The war was over.
When that mysterious existence dissipated into dust along with Thanos, the entire New York battlefield fell into a deathly silence.
Gunsmoke still permeated the air above the ruins, the pungent smell of blood mixing with the scent of burning to create a sickening stench.
The dawn's first light struggled to pierce through the thick clouds, gilding the devastated city in a dismal gold.
Exhausted, the heroes were scattered across every corner of the battlefield, the joy of victory diluted by the weight of sacrifice and awe of the unknown.
Lin Huai stood silently at the edge of the deep crater created by the Power Stone, looking at Thanos's arms in the distance, which had been severed at the shoulders.
He stepped forward, ignoring the lingering aura of destruction on the arms.
Then he crouched down and, one by one, removed the Power Stone and the Mind Stone from the purple skin that had already lost its life's luster.
The purple orb and the yellow rhombic crystal floated quietly in his palm, emitting the rhythm of the Universe's origin.
Lin Huai raised his left hand; the Infinity Gauntlet, forged by the greatest craftsmen of Nidavellir with the strength of their entire race, shimmered with a dark gold luster in the morning light.
He pressed the Power Stone into the socket on the back of the hand.
Then the Mind Stone, embedded on the thumb.
The moment the sixth Infinity Stone fell into place.
Boom—!
The six original forces that constitute the Universe surged through his entire body like a bursting flood.
Time, Space, Reality, Power, Soul, Mind...
The endless stream of information and energy storm were enough to tear any being below the level of a god to pieces, turning them into nothingness.
But Lin Huai's body only swayed slightly.
However, the scene he had anticipated—of forcibly suppressing the energy storm with his Beyonder characteristics and willpower—did not occur.
The moment the stones were gathered, the surrounding World lost all color and sound, turning into a static grey and white.
Immediately after, Lin Huai found himself pulled into an unfamiliar space.
There was no up or down, no Sun, moon, or stars; there was only endless void.
The six Infinity Stones detached from the gauntlet, slowly rotating around him like six brilliant planets.
Their light intertwined, projecting a twenty-year-long movie into the void.
The first scene of the movie was him appearing in this World's orphanage as an infant.
But the focus of the image was not him, but the edge of the World.
Lin Huai saw two completely different Worlds, like two unrelated giant curtains, beginning to converge and overlap at an almost imperceptible speed.
At that fragile intersection, a blurry figure flickered in and out of sight.
He was slender, wearing an old robe that was black on the outside and yellow on the inside, with a Republican-era style Zhongshan suit underneath.
A pair of gold-rimmed black pince-nez sat on the bridge of his nose; his eyes were made of pure starlight, and his face was covered by a soft white light, making it impossible to see clearly.
Lin Huai saw him tapping away with great interest at the intersection of those Worlds.
He like a thief trying to pry open a safe, looking impatient to break into this World.
But after a while, he changed into another appearance—a common Oriental face with black hair and yellow skin.
Standing where he had been tapping before, his brow furrowed as he carefully repaired that weak planar barrier, his expression conflicted and full of helplessness.
These two distinct behaviors played out repeatedly.
This made Lin Huai instantly realize that the great scam among the gods Antigonus had mentioned was far more complex than he had imagined.
The scenes shifted.
The movie's perspective returned to him.
Childhood in the orphanage, the bumpy road of schooling, the confusion after graduating from university...
Scenes of an unremarkable life flashed before his eyes.
Until one night twenty years later, the image froze.
He saw himself sitting on a cheap bed in a rented room, staring blankly for an entire night.
When he woke up again the next morning, several nearly transparent threads connecting to an unknown void had quietly appeared above his head.
Those were... Spirit Threads, the control strings belonging to a Marionette.
At this point, the twenty years of light and shadow suddenly contracted.
The entire void space collapsed into a fist-sized, strange substance.
Its surface was transparent and clear, like the purest crystal.
But inside, countless chaotic, deep vortexes surged, appeared, and vanished frantically.
Lin Huai recognized it: Sequence 2, the Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic!
That characteristic gave him no time to react and sank directly into his brow.
...
The real World, the ruins of New York.
Lin Huai snapped his eyes open, his consciousness returning to his body.
He was still standing by the crater, his left hand wearing the Infinity Gauntlet that now held all six stones.
It was as if everything that had just happened was merely a dream.
But he clearly felt that something extra was deep within his Spirit Body.
It was the ticket to Sequence 2: Miracle Invoker.
If he wished, he could digest this characteristic at any time and charge toward the rank of the god of wishes.
But he hesitated.
Antigonus's warning still rang in his ears.
