw Alex.
Smiling, Alex walked toward them.
"Don't be nervous."
"I'm not here to hurt you."
"If I wanted to, you wouldn't be able to leave anyway."
He raised the Infinity Gauntlet, causing the Infinity Stones embedded in it to light up one after another.
Proxima Midnight looked at the other two before asking, "What do you want?"
"To replace Thanos."
"To inherit everything he owned."
"Including you."
Alex answered bluntly.
Cull Obsidian immediately roared and recklessly charged toward Alex.
Alex merely caused the Reality Stone on the Infinity Gauntlet to flash once.
Cull Obsidian instantly turned into a pile of LEGO bricks, scattering across the floor with a clatter.
Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive both instinctively took a step back.
They weren't entirely sure how strong Alex was.
But the fact that he wore the Infinity Gauntlet and had gathered all the Infinity Stones already spoke for itself.
Unlike Cull Obsidian, the two of them were much smarter.
After hesitating briefly, both knelt on one knee.
"It is our honor to follow in your footsteps, great Lord Conqueror."
"I, Proxima Midnight."
"And I, Corvus Glaive."
"Pledge our loyalty to you."
Alex nodded at them before restoring Cull Obsidian to normal.
The big brute saw that Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive had already submitted, and after receiving Alex's lesson, he also knelt on one knee and muttered something in an alien language.
Proxima Midnight translated, "He says he'll follow you forever, my lord."
Alex nodded, "Take me to Thanos's palace."
———
Before long, they returned to Sanctuary II near the Moon.
It was Thanos's mobile palace.
Alex naturally sat upon Thanos's throne and took over all of Thanos's forces.
After everything was settled, Alex dismissed everyone except Proxima Midnight.
She was a tall female alien.
Now she knelt on the ground, not daring to raise her head to look at Alex.
Meanwhile, she silently wondered what he intended to do.
At that moment, Alex was studying the Infinity Gauntlet.
"I've successfully obtained the Infinity Gauntlet and gathered all the Stones."
"Next, I should be able to make a wish."
He spoke softly enough that only he could hear.
Yet in his mind, he was extremely nervous and filled with uncertainty.
Ever since crossing into this world and becoming Homelander, this was the first time he had been so unsure of one of his own decisions.
After all, his wish might exceed what the Infinity Stones were capable of granting.
But other than the Infinity Stones, Alex couldn't think of any way to fulfill his wish.
"I can only try."
Alex raised his hand, preparing to snap his fingers.
But anxiety and hesitation welled up inside him.
It irritated him.
Then he looked at Proxima Midnight, "Come here."
Hearing Alex's summons, Proxima Midnight quickly came to the side of the throne.
"My lord, what do you need me to do?"
Alex looked her over.
She was tall even taller than Alex himself.
"Well, everything deserves at least one try."
"I've never driven a big truck before."
"I'll take this chance to add some experience to my life."
Proxima Midnight looked completely confused.
[T/N: Bro cracked that alien cheek.]
———
[Several Hours Later]
Alex let out a satisfied breath.
Even as a warrior, Proxima Midnight couldn't move a single finger anymore.
Alex had also calmed down.
Without any more hesitation, he raised the Infinity Gauntlet.
All six Infinity Stones shone with their own light at the same time.
The clash of power between the different Stones made Alex grunt.
After enduring it, he pressed his thumb against his ring finger.
Snap!
Alex snapped his fingers.
A magnificent seven-colored light instantly swallowed him.
Alex couldn't help closing his eyes.
When the light faded, he looked around.
Then he looked at himself.
"Nothing happened?"
"Did the wish fail?"
Just as doubt crossed his mind, Proxima Midnight suddenly sat up on the throne, golden light shining from her eyes.
Alex immediately sensed something was wrong. He instantly retreated from the throne and looked down at her.
"Who are you?"
"You already know the answer to that."
Proxima Midnight replied in a completely emotionless voice.
"This is truly outrageous."
"You actually wished to become an Administrator of the multiverse."
"A wish, or rather, a request like that, exceeds my authority."
"But for a newcomer who's been participating in the Game for less than a year to already know about the existence of Administrators..."
"I have to admit, that's impressive."
Alex's heart pounded, "You're an Administrator?"
"There really are Administrators of the multiverse?"
Proxima Midnight spread her hands, "What else did you expect?"
"Where do you think the Information you see comes from?"
"Where do you think your rewards come from?"
"Who do you think evaluates your event completion rate?"
"Who do you think sends you disaster event warnings?"
"Us and only us."
Alex's heartbeat became faster.
Ever since learning about the concept of Administrators from Vera, the female Homelander from another universe, he had suspected as much.
Now that suspicion had been confirmed.
Administrators of the multiverse really did exist.
To Alex, Administrators were like the immortals from ancient myths who had transcended the Three Realms.
No universe within the multiverse could restrict them.
They stood above even the most powerful lifeforms in the multiverse.
Above even the so-called gods.
They could even "correct" events that occurred within a universe.
They were the ones who could truly do whatever they pleased.
That was why, the wish Alex had just made was to become an Administrator of the multiverse.
He wanted to become one of those beings.
If he succeeded, he would become a god.
A true god.
"So... my wish?"
Alex asked cautiously.
Proxima Midnight, or rather, the Administrator whose consciousness had descended into her body, said, "Of course it can't be granted."
"As I said, it's beyond my authority."
"However..."
Alex's eyes lit up.
"However what?"
"The mechanism of the Infinity Stones, their abilities, was written by us."
"In theory, gathering all six Stones should make any wish possible."
"If a wish cannot be fulfilled, it creates a paradox."
"When that happens, this universe may be destroyed, and the ripple effects could spread to other universes."
"So..."
Proxima Midnight shrugged, "I'll convene a meeting to discuss whether to unlock the Ultimate Mission for you."
"The Ultimate Mission?"
Alex froze, "That's right."
"If you complete it, you'll become one of us."
"But don't get your hopes up."
"The Ultimate Mission is extremely difficult."
"You may not be able to complete it even if you risk your life."
"That concludes our conversation."
As soon as she finished speaking, the golden light faded from Proxima Midnight's eyes.
The female alien immediately lost consciousness.
At the same time, Alex suddenly felt intense pain.
The arm he had used to snap his fingers had been burned by the energy of the Infinity Stones.
Fortunately, his Super Regeneration immediately took effect.
His burned arm regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye.
By the time Proxima Midnight regained consciousness, Alex's arm had already returned to normal.