CHAPTER 60
"How is this even possible…?"
Tony Stark, the genius billionaire, was rarely at a loss for words. But now, he was staring at the impossible—a miracle unfolding before his very eyes.
His Mark VI armor, one of his most advanced suits, had just melted into a pool of dark red molten metal.
Yet, despite being liquefied, the metal wasn't radiating heat.
It flowed like liquid mercury, soft and malleable, but without the scorching temperature expected from molten steel.
Fascinated, Thor reached out, dipping a finger into the glowing metal.
It felt warm, almost soothing—not the searing heat that should have incinerated his skin.
Tony's mind raced, his scientist's instincts taking over.
"It's almost completely insulated… no, wait—you're controlling the temperature?!"
His gaze snapped back to Ragna , his eyes alight with obsession.
"How the hell are you doing this?"
"Do you realize what this means?
If you can control temperature on this level—My God, this is beyond groundbreaking. This is a MIRACLE!"
Tony was no longer cautious. He was enthralled.
The wariness he had initially felt? Gone.
Ragna had just obliterated his armor with nothing but a glance. If he had wanted Tony dead, he would have done it already.
And Tony wasn't a fool. He knew when to drop his defenses.
Ragna , on the other hand, looked completely indifferent to Stark's excitement.
"I just willed it to happen. And it did."
His voice was casual, as if this feat was no more difficult than breathing.
"If you want an explanation, maybe you should figure it out yourself. That's what scientists do, isn't it?"
Tony stared at him, still filled with burning curiosity.
"Come on. No explanations? No theories?"
Ragna smirked.
"Maybe it's because I'm a god?"
"A god?"
Tony let out a dry laugh, shaking his head.
"You're telling me you're all gods?"
He motioned toward Valina, who was busy raiding his private bar, grabbing another expensive bottle.
As Tony sat back on the couch, he gave Valina a nod—an invitation to pour him a drink.
Valina, in return, flashed him a playful smile, popped open the bottle, and drank straight from it.
"That's a bottle of Romanée-Conti!"
Tony's jaw clenched.
He had barely finished his protest when Valina downed the entire thing in one go.
He exhaled in exasperation.
"Fine. Take whatever you want. Drink whatever you want."
Expensive booze wasn't exactly a concern for him.
But his attention remained fixed on Ragna .
This guy—this so-called god—was the real power here.
Ragna , meanwhile, barely acknowledged Valina's drinking spree.
He understood all too well. As an Aesir, Valina had tastes far closer to humans than most cosmic beings.
And in the vast universe, most food and drinks were… well, garbage.
Let her enjoy herself.
Turning his gaze back to Tony, Ragna shrugged.
"Whether you believe in gods or not doesn't really matter."
"But from myths to power, everything about us is real."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Of course, omnipotence? That's still a bit out of my reach."
Tony arched an eyebrow, skeptical but intrigued.
"I've never believed in gods. But 'omnipotence'—yeah, that's definitely a paradox I don't buy into."
Yet, something Ragna had said earlier still nagged at him.
"Wait—what did you mean when you said this might be something I study in the future?"
He pointed at the cooling remnants of his armor, now solidifying into dark, hardened metal on the floor.
"Are you saying you want me to work for you?"
Ragna 's golden eyes gleamed.
"Bingo."
He snapped his fingers, leaning in with a small smirk.
"I have a research team working on… something.
And they've hit a roadblock.
I believe that with your intellect, their progress could skyrocket."
Ragna 's expression turned serious.
"So, what do you say? Want to join?"
Tony studied him carefully, trying to gauge whether this was a joke.
"You can't be serious."
"I'm Iron Man."
"A billionaire."
"Why the hell would I work for YOU?"
He gestured around the room.
"I have everything I could ever want."
Ragna 's smile didn't fade.
Instead, he upped the stakes.
"First-rate benefits."
"An annual salary of… let's say… a living planet?"
Tony froze.
His brain short-circuited for a second.
"…A planet?"
"A full-fledged, habitable planet."
Ragna nodded as if he were offering a company car.
"If that's too low, we can negotiate."
Tony blinked.
"You're serious?"
Ragna leaned back, completely unfazed.
"Dead serious."
Tony ran a hand down his face, processing this insanity.
A planet as an annual salary?
Who even made offers like this?
"…Are you sure you're a god?"
"…And not just some alien?"
Ragna , his golden gaze unwavering, simply replied:
"I am most definitely a god."
Then, after a pause, he smirked.
"But calling me an alien wouldn't be wrong either."
Tony let out a breath.
His mind was racing at a hundred miles per hour.
This wasn't just about gods or aliens.
It was about power.
Ragna had casually melted his armor with a look.
What else was he capable of?
And more importantly…
What other forces were out there?
Ragna 's last words had been chillingly matter-of-fact—
"The strong are gods."
"The universe is cruel, Tony."
And that made Tony uneasy.
Because he knew that when someone with this kind of power said something like that…
It meant there was something worse out there.
Something he didn't know about yet.
Something he needed to be prepared for.
Tony leaned back, rubbing his temple.
"I need a minute."
His mind spun with possibilities, calculations, and most importantly—contingencies.
One thing was clear.
He needed time.
And more than that—
Pepper needed to be far, far away from whatever was coming next.
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