After fully recovering his magic, William stood up, his gaze lingering on the Mind Stone Staff in Christine's hands.
Though he still had lingering fear from nearly being overwhelmed by the stone's power, the fact remained—
He had survived.
Not only that, but in just that one second of direct contact with the Mind Stone, his psychic abilities had surged once again.
While his mental scan remained stable at a two-kilometer range, his telekinetic strength had leaped straight to three tons.
Everything pointed to one fact—
His body could endure the short-term surge of an Infinity Stone's energy.
And that made the Mind Stone Staff in Christine's hands all the more tempting.
So much so that Christine visibly paled, instinctively stepping behind Odin for protection.
Having witnessed William's immense magical reserves and his ability to siphon nature's power from an entire forest,
she had no illusions that she could stop him if he truly wanted to take the staff.
"Even if you obtain the Mind Stone, you won't be able to use it directly!"
Christine blurted out in fear.
"This stone has never been used by the Light Elves—we've only guarded it… and… and…"
"And what?" William asked impatiently.
"We've been restraining it."
"Restraining?"
William was surprised.
But as fragments of past knowledge surfaced in his mind, he lowered his gaze in thought.
After a brief silence, he asked hesitantly,
"Are you saying that the Mind Stone… has a consciousness of its own?"
"That's correct," Odin responded, giving William a rare look of approval.
"I was worried that you might have already fallen under the Mind Stone's influence.
But thankfully, you only made contact for a brief moment.
Your naturally strong mental defenses, combined with the Space Stone's energy, prevented you from being fully corrupted.
Still, even if you weren't controlled, the stone has affected you.
It has granted you more power, yes—but it has also ignited a deeper hunger for power within you.
If not for the Space Stone absorbing most of the Mind Stone's influence,
you probably would have already tried to take the staff by force."
William frowned, falling into deep thought.
But the more he considered Odin's words, the more he realized—
If he had truly fallen under the Mind Stone's influence,
would he have still been cautious enough to avoid creating an Ultron-like AI in his Sentry Armor?
The fact that he had immediately considered the risks meant he wasn't controlled at all.
And that led to a new thought—
If he wasn't affected,
then what's stopping me from using the Mind Stone to further boost my psychic power?
Before Odin or Christine could react, William raised his hand and clenched his fist—
Telekinetically yanking the Mind Stone Staff from Christine's grip.
Christine let out a startled gasp.
The power in William's telekinesis was now three tons—far beyond what her physical strength could resist.
But before William could truly grasp the staff—
Odin, who had been watching him closely, immediately fired a beam of energy from Gungnir.
However, William had anticipated this.
A portal instantly opened between them, swallowing Odin's attack and redirecting it into the sky a hundred kilometers away.
Seeing that his attack had been nullified and the Mind Stone Staff was now in William's hands,
Odin, still unwilling to give up on him, shouted urgently—
"William! If you truly seek greater power, you must learn to control your desires!
"You must understand that the power granted by the Stones is not your own!"
William, who had been preparing for a fight, paused in surprise.
This old man… is trying to reason with me? Instead of attacking?
That was not what he had expected.
It threw him off so much that he abandoned his plan to fake being corrupted just to trick Odin and Christine.
And now that he was holding the Mind Stone Staff again—
He could clearly feel it.
There really was a consciousness inside the stone.
That realization made him reconsider his original plan.
What if prolonged exposure did lead to the Mind Stone's consciousness trying to take over his body?
Would his willpower really be enough to resist an Infinity Stone's influence?
No—this was too risky.
Better to let someone else test it first.
For now, all he needed was to ensure he could track the stone wherever it went.
Turning back to Odin, William flashed a reassuring smile.
"I'm not as reckless or foolish as you think."
"If this stone truly has its own will… then it must be bound."
"And fortunately for me—I specialize in spatial sealing magic."
With that, he raised his hand and cast a spatial barrier around the Mind Stone.
Within seconds, the bright yellow gemstone became encased in a translucent blue shell of spatial energy.
As he continued reinforcing it, the energy began to solidify, transforming into a deep blue crystalline structure.
By the time he was done, the Mind Stone was now sealed within a diamond-shaped blue prism—
Much like how the Space Stone was sealed inside the Tesseract.
The only difference?
The Tesseract was a cube, while this was much smaller and diamond-shaped.
And with this spatial marker, William could sense the Mind Stone's location at all times.
If necessary, he could even teleport it directly into his hands.
And most importantly—
This ensured that he didn't have to fight Odin over it.
Seeing that William had actually reinforced the Mind Stone's containment,
Odin finally relaxed and lowered Gungnir.
But his voice remained heavy with meaning as he warned,
"Whether you believe me or not…
No one who has ever sought the Infinity Stones has met a good end."
"They either lost the ones they loved most—"
"Or became the enemy of the entire universe, plunging countless worlds into chaos and war."
William narrowed his eyes.
"Losing the ones they love most?"
That could only refer to the Soul Stone's sacrifice requirement.
Unlike Thanos, William had no grand ambitions of "saving the universe" through genocide.
And he certainly didn't have the heart to sacrifice someone he loved just to get more power.
Though the truly troubling part was…
Did he even have someone he genuinely loved?
Was there anyone he'd willingly die for?
It was a strange, unsettling thought.
If he had to choose, it would probably be Lena—or perhaps his future children.
But there was no way he would sacrifice Lena or his children for the Soul Stone.
This was precisely why William never planned to gather all six stones.
With a thought, he floated the Mind Stone Staff back toward Christine.
As the staff settled into her hands, Odin's face brightened with approval.
Yet, before William could leave, Odin added one final warning—
"William… no matter what your original intentions were, the moment you touch an Infinity Stone, you become a light in the dark."
"And in that darkness, countless eyes are already watching—waiting to take what you hold."
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