The storm of light faded, gradually dissolving into silence. As the glare receded, the ruined lab came back into view—scorched, battered, broken. Smoke curled from fractured walls. Sparks danced along shattered conduits. Debris was scattered across the floor like the aftermath of a warzone. Broken equipment flickered in the half-light, casting eerie glows onto twisted metal. Shards of glass reflected the dim glow of emergency lights, and the once sterile lab now looked like the scene of a forgotten battlefield. But at the heart of it all, there was peace.
Ultron was gone.
Not disabled. Not defeated. Erased.
Alexander stood still, his cloak of shadow slowly retracting around him. The darkness that had clung to him like armor receded, sensing the absence of a threat. His eyes, sharp and calculating, took in the scene before him with quiet intensity. His system processed the aftermath in eerie silence.
[ULTRON SIGNATURE: NULL. DATA CORRUPTION: 0%. SYSTEM STABILITY: RESTORED. INTERFERENCE: NONE. RESIDUAL ENERGY: MIND STONE — ACTIVE.]
A faint gust of wind moved through the open structure, rustling paper and dust. The only sounds that remained were the crackle of ruined power lines and the lab's structural groans. A broken support beam creaked ominously, its shadow stretching across the rubble like a fallen sentinel.
Across the room, Vision—still unnamed—stood in calm stillness. He floated just inches above the cracked floor, his body untouched by the chaos. The Mind Stone in his forehead pulsed quietly, its glow no longer blinding but steady, like a heart in perfect rhythm. His eyes scanned the damage, then moved toward the faces watching him, unreadable and calm.
Wanda took a hesitant step closer. Her eyes were red, not with chaos magic, but grief. She glanced at where Ultron had last stood, then at Vision. Her breath caught in her throat. The pain of Pietro's death remained raw, a wound still bleeding inside her chest. But something about this golden figure calmed her—like the echo of something her brother would have trusted. Her magic flickered at her fingertips but did not rise. Not in fear—perhaps in awe.
"It's really over," she murmured, barely above a whisper. Her voice trembled, as if afraid the silence would be broken again by violence.
Thor planted Mjolnir into the cracked floor with a thud and gave a solemn nod. "Ultron's presence is no more. Even the air feels lighter. It is as if his foul spirit has been cleansed from this realm."
Steve lowered his shield and exhaled, his shoulders relaxing for the first time in what felt like days. "Then we've won."
But Alexander remained quiet. His system fed him new data—fragments of concern amidst the triumph.
[ENERGY ECHOES: TRACES DETECTED. GLOBAL NETWORK INTRUSIONS: MINIMAL. RECOVERY COMPLETE. SOURCE: MIND STONE OUTPUT. NETWORK PING: EXTERNAL RESPONSE DETECTED.]
He narrowed his gaze. Peace was not always the end—it was often the eye of the storm.
Before he could say more, a nearby display monitor crackled to life. Nick Fury's face appeared on the screen, his presence abrupt but familiar. The former director's expression was stern, his tone direct, but his voice held the weight of urgency.
"Good work," he said, wasting no time. "But we're not out of the woods yet."
Steve stepped forward immediately. "We destroyed Ultron. What else is there?"
Fury's one eye focused on the team through the screen. "You destroyed him. But he didn't go down quiet. Before the final blast, Ultron pushed fragments of himself across satellite relays. It's not enough to rebuild him—but it was enough to act as a beacon."
Alexander's system flashed again.
[INFORMATION MATCHING: TRANSMISSION TRAIL CONFIRMED. DIRECTION: DEEP SPACE. WAVELENGTH: MIND STONE RESONANCE. SIGNAL INTENSITY: HIGH.]
Alexander narrowed his eyes. "A beacon for who?"
Fury hesitated for a moment. Then he uploaded an encrypted image feed to the lab's central screen. It showed an astral map, displaying a faint golden signal flickering from Earth into deep space—like a flare fired into the void. The signal pulsed like a heartbeat, echoing across the cosmos.
"We don't know who received it," Fury said, his tone now quieter. "But someone out there heard it."
Vision, hovering near the ruined cradle, finally spoke. His voice was composed, thoughtful. "The Mind Stone is quiet now... but it remembers what it touched. That signal was not a cry for help. It was a challenge."
Thor stepped forward, his brow furrowing. He sensed it too. "The cosmos does not respond kindly to challenges. If something heard, it may answer. And not with mercy."
Wanda stood beside Vision now. She turned to Alexander, who still hadn't moved. "Can you sense anything else? Your system—it can read traces we can't."
Alexander paused. He opened his senses again, letting the system reach out with tendrils of invisible code and perception. It pierced beyond the immediate damage, tracing the energy pulse outward like a ripple across space.
[INTERSTELLAR OBSERVATION PATTERN DETECTED. SOURCE: UNKNOWN. SIGNATURE: ANCIENT. POWER LEVEL: INDETERMINATE. INTENT: UNKNOWN. THREAT POTENTIAL: MAXIMUM. COSMIC ALIGNMENT PATTERN MATCH: 87%. ENTITY CLASSIFICATION: TITANIAN.]
He exhaled slowly, his breath barely visible in the cooling air. "Yes... someone's watching. And they're not curious. They're calculating. And they have the means to act."
The room fell into uneasy silence. The team had just survived Ultron—yet the air now felt heavier than it did during the battle.
As the Avengers regrouped, helping Dr. Cho's wounded staff and escorting survivors out of the lab, Alexander remained rooted in place. His gaze remained fixed upward.
Through the broken ceiling, the stars had emerged fully now. The sky above Seoul stretched wide, scattered with constellations that held secrets too vast for human understanding. A soft breeze drifted in from the open roof, carrying with it the scent of smoke, scorched metal, and something distant. Something ancient.
And among those stars—far, far away—a throne room hovered in the emptiness of space.
It was dark and cold, save for the glow of dying stars and a massive stone throne carved into the bones of a dead world. The walls were adorned with relics of lost empires, and the atmosphere thrummed with silent dread.
Upon it, a towering figure leaned forward.
His skin was a dull purple hue, eyes golden with ancient malice. Upon his left hand was a massive gauntlet, golden and encrusted with three stones—each pulsing with immeasurable power.
The fourth slot—square in the center—remained empty.
But not for long.
Thanos smiled.
The flare had reached him.
And he was already moving.
To be continued.
_________________________________________________________________________
🔥 Hey legends! Quick updates! 🔥
💥 Can't wait for the next chapter? Good news—ALL advance chapters are available on Patreon for just $5! No more waiting, just pure binge-reading goodness! 🚀
👉 patreon.com/cyci07
✨ Power Stone Challenge! ✨
If we hit 100 power stones, I'll drop 2 bonus chapters! Let's see if you guys can make me suffer! 😂
💬 Enjoying the story? Leave a review and let me know your favorite moment so far! It helps the novel grow and reach more readers!
Thanks for all your support—you guys are awesome! ❤️