Chapter 898: Because You Are My Friend (Third Update!!!)

Vormir.

The year 2014.

This was the location of the Soul Stone, and the ones sent here to retrieve it were Black Widow Natasha Romanoff and Hawkeye Clinton Barton.

When Hawk surfaced from the river of time, Natasha and Clinton were already climbing the mountain.

Tens of thousands of feet above the ground.

Hawk's figure was concealed by Vormir's thick cloud layer, his gaze piercing through the thick clouds and finally settling on the two people below who were climbing with all their might.

Natasha complained, "I bet that raccoon definitely doesn't need to climb a mountain like we are."

Clinton, who was climbing alongside her, thought for a moment.

"Strictly speaking, it's not a raccoon."

"It eats garbage, Barton."

"Fine, it's a raccoon."

Clinton had no way to refute the reasoning Natasha had given.

Just then.

While the two were bickering, a hoarse laugh reached their ears.

Natasha instantly drew her gun, and Clinton likewise pulled out his Ronin blade, both looking toward the direction the sound had come from.

"Welcome."

"Natasha, daughter of Ivan!"

"Clinton, son of Edith!"

The one who spoke was a person who had completely concealed himself within a gray robe and shadows.

"Who are you?"

"You may consider me your guide!"

As he spoke, the man hidden within the gray robe revealed a crimson skull face: "The pathfinder for you, and for all who come here seeking the Soul Stone."

He looked like the Red Skull.

In fact, he was the Red Skull.

Back then, after his great battle with Captain America, Captain America fell into an icy slumber, while the Red Skull was teleported to Vormir by the Space Stone, alone, keeping company with the Soul Stone, spending long years on this desolate planet.

After revealing himself, the Red Skull turned and walked toward a platform not far away that did not appear to be built by the great forces of nature, but whose builder could no longer be traced.

Natasha and Clinton exchanged a glance, then lifted their feet and followed behind the Red Skull, who was leading the way.

Soon.

Upon the soul-sacrifice platform.

The Red Skull, standing at the edge of the platform, turned around: "What you seek is right before your eyes, and so too is your fear."

Natasha came to the edge of the platform and looked down at the abyss below.

"The Soul Stone is down there."

"One of you can take the Soul Stone, but as for the other?"

The Red Skull, like an NPC, recited his lines: "To obtain the Soul Stone, you must lose what you love. This is a trade of death, a soul exchanged for a soul."

Natasha and Clinton, upon hearing this, instinctively looked at the Red Skull.

A trade of death?

After the Red Skull finished saying this, Hawk also shifted his gaze, which had passed through the clouds, onto the Red Skull.

The Red Skull, who was entirely wrapped within a gray robe, seemed to sense something and instinctively looked up toward the clouds above.

But…

He couldn't see anything.

Of course.

If he could see Hawk, Hawk felt he might as well find a block of tofu and bash his head against it.

After all, after striving for so many years, if even a ground-bound spirit could easily see him, then all his striving would have been completely for nothing.

Yes.

A ground-bound spirit.

That was the Red Skull's current state — a translucent, ghostly form, unable to physically interact with the outside world, bound to this planet as a ground-bound spirit.

As for why the Red Skull was like this, it was actually quite simple.

Do you remember how the Infinity Stones are used?

If you have mana, it costs mana; if you don't, it costs your life.

Back then, the Red Skull had tried to use the Space Stone to leave, but not only was he interrupted by Captain America, he ended up stranded here. At the same time, because he couldn't afford the price of using the Space Stone, he lost his life on the spot. But because this was the location of the Soul Stone, his soul remained behind.

This was not luck, but punishment.

Think about it.

He clearly knew the Soul Stone was right down there, yet he could not touch it, nor could he even leave this place. For the Red Skull, who was filled with desire for power, this was itself a form of torment.

But this was not the point.

What Hawk was interested in was the sentence the Red Skull had just spoken.

This is a trade of death, a soul exchanged for a soul.

So…

Was this just a figure of speech?

