Chapter 357: The War Ends — Still One Infinity Stone Short
"How'd it go, Ethan? Is Thanos's threat fully neutralized?" Wanda's group swept down from above, anxious, diving deep into the crater the explosion had carved out.
The pit's interior was choked with smoke and debris, visibility poor — only vague shapes discernible at the bottom. When they finally made out the scene below and realized Ethan was the only one still standing, tension mixed with hope surged through the group.
Ethan stood there amid the wreckage of the fight, his expression unusually heavy — like a man carrying a weight he couldn't set down.
He lifted his head slowly, voice low. "Thanos... is dead. Confirmed."
Strange frowned, confused. "Then why the long face? This is supposed to be our victory lap."
Fat Thor clapped Ethan on the shoulder, trying to cheer him up. "Man, lighten up! You're our hero! Not one, but two Thanoses from two different universes, taken down by you alone. A warrior for the ages!"
He pumped his fist, clearly hoping the gesture would lift Ethan's mood.
Banner stepped forward too, gratitude shining in his eyes. "Ethan — you're a god to us. Thank you for saving our entire world." He reached out for a hug, but Ethan subtly sidestepped it.
Ethan led the group up out of the crater, back to where the rest of the Avengers were waiting.
The moment they emerged, the Avengers swarmed around him, gratitude written plainly on every face, honoring his part in the fight.
Several of the Wakandan warriors watched him with open admiration — a few even shot him flirtatious glances on the sly.
Meanwhile, the System kept chiming away in his head.
「Congratulations, Host! T'Challa has successfully added you as a friend!」
「Congratulations, Host! Wong has successfully added you as a friend!」
「Congratulations, Host! Stephen Strange's Friendship Level has reached MAX!」
「Congratulations, Host! Tony Stark's Friendship Level has reached ★5!」
「...」
None of it registered with Ethan at all. His mind was elsewhere entirely.
If he'd actually noticed, he might well have gone on another rampage.
His thoughts kept circling back to the same question: who exactly had stolen his universe's Stones — and whoever it was, they were absurdly powerful.
He had to admit it, grudgingly: this mystery person had outpaced him. Even at full Ultra Instinct speed, Ethan hadn't been fast enough to catch him.
There weren't many beings left in this universe who could genuinely outmatch him. That alone told Ethan how serious this was.
He couldn't think of anyone he'd wronged badly enough to warrant this. Was this personal — or was it never about him at all, and only ever about the Infinity Stones?
Except the Stones weren't actually all that valuable, in the grand scheme of things — for anyone operating at true multiversal tier, the Infinity Stones amounted to little more than a curiosity.
If multiversal-tier beings actually cared about the Stones, Thanos never would have gotten anywhere near them, and the TVA wouldn't have had drawers full of the things gathering dust.
What genuinely worried Ethan was that he had no idea whether this mystery figure was even from his own universe. If he wasn't, the difficulty of recovering the remaining two Stones would spike dramatically.
Small mercy: with the Power Stone now in hand, he only needed one more — the Soul Stone — since the System had already registered five of the six Stones' combined power.
He'd been that close to walking away with the full set and completing the System's upgrade outright.
He hadn't seen a setback like this coming at all. First real loss he'd taken, in a manner of speaking.
Still, Ethan chose not to mention any of this — not to the Avengers, not to anyone back home in Hell's Kitchen.
An enemy operating at multiversal tier wasn't something either group could actually do anything about. Telling them would only add worry, with no upside.
He resolved to head home and think it through carefully — figure out exactly who the suspects might be.
Stealing from him, of all people? Hell's Kitchen had a rule about that: an eye for an eye, tenfold.
Right then, Spider-Man 2099 — the Spider-Society's leader — stepped up and clapped Ethan on the shoulder. "Well, our job here's done. Time to head home. The Spider-Verse still needs looking after."
Behind him stood over two hundred other Spider-Men — Peni Parker, SP//dr's aunt-figure (mentioned informally as "Aunt Four-Hundred"), the armored Spider-Man, Peter Carker, and the rest of the crowd.
Looking at the assembled Spider-Society, Ethan felt gratitude too deep for words. He set aside the frustration still simmering over the stolen Stones and bowed deeply to the group. "Thank you, all of you. Without your help, we wouldn't have made it through this. As a token of our thanks — every one of you gets a gold bar. This gift comes courtesy of Mr. Tony Stark and King T'Challa of Wakanda. I don't imagine either of them will object."
Old Tony and T'Challa both shook their heads at once, signaling they had no problem with Ethan's call.
They both understood exactly how much effort and sacrifice this army of Spider-Men had poured into crossing universes just to help them.
A single gold bar, however generous, could never fully capture the depth of their gratitude.
For a man of Tony's wealth, a single gold bar was pocket change. And for T'Challa — king of an entire nation — it was even less. If Ethan hadn't spoken up first, T'Challa might well have handed out vibranium instead, which was worth far more than gold.
The moment the Spider-Men heard "gold bar," a cheer erupted through the crowd.
Most Spider-Men, after all, were broke as a rule.
Wong opened a portal, letting T'Challa and Tony head off to retrieve the gold. When each Spider-Man finally had a bar in hand, their faces lit up with pure, unguarded joy.
They knew they'd earned it — a real recognition of their courage and selflessness.
Right then, Spider-Man 2099 turned to face Doctor Strange.
His eyes carried a note of open warning. "Doctor Strange. I want you to remember this. Don't go messing with the multiverse. Every single universe has its own worth, its own reason for existing. We don't get to tear that apart just to chase our own selfish wants."
With that, Spider-Man 2099 led the rest of the Spider-Society back through their portals to their respective universes, leaving a thoroughly baffled Doctor Strange behind.
"So — do we head home too?"
"Not yet. We should sit down and talk with the other version of me first."
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