Lord of Cinder in American Comics

The Kree fleet's gathering was merely a casual chat in various taverns, where the talkers expressed sympathy for Earth, then asked which remote corner of the planet it was, before they were all drunk and passed out.

While the Kree fleet assembled and headed for Earth, the universe remained as uneventful as ever. Only Lothric halted its conquests, preparing to return to its aid.

But this has nothing to do with anyone else; the singing and dancing continue as usual.

Deep in space, two vintage sailboats are sailing in an unknown place.

Those were the Jackdaw and the Black Pearl; the Greedy One was searching for the Soul Stone with Lara.

"There once was a ship that put to sea, The name of that ship was the Billy o' Tea, The winds blew up her bow dipped down, Blow my bully boys blow..."

On the Black Pearl, the greedy pirates wore triangular pirate hats, hummed songs, and occasionally steered the ship, enjoying themselves immensely.

Hela emerged from the cabin, with Fenrir trembling slightly behind her.

After Hela and the others finished singing the song, stroking Fenrir's head, Hela asked, "What have you been doing lately that has frightened Fenrir? It's been avoiding you."

The greedy one jerked the rudder, causing the Black Pearl to tumble around the Jackdaw. This made Lara on the Jackdaw instinctively distance herself from the Black Pearl.

The greedy man gripped the helm and said, "On this ship, I saw a dog and couldn't help but think about how to make a dog poop two-thirds of its own weight!"

Upon hearing this, Hela frowned and moved Fenrir further away from the greedy one, saying, "Fenrir is a wolf! Not a dog! Besides, how could any creature possibly produce that much excrement? Even Nurgle couldn't!"

The greedy man said, "Who knows? Anyway, according to a woman, a three-pound teacup dog can poop two pounds of poop! Maybe Fenrir can too!"

Hela didn't want to discuss this with Geralt anymore. She went to the old demon king who was leaning on his hammer at the bow of the ship and, together with his power, guided the ship.

Since it has been confirmed that Odin once obtained the power of the Soul Stone to build Valhalla in preparation for Ragnarok, and Hela once ruled Valhalla, we can vaguely sense the location of the Soul Stone.

However, this power of perception was too subtle, so the greedy had to rely on the power of the old demon king to help Hela guide them.

As beings born from the chaos of Izalith, the demonic nature of the Dark Souls world is fire born from the soul.

The witches attempted to create the 'Primordial Flame', but twisted demons were born from the chaos.

Hela received the First Flame from the Fire Keeper, which gave her soul the properties of fire. This also allowed demons to amplify Hela's senses through her soul and the flame.

And so, guided by Hela and the old Demon King, the two expedition ships stopped on various desolate planets, and then, following the guidance of the soul, headed to Vormir, where the Soul Gem was hidden.

Vormir is hidden in a dust nebula, the dust covering the entire nebula blocking external detection.

But once they got close, Hela pointed out a safe passage for the spaceship directly within this nebula.

The spaceship hovered above Vormir, a planet that was an endless, flat ocean. Only the light refracted by the dust provided a faint glow to the planet.

Looking at the only piece of land on the ocean planet, Hela said with some doubt, "I've never been here before, but I feel something below calling to me?"

"Since we're already here, let's go down and take a look!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the greedy man piloted his spaceship and landed on that land.

The rugged land had only one towering peak in the middle, which guided the arriving group.

'There's almost no soil, perhaps so people can just fall and die? But if we sent the Hulk, could he withstand it with his bare hands?'

The greedy man maliciously speculated about the cause of the landform's formation, and a figure dressed in a black robe, resembling a Dementor, slowly floated out from the crack in the rock.

That was the Red Skull, transported by the Tesseract. He became the representative of the Soul Stone, acting as a guide to instruct those who came to complete the sacrifice.

"Hela Odinson, daughter of Odin! Laura Crawford, daughter of Richard Crawford..."

The red skull, spouting strange words, was preparing to point out the origins of each person. But when he saw the old demon king wielding a giant hammer beside him, he couldn't make out the man's origins.

In his eyes, this life form, which seemed to be made of burning stone, could only see boundless flames and a black-robed figure holding a long magic wand to sustain the flames.

Just as he was about to watch further, the Red Skull's eyes suddenly ignited, and he clutched his eyes in agony, collapsing to the ground.

After so many years on this planet, Red Skull finally got his chance to pretend to be a hermit, but how did he end up encountering this strange guest from another world?

A hand reached out from the side, helping Red Skull to his feet and handing him a bottle of water.

"Here's some water; it might ease the pain a little..."

Red Skull took it and frantically poured it into his eyes.

After finally recovering, Red Skull was about to express his gratitude when he saw the enemy he remembered so vividly.

"Steve? Son of the beach!"

The person in front of him was the enemy who had brought down his empire, that pervert in the bodysuit!

Seeing Red Skull's reaction, the Greedy One nodded in satisfaction. After noticing that Smurfette Nebula had clearly recorded the scene, he removed his disguise.

Red Skull couldn't discern the identity of the greedy one; in fact, his desire to investigate was interrupted by a nameless fear deep within his soul.

Since that was the case, Red Skull didn't insist any further. He cleared the passage behind him and said, "The Soul Gem awaits you..."

Watching the Red Skull lead the way on its own, Lara asked with some curiosity, "Is it waiting? Does the Soul Stone have consciousness?"

The greedy one yawned and said, "Anyone who stays on a barren planet for decades will start to act all mysterious and profound!"

