[Nemesis? Who's that?]
Ye Li hadn't seen every Marvel-related work, so he was completely baffled by the "Goddess of Vengeance" the Soul Stone mentioned.
[Hmph~ Ignorant, aren't you? My mommy is a universe-founding deity! An ancient existence beyond the cosmic Five Abstract Entities!]
The Soul Stone said proudly: [She can erase a universe in the blink of an eye and collapse all walls of reality. Your power is nothing before her!]
[That badass?] Ye Li was amazed.
If what the Soul Stone said was true.
Then this Goddess of Vengeance was at least at the apex of the multiverse—perhaps even Omniversal level....
Ye Li thought for a moment and asked an important question: [So where is your mom now?]
Perhaps because it had been refined, the Soul Stone obediently explained to him.
[At the dawn of the universe, the Goddess of Vengeance—Nemesis—felt too powerful and too lonely, so she shattered and split herself. Her core body evolved into seven gems.... and I'm a part of Mommy!]
[Wait... did you say seven?]
[That's right! Space, Time, Power, Reality, Mind, Soul, and Ego—seven gems in all. Gather all seven and you can summon my mommy!]
[There's also an Ego Gem....?]
Ye Li asked oddly: [If we summon her, can she grant me wishes?]
[Still wanting wishes?] the Soul Stone squeaked, trying to scare him: [You'll be lucky if she doesn't cut you down~!]
Ye Li: [Why?]
[Because you recklessly refined the gems and stuffed things into her body.]
[I see... huh?] After understanding, Ye Li asked again: [Why are you telling me this—don't you want Nemesis revived?]
[Of course, not~] the Soul Stone said as a matter of course: [Because if Mommy revives, I'll be reabsorbed by her.]
[Then why did you just... say you'd have your mom beat me up....?]
[I was afraid you'd bully me~]
Speechless, Ye Li tucked the Soul Stone away so it wouldn't keep chattering in his head.
The secrets of the Infinity Stones weren't something to touch right now—better to investigate them later.
"Hey!"
Just as he was about to leave the Divine Kingdom, a white-haired figure flew over——————
Whoosh~
With a sweep of her purple battle dress, Clea stopped before Ye Li, hands on her hips: "How long are you going to keep me locked up here?!"
"Oh... it's..."
Ye Li paused, then feigned sudden realization, "It's you."
Clea ground her white teeth, absolutely seething. "So, you really did forget me!"
"Are you copying my uncle now—starting to swallow innocent worlds?!"
She extended a slender finger, pointing at the quiet planet Vormir, and demanded angrily.
'So, this is a misunderstanding?'
Ye Li quickly understood what she meant, but didn't mind it; admiring her pretty face, he teased with a smile, "And what's that got to do with you?"
"What do you mean...?"
A hint of hurt showed at the corner of Clea's eyes as she complained, "You toy with me like that! ... and in the end, you even pretend!"
"Uh..." Ye Li scratched his nose a bit awkwardly. "You mean..."
"Exactly!"
Clea casually tugged a strand of star-river spider-silk from beside them, pulled it before his eyes, and said, "You used this thing to mess with me! Still want to deny it, you pervert!"
Ye Li couldn't defend himself; he could only silently roast himself for having played too hard before...
He simply put on a slack, dead-fish expression and shrugged to her, "Then what do you want—want me to marry you as my wife or something?"
"I..."
Clea's face warmed; her light-purple pupils fluttered twice, and suddenly she reached behind her waist and drew a magical dagger…
"Hey! We're just talking—don't go waving weapons."
Ye Li pressed down the hand holding her knife. "It's not like I said I wasn't interested in you."
"I haven't even said whether I'm interested in you! You gross guy!"
Clea tugged, found she couldn't break free, and her gaze cooled a bit. "First tell me whether you've been slaughtering innocent planets!"
"Is that important?"
"Of course it is! I won't submit to someone who kills the innocent!"
Beneath Clea's white hair, her eyes held a certain resolve.
Her stance surprised Ye Li a little; he hadn't expected her to be quite so principled.
He smiled in relief. "Turns out you're a cute girl."
"Huh? What did you say?"
While the white-haired beauty was stunned, she suddenly felt... an arm circle her waist—
Fu~
The hem of her battle dress swayed.
Her view blurred; from looking straight ahead to looking upward, she found herself scooped up in Ye Li's arms in a bridal carry.
"Wh—what are you doing? What does this mean?"
Clea looked a little dazed, not knowing what to do.
"Weren't you asking what was going on with this planet?"
Wearing that gentle smile so lethal to girls again, Ye Li blinked them over to Vormir.
"See for yourself."