Damian descended the stairs with a yawn, feeling truly refreshed after a good night's sleep.

As he walked toward the living room, he was surprised to see an unfamiliar woman conversing with his mother.

"Hmm?" Damian immediately paused upon realizing the woman looked familiar. Examining her closely, he thought of someone, but it seemed almost impossible.

"It seems he recognizes you, but it's like he doesn't want to believe it," Sophia said, chuckling at Damian's expression.

"Do I seem familiar?" Jen asked, smiling at Damian.

"Jen... what happened?" Damian asked, confused.

"I got tired of being the only one who wasn't pretty in this family," Jen said, laughing softly.

Damian was slightly taken aback but then laughed heartily, happy to hear her refer to herself as part of "this family."

He knew Jen used to maintain a small barrier between herself and the rest.

"Well, I must say you do look quite beautiful," Damian said, smiling.

Sophia looked between Jen and Damian for a moment before a faint smile appeared on her face.

"Well, I have a small matter to attend to, so I'll leave you two to chat. Be right back," Sophia said, approaching Damian and kissing him on the cheek before leaving.

"I suppose you were absent this year due to your progressive physical transformation?" Damian asked, sitting where Sophia had been.

"That's right. I really didn't look very good when my hair started growing," Jen joked with an ironic smile.

"By the way, you've become really strong. I'm quite surprised," Damian said, looking at her.

"My experience with magic is not something many can match," Jen said, nodding.

"Anyway, I just wanted to ask if you remember what you promised me in exchange for the Time Stone?" Jen said, abruptly changing the subject.

"Eh? Of course, have you decided what you want?" Damian asked, a bit surprised at first but then simply smiling at her.

"I want to be part of your family," Jen said seriously.

"Haven't you always been?" Damian asked, genuinely confused until he saw her eyes.

Those eyes were very familiar somehow.

"Do you understand what kind of family I'm talking about?" Jen asked, looking into Damian's eyes.

"Yes, but to be honest, I find it hard to believe," Damian said, unsure of what expression to make.

"Of course, with my previous appearance, it was really hard to think of me any other way," Jen said, nodding.

''Don't say it like that either, it's just...''

"I'm really confused. I mean... you never showed the slightest sign. No, now that you mention it, I did notice you acting strange the last time we met," Damian said, suddenly recalling Jen's odd behavior when she gave him the Time Stone.

"Actually, I was really nervous that time. I hadn't felt that way in hundreds of years. In the end, I couldn't tell you what I really wanted to say," Jen said, mocking herself.

"First of all, I want to know, why?" Damian asked, looking at her.

"I don't even know how it happened," Jen said honestly.

"When we first met, everything seemed gray, but over and over, you started joking with me and inviting me to your house."

"Before I knew it, things started to have color. Still, at that time, I hadn't even remotely thought of you in another way."

"Then you had children and something I didn't know I still had reappeared. I started imagining what it would be like to have children, and at some point, they started to look like you," Jen said, giving a small laugh.

"That was the first time I thought of you as something more. I immediately felt stupid for thinking it."

"But that's how sudden thoughts are. They come and go; they're impossible to control. I started thinking, what if?"

"And here we are. Does that answer your question?" Jen asked, looking at Damian with an apparently calm smile.

Still, Damian could see her fingers tightly clutching her dress, indicating she wasn't as calm as she appeared.

"Yes, more or less. It's just that, to be honest, I didn't expect it. I'm quite surprised," Damian said honestly.

"You already gave your word," Jen said, smiling at Damian as if daring him to back out.

"I did, didn't I?" Damian said, laughing while shaking his head.

"Why do you act like you've made a bad deal?" Jen asked, looking at him while suddenly they were surrounded by swords pointing at Damian.

"It's just that, as I said, I didn't expect it, and now I don't know what to think," Damian said honestly.

"That's fine. It would be false if it were the other way around. I just wanted to inform you, and I'll be living here, by the way," Jen said, dispersing the swords and going to find a room.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Out of Damian's sight, her expression immediately changed. She didn't know what to feel; her stomach felt twisted. She really didn't know what was happening to her. Now that she thought about what she said, she felt embarrassed and annoyed. She wished she had expressed herself better.

She was almost a thousand years old and was acting like that.

Damian rubbed his hair while sighing.

"That was a bit awkward," Damian murmured.

"You've become quite popular lately, Master," Cortana said, appearing next to Damian and hugging his neck from behind.

"Yeah, should I just let go of my inhibitions and accept everything?" Damian joked while shaking his head.

"Yes, let go of everything. Lay your hands on your cute AI," Cortana whispered into Damian's ear.

Damian just chuckled at Cortana's words.

"Let's work for a while," Damian said, standing up before making them both appear in the underground laboratory.

"The stone," Damian said, extending his hand towards Cortana.

Cortana quickly made the stone appear in her hands before handing it to Damian.

Damian took the gem between his fingers, and they immediately began to crack, though the cracking couldn't even reach his hand before quickly retreating.

"Wow, it's quite obedient in your hands," Cortana teased as if in response to her words, the light in the stone shook violently.

Damian shook his head before placing the stone in another opening in the pillar. A purple line rose up the entire pillar before integrating into the system.

"This sensation," Cortana said, looking at her hands, which had a purple light.

"Master," Cortana said, looking at Damian with a smile while her eyes and hands glowed purple.

Damian just rolled his eyes, ignoring her as he accessed the system and checked how everything was.

The system had expanded significantly with his energy outburst. Almost three-quarters of the galaxy had been consumed so far; it wasn't a bad result.

With this, Damian could already lower his guard a bit more.

