…
"…What the hell?!"
Leon was completely stunned.
All he did was retrieve the souls of his parents and J.A.R.V.I.S.—was that really enough to provoke her?
Death—
One of the five fundamental cosmic entities of the Marvel Universe.
The embodiment of the end of all life.
The ultimate destination of every soul.
A conceptual existence beyond time and space.
Whether in the comics or in the cinematic universe Leon currently inhabited—
She stood at the very peak of cosmic hierarchy.
Alongside her were the other great cosmic abstracts:
Eternity
Infinity
Oblivion
And in certain traditions, Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds
Death might not be the most powerful among them—
But she was undeniably the most infamous.
After all—
Who does not fear death?
And who can escape it?
No. This was bad.
According to the System, Death could come knocking at any time.
Leon needed to leave this universe immediately.
Making friends with Death sounded like an excellent way to end up permanently deceased.
He was not finished living yet.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Leon's office door was tapped from outside.
"—!"
Already on edge, Leon nearly choked on his own breath.
Observation Haki activated instantly.
Pepper.
Just Pepper.
She had finished her work and came to see him after hearing he had returned.
"What?"
"You just got back—and now you're leaving again?"
When she learned Leon was about to enter another self-imposed "Leon's Sleep" state, Pepper was visibly frustrated.
Tony was locked away in magnetic-field "cultivation."
Leon was perpetually absent, wandering across realms.
Between home and company, Pepper was the one holding everything together.
Well—Leon had brought back a blonde, well-mannered girl this time.
She worked diligently, with impeccable upbringing.
Pepper couldn't help thinking:
All the good girls in this world are eventually going to fall into Leon's orbit, aren't they?
"I can't help it," Leon said helplessly.
"Plans change."
Pepper sighed.
"Fine. Just stay safe. And don't come back with a child."
"Yes, Madam!"
After a brief farewell—
Leon shot skyward.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters
Nick Fury was in his office, speaking softly on the phone—
When—
BOOM.
The reinforced bulletproof windows behind him shattered inward.
In seconds, his office looked like it had been hit by a hurricane.
Only the chair beneath him remained intact.
"Motherf—!"
"Who the hell dares attack my office?!"
Fury spun around—
Then immediately switched to a diplomatic smile.
"Oh. Leon. Thought it was someone else."
"Fury. I need the Tesseract. Now."
"…Excuse me?"
"Did Howard tell you about that too?"
Fury had intended to quietly continue researching it himself.
It gave him comfort.
Security.
Knowledge equaled survival.
And right now—he felt very insecure.
"Fury. I will not repeat myself."
Leon's eyes glowed faintly gold.
Aionsega on his wrist radiated subtle ice-and-flame pressure.
Fury suddenly experienced what could only be described as thermodynamic distress in very personal regions.
"Okay! Okay! Take it!"
"Just turn that off!"
Moments later—
Inside a classified S.H.I.E.L.D. research vault—
Leon took the Tesseract into his hands.
Technically—
It had always been his family's property.
The Tesseract was merely a containment vessel forged by Odin Allfather to house the Space Stone.
It bore protective enchantments:
If an unworthy individual attempted to misuse it—
The Stone would activate and exile them somewhere they could never again abuse its power.
Red Skull was the prime example—
Banished to Vormir.
Of course, for individuals like Loki—
Or Leon—
The enchantment posed no restriction.
The problem was practical.
Unlike Loki, Leon could not store it magically.
And it was not a System item—so it could not enter his System Storage Space.
Crushing it would free the Space Stone directly—
But the Tesseract also functioned as a stabilizer and usage suppressor.
Destroying it recklessly would be… unwise.
Experience had taught Leon something:
The first sign-in tied to a specific artifact had the highest chance of yielding a premium reward.
After that, diminishing returns.
He had intended to save this opportunity—
Hoping for something akin to "Time Immunity" from the Time Stone.
But now?
Survival came first.
As long as he lived—
There would always be more sign-ins.
[Confirm daily sign-in?]
Leon raised the Tesseract reverently.
System—world travel card. Now.
Open!
[Ding. Daily sign-in complete. Reward: "Third-Order Rubik's Cube Toy."]
"…What?!"
Leon shot upward through the ceiling—
Leaving Nick Fury standing amid debris and existential crisis.
"My Tesseract…"
Fury stared at the cracked vault floor.
"…I need a raise."
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