Before they could process their thoughts, the image showed Tony Stark beginning to record. "Hey, Miss Potts Pepper," he said, "if you ever find this, please don't put it online. It's too heartbreaking!"
*This is his last will and testament!*
The thought flashed through everyone's mind. Without a doubt, the Tony Stark in the video was at the end of his rope, utterly cornered. He had even resorted to using his Mark Armor to record this message, hoping that Pepper might one day get her hands on the helmet and see what had happened to him.
Clearly, the journey back to Earth from Titan had been far from smooth.
The group could feel the tragic weight of the moment. He had once charged so boldly into Thanos's lair, only to end up like this. He had lost all his teammates, and even the Guardians of the Galaxy, who had joined temporarily, were reduced to just Nebula.
How utterly desperate, how utterly desolate!
Yet everyone knew he would be saved. After all, Lin Feng had promised that Captain Marvel—*ah, damn it*, I mean Captain Marvel—would come to the rescue.
And the final video of the Avengers' Big Three battling Thanos was enough to prove that, at least in this stage, Tony Stark would be saved.
But even though they knew, Tony Stark on the Sacred Timeline had no idea he would be saved. At that moment, he must have felt utterly, utterly desperate.
This segment was clearly his true final testament.
Outside the screen, Tony Stark's face was solemn. He could feel the despair he had felt back then.
"I don't know if you can see this, I don't even know if you're still... Oh God, I hope you're okay!" Tony Stark said slowly.
His voice carried a plea, even a hint of pity.
Everyone knew why. He had personally witnessed the scene after Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet. Under the Gauntlet's snap, all life became equal, vanishing at random.
It didn't matter where you hid or what your status was.
Whether you were noble or lowly, of a different race, or even a different form of life, the outcome was the same: a fifty-fifty chance.
In such circumstances, Tony Stark naturally hoped Pepper Potts was safe.
She was the only person he truly cared about left in his life.
Even Lin Feng feared the Gauntlet's snap. If it came down to that chance for Pepper, there would be nothing he could do.
At this point, his feelings for Pepper Potts had slowly transformed from love into something akin to familial affection—she was his last remaining family.
If even she were gone, Tony Stark's misery would be little different from Thor's or Hawkeye Barton's at the beginning of the video.
***
"Today is the twenty-first day!" Tony Stark said. "No, wait, it's the twenty-second. Compared to the vast universe, I'm utterly insignificant. If I don't dwell on it too much, today wasn't so bad. The infection has improved significantly, thanks to Blue Sister being here!"
Everyone watched the footage of Tony Stark being treated. It showed a massive, grotesque scar.
Recalling an earlier video, they remembered the scene where Thanos had stabbed Tony Stark through the chest with his sword. Tony had been trying to stab Thanos in return, but failed and was impaled instead.
Though enhanced by the Mark Armor, he remained fundamentally human.
At the time, the severity of the wound hadn't fully registered. But now, seeing it, they realized how remarkable it was that he had survived at all.
"You'll definitely like her. She's incredibly competent, though a bit heavy-handed! The fuel tank exploded during the battle, but we found a way to use reverse ion charging to buy ourselves about forty-eight hours of flight time!"
As Tony Stark explained, the group finally understood the core of the problem.
It turned out the spaceship's fuel tank had been destroyed during the battle, leaving them adrift in space, unable to even attempt a space jump.
Forty-eight hours of flight time, in the vast scale of the universe, was practically nothing.
After all, the distances between planets are immense.
With this meager fuel supply, they were essentially just waiting to die.
Most people would have given up by now, but only Tony Stark's indomitable will had kept him going this long.
"But there's nothing we can do now. The nearest convenience store is thousands of light-years away!"
"The oxygen will only last until tomorrow morning. That's it. I said there wouldn't be any more surprises, but I really wanted to complete this last mission. But as you can see..."
"Don't be too sad. I mean, you can grieve for a few weeks, then live with the guilt. I need to lie down and close my eyes for a bit!"
