RedX43
patreon
[Frog] Chapter 348: Ancient One’s Confusion
🕑 Added 2025-03-09 11:01:38 +0000 UTCInside Stark Tower, every hero was on edge. The Chitauri had inexplicably launched an attack on New York City, only to retreat just as abruptly.
Tony had suited up and flown to the Sanctum Sanctorum, but all he found was destruction — buildings toppled like dominoes.
Now, seeing that familiar golden armor appear on the screen, Tony jumped to his feet, pointing excitedly at the monitor. “Look! It’s Emperor!”
Wherever Emperor showed up, it meant safety and hope.
“Maybe those Chitauri were driven away by him,” Captain America added. His admiration for Emperor was no less than the others’.
During their fight against Hydra, the Avengers had received crucial help from Emperor. Without him, Project Insight would have already been fully activated, leaving Earth in unimaginable peril.
Stopping those helicarriers would have been nearly impossible. If not for him, New York could have already been reduced to a wasteland.
That fleeting thought Tony had previously—that perhaps Emperor could take over Earth’s defense—was growing clearer in his mind. With Emperor here, Tony could finally focus on working with Banner to push forward the Peacekeeping Program.
Inside the Sanctum Sanctorum, Alan was surprised to see Ancient One looking so troubled and drained.
Even more surprising was that Ancient One didn’t even notice their arrival.
“Ancient One.” Alan’s calm voice pulled the sorcerer out of his daze.
“Emperor!” The normally composed Ancient One visibly relaxed upon seeing Alan.
With a heavy sigh, Ancient One said, “The Time Stone… has been taken by Ebony Maw.”
“What?!” Nebula stepped forward, visibly shaken. “That means Thanos already has one of the Stones!”
The moment Nebula heard Thanos had obtained a Stone, her composure shattered. She started pacing anxiously, her mind spiraling into chaos.
“What’s strange,” Ancient One continued, “is that Ebony Maw was actually at a disadvantage during the fight.”
Before he could finish, Nebula interrupted, her voice trembling with anger and fear. “But he still got the Time Stone!”
She didn’t mean to yell at Ancient One — it was the sheer terror of Thanos’ ambitions surfacing again.
The cruelty and ruthlessness of Thanos were beyond imagination.
“That’s exactly the strange part, Alan. You might not believe this, but… I handed over the Time Stone to Ebony Maw myself.”
Even now, Ancient One couldn’t fully understand why. His mind had been perfectly clear at the time, yet his body moved against his will.
He had watched, helpless, as his own hands opened the Eye of Agamotto and handed over the Time Stone to Ebony Maw.
“This isn’t your fault, Ancient One. It’s because Ebony Maw is too cunning — he has a special ability called ‘Vocal Persuasion.’ He can manipulate people simply through his words.”
Alan had nearly forgotten about that. He had underestimated Ebony Maw, never expecting him to bring the Chitauri to Earth to steal the Time Stone.
“Even people with incredibly strong minds can fall for his tricks.”
Alan recalled that in the end, Ebony Maw had even used this ability to turn Thanos’ own children against him.
Whether Ebony Maw’s so-called loyalty to Thanos was real or fake, Alan didn’t really care. It had nothing to do with him.
He glanced at Ancient One, relieved to see she was physically unharmed.
But Nebula wasn’t so easily reassured. If Ebony Maw had this power, why couldn’t she remember it? Had Thanos erased her memories?
“Emperor, now that Thanos has the Time Stone, does that mean he can use it to rewind time and alter the past?”
Nebula’s voice grew increasingly despondent.
...
