The Soul Gem was the most enigmatic of all Infinite Gems. Unlike the others, which merely channeled power, the Soul Gem possessed sentience, existing in a realm beyond space and time. It only revealed itself when one made the ultimate sacrifice—offering up the soul of the one they loved most.
On the barren world of Vormir, the ancient specter known as Johann Schmidt, once the leader of HYDRA, had been cursed to guard the Soul Gem for centuries. Devoid of love, he was denied its power, forced instead to witness countless seekers confront their fate.
Ragna stood in the shadows with Hexi, commanding her to use the Reality Gem to mask their presence. As they watched, a towering figure in black armor, his body bearing scars from untold battles, stepped forward. Thanos, the Mad Titan, led Gamora toward the altar, where Red Skull awaited with his eerie, hollow voice.
The two beings, both twisted by fate, stood like ghosts of the past. Schmidt, consumed by his eternal duty. Thanos, consumed by his grand vision.
Then, Gamora laughed.
"To take the Soul Gem, you must sacrifice the one you love most," Red Skull declared.
Gamora smirked. "Well, that rules you out, doesn't it?" she taunted, voice laced with mockery. "You don't love anything. All you care about is your twisted balance."
But as she spoke, Thanos' gaze did not waver. Instead, tears—actual, genuine tears—slipped from his eyes.
"Lian Bing," Hexi whispered in disbelief. "Thanos is crying?"
Lian Bing frowned. "Could it be… he's been beaten too hard?"
But Ragna, eyes sharp, shook his head. "No. He isn't crying for himself. He truly believes in his love. But his love is a curse, not salvation… and there were always better ways."
Thanos reached out. Gamora's mockery turned to fear.
"No," she whispered.
With desperation, she unsheathed her blade and lunged—intending to take her own life. But against the Titan, she was too slow. He wrenched the weapon away, tossing it aside like a useless toy.
Gamora gasped.
And then, he threw her.
Her body plummeted. A scream of disbelief, then silence. Below the altar, her lifeless eyes stared at the sky, blood pooling around her form.
At that moment, Thanos vanished.
Ragna's Ambush
In the boundless abyss, Thanos awakened, his fingers wrapped around an orange gem—the Soul Gem. But before he could process its power, a sudden shift in the atmosphere made him tense.
A blue glow flickered.
And then, Ragna appeared.
Vormir was not large. Ragna, using the power of his Holy Heavenly Palace, had scanned the entire region, tracking Thanos the moment he reappeared. With him stood the Angel Kings, five of them wielding Infinite Gems. Together, they outmatched the Mad Titan.
"You've been waiting for me," Thanos stated, unshaken.
Ragna met his gaze. "Nebula led you to Gamora. That was no accident."
Thanos let out a dark chuckle. "So… it was you who gave her the coordinates. You manipulated my own daughter."
Ragna stepped forward. "Surrender the Soul Gem," he commanded. "I told you before—if you had ruled the universe by my side, we could have found a way to balance it without slaughtering half its people. Now, I have the power to do exactly that."
Thanos frowned. "And what balance do you propose?"
Ragna's voice was calm, absolute. "Simple. Every race, every civilization—one child per couple. Over time, the population naturally declines. The universe stabilizes. No mass genocide needed."
The Titan listened, silent.
Ragna continued, "I control the known universe. No civilization dares resist. Outer civilizations will never risk war while inner populations decline. The process takes time, but unlike you, I have time."
Thanos sighed. "It's a beautiful plan."
Then, a dark expression crossed his face. "But it's too late."
His grip on the Soul Gem tightened.
"If you had wielded this power earlier, perhaps I would have fought alongside you," Thanos admitted. "If I had not seen the future, perhaps I would have given you the Soul Gem willingly."
Ragna's gaze sharpened. "The future?"
Thanos' eyes burned with conviction. "I have seen what happens after you gather all six Infinite Gems."
Ragna's heart pounded.
Ancient One had warned him.
The system had offered him a choice: "Sacrifice the Gems… and obtain true hope."
And now, Thanos was saying—
"When you collect all the Infinite Gems, you and your Holy Heavenly Palace disappear from the universe," Thanos growled.
"The Gems vanish with you. The universe's core energy collapses. Resources dry up. Civilizations wither. The stars themselves begin to die.
"And the universe begins to crumble."
Ragna stiffened.
"WHY?" Thanos roared, his voice shaking the heavens. "Why do you, the one who sought balance, become the architect of the universe's destruction?"
Silence.
Ragna clenched his fists. His mind raced.
He thought of the system's promise. The concept of true hope. The mysterious destiny pulling him toward the Infinite Gems.
He thought of the Ancient One's warnings.
And now, he had to choose.
With cold resolve, he reached for the Soul Gem.
Thanos' fury did not fade. The Titan's love for the universe burned brighter than ever.
But Ragna, unmoved, whispered:
"This universe is already flawed."
The battle for the soul of the universe had only just begun.
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