During the banquet, Odin suddenly summoned Ethan Blake to a side hall beside the main chamber. The timing immediately made Ethan suspicious. Out of all the moments Odin could have chosen, why call him away right when the celebration was at its peak?
The thought crossed Ethan's mind with a hint of mischief. Could it be that the old man couldn't stand seeing someone else enjoying themselves while he couldn't? The possibility amused him more than it should have.
"Your Majesty, did you need something from me?" Ethan asked directly after entering the hall.
Odin looked at him calmly before speaking. "I wanted to thank you for saving Frigga."
"There's no need to be polite, Your Majesty," Ethan replied with a small shrug. "Besides, you've already thanked me."
"Frigga is the love of my life," Odin said quietly. "Compared to her, every treasure I possess is worth less than half her value."
Ethan nodded politely on the outside, but inside he couldn't help grumbling. If that were really the case, then Odin might as well hand over the entire treasury. Ethan certainly wouldn't complain about accepting it.
"What surprised me," Odin continued, "was your decision to take the Life Tablet. I originally assumed you would choose the Infinity Gauntlet instead, especially since you already possess three Infinity Stones."
He paused briefly before adding another sentence. "However, I must warn you. Gathering the Infinity Stones together is rarely a wise choice. Sometimes, power alone cannot solve everything."
Ethan immediately understood the implication behind those words.
Odin was clearly trying to persuade him to give up at least one or two of the Infinity Stones.
But that idea was simply impossible. Asking Ethan to spit out something he had already obtained was like asking a lion to return its prey.
That kind of thing didn't happen.
"Perhaps power cannot solve everything," Ethan said calmly, "but it can prevent most tragedies from happening, can't it, Your Majesty?"
Odin smiled faintly, as though he had expected that exact response.
"It seems I cannot convince you," he said. "In that case, this Infinity Gauntlet will belong to you."
With a casual wave of his left hand, the golden Infinity Gauntlet suddenly appeared in the air between them.
Ethan stared at it in confusion. One moment Odin was advising him not to gather the stones, and the next he was handing over the very tool designed to use them. The contradiction was almost absurd.
Still, Ethan firmly believed in one principle. If an opportunity appeared and you didn't take it, you were the fool.
Before Odin could change his mind, Ethan quickly stored the gauntlet inside his golden storage space.
Seeing that Odin didn't seem particularly opposed to him possessing multiple Infinity Stones, Ethan decided to push his luck a little further.
"Your Majesty, I have a question."
"Oh?" Odin raised an eyebrow slightly. "I didn't expect the Prophet of Midgard to have questions. What is it?"
The teasing tone caught Ethan off guard for a moment. After forcing a slightly awkward smile, he asked, "Your Majesty, how do you convert the Aether in its liquid form into the Reality Stone?"
This question had been bothering him for quite a while.
Every other Infinity Stone existed in a solid gem form, which made them easy to handle and store. Only the Reality Stone behaved differently, appearing instead as a strange liquid substance known as the Aether.
Since Odin possessed the Infinity Gauntlet, it was reasonable to assume he had once collected the stones himself. If that were true, then Odin should know how to deal with the Aether.
But Odin's answer consisted of only two words.
"Understanding."
"Understanding?" Ethan repeated, puzzled.
Odin nodded slowly. "When you fully comprehend its original nature, the Aether will naturally become the Reality Stone in your hands."
Ethan frowned slightly. The explanation sounded profound, but it was also frustratingly vague.
"How exactly do I achieve that?" he asked again.
"That," Odin replied calmly, "is something you must discover on your own. Learning it is like learning to walk. No one else can truly teach you. You must find the answer yourself."
He then waved his hand dismissively. "It is late, and I should rest. You may return to the banquet."
With that, Odin turned and left the hall.
Ethan remained where he stood, staring blankly for several seconds. The word understanding kept echoing in his mind, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't figure out what Odin meant.
He even took out the Aether and studied it carefully for a long time. Unfortunately, the strange crimson liquid offered no hints at all.
By the time he gave up, Ethan had completely lost interest in the celebration. The thought of inviting an Asgardian woman to watch fireworks no longer appealed to him.
After saying goodbye to Thor, Ethan teleported directly back to Earth.
Compared to Asgardian women, Wanda was far more appealing.
Later that night, after spending time with Wanda, Ethan lay quietly for a while and began thinking again about Odin's mysterious explanation.
At the same time, he reassured himself of something important. A man as loyal to love as him would never actually develop feelings for Asgardian women. That earlier temptation must have been Odin secretly using illusions to recruit him as a future son-in-law. Fortunately, Ethan had resisted the trap.
Once Wanda fell asleep, Ethan quietly got out of bed. He gently pulled the blanket over her before leaving the room.
He had collected the summoning energy three separate times during the battle in Asgard. It was time to use it.
Considering how effective Pietro's sacrifice had been during the last summoning attempt, Ethan decided to repeat the strategy. He took a deep breath and muttered softly.
"Yuanshi Tianzun, Tathagata Buddha, Master Tongtian, and all the gods and Buddhas in heaven, I offer Pietro's romantic luck in his next life as a sacrifice. Please bless this summoning."
"Successful Summon: You have obtained the ability inheritance of Geass—Absolute Command."
Ethan stared at the notification for a moment before sighing dramatically.
Well, Pietro was definitely going to be single in his next life.
The ability's description appeared immediately afterward. Geass was described as a mysterious power capable of connecting the user's will with others. The Absolute Command variant granted the authority of a king, allowing the user to issue orders that the target could not disobey.
Once activated, a red Geass symbol would appear in the user's eye.
Several restrictions accompanied the ability. A target could only receive one command from the same user. The target would lose memory of the command after the Geass took effect. The power could affect multiple people simultaneously as long as they were within visual range.
The user had to make eye contact with the target, and the maximum effective distance was 273 meters. The target didn't even need to hear the command for it to work. Even if their ears were blocked, the Geass would still function as long as eye contact was established.
Interestingly, the ability could even be used on the user themselves.
Ethan quickly recognized it as the famous power of Lelouch Lamperouge from Code Geass. Despite the numerous limitations, the ability was still extremely powerful. Within a radius of 273 meters, anyone who met Ethan's gaze could be forced to obey a command.
Of course, each person could only be controlled once.
"Not bad," Ethan muttered.
He immediately began thinking about possible experiments. For example, forcing Tony Stark to run around Central Park in nothing but shorts would certainly be entertaining. Then again, that might be a bit too cruel.
At that exact moment, Tony Stark suddenly shivered inexplicably inside his Malibu mansion.
"Continue summoning," Ethan said.
"Successful Summon: You have obtained a Destruction Earth Bomb."
"Destruction Earth Bomb: A special device from the world of Doraemon. Operation is extremely simple. After setting a timer and deploying it, the bomb possesses enough power to blow the entire Earth into cosmic dust."
Ethan inhaled sharply.
Wasn't this the bomb Doraemon once used to destroy a mouse?
The thing was absolutely insane.
Carefully and very cautiously, Ethan stored the Earth Destruction Bomb inside his golden space. Only after confirming it was safely contained did he let out a relieved breath.
If that thing exploded accidentally, his current body definitely wouldn't survive it.
"Continue."
Then Ethan suddenly paused.
Last time he had forgotten to sacrifice Pietro before summoning. That mistake needed to be corrected.
He cleared his throat and spoke again.
"Yuanshi Tianzun, Tathagata Buddha, Master Tongtian, and all the gods and Buddhas in heaven, I offer Pietro's hairline as a sacrifice. May this summoning bring great fortune."
....
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