— Beyond Infinity —

"Do you want to know where it all began to collapse around you? It wasn't because you were wrong. It's because you made it personal."

There was a secret – one that only two in the whole universe knew. It started with a thought, something simple and hardly worth noting beyond that this was where that secret began. It was a thought that lead to another thought, and that thought lead to many others. That, of course, was how a plan began after all.

Though, the plan was less of a plan and more of a possibility, a chance, a difference. It was a test of sacrifice, or rather the question of that choice. To let the person one loved most die for the sake of the entire universe. Was there any real answer to such a dilemma? The logical answer should be in favor of the universe, but the emotional aspect would make one choose the few over the many.

And the secret? Well, that would depend on whom one asked.

To have asked the Stonekeeper, the wraith that guarded the Soul Stone, he would say that nothing had changed. And this was true, in a way. His task remained the same, and the Soul Stone still required a sacrifice in order to be obtained.

But to ask Death… That was another story.

It drifted across an open plain, ignoring the battle cries and pain that tickled its senses. It followed the taste of desperation into a section of forest near the outskirts of the evacuated city. Even though its shadow fell like a dark blanket, none saw its cloaked figure slipping past them.

The dead were being taken care of by the reapers of their different religions. Death was there for one and one alone. She would finally be done with that gigantic pain in her side, as loving as the Mad Titan had been, it was time for him to go.

She heard a roar of laughter and looked over to the main battlefield to see Chaos watching with malformed eyes, a hovering Order cringing silently next to him. They could oversee the rest of the battle. She had a life to reap.

The shock in his eyes was almost too sweet for her to not comment on. Trailing her cold fingers along his cheek in the semblance of a loving caress, she whispered in his ear, and in the split second left of his life, shock became a misguided sense of betrayal. Then it was over.

Death turned to her champions. "I suppose congratulations are in order."

They were both dying, she noted. Which wasn't fair, really, but life wasn't fair. Still… if their injuries turned out to be significantly less life-threatening than they first appeared, it wasn't anything she had done. (It was the least she could do to express her gratitude for their marvelous work.)

When they didn't reply, she made to leave, floating back towards the battlefield to watch the rest with her kin. She had the strange feeling that she was forgetting something. Surely it wasn't that important… She was just being dramatic, but the effect was worth the effort.

"So— Is that it? We're done." Stark's voice made her pause. "We won, right?"

Death looked over her shoulder before turning to fully face them once more. "You successfully averted the annihilation of half the universe, yes. What you do from here on out is not up to me," she answered.

Oh, that's what she'd almost 'forgotten': their memories of the Original Path. They wouldn't need them anymore. They had their own memories from This Path that would contradict the memories she'd given them at the beginning of this whole fiasco.

Reaching out a pale hand, she carefully extracted the now-false memories. They would remember their desperation and need to stop Thanos. They would remember why but no longer what. More importantly, no one of This Path would. Not anymore. Their connection to the Original Path had died with Thanos.

The memories slowly coalesced in her upturned hand. She let the man (who would have everything he needed) and the soldier (who would have more time than he wanted) watch as the memories hardened into a glowing orange gem that she didn't dare actually touch with her bare hand. It wasn't their universe's Soul Stone. Well, it was; just not the one they were thinking of, but they didn't need to know that.

"Isn't that–?" Rogers began to ask before cutting himself off at her grin.

Stark spoke up in the space of silence that trailed behind. "Strange said that there were over fourteen million possibilities and that we lost in all but one. Is that what happened here?" he asked.

Soul Stone still hovering above her hand, Death contemplated the answer, given that she didn't want to give the man one that he wouldn't be able to understand. There was only one real answer, but it wasn't as if she had to tell him the truth. At least not all of it.

"I don't think you understand what my siblings and I did, Anthony," she began. "This Universe you're living in right now… It's not the one you saw, for obvious reasons. It's an entirely new Path— possibility number fourteen million, six hundred thousand and six."

It was significantly more complicated than that, and she still had to wrap up a few loose endings – among the most important being the separation of the Infinity Stones once more. She would like to say that she didn't have the time to humor the man, but she would be lying, and what need had she to lie?

She let out a soft sigh and smiled at them. "But no matter. What's done is done, and a whole new world awaits you both. Oh, I'll see you again, but until then you should live your lives to the fullest. I can't wait to hear the stories you'll have."

And then she vanished from their sight, staying just long enough after time began to roll forward once more to watch Rogers drop down next to Stark and breathe. She heard them both chuckle and then break into a laugh together, and that was all she needed to hear.

The End

A/N: Deadline met! Published a week before Endgame officially comes out in the US. Personally, I won't be seeing it the night it premieres, but I'll still be seeing it opening weekend.

This was a fun year. I hope you all enjoyed To Infinity But Not Beyond.