The golden Holy Light flashed and vanished in an instant, and Strange felt as though his hands had come back to life.
It had been a long time since his hands were injured. He had even grown used to their current state. Now that they had suddenly recovered, he stood frozen for over a minute, staring at his hands, trying to confirm whether it was real.
"This..."
After confirming that his hands had truly recovered, Strange was about to speak when he noticed that the watch on his wrist had also been restored to its original state.
"The watch..."
"Consider it an extra bonus."
His hands were healed by Holy Light, but the watch was not. Ethan had used magic to reassemble the damaged parts, restoring it to its original appearance.
"Thank you very much."
Strange turned the watch over in his hands several times, carefully examining it, then gently placed it back on his wrist, as if afraid using too much force might damage it.
Ethan knew this watch held special meaning for Strange. Seeing him like this, he wondered if Strange was preparing to follow the path of the Kamar-Taj sorcerers and begin a life of seclusion and self-cultivation.
"You're welcome. It was no trouble at all."
Strange could tell that Ethan was being sincere. The ease and grace with which the other cast his spells made him envious, and made him realize how far he still was from being a true master.
After driving Dormammu away, Strange's pride had started to reemerge. He felt he had surpassed most Kamar-Taj sorcerers on the path of magic. After all, he had spent countless cycles practicing within the time loop and thought he was not far from becoming a true master.
But Ethan had made him realize clearly that he was still far from that level.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ethan considered reminding Strange that he didn't have to follow Kamar-Taj customs and live in seclusion. He could live however he wanted.
But he held back those words. If Strange wanted to maintain more contact with the mortal world, the rules of Kamar-Taj wouldn't stop him.
He chose to train in seclusion partly because of his new responsibilities and his belief that his power was not yet strong enough, and partly because he felt too embarrassed to return and face Christine.
Ethan had no intention of getting involved in such matters. Out of respect for the Ancient One, he healed Strange's hands and answered a few of his questions about magic, then left the rest to them.
The observant Wong took Strange away. While Strange was speaking with Ethan, he had also greeted Tony. Although Strange hadn't officially joined the Avengers, if the Avengers encountered trouble and needed more power, they could seek his help.
Likewise, if Strange were in danger, the Avengers, as neighbors, would also assist him as the situation required.
In short, the various forces on Earth had now formed a large network, all loosely connected through the semi-official organization known as the Avengers.
Otherworldly gods like Ethan, the Asgardian god Thor, and even the half-celestial Peter, known as Star-Lord, were all external allies.
Thinking back, Ethan had initially believed that the successive deaths of the Ancient One and Odin would trigger Thanos's attack. He had even considered staying longer to wait for Thanos's arrival.
But as it turned out, even if Thanos did come, he likely wouldn't even be able to break through the outermost defense line.
After all, this was the movie universe, not the comic universe.
Though Thanos in the movie universe was strong, with powerful subordinates and the ability to mobilize a massive army, he was not invincible.
In terms of armies, the Chitauri were not necessarily stronger than Asgard or the Nova Corps. The Chitauri alone would have a hard time breaking through Asgard's defenses.
If Thanos had overwhelming strength, that would be another story. But now, even though Odin had passed away, Thor had already awakened the power of the Thunder God, obtained Stormbreaker, could wear the golden Holy Cloth made by Ethan at any time, and had been studying the Power Stone for several years.
Thor's combat power alone was enough to give Thanos and his group of subordinates a headache, not to mention that Thor had Loki by his side. Loki's strength far exceeded what it had been in the original story. He held the Mind Stone and controlled ice powers.
Furthermore, perhaps having seen the situation clearly, Thor's sister Hela was now obediently staying in Asgard and had not stirred up any trouble. Hela's strength was not to be underestimated either.
Ethan wasn't sure if Hela could fight Thanos one-on-one, but even if she couldn't match him, it didn't matter. Thanos could be handled by Thor, while Hela could deal with the Chitauri grunts.
By the time Thor and Thanos finished their battle, Hela and Loki would likely have wiped out Thanos's army. Then the siblings could join forces against Thanos. That scene would be so spectacular that Ethan kind of wanted to film it.
Even if Asgard couldn't hold out, Thor's strength was enough to delay long enough to request help from the Avengers and Ethan. This would keep the battlefield in space. Earth might not even know what had happened before the entire cosmic-level crisis was resolved.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking it might be fun if Thanos attacked right now."
Tony rolled his eyes. He could tell Ethan was just bored and looking for trouble.
"I don't think Thanos will attack now. That guy is extremely cunning."
Thanos had a massive build, like a hulk, which gave people the impression that he solved problems with brute force. But in reality, he possessed terrifying intelligence and incredible patience.
To accomplish his goals, he had quietly waited for powerhouses like Odin and the Ancient One to die. Before that, he only made strategic arrangements and never appeared in person, avoiding forcing anything to an irreversible point.
But when the opportunity presented itself, he would strike with precision, seize several Infinity Stones at once, and complete his objective.
Someone like that, after observing for so many years, couldn't possibly be unaware of Asgard's current situation.
Maybe in his eyes, Earth wasn't a threat. But the strength of Asgard, a cosmic-level civilization, was clear to see.
A few years ago, Ronan had already helped him test Asgard's strength.
After confirming that Thor had strength no less than Odin's, wielded the Power Stone effectively, and had multiple strong allies, he would never act recklessly.
"So, it seems Thanos might not act at all."
"He will probably take some actions, but not attack directly."
Thanos had been willing to wait quietly before because Odin and the Ancient One were nearing their ends, and their deaths were inevitable.
But Thor, the current God of Thunder, was just entering his prime. Was Thanos supposed to wait tens of thousands of years for Thor to die of old age?
"So he'll make moves in the shadows..."
Ethan thought for a moment. Thor didn't lack exploitable weaknesses. For example, Loki and Hela were both possible targets. As long as Thanos created enough chaos, he could seize the chance to reach his goal.
"I wonder how it'll turn out?"
After some thought, he realized the key might lie in Loki's hands.
If Loki fully supported Thor, then even if Thanos tried to sow chaos, Asgard could still respond. Even if he managed to incite Hela and trigger a civil war, it wouldn't be irreversible. With Loki's intelligence, if Hela showed signs of rebellion, he would surely notice and take countermeasures in advance.
As long as they were prepared, Thor could deal with these issues with his current strength. Simply put, when one's power was strong enough, schemes and tricks became far less effective. Years of plotting could be crushed by a single punch.
If Asgard remained stable, it would be hard for Thanos to seize the Stones. His plan to reduce the universe's population might completely fail.
"Without Thanos showing up, it's kind of boring."
Ethan even thought about gathering everyone to go hunt him down. But Thanos roamed the universe constantly. Who knew where he was now? Ethan wasn't interested in wasting time searching the entire universe.
"If you're bored, why not work on research with me?"
Tony currently had a pile of things to study. There were Kryptonian ships, Cybertronian ships, and space technology from the Macross world. Combined with what he already knew, he planned to research it thoroughly and design a spaceship.
In other words, he was preparing to build Ethan a new home.
"Perfect. I can also ask you what kind of features you want for the new place."
Ethan was a little interested. Even though his attitude toward spaceships had changed after gaining a divine realm, men were naturally fascinated by things like this.
"First of all... the appearance has to suit my taste."
Performance aside, Ethan didn't care how many times the speed of light it could travel. The first requirement was that it had to look good.
If the spaceship didn't match his aesthetic, no matter how good its specs were, he would absolutely refuse it.
"So what kind of ship do you want?"
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)