Upon hearing this, Red Skull paused, his floating form seemingly frozen in mid-air, even his constantly fluttering cloak stopped moving.

The greedy man bypassed the red skull and strode forward.

At the mountaintop, on a small cliff, two tall stone walls, like gateways, pointed out the location to everyone.

Here, you can see stars in the universe casting their cold yet warm light onto this planet through the dust. The boundless ocean is perfectly still, reflecting the starry sky like a mirror.

The red skull floated up from behind, turned around, and said to the crowd, "You should all know that the price to obtain the gem is extremely high!"

"I know, I know!"

The greedy one interrupted the red skull, walked over first, passed through the bright fan-shaped stone wall, and stood beside the cliff.

He was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to speak or remain silent. Red Skull's constipated expression made everyone else avoid him.

The crowd stood in a row on the side of the cliff, while only the greedy ones threw stones down the cliff, relying on counting to determine the height.

When you stand on the cliff, everything below is obscured by thick fog, and you can't hear a sound if you throw a stone down.

Just as the greedy one put a leash on Fenrir, preparing to rely on Fenrir to explore the heights on its own, the Red Skull could no longer resist.

Red Skull said, "Among the Infinity Stones, the Soul Stone is special; it possesses a certain degree of intelligence. To ensure that whoever possesses it understands its power, the Soul Stone requires sacrifice!"

Upon hearing about the sacrifice, the people around cast curious glances.

Hela asked, "What needs to be sacrificed?"

"Love! To sacrifice what you cherish. To exchange a soul for a Soul Gem!"

The Red Skull's words filled everyone with a chilling dread of the sacrifice, and they all took a few steps back, increasing their distance from the cliff.

Hela then had a question: if sacrificing one's loved one is the only way to obtain the gems, how did Odin acquire them in the first place?

Hela asked, "Did Odin obtain the gems? Whom did he sacrifice?"

Red Skull has temporarily lost his mind, acting like a robot searching for ancient information.

A moment later, Red Skull said, "Odin, King of Asgard. He sacrificed his beloved, a mortal woman named Linda! Then, after using the power of the gems to build a place for his soul to remain, he relinquished the gems and regained his love."

Red Skull's words added another dark chapter to Odin's posthumous history.

Before Hela could react, the Greedy One grabbed the Red Skull by the neck and lifted him to the edge of the cliff.

Below the cliff lay an endless, thick fog. The greedy man, with a look of deep affection, said, "Goodbye! My love! Ugh! How disgusting!"

After saying that, the greedy man released his grip, and the red skull fell off the cliff.

But before Red Skull could leave his sight, he flew back up and stared at the Greedy One with a blank expression.

Red Skull looked at everyone, his gaze lingering on each one.

Upon seeing Laura, he said, "What I see in you is admiration, a yearning and longing for adventure."

Upon seeing Smurfette, he said, "I feel sorry for you, and I care for you out of love and compassion."

As his gaze passed over Ross and Jonah, Red Skull said somewhat impatiently, "Irrelevant passersby!"

Finally, Red Skull fixed his gaze on Hela and said, "Longing and adoration..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Red Skull burst into flames from the inside out. However, he was no longer in pain as before. In the flames, the Red Skull offered no resistance or struggle, simply watching the Greedy One.

The Red Skull's voice was devoid of any emotion as it said, "This is your mood, a reflection of your soul. Although you've hidden it well, these are the rules set by the Soul Gem. If you want the gem, you can only abide by them."

The greedy man's face turned ugly as he stared at the red skull as if he wanted to kill him.

However, Hela stepped forward at this moment.

Hela stood upright before the greedy man, staring into his eyes, but the greedy man refused to look directly at Hela and avoided eye contact.

Hela grabbed the greedy man's hand, like a queen, pinching his chin with two fingers as if teasing him.

"Thank you for lighting my way in the darkness..."

Hela's words left the greedy man staring at her in disbelief. But then, his greed turned to relief.

Flames attract each other, and even separated flames influence one another. They live together day and night, accompanying each other. No matter how hard they try to hide it, they can't hide it anymore.

Hela knew that the flame came from the Fire Keeper, but the same warmth emanated from the unruly man before her.

Suddenly, Hela kissed the greedy man directly. The movement was somewhat fierce, yet passionate and intense.

After the passionate kiss, before the greedy man could even speak, Hela abandoned him and rushed towards the cliff.

The fall did not occur as expected.

Hela was grabbed by the greedy one as she leaped off the cliff. The greedy one held on tightly and wouldn't let go, the strength of which made the Asgardians feel pain.

"Remember this: I don't need others to make decisions for me!"

With a surge of greed, the greedy man pulled Hela up from the cliff.

At this moment, the greedy man became heavy and serious, as if his previous debauchery had just plunged off the cliff.

Before anyone could understand what Red Skull had just said, the scene before them happened and ended in an instant.

"Let's go!"

The greedy one, holding Hela by the hand and Fenrir's collar in the other, prepared to walk towards the spaceship.

The red skull was somewhat incredulous and quickly said, "This is the gem's requirement. As long as you complete the sacrifice, the gem will appear before you!"

The greedy one suddenly turned around, almost startling the Red Skull.

The Greedy One asked with a hint of anger in his voice, "Is that so? As an Infinity Stone, you really have a twisted sense of humor!"

The greedy man spoke of the Infinity Stones to Red Skull, and this calling caused Red Skull's original appearance to begin to change.