Although Howard had been a super genius in life, death gave him no special treatment. He had simply slept in the world of the dead as an ordinary soul.
And they hadn't awakened the moment they were summoned.
By the time awareness returned-before they could even understand their situation or surroundings-they found Noah and the others staring at them with expectation.
As for Noah-who looked barely in his early twenties, yet carried an aura so refined it made one instinctively want to kneel-his words about "waking them up" left Howard and Maria completely at a loss.
Howard Stark was clearly still muddled.
While Noah was quietly thrilled that the magic had worked, he still needed to make sure Howard's thoughts were clear.
If the summoned soul had lost its memories, then everything would have been pointless. Worse, it would violate the promise he had made to Tony-to return the soul intact. A soul without memories was no different from a damaged one.
"Mr. Howard Stark," Noah asked calmly, "do you remember what happened before?"
"What happened before?"
Howard turned toward Maria beside him.
She looked young.
Far too young.
In his memory, his wife should have been older. The sight startled him.
He forced himself to calm down and think carefully. The chaos in his mind gradually cleared, and realization dawned.
"I remember being attacked while driving... hmm?" His eyes widened. "Sergeant Barnes? And Steve? You're all here? No-how are you..."
"It seems there's no problem."
Noah exhaled softly in relief.
"Being able to recall what happened before death and recognize old friends means the experiment was a complete success. Tony, I think we did it."
"It seems so." Tony smiled.
Beside him, the other Tony wore a much more complicated expression.
"Experiment?" Howard's sensitivity immediately flared. "What experiment?"
He frowned deeply.
"Damn it, what exactly did you do? I remember being killed by Sergeant Barnes. I don't know why-but I understand even less why I'm dead and still standing here talking!"
His agitation grew as he spoke.
Almost everyone present appeared in pairs.
It looked exactly like cloning.
The word surfaced immediately in Howard's mind.
Cloning.
Had he been cloned too?
If so, who cloned him-and all these familiar faces?
The U.S. government? S.H.I.E.L.D.? Hydra?
"Tony?"
Lost in suspicion, Howard didn't notice until Maria suddenly spoke in confusion.
She was staring at the two Tonys.
"Tony? Are you... both Tony?"
"Tony?"
Howard finally looked properly.
Two men who resembled him.
His expression darkened even further.
Blood ties were terrifyingly accurate. Even though both Tonys were much older than the son they remembered-one even older than Maria-she still recognized him instantly.
Howard, meanwhile, sank deeper into conspiracy theories.
Everything here was absurd.
If these two really were his sons-one young, one old-then this situation pointed to something deeply troubling.
"Who is it?"
Howard's voice steadied.
"Who exactly is behind this? Who are you people? S.H.I.E.L.D.? Or Hydra?"
Noah looked at him strangely.
After a moment, he understood.
And didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
To be blunt, whether it was S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra, he could reduce either to ashes with a snap of his fingers. Before absolute power, human organizations were insignificant.
The only difference was that Fury was his friend.
Over the years, Hydra had been mostly wiped out. S.H.I.E.L.D., though badly damaged by infiltration, had survived thanks to Noah's warning-avoiding the fate it once suffered.
Howard mistaking him for Hydra or S.H.I.E.L.D. was understandable.
Paired individuals everywhere made for perfect evidence.
Noah didn't restrain himself.
This was his Domain.
If an ordinary human soul doubted him, then it was only natural to give a proper demonstration.
Not destruction.
Just understanding.
As Noah's power surged, the entire Domain was instantly flooded with crushing pressure.
He stood calmly in place.
Yet the stars themselves rushed toward him.
A god.
The thought surfaced simultaneously in everyone's mind.
That boundless presence. That absolute authority.
If this wasn't a god, then what was?
The sensation vanished as quickly as it came.
Noah still hovered there, looking no different from an ordinary person-if one ignored the flying part.
But the impression had already been carved deep into their minds.
"You should talk properly, Tony," Noah said softly. "I need to record and review that spell. Magic like that is rare."
Then he vanished.
No one spoke immediately.
Even with Noah gone, the Avengers remained frozen, as if still trapped beneath that pressure.
It felt like the entire universe had rejected them.
Their hearts pounded at the memory.
If possible, they never wanted to experience that again.
"Tony...?"
After a long silence, Howard swallowed.
"What exactly is going on? Why are there two of you? And... was that really a god? And this 'magic' he mentioned-did you make a wish or something?"
"Your imagination is lacking, old man."
Tony finally spoke, sounding helpless.
"That guy is my friend. Though... yeah. He's probably not much different from a god now."
The presence Noah gave off truly matched the word.
Tony hadn't thought about it before. But now, it was impossible to ignore.
Looking back, Noah had always existed on a godlike level.
The first alien invasion-he became a black dragon and wiped them out.
The mage battle in New York-he killed one and reversed time itself.
This war-he repeated what he did in 2012, on an even greater scale.
If that wasn't a god, then what was?
The only reason Tony had never thought this way was because Noah never acted like one.
He was sincere. Warm. Treated friends as equals.
Tony shook his head.
He wouldn't change how he treated Noah.
That was probably what Noah wanted most.
Standing too high meant standing alone.
Tony knew that feeling.
"Is he really a god..."
Howard and Maria exchanged glances.
Howard then looked back at Tony with a strange expression.
"So what about you? A prank by the god?"
"He'd probably prefer you call him a mage." Tony smiled. "As for us? This isn't magic. You're just outdated."
He gestured toward the others.
"They're from a parallel universe. Same experiences. Same history. Just... small differences that led their universe down another path."
Tony paused.
"Do you understand parallel universes?"
"Don't be ridiculous." Howard snorted. "Of course I understand. I just didn't expect..."
He looked at the older Tony, then the younger one, and sighed.
"So which one is my son?"
"Me." Tony raised his hands. "As annoying as it is, that's the truth."
Tony always acted like this.
Even when emotions ran wild inside, he maintained an indifferent exterior.
Only when he truly lost control did his feelings explode.
"Still this young, huh?"
Howard studied him and clicked his tongue.
"Seems I haven't been dead very long."
"Not long." Tony nodded calmly. "About thirty years."
The Starks had died in the early nineties.
Around thirty years ago.
Tony had gone from a young man in his twenties to a man in his fifties.
As a mage, time meant little to him now.
He just hadn't expected his casual statement to hit his newly revived parents quite this hard.