Edward and Tony sat at a table in a conference room, and the Avengers and Fury entered and took a seat one after the other. Everyone could feel the tension between them. After a few seconds of silence, Fury finally spoke: "What happened?"
"Stark," Edward said calmly, and Tony sighed. "I may have caused a convergence."
"You did what?" Natasha asked.
"I didn't know this would happen," Tony explained. "I wanted to verify his story, so I built an interdimensional portal to check the other parallel dimensions. I did not expect this to be the outcome."
"You build what?" Fury asked. "Nevermind. So, opening a portal to other timelines caused the convergence?"
"That's right."
"To reiterate, there is another universe that will clash with ours, correct?" Natasha asked.
"That's what I said," Tony replied.
"Don't snap at me after causing such an accident," Tony grunted, and the room became quiet momentarily.
"So, what do we do?" Steve asked. "Do we…wipe them out again?"
"Yes," Edward replied directly.
"Is there another way?" Steve asked.
"Tony, why don't you tell them what will most likely happen during the universe fusion?"
"Upon first contact, a massive fluctuation of space-time will affect gravity on a cosmic scale. Planets will lose orbit from their stars. Moons will crash into their planets; countless wormholes will open across the universe; black holes will swallow everything in their paths or implode, leading to trillions of deaths."
The people's faces turned pale.
"And he only mentioned the surface level," Edward added. "Every timeline has their own dimensional sea or other dimensions rotating around them. With the fusion, these dimensions will open simultaneously, releasing countless powers/energy into our timeline.
"The devastation caused by just opening these dimensions will be catastrophic, but then there are the terrifying creatures lurking in these dimensions. Creatures that even I have to fear."
"There are things that even you fear?" Hawkeye asked.
"I'm powerful, but I'm far from reaching the power ceiling in this expansive universe. Otherwise, why do you think I'm so stressed trying to save our timeline?" Edward sighed.
"Maybe Steve is right," Tony said. "We can build a Dimensional Stabilizer to block the space-time fluctuation of the fusion. Then, we will only need to deal with those terrifying creatures you mention and allow for a normal fusion without killing everyone."
"Is that possible?" Steve asked, looking at Edward with hope, and the other followed.
"How long will it take you to build something like this?" Edward asked.
Tony was silent: "20 to 30 years at the minimum. But maybe we can reduce the time to 10 years if we use your magic."
"You saw the data. If you had to guess how long we have until the fusion starts, what would be your best-educated approximation?"
"Less than three months," Tony replied while caressing his temple with one hand. With his answer, the hope in the room vanished.
"Alright, no need for despair," Edward said. "The Dimensional Stabilizer is an excellent idea, so I'll build it myself. It's good to know whether a peaceful fusion is possible."
"You said we didn't have enough time?" Fury asked.
"I'm not Tony," Edward replied directly, making the latter roll his eyes. Edward ignored him and continued:
"I called all of you to this meeting not only to reprimand Tony but also to better understand the scope of things you're going to deal with — to get used to making harsh decisions on a cosmic scale.
"Today, we were lucky that we could brainstorm a peaceful solution, but that will not always be the case. So, always be in the mindset to sacrifice the other universes for our survival. Understand?"
Edward nodded in satisfaction after realizing his message had gotten through. "I must warn the others of this change."
"Others? I thought it was only Asgard."
"I cannot protect this world alone, so there are other powerful allies. You'll meet them in due time," Edward explained. "If you need to reach me, find my clone." He teleported to Kamar Taj, and four scenes appeared before him. Then, the Ancient One, Odin, Ra, and King T'Chaka appeared.
"All-Father, you're looking good," Edward praised.
"I've recuperated, thanks to you," Odin nodded. "Now, I 'm rapidly returning to my prime and will soon surpass it."
"That's good to hear," Edward nodded. "What about you, King T'Chaka? How are things going?"
"Excellent," replied the Wakandian King. "Based on the tier systems you used, we have built the first Tier 6 Black Panther Suit."
"That's great progress given such a short period, but we do not have long, so you may need to accelerate things," Edward said. "I'll send you a vat of Brain-developing Potions. Dilute it, and you can use it over a long period."
"We are grateful."
"Is there a reason you called this meeting?" The Ancient One asked, and Edward explained the situation.
"Can you build that stabilizer?" Odin asked.
"No problem."
"I'm glad there is a more peaceful solution to this problem."
"I concur," King T'Chaka added. He saw the images of these people destroying an entire universe, and after that, he could not sleep for a month. Luckily, his wife supported each other and came to peace with the cruelty of their current situation.
"I also agree," the Ancient One smiled. She knew she had chosen the right person because Edward was not about using cruelty to win but making the best decision for different situations.
"You can contact us when you need to act," Odin added.
"Very well."
After ending this conversation, Edward immediately started his work, putting his other projects aside. "What did you come up with?" he asked Morgana.
"I've already built the perfect enchantment to serve as a stabilizer," Morgana declared, showing him what she created. "The Earth Protection Shield protects from foreign dimensional threats, so I only needed to upscale it and modify the spell to stabilize instead of blocking. I even built a power source for the enchantment."
Edward nodded as he observed. Then, he started modifying her work at an alarming speed.
"Wait, you want to absorb a small percentage of energy from every dimension surrounding our timeline?" Morgana asked. "Don't you realize how dangerous that is? Those creatures… Wait, this is not for us, but for the Universe Will!"
"You were a little slow on this one," Edward commented while continuing his work. "The Convergence is not only a battle of all sentient beings, but also of the Universe Wills of each timeline. So, we don't need to do all the work and can pass on some of the responsibility to it."
"That's a brilliant idea," Morgana praised before helping to modify the enchantment. Once that ended, Edward modified the spell he had created to contact Cronai before casting it. He found himself in a white space with an entity before him.
"Eternity?" He asked. The entity looked exactly like Eternity from the fourth Thor movie.
"He and I are the same, yet different," replied the entity, its voice cold and indifferent. "You can call me [Eternal Consciousness]."
"I see." Edward understood its meaning. Eternity represents all time in the universe and can control space, time, matter, and energy. Meanwhile, Infinity represents all space in the universe. Together, these cosmic beings are responsible for creating life in the universe, while their sister—death—does the opposite.
Eternal Consciousness represents the universe's soul/spirit/mind, hence why it is the Universe Will.