Chapter 26: The Soul Stone Sermon – Maw's Defeat and the Final Stone.
[COSMIC VOID – CONTINUOUS]
Yuta stood defiant on the exterior hull of Ebony Maw's vessel, the **Soul Stone** radiating a terrifying, profound orange light in her hand. The air was silent except for the crackling of Maw's psychic shield.
Maw's face, usually calm with arrogant certainty, was contorted with disbelief. "The Stone is mine! You are a primitive royal, your mind a paltry thing! Submit!"
"My mind is complicated," Yuta corrected, channeling the raw, empathic power of the Soul Stone. She focused, not on physical destruction, but on the very essence of Maw's being.
She knew Maw was driven by loyalty to Thanos and an almost religious fervor for his mission. She couldn't fight his telekinesis, but she could attack his **soul's truth.**
"You serve a delusion, Maw!" Yuta's voice boomed, resonating with the Stone's authority. "You believe Thanos is the one true savior, the agent of balance. But the **Soul Stone** knows the truth."
Maw shrieked as Yuta forced the Stone's power into his mind, bypassing his formidable telekinetic defenses. He clutched his head, his face twisting in pain.
"What is this sorcery!?" Maw cried.
"This is the truth of all souls!" Yuta yelled, walking toward him. "You worship a man who would sacrifice **you**, his most loyal servant, the moment you became an inconvenience! The **Soul Stone** sees the emptiness in his heart, the self-deception in his *love* for Gamora, and the cruelty he demands of his own followers!"
She wasn't using magic; she was using **empathy as a weapon.** She exposed Maw's deepest, most suppressed fear: that Thanos's cause was not divine order, but the whim of a narcissistic tyrant.
Maw staggered back, the telekinetic debris around him falling slack. His eyes, for the first time, held doubt—a raw, existential terror. The Stone forced him to confront the agonizing waste of his millennia of service.
"No... he is the savior! My purpose is true!" Maw chanted, trying to regain his composure.
"Your purpose is a lie you tell yourself to justify the murder of billions!" Yuta countered, delivering the final blow. She projected a vision into his mind—a devastating flash of every innocent soul Maw had silenced, magnified by the Stone's truth.
Maw roared, collapsing onto the hull, his psychic energy spent and his will shattered. The confrontation had lasted less than a minute, but Yuta had effectively lobotomized his allegiance.
"Loki! The bridge!" Yuta shouted into the communicator.
### The Fifth Stone
Loki's voice, tinged with relief, crackled back instantly. *"I've secured the Tesseract, Mother! Opening the Bifrost on the roof of your current location! Get ready!"*
A split second later, the colossal column of rainbow light descended. Yuta stepped into the light, grabbing the stunned, defeated Maw and dragging him along. She wouldn't leave a valuable asset (or prisoner) behind.
[ASGARD ROYAL LIBRARY – MOMENTS LATER]
Yuta slammed onto the library floor, hauling the unconscious Maw behind her. She was battered, singed, but utterly victorious.
Odin rushed to her side, Gungnir in hand. Loki materialized shortly after, clutching the **Space Stone (Tesseract)**.
"Mother! What is this... large, unconscious rope creature?" Loki asked, staring at Maw.
"This is our new prisoner," Yuta gasped, handing Odin the glowing **Soul Stone**. "A master strategist for Thanos. And now, a valuable interrogation asset."
She then turned to Loki, her voice thick with exhaustion and triumph. "The **Tesseract**! Show me."
Loki opened his pouch, revealing the final, physical stone—the blue glow of the **Space Stone**.
"We have them all," Loki said, his voice reverent. "The **Power Stone**, the **Reality Stone**, the **Time Stone** (safely on Earth with Strange), the **Soul Stone**, and the **Space Stone**."
Yuta looked at the five Stones now held by Asgardian hands—a rainbow of devastating, beautiful power. The ultimate strategic goal was achieved.
"Wait," Yuta whispered, her mind racing. "The **Mind Stone**... we missed one."
Loki frowned. "The Mind Stone is in the Scepter, which Thanos gave to the Other, who gave it to Hydra, who then used it to create Wanda and Pietro. Where is it now?"
Odin answered grimly, "It was placed in the forehead of the synthetic being, **Vision**, created by Ultron."
Yuta's eyes widened with sudden, terrifying realization. "Vision is on Earth. If Thanos wants to complete the Gauntlet, he will go straight for the Mind Stone, and he will use the **Space Stone** to jump straight to Earth!"
She looked at Loki, who still held the Tesseract. "We need to get this to Strange on Earth immediately! It's the only way to lure Thanos there and away from Asgard!"
### The Final Gauntlet
Yuta staggered, leaning heavily on Loki, the rush of the resurrection finally catching up.
"Loki, you are the key," Yuta commanded. "You are the master of portals and illusions. You must take the Space Stone and the Soul Stone to Earth. You are going to hide the Soul Stone with Strange, and then use the **Space Stone** to draw Thanos to a specific, protected location."
"The final distraction," Loki concluded, his eyes glowing with excitement.
"The **final battle**," Yuta corrected. "We have the Stones, but we need to control the setting. Thor, Heimdall, and Hela will be needed for the final defense."
Yuta looked at her tired but triumphant family. They had cheated Ragnarok, stolen two Stones, rescued the refugees, and defeated a lieutenant of Thanos—all through strategic planning and maximum chaos.
"There is one last piece of the puzzle," Yuta said, turning to Odin. "We need a team to go to Earth and retrieve the most dangerous asset of all: **Vision.** If we separate him from the Mind Stone, Thanos loses his objective, and we gain another asset."
"Who, Mother?" Loki asked.
Yuta smiled, a true, weary, but victorious smile. "The only two people in the cosmos who understand the true power of complicated, terrible love and redemption."
"We're sending **Hela** and **Thor** to Earth to find the robot."
To Be Continued...
***