"You know, every night these past few days, it's been the same. I'm fine, everything's fine. I'll dream of you, always of you!"
Even through the screen, everyone could feel the despair in his final message.
Not enough fuel, a vast distance to the next supply point, and critical shortages of food, water, and even air.
In short, he was in an absolute dead end, facing certain death with no hope of survival.
This was the consequence of his impulsive decision to rush to Titan.
Tony Stark shut off his helmet's power, dressed, and lay down silently to await his end. Even for someone as resolute as Tony, there was nothing left to do.
Even the most skilled cook can't make a meal without rice. After all, this was still a material world.
The entire universe was silent, devoid of light, a silence so profound it could drive one to madness.
Yet at that very moment, the turning point everyone had been waiting for finally arrived. An endless, blinding light erupted, as if heaven itself had appeared.
Even Tony Stark opened his eyes in his sleep. Outside the spaceship, a woman floated, her entire body radiating light.
"Carol!"
Outside the frame, Nick Fury was the first to recognize her: it was none other than Captain Marvel Carol, whom he hadn't seen in years.
"So *she's* the Captain Marvel you were talking about, Carol?" Tony Stark finally understood who the person who would save him in the future truly was. "Celestial-tier? Does that mean she can traverse the cosmos, especially through physical means?"
Everyone remembered Lin Feng had mentioned in his diary earlier that she possessed Celestial-tier power. In Lin Feng's current evaluation system, this was undoubtedly the strongest tier.
Yet such a person had ultimately become a liability. Her performance was all flash and no substance—a "fierce as a tiger" display with a 0-5 record. The last time Lin Feng had clearly identified a liability, it was Star-Lord.
But after witnessing Star-Lord's performance, Tony Stark had lost all faith in the capabilities of such liabilities.
Yet when he saw Captain Marvel Carol actually traversing the void in the footage, he was stunned.
*Is this Captain Marvel's true power?*
*Is she even human anymore?*
Not just Tony Stark, but everyone was dumbfounded.
Who was the last person to traverse the void?
Lin Feng!
Yes, it was Lin Feng, now revered as a god on Earth.
Beyond him, they knew of no one else capable of casually traversing the void of space.
No wonder Lin Feng had specifically mentioned it: regardless of her combat record, he officially recognized her as a Celestial-tier powerhouse.
*This is truly incredible!*
By now, the group was beginning to believe it. This might actually be a Celestial-tier powerhouse.
But why would such a powerhouse become a liability, a "pig teammate"?
They couldn't quite understand it.
What reassured them most, however, was that this was a human Celestial-tier powerhouse, not some alien invader. She was a genuine homegrown superhero, and in their hearts, she might even be more reliable than Lin Feng.
Genuine, from their universe, naturally human.
"Then why didn't you call him back sooner?" Tony Stark grumbled to Nick Fury.
"Uh... I probably didn't know. No one informed me about these operations when you were carrying them out," Nick Fury replied.
In the Sacred Timeline, he was often kept in the dark about everything.
So, to blame him for not immediately summoning Captain Marvel back would be utterly unfair.
If you'd just told me, I wouldn't have ended up in this situation.
Of course, perhaps before the disaster struck, no one could have imagined it would spread so far and be so devastating.
But before Nick Fury could explain, the scene shifted to a mansion, where Captain Rogers was shaving. Just as he finished, he felt the ground tremble slightly.
A group of people rushed out of the Avengers' base, only to see Captain Marvel Carol returning, carrying a massive spaceship.
This further confirmed Captain Marvel's strength, proving she indeed possessed the power expected of a Celestial-tier powerhouse.
At the very least, her raw power rivaled the Hulk's most explosive moments, as far as they knew.
Tony Stark, supported by Nebula, descended from the spaceship, and Captain Rogers hurried forward to welcome him.
Though they hadn't seen each other in years, any lingering resentment between them had vanished without a trace. Under the threat of Thanos, their past grievances had long since scattered like dust.
In the face of such an overwhelming enemy, their previous conflicts seemed utterly meaningless.
-----------------------
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(End of Chapter)