Or was it literal — that this trade was governed by death?

Hawk wondered curiously to himself.

Just as he was thinking this, Natasha on the Soul Sacrifice platform finally beat Clinton by a step, plunging down toward the sheer cliff.

Boom!

The instant her body hit the ground, Natasha felt a sharp pain shoot through her, and the next thing she knew, she found herself in a space she could not describe.

The next second.

She saw a bar not far away with the name "Hell's Little Tavern" written on it.

Natasha froze for a moment, looked at the Hell's Little Tavern before her, thought for a bit, walked up to its door, then pushed it open and went inside.

The tavern was empty, looking as if it had closed for the night.

Natasha stood at the door, looking inside.

"Hello, anyone there?"

"Close the door, I haven't had time to clean up outside yet."

"..."

Natasha followed the direction the voice came from, turning sideways to look toward the bar counter.

What met her eyes.

Hawk, dressed head to toe in a sharp suit, was behind the counter mimicking Mephisto's manner, mixing a cocktail.

Hawk looked up, saw Natasha standing at the door without blinking, and laughed: "Close the door, don't you think it stinks out there?"

After all, ever since Mephisto died and Hell fell into his hands, he hadn't had the time—or rather, had never even thought—to clean Hell up.

Moreover, he hadn't folded Mephisto's Hell into his own little universe, or his own parasol tree.

So...

Hawk hadn't expected the Hell dimension to follow him here as well.

But then he thought of how that bastard Mephisto had snatched the Heaven dimension, and the Heaven dimension had the function of traversing the multiverse, so he figured that old crook Mephisto had tricked him again.

Saying he was moving the Hell dimension into the Heaven dimension, but in reality, he had openly repaired the plank road while secretly crossing at Chen Cang, installing the Heaven dimension's multiverse-traversing function into his own lair, the Hell dimension.

But this was fine too.

It all benefited him.

Hawk said as much, then took out two glasses, poured the mixed cocktail into them, and looked again at Natasha standing at the tavern door.

Natasha finally came back to her senses, turned, closed the tavern's big door, then walked to the counter, pulled out a high stool, and sat down on it.

Hawk pushed a bourbon cocktail over to Natasha.

"Try it."

"Thanks."

Natasha took the glass, took a sip under Hawk's gaze, then looked at Hawk: "A bit sour, you put in too much lemon."

Hawk's sword brows rose, and hearing Natasha's review, he took a sip from his own glass.

Then...

He put on his pain face.

Hawk stuck out his tongue and looked at Natasha.

"This is just a bit sour?"

"I'm fine with it."

"You're probably sick in the head."

Hawk shook his head, took the glass from Natasha's hand, poured the liquor into a nearby sink, stopped messing around, honestly took out a bottle of '82 Lei Ting bourbon, poured two fresh glasses, then pushed one to Natasha: "How did death feel?"

Natasha took the glass, and hearing this, pressed her lips together.

"It hurt!"

"Regret it?"

"No regrets."

Natasha laughed, then seemed to think of something: "If the Soul Gem could be obtained without doing it this way, then I would regret it."

Hawk smiled: "The way to trade for the Soul Gem is soul for soul. Even if I wanted to take the Soul Gem from here, I would have to abide by this rule."

Such are the rules.

Setting aside that he could flip the table, if he wanted to take the Soul Gem, he still had to abide by this rule.

Natasha looked at the smile on Hawk's face, then looked around.

"So, where is this?"

"The edge of life and death."

"I didn't die?"

"Depends."

Hawk corked the bottle again, picked up his glass, took a sip, and looked at Natasha: "Do you want to die?"

Natasha didn't answer the question, but looked at Hawk.

"Did Barton get the Soul Gem?"

"Not yet."

"Why?"

"Because your soul hasn't been traded away yet."

Hawk's lips curved up: "Soul for soul. Your soul is still with me, so naturally the Soul Gem won't appear. If you really want to die, leave the bar, your soul will be completely sacrificed, and Barton will also get..."

Before the words fell.