Back to You [An Endgame Continuation]

Soul•:

Hi guys! Just wanted to let you know that I've decided to skip the Power Stone. This chapter is huge and infinitely (pun intended) more important. So just know he returned the stone. ;)
Also, I've included a background music link to listen to during the chapter! It's chilling.
XxLauren_Luv

§Ｔｈｅ Ｓｏｕｌ Ｓｔｏｎｅ§
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My eyelids felt heavy as I dragged my feet up the mountain of Vormir, the wind howling in my ears and the cold biting at my exposed skin. The constant interference with the Quantum Realm had been draining the energy out of my bones, and it didn't help that my heart grew heavier with every advance I took towards the top.

I knew what was about to happen on this world, and I could do nothing to stop it.

I left imprints in the snow as I hiked up the path, my eyes on the ground as my heart ached with dread. Natasha was just over that ridge with Clint where they were going to retrieve the Soul Stone. Snowflakes blew against my face and entangled in my hair as I kept replaying the moment in my mind.

"See you in a minute," she said to me, her usual smirk tracing her mouth and making me do the same in return.

And that was it.

I bit the inside of my lip as I kept going, the wind changing and trying to push me back down the mountain. As different as Natasha and I were, we always seemed to understand each other. She valued my ability to see the good in people, and I admired how she gave people a second chance despite everything they had put them through.

She had grown so much from when I first knew her. Back then, she thought she was nothing more than an agent who had orders and was strictly adamant about following them; much like me. Then, when the people we pledged our lives to pointed their guns at our heads, it became even harder to find people to trust. I turned myself over to her blindly, desperate for someone that could just put aside all the bylaws, and have my back. And she was there. She went to a place with me that she never thought she could return to, and we grew closer because of it. We showed each other sides of ourselves that we were trying to hide: our darkness. Vulnerability. And through these five years, we were constantly reminded of that trust and support, imagining what life would be like if we ever got out of this. And now, she'll never know.

The sound of rolling thunder broke me out of my thoughts, and I looked up to the sky to see light gathering above two narrow towers that were still about 100 yards away. It looked like the sky was caving in on itself for a moment, then it released, shooting down white-hot light onto the area below. A tremendous clap of thunder rumbled through the air and rattled in my chest, and I felt knives stab into my heart. It was done.

The blood orange sun just peeked over the hill as I got closer to the towers. Clint would be transported into the pool of water any minute now with the Stone, so I had to move quickly. I jogged the remainder of the way and came to a stop at the top of the mountain, my eyes stinging from the cold.

There wasn't a soul to be seen beyond the plateau. A seemingly never-ending plane of  sand dunes and pools of water stretched out beyond, and delicate snow continued to come down in bursts. I was almost done. I would drop the Stone back over the cliff at the exact time it appeared in Clint's hands, and this branch would freeze and never move again.

An unnatural force within me began pulling me towards the ragged edge, and as much as I tried to fight it, I found myself stepping closer to where the pale rock shelved off and pummeled towards the ground. I knew exactly what I was going to find. Maybe it was a way of proving to myself that she was actually gone, or a way to punish myself for not doing something differently. Either way, I was about to look, and there wasn't a way for me to turn back.