There were no reporters at this battle, no coverage of any kind—not even satellite surveillance.
The whole of New York seemed completely isolated. There was no military presence, and even the nuclear weapons were fake—illusions created by Korath.
"Do you remember those stones?"
With his back to the approaching Avengers, Korath spoke calmly. "They are the foundation that can change the world. And now… they have merged with it."
Tony fired a repulsor blast at Korath.
Unfortunately, it had no effect—it passed straight through his body.
"Stark, all support forces will arrive in two minutes."
Fury's voice came through the earpiece.
Tony didn't respond, careful not to alert the enemy.
"Don't waste your effort," Korath said as he turned to face the Avengers. "I can perceive the entire world."
At that moment, Steve suddenly hurled his shield at Tony, knocking him to the ground.
The other Avengers began attacking each other as well.
"Cap, have you lost your mind? I know you were angry earlier, but this isn't the time!" Tony steadied himself mid-air and pushed Steve back with a low-powered repulsor blast.
Vers frowned. "What did you do to them?"
But Korath had already vanished. No one on the street reacted—no one could even see the battle.
There was no choice. Only Vers could stop the Avengers from tearing each other apart.
The Reality Stone was terrifyingly useful—it could both create illusions and truly alter reality.
But changing reality came with a heavy cost.
Back aboard the massive warship, Korath began activating the Reality Stone within his body. After absorbing so many lives, the stone had finally taken its true form.
The Reality Stone possessed an endless hunger—it craved life force above all else. Previously, it had existed as Aether particles, only able to return to its true form after absorbing sufficient life energy.
Now it was complete.
It had already exchanged countless lives across the universe. The hundreds of thousands lost on Earth were nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
Their deaths had mainly been used to create those "stones"—tools that made it easier to reshape reality without suffering backlash.
Everything has a cost.
And for something as powerful as the Reality Stone—capable of altering reality itself—the price is a lifetime.
An invisible force spread across the world, slowly eroding it piece by piece.
Vers sensed that strange energy and stopped paying attention to the Avengers' internal conflict. She transformed into a beam of light and flew into space.
Ahead of her, hidden in the void, was a massive warship.
The energy fluctuations were coming from there.
She slammed into it with her body.
From afar, it looked like a bee crashing into Mount Everest.
Silence filled space—then Vers disappeared inside the ship.
"Carl… did you feel that?" Diwan asked.
She had clearly sensed the world being enveloped by a powerful energy. It left her feeling helpless.
Carl looked up at the sky. "Why do people always have to die?"
Diwan felt the energy within her fading and looked up anxiously.
Carl waved his hand, creating a protective barrier around her. "Stay here. I'm going to kill him."
Before she could respond, Carl vanished.
"…He's getting more and more talkative," she muttered.
In the next instant, Carl appeared aboard the warship.
Following the energy fluctuations, he arrived at a location inside the ship and saw a man and a woman locked in battle.
The scene was devastating—everything around them had been destroyed. Waves of energy clashed and spread outward, annihilating everything in their path.
Carl flew in front of Korath and raised his hand, blocking Vers's attack.
"He's mine now."
Grabbing Korath by the face, Carl roared, "If you don't want to die, take the energy back!"
"Hahaha…"
Korath laughed. "I—"
"Boom!"
Before he could finish, Carl crushed his head.
Carl disappeared—and reappeared in another part of the ship.
Looking at the completely unharmed Korath, he spoke again:
"Don't think you can hide from me with tricks like this. If I want you dead, there's nowhere you can escape my sight."
Korath didn't believe him. The surroundings shifted instantly—and Korath vanished again.
Carl looked at the ruined warship and sighed. "I already warned you…"
"No matter where you hide!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he appeared right beside Korath again.
Carl grabbed the Reality Stone embedded in Korath's chest and said coldly:
"I don't care if you want to destroy the world—but don't affect me. Otherwise… I'll be very unhappy."
"No!!"
Ignoring Korath's unwilling scream, Carl forcefully tore the Reality Stone out of his body.
This time, instead of discarding it casually, Carl went to Vers.
"Will this work?" Without waiting for her response, he tossed it to her.
Vers looked at him in confusion. "Why don't you use it yourself?"
"This kind of junk? Anyone who likes using it is asking for trouble—it'll destroy the whole planet," Carl said, then vanished.
Vers was stunned.
A so-called Infinity Stone… trash?
She knew that possessing an Infinity Stone meant near-limitless power, and the deeper you used it, the stronger you became—its true limits were unimaginable.
And yet someone had just thrown it away like garbage.
But after sensing Carl's overwhelming power, she fell silent.
That energy… even an Infinity Stone couldn't compare.
In that moment, she felt like a small boat drifting on an endless ocean—helpless and insignificant.
"Who… is he? Why is he so powerful?"
Carl didn't respond. He was already flying over New York.
Without Korath's control, everything returned to normal.
The city wasn't completely intact—but it wasn't in ruins either. A few buildings had collapsed, and only a few thousand people had died.
Strangely, compared to before, it almost felt like paradise.
But the massive warship still hung in the sky.
It hadn't disappeared, nor had Vers destroyed it.
Inside were countless beings of unknown race and appearance.
Without Korath's command, they didn't attack.
Carl glanced at the Avengers, still fighting and making sacrifices—but he didn't care.
When the United Nations had made him a scapegoat, none of them had spoken up. They had all remained silent.
He didn't need their help.
He only needed them to speak.
In the distance, fifty fighter jets approached.
This was the "support" Fury had mentioned—but it was too late. The battle was already over.
Carl hovered motionless in the air.
Originally, he had planned to destroy the warship.
But now, he changed his mind.
Since they had come to "help," he no longer felt like doing them any favors.
"Tsk…"
The fighter jets, having just arrived over Manhattan, opened fire on Carl.
"Click—"
The bullets did nothing.
Instead, they angered him.
Carl, who had been about to leave, stopped.
A red glow flashed in his eyes—and in the sky.
"Boom!!!"
All the fighter jets exploded into fireworks.
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