"I probably won't return."
Karl smiled faintly as he placed a hand on Stephen Strange's shoulder.
"Perhaps someday, when your soul travels across the multiverse, you might encounter traces of me."
"Good luck."
"You're the most talented mage Earth has seen in the last thousand years."
"What?!"
Tony Stark stared at Karl in disbelief.
"You're leaving Earth? And you're never coming back?"
Tony had overheard the conversation between Karl and Strange.
Although the two had grown distant after Karl destroyed several countries, Tony had never imagined that Karl would actually leave Earth permanently.
"Yes, Tony."
Karl nodded calmly.
"I made this decision three years ago."
"My warship is finished."
"So it's time for me to leave."
Karl smiled faintly.
"Take care, Tony."
Karl then took out five small boxes.
Inside each box was Dragon Bone Essence, each containing two hundred years of lifespan.
Five boxes meant one thousand years of life.
"This is for you," Karl said.
"It contains a thousand years of lifespan."
"I hope you'll find a way to extend your life further during that time."
Karl placed a hand on Tony's shoulder.
Then he opened a portal.
Without hesitation, he stepped through it together with Black Phoenix and Ganata.
Nearby, Stephen Strange also opened a portal and departed.
Tony remained standing there in silence.
In front of him sat the five boxes.
His mind was filled with Karl's final words.
Beside him, Peggy Carter had also heard everything.
She glanced at Tony briefly before leaving the area.
She took Bruce Banner with her.
Later, Tony returned to his mansion carrying the five boxes.
He sat alone in the living room, drinking heavily.
His thoughts were chaotic.
Karl was leaving Earth.
Another friend was gone.
At the same time, Tony didn't know whether he should go see Karl off.
What shocked him the most was the realization that Karl had been planning this decision for years.
Tony suddenly remembered something.
Karl had purchased a private island, yet he had continued living in the manor all this time.
With Tony's intelligence, the conclusion was obvious.
The warship had been built there.
Tony smiled bitterly.
When Pepper Potts and Maria Stark returned home, they found Tony drunk and sitting alone.
Neither of them knew what had happened.
Still, they helped him back to his room.
Meanwhile, back at Karl's manor, preparations were already underway.
The entire estate had been filled with enormous amounts of supplies.
Food.
Equipment.
Resources.
Shadow Ninjas continuously transported the supplies into the Shadow World.
Although the warship possessed advanced manufacturing systems capable of producing Earth-style food using energy and stored data—
May, Raven, Helen Cho, and the others had still insisted on purchasing huge quantities of supplies.
May even joked that since they had money to burn, they might as well spend it before leaving Earth.
The next day, Karl led everyone to his island.
Suddenly—
A massive warship, far larger than the island itself, slowly rose from the seabed.
It was Skyblade VII.
The hatch opened directly in front of Karl and the others.
Karl led everyone aboard.
At that moment—
A spark of orange light appeared beside them.
A portal opened.
Stephen Strange stepped out.
He simply nodded to Karl.
Karl returned the nod with a smile.
He understood.
Strange had come to see him off.
Soon everyone boarded the warship.
Black Phoenix.
May Parker.
Raven.
Helen Cho.
Ganata.
Great Wanda.
Little Wanda.
Pietro.
Peter Parker.
Yelena.
Natasha Romanoff.
Juggernaut.
Samuel.
Speed.
Samuel had been brought from the laboratory the previous day.
For a long time he had helped Karl conduct genetic research, so naturally Karl brought him along.
When Samuel heard that he would be traveling into space, he had excitedly packed his belongings immediately.
However, one person was missing.
Tony Stark.
Perhaps he simply could not accept Karl's actions.
Karl did not dwell on it.
He boarded the warship.
Then he activated the island's defensive barrier system, which detached and flew into the warship.
Slowly—
Skyblade VII rose into the sky.
Then it ascended beyond Earth's atmosphere.
Because Karl made no attempt to hide the warship, many countries detected it immediately.
Satellites across the world locked onto the enormous vessel.
They were stunned when they realized it had launched from Karl's private island.
Tony also saw it.
Using Stark Industries satellites, he watched Karl's warship ascend into space.
At that moment—
J.A.R.V.I.S. delivered an unexpected report.
"All of Karl's shares in Stark Industries have been transferred to you."
"In addition, several trillion dollars in liquid assets have been deposited into your accounts."
Tony froze.
Then he laughed bitterly.
After thinking about everything throughout the entire night, Tony had ultimately decided not to see Karl off.
Perhaps it was because Karl had hidden the warship project from him.
Perhaps it was something else.
Tony continued watching the satellite footage.
The warship accelerated into deep space.
Then it activated its stealth system, disappearing completely from the sensors.
At that moment—
Tony finally began to cry.
Karl was gone.
And the possibility of ever meeting again was almost zero.
Tony remembered the Christmas and Lunar New Year celebrations they had once shared.
The red envelopes.
The vibranium Karl had given him.
The chance to avenge his parents.
And finally—
Karl resurrecting Howard Stark and Maria Stark.
Tony felt sincere gratitude toward Karl.
But after Karl destroyed entire countries and killed hundreds of millions of people—
Tony no longer knew how to face him.
At the same time, something else happened elsewhere.
At the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, a beam of green energy suddenly descended from the sky.
It struck Charles Xavier directly.
Scott Summers and the others panicked.
But Charles quickly assured them he was fine.
Slowly—
He stood up from his wheelchair.
It was Karl's doing.
Since Charles had warned him earlier about the conspiracy, Karl had chosen to repay him.
"You should have gone to see him off."
Howard Stark walked over to Tony and sighed.
"No matter what he did… he's still your friend."
"And more importantly—your brother."
Tony simply stared blankly ahead.
He kept drinking.
He did not answer.
Meanwhile, far beyond Earth—
Karl had already entered deep space.
He ordered Yan to set their destination to Asgard.
At the same time, Karl contacted Heimdall through long-distance telepathic communication.
Otherwise, suddenly appearing in Asgard might cause unnecessary conflict.
Under Yan's control, a massive spatial wormhole opened before the warship.
Skyblade VII accelerated forward.
The vessel entered the wormhole.
Moments later—
The wormhole closed.
...
Visit patreon.com/ShiroTL for more chapters.