"Master!" Cortana said while suddenly several multicolored magical ribbons wrapped around Damian.

"What are you doing now?" Damian said, looking at Cortana speechlessly as he moved his arm to free himself.

To his surprise, he couldn't break free on the first try, so he used more and more force to free himself.

"These ribbons are made with the energy of the five Infinity Stones. Even you, Master, would have trouble escaping," Cortana said, hugging Damian's neck while pushing him onto the bed.

"What are you doing?" Damian asked, frowning as he tried to turn into mist but found it difficult to do so.

"It was supposed to be my turn after Natasha, but you cheated and slept with Hela. It was really annoying to watch you two sneaking around," Cortana said, her hair waving intensely with energy.

"Now Jen tells you those kinds of things, and after her, there's Wanda who looks at you with needy eyes."

"So, you plan to rape me?" Damian asked, looking at her speechless.

"N-no, you... you'll do it or you won't be able to leave this room," Cortana said, a blush creeping up her face.

"Do you really think you can keep me here?" Damian asked, getting serious.

Cortana's face immediately tensed as she used all her power.

"Well, you're right," Damian said, smiling as he saw Cortana's face while his body relaxed.

He could break free, but he would probably cause significant damage in the process, with the palace and the whole city above them.

"You thought it through; here is where your power is the highest, and you can use the Infinity Stones to their full capacity," Damian said, looking around.

Cortana looked at Damian but still didn't let her guard down. Her master was someone full of tricks.

Damian sighed before moving closer to Cortana and hugging her.

"Honey, I'm sorry," Damian said and hugged her.

"Didn't you like me even a little?" Cortana asked, looking at Damian.

"Who said that? You know better than anyone if I like you or not. It's just that these things can't be forced; they make me uncomfortable," Damian said honestly.

"I'm more the type to let things flow, for the mood to be right," Damian said, partly why he hadn't done anything with Wanda yet.

"Sure, because lying on the ground on Mars is a very romantic and passionate environment," Cortana said, looking at Damian with a complaint.

"I can't argue with you on that, but at that moment, there was chemistry. We have an eternity together, so why rush? Don't you always see what's on my mind to know what I think and feel?" Damian said, looking at her while caressing her cheek.

"Besides, it wouldn't be pleasant for you either if it were this way," Damian said, leaving a kiss on Cortana's head.

"You're unfair," Cortana said, complaining. She was always easily convinced by his words. The bindings on Damian's arms and legs began to retreat before disappearing.

"Still, you're impressive. You really managed to contain me; I'm proud of you," Damian said, smiling as he stroked her head.

Cortana pouted but couldn't help but smile at Damian's praise.

...

In Asgard.

Odin stood at the edge of the world, the void of space easily visible if he looked down.

A raven perched on his shoulder, calmly preening its feathers.

"You know what to do, go," Odin said, shifting his shoulder slightly.

The raven cawed before flying away. Even in space, it moved incredibly fast, disappearing from sight in an instant, leaving behind a dark aura.

Odin remained, staring into nothingness with his single eye. A great war was coming soon.

Odin's raven traversed space, constantly crossing dark portals until it reached the edge of the known universe.

A humanoid being of immense size floated in the void, forming some kind of sphere between its hands.

The humanoid turned its head slightly toward the raven, recognizing it and knowing who sent it.

The raven cawed in the middle of space, sending a message to the Celestial. It then turned and flew back through a dark portal to Asgard.

The Celestial paused its creation momentarily before resuming the formation of a sun between its hands.

Odin waited patiently at the edge of Asgard until his raven reappeared, flying quickly to his shoulder.

It cawed a few times to indicate its task was completed successfully.

Odin nodded and gently scratched the raven's head before returning to his palace, slowly ascending the steps to his throne before sitting.

"Sound the trumpet; we will soon go to war," Odin said softly to one of his guards.

The guard nodded without hesitation and left the throne room.

Throughout Asgard, the sound of a trumpet suddenly echoed in a sequence very familiar to the Asgardians.

Everyone paused for a moment before continuing their daily activities.

Only the soldiers quickly began preparing. War was not unusual in Asgard; warriors even longed for it. There was nothing worse for them than dying of old age.

Now that the alarm had sounded, everyone immediately began sharpening their weapons.

"Father! What happened?" Thor said, arriving quickly at the throne room.

"We're going to war," Odin said, looking at Thor.

"Against who?" Thor asked, looking at his father with some curiosity.

"Midgard," Odin said, looking at Thor with his single eye.

"What!? Why? Father, there's no reason to fight," Thor said, frowning.

"Yes, there is. You might think Damian is a pacifist with no interest in conquest, but you're wrong. I can see why he got along so well with Hela; his ambitions are greater than hers," Odin said, narrowing his single eye.

"What they call 'the system' is a kind of domain that has expanded across almost the entire galaxy and could soon reach Asgard."

"Once you're absorbed, it's not incorrect to say that Damian has total control over you, your thoughts, your life; everything would be under his control," Odin said, looking at Thor.

"Do you want that? Even assuming that man wouldn't use it that way, would you dare to leave your life in his hands?" Odin said.

Thor remained silent, his gaze dropping slightly.

"Can't we move Asgard?" Thor said with an uncertain expression and voice, wanting to avoid conflict.

"Who do you think you're talking to!?" Odin said, striking the floor with his spear, creating a deep sound that resonated throughout the hall.

"Have you forgotten that we are the rulers of the Nine Realms? There's nowhere to run. The die is cast, and the fight is inevitable. Decide whose side you're on," Odin said, looking at Thor.