— — — — — —
"Not a chance!" x3
Thanos's so-called offer was met with flat rejection from Tony, Steve, and Doctor Strange alike.
"Oh? That's a shame," Thanos sighed. "Then I'll just have to take them myself."
"Why throw your lives away? Everything I do is for the balance of the universe. Why can't you people understand?"
He shook his head, his expression almost mournful. Of course. He was destined to be a lonely crusader. Mortals could never grasp the greatness of his vision.
Tony rolled his eyes. "Seriously? You're a lunatic, stop pretending to be some noble savior. Wiping out half the universe? What kind of nutcase even dreams that up, let alone goes through with it?"
"Such is mortal wisdom," Thanos replied, voice tinged with pity. His gaze locked onto him. "Tony Stark?"
"The one and only," Tony shot back.
"I've heard of you. In fact, I admired you. A mere man, using only your mind to climb so far—that's impressive."
His voice softened, almost regretful. "But now, I see even you can't understand me. Pity."
Tony's mouth twitched. "Should I feel honored or sorry about that? I mean, of course you can't relate to me—I'm sane. You're not." He spread his hands, smirking. "Anyone who wants to share headspace with a psychopath, be my guest. Not me."
Thanos's eyes hardened. "Then there's nothing left to discuss. Hand over the Time Stone and the Mind Stone. Resistance is meaningless."
His gaze drifted toward Doctor Strange, the Eye of Agamotto gleaming on his chest, and toward Vision, the yellow gem glowing on his forehead.
Of course, neither was real. The genuine stones had long been tucked safely away in Renzo's Takamagahara, fueling its growth and evolution.
"We refuse!"
Doctor Strange answered with action, summoning glowing sigils of magic and hurling them straight at Thanos.
Tony, Vision, Thor, and the rest joined in, launching everything they had.
Thanos merely clenched his gauntleted fist. The four stones already embedded in it—Power, Reality, Space, and Soul—flared brightly. Their combined force twisted together, swirling into a blue sphere of pure destructive energy. Space itself rippled and buckled around it.
With a single punch, he hurled the sphere forward.
The attack ripped through their defenses like paper, blasting Strange and the others aside. Bodies slammed into the ground, battered and bloodied.
Thanos glanced toward Renzo, who still hovered in the sky, arms folded, simply watching. A flicker of unease passed through his eyes.
From the start, he hadn't been able to see through this man. Renzo's power was… unfathomable. That earlier attack of his—part of it had been to test the stranger.
But Renzo didn't move. Didn't lift a hand. Just kept watching.
That suited Thanos just fine.
He turned his focus back to Doctor Strange. The sorcerer glared up at him, still struggling to rise, as Thanos ripped the Eye of Agamotto from his chest. With a single squeeze, the artifact shattered, fragments scattering, and the Time Stone gleamed in his palm.
Without hesitation, Thanos set the gem into his gauntlet. He glanced again at Renzo—still watching, still unmoving. A thrill of satisfaction ran through him.
Stepping forward, he reached for Vision, already stretching out a hand toward the Mind Stone embedded in his forehead.
"That's far enough."
Renzo finally moved, shaking his head with a faint look of annoyance.
The Mind Stone inside Vision was his own creation. The android himself was something of a small miracle. If he just stood by and let Thanos kill Vision, Tony and the others would never forgive him.
Originally, he had planned to let Thanos collect all six stones, wait for him to snap his fingers, and then watch the Titan's face twist when he realized five of the six were fakes. It would've been quite the show.
But now… he decided otherwise.
"Dōjutsu: Takamagahara."
In an instant, a new world unfolded. Thanos froze as reality shifted around him. He couldn't move. Couldn't so much as twitch a finger.
Panic struck him. He struggled against the invisible bonds, but nothing worked.
Snarling, he drew on the Infinity Gauntlet, summoning the combined might of the stones. Energy flared, ready to shatter his prison—
Snap.
With nothing but a snap of his fingers, Renzo dimmed five of the stones at once. Their glow winked out, their power draining away in seconds until nothing remained but hollow shells.
Then Renzo appeared before him. Calm, unhurried, he reached out and plucked the Soul Stone straight from the gauntlet.
Wuuum!
To his surprise, the stone resisted. It pulsed violently in his hand, struggling like a living thing, desperate to break free.
Of course. The Soul Stone demanded sacrifice—an exchange of a loved one's life for its power. Thanos had claimed it only by giving up Gamora.
Now that Renzo held it, the stone wanted the same price.
But Renzo wasn't about to play along.
"Behave," he said coldly. "Or I'll crush you where you sit."
The stone fell silent.
The struggle ceased, and it rested obediently in Renzo's palm—quiet, compliant, almost pitiful.
It had realized the truth: Renzo really could destroy it.
Now, Renzo has finally collected all the stones.
.
.
.