"Sefirah Castle is not to be trusted."
"Klein is not to be trusted."
"The only one you can trust is yourself."
Would advancing reconnect those severed strings?
Would it allow the Celestial Worthy's will to find another opportunity to contaminate him?
He didn't know.
Unprecedented power brought unprecedented confusion and fear.
He looked down at the six stones in his palm that were capable of reshaping reality, feeling the immense power that was almost overflowing, but there was not a hint of joy in his heart.
Defeating Thanos was not the end.
This was merely the... beginning of a script truly dominated by himself, yet also more dangerous.
"Hey, Lin Huai, are you okay?"
Steve's voice roused him from his contemplation.
The Avengers had already gathered; they looked at Lin Huai with complex expressions, a mix of awe and doubt.
In the distance, the work of counting casualties had begun.
They confirmed the sacrifice of Falcon; this brave Warrior had used his life to hold up a piece of the sky for the civilians.
Rocket Raccoon knelt among a pile of building debris, his hands digging frantically.
Finally, from under the rubble, he held up a small twig that still carried a hint of green.
He carefully planted the twig in a discarded old flowerpot he had found, watering it with bottled water scavenged from the ruins, his face covered in tears.
"I am Groot..."
The joy of victory was overwhelmed at this moment by the weight of sacrifice.
...
Three days after the Battle of New York ended.
The smoke of war had not yet fully dispersed, but what was more suffocating than the smoke was the political bickering.
After three days and nights of continuous clearing, the last of Thanos's remnant army left on Earth was finally wiped out by the joint forces of the Avengers and Wakanda.
However, the joy of victory did not last long.
A meeting centered on the distribution of post-war interests had been going on for a full day and night on the top floor of Avengers Tower.
"Those Chitauri soldiers' energy weapons and small spacecraft should, according to the supplementary clauses of the UN War Agreement, be taken over uniformly by the UN Post-War Disposal Committee!"
"I object! The United States has made huge sacrifices in this campaign; we have the right to obtain a portion of the spoils for research and to strengthen our border defenses!"
"Mr. Stark, your Iron Legion caused significant collateral damage in this incident. According to assessments, at least seventeen percent of the property damage in New York is related to your weapons..."
Tony Stark sat at the head of the conference table, listening to the incessant arguing of representatives from the World Security Council, the UN, and various nations.
He felt his temples throbbing.
He looked at these politicians who had hidden in safe bunkers for three days and were now swarming like sharks smelling blood; a surge of uncontrollable nausea and exhaustion welled up in his heart.
Steve Rogers sat next to him, his brow furrowed.
He tried to maintain order, repeatedly emphasizing unity and reconstruction, but his voice was quickly drowned out by the louder arguments.
These people didn't care at all about how many had been sacrificed, nor did they care about the trauma the city had suffered.
They only cared about how much they could gain from this disaster.
"Enough!"
Tony finally ran out of patience.
He slammed the table hard, the loud noise instantly silencing the entire conference room.
He slowly stood up, looking down at this group of well-dressed elites, his face showing undisguised disgust and mockery.
"You bunch of parasites who only know how to scheme from the sidelines don't deserve to sit here! I'd love to blow this place up."
Without another word, he turned and walked straight out of the conference room.
Steve sighed, shook his head apologetically at everyone, and followed him out.
...
On the top-floor observation deck, Lin Huai stood alone by the railing, overlooking the devastated city below.
The dawn's glimmer pierced the smoke shrouding the city, gilding the ruins in a dismal gold.
He quietly watched the dark gold Infinity Gauntlet in his palm, the six stones swirling with a dreamlike luster in the morning light.
The war was over; he had gathered all the stones.
Tony and Steve walked over, breaking the silence.
"Sorry to have let you see that joke."
Steve's voice carried a hint of exhaustion.
"No, that's just human nature, isn't it?"
Lin Huai replied without turning around, his tone calm.
"Human nature?"
Tony sneered; he walked to Lin Huai's side and looked at the gauntlet on his hand, a flash of complex emotion in his eyes.
"Hey, you're the guy who's gathered all six Dragon Balls now. When are you going to become the god of wishes?"
He took a large swig of alcohol and said with a touch of drunkenness and self-deprecation.
"My first wish would be to make all those idiot politicians in that conference room disappear!"
"Tony!"
Steve barked a low warning.
"I could be one right now, but I'm afraid—afraid that I'll stop being myself."
"Sequence 2 is also known as an Angel or a Subsidiary God; it's a life truly struggling between humanity and divinity."
"Tony, I... don't know where to go next."