Strange objects streaked across the sky, and the army of giant apes on the ground looked up, roaring as they charged toward the sunlight.
"We're almost there."
Mjolnir shot straight toward the sunlight, and as they neared it, Charlie Parker finally saw what the so-called "sun" really was.
At the top of the pitch-black, towering cliff floated a golden gem, slowly rotating. Its light wasn't blinding but just enough to illuminate the barren land below.
Behind Charlie, Thanos gazed at the golden gem in the distance, his face lighting up with joy.
He hadn't expected that the insurmountable chasm, which countless Titan elders couldn't cross, would be so easily bridged by this insect.
Of course, he owed it to these "friends" who had suddenly appeared on Titan.
Almost simultaneously, Infinite Tony and Old Steve also saw the golden gem, and they couldn't help but gasp.
"The Mind Stone!" Infinite Tony's expression changed instantly—there was no mistaking it.
Old Steve frowned, "But shouldn't it be in Loki's scepter right now?"
Hearing this, Charlie had a sudden feeling of unease.
"Are you sure that's the Mind Stone?" he asked, turning back.
Old Steve glared, "Weren't you pretending not to hear?"
"I was lying."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Mjolnir, which had been speeding toward the top of the cliff, was swallowed by the void—it was clear that the other contestants had been eliminated.
With Mjolnir gone, Charlie and the others, propelled by inertia, began to fall in a parabolic arc toward the cliffside.
"Not bad, a little more effort and we should make it," Thanos breathed a sigh of relief.
But as the light from the Mind Stone flickered briefly, things took a sudden turn.
In an instant, a golden aura spread, and everyone immediately lost their self-awareness.
When Charlie opened his eyes again, he found himself in a field of golden flowers.
Under the blue sky and white clouds, he ran through the field with carefree abandon, his face beaming with the brightest smile.
"Summer, summer quietly passes, leaving behind little secrets~ Pressing on my heart, on my heart, secrets I can't tell you~"
As the familiar tune played, Charlie abruptly stopped.
He raised his hand to pluck a wildflower from beside his ear, looking utterly confused.
"What am I doing?"
The next moment, his Spider-Sense blared a warning, and his vision wavered. He finally saw familiar figures.
In the air, Old Steve and Lizard Parker were embracing.
"Oh, Jack."
"Oh, Rose."
"Jack, I'm flying. I'm flying!"
"Rose, I'm flying too. I'm flying even higher~"
Charlie: "..."
On the other side, Carter flipped off Infinite Tony, spouting a string of profanities.
"You damned bastard, I'm going to punch the crap out of you, then stuff it back in and make you realize Agent Carter isn't to be messed with."
Infinite Tony, meanwhile, raised his helmet high, cheering, "Hail Hydra!!"
Charlie: "..."
Everything was messed up—completely messed up.
But if there was no danger, why had his Spider-Sense gone off?
He quickly found the answer.
Boom!!
A gust of wind howled as a double-edged blade swung through the air, sending Old Steve and the others flying with its terrifying force.
"I am the Titan God, Thanos, and I fight for the glory of the Eternals!!"
With a twisted expression, Thanos roared, grabbing Charlie by the ankle and hurling him toward the cliffside.
Bang!!
Rocks exploded as Charlie's body crashed deep into the cliff.
Crack, crack~
Stones crumbled as Charlie struggled free from the cliffside, feeling unbearable pain in his back.
"So the biggest wildcard was this guy all along."
He rubbed his sore shoulder, and facing Thanos's threat, Charlie's eyes turned red as he activated Venom mode without hesitation.
The next second, Thanos's massive body smashed into the cliff not far away, shattering large sections of rock.
"For the glory of the Eternals!!"
Thanos, now like a raging gorilla, scaled the cliffs with ferocity, determined to tear Charlie to pieces.
Shing!
Black spider-spears helped Charlie run along the steep cliffside, dodging Thanos's punches, while the sharp spears repeatedly stabbed at his opponent.
Clang, clang, clang!
Sparks flew, but the black spider-spears couldn't pierce Thanos's defenses. Thanos took the opportunity to grab one of the spears, unleashing his terrifying strength.
"For the glory of the Eternals!!"
Thanos roared, ready to slam Charlie back into the cliff with the spider-spear, but in the next moment, shimmering webs wrapped around his body, trapping him.
Screech, screech~~
The sound of metal grinding grew sharper as Thanos's armor shattered piece by piece. The moment his exposed purple skin touched the glistening webs, his muscles bulged.
Thanos's movements froze for a moment, but then his immense power exploded, snapping the webs one by one.
"Damn it!"
Sensing the danger, Charlie leaped backward without hesitation, falling freely toward the base of the cliff.
At the same time, the spider-spear in Thanos's hand turned to liquid, slipping away from his grasp.
Boom!!
Thanos's punch missed as it slammed into the cliff, causing web-like cracks to spread rapidly. Hundreds of meters of the cliffside crumbled into rubble, with Thanos's figure among the falling debris.
Whoosh!
Charlie swung upward on his webs. Looking down at the still-madly struggling Thanos at the bottom of the cliff, he frowned.
This guy's mental resistance was so low that even falling off the cliff couldn't break him out of the illusion. Clearly, this level of injury wasn't enough to wake him up.
There was no way he could defeat Thanos alone—not without the help of the others.
But right now, they were either dead or too injured to fight.
Things were looking grim.
Without wasting time, Charlie climbed back to the top of the cliff, intending to use the Mind Stone to bring Thanos back to his senses.
Buzz~
Quickly, he reached the Mind Stone and stretched out his hand to touch it, but as soon as he did, his mind blurred, and in the next second, he was back in the golden field.
"Summer, summer quietly passes... Go to hell!"
Having anticipated this, Charlie snapped back to consciousness in an instant.
But as he looked around the flower field, he had no idea how to leave "summer"—er, the illusion.
He didn't know how long he had been there before his Spider-Sense alerted him again, and the golden field vanished, replaced by Thanos's snarling face.
"For the—"
"I know, for the glory of the Eternals."
"Wrong! For the glory of Titan!"
Thanos's fist, the size of a boulder, came crashing down, and Charlie could only spread his hands in resignation.
"Cheeky."
[You have been eliminated. Resurrection not possible. Reward: Web Mode +1]
[7 restarts remaining. Restart now?]
Back in the cosmic web, Charlie tested his new web mode.
As he watched the wave-like webs shoot from his wrist, Charlie fell silent.
Was this the universe telling him to stop messing around?
Restart!
Fourth Resurrection Match.
As soon as the countdown ended, by the fountain, Charlie spoke bluntly to the group.
"I've been here before, and I know a way to easily join the Exile Journey." He wasn't lying.
This caught everyone's attention, and they all looked at Charlie in surprise.
"Why should we believe you?" Thor asked, raising Mjolnir, his face full of disdain.
Charlie glanced at the raging Lizard Parker charging toward him and casually punched him, sending him flying.
"Because I've won two resurrection matches."
He pointed to the fallen Lizard Parker, then to Old Steve among the crowd.
"They know about it. Follow me, and we'll win."
Carter seemed thoughtful, clearly interested.
"Tell us your plan," she said.
"It's simple: Go to the sanctuary, fight Thanos."