Chapter 108: The Deepest Fear Is When the Air Falls Silent

Unconsciously, twenty-four days had passed.

One morning, Harvey was having breakfast when he received a call from Tony. The first words upon answering were:

"Resolved?"

"Yes, after some gentle persuasion, I finally made a deal with Pepper that he'll definitely be back within a year. Pepper agreed."

"So, are you ready to leave now?"

"I'll leave after finishing breakfast. After all, I'll be gone for a year; I might not get to enjoy this kind of breakfast again."

"You can make your own, can't you?"

"You're joking, right? You think I can cook? Your culinary skills are probably just average too."

"I'm having breakfast too. See you later; I have some things to discuss with you."

"About your identity in the universe?"

"Yes, we'll talk later."

Harvey wasn't surprised to hear Tony proudly admit he couldn't cook—after all, Tony was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Not knowing how to cook was indeed something to feel proud of, since Tony had never needed to do it himself.

After about ten minutes, Harvey finished breakfast, turned off all the power at home, and headed straight to Tony’s estate.

Pepper, knowing Tony was leaving today, didn't rush to work but waited at home.

"Good morning, Mr. Harvey. I’ve heard some things."

"The universe isn’t Earth, so Tony asked me to entrust you with taking good care of him."

Upon seeing Harvey, Pepper bowed slightly and greeted him politely, sincerely entrusting this responsibility to him.

"Miss Pepper, long time no see. Good morning."

"As for taking care, I wouldn’t say that. The universe is dangerous, but with Tony’s intelligence and strength, he can survive out there."

"Tony just can’t set foot in the universe directly yet. That’s why his activities are limited to Earth."

Harvey smiled upon seeing Pepper and greeted her in return.

"I believe in Tony’s talents and strength too. But the universe is still an unknown place for both of us."

"I hope you can look after Tony, Mr. Harvey. I am truly grateful."

A faint smile appeared on Pepper’s face, but her eyes still held some worry.

Tony had explained more to her, so she understood why he wanted to go to the universe now. If she could, she would go with him, but Stark Industries on Earth needed her management, so she couldn’t leave for now.

Neither she nor Tony had anyone fully trustworthy and capable enough around them.

So, she had to do it herself. But after this, she planned to groom a trusted aide, in case she couldn’t accompany Tony to the universe in the future.

"Pepper, don’t worry so much."

"I gave you the universe communicator. Once I’m there, I’ll contact you immediately."

"And if you miss me, you can just reach out directly."

Tony, seeing Pepper repeatedly entrusting Harvey, felt a bit helpless but also warmed inside as he spoke.

Pepper agreed to let him go to the universe mainly because they could communicate remotely, preventing a whole year of silence.

Harvey, seeing their closeness, didn’t mind and sat on the sofa to wait for their casual conversation.

After a while, Tony joined Harvey.

"Harvey, sorry for making you witness this."

Tony said sheepishly.

"Weren’t those your words? How lonely it would be if the immortal had no companion."

"So it’s good that you two have a strong bond."

Harvey replied indifferently.

"Yes, fortunately Pepper is with me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even be able to take off my armor regularly."

Tony glanced back at Pepper with a gentle look when he heard that.

"By the way, if you have anything to tell me, just say it."

Then the tenderness in Tony’s eyes faded as he looked at Harvey curiously.

"It’s not complicated."

"You’ve added my universe signal, so you should know my alias in the universe is Kassadin."

"That’s the identity I use to establish the Void Cult."

"They all call me Lord Kassadin, the Void God."

"As a member of the Void Cult, when you interact with other members publicly, you must address me as Lord Kassadin."

"Being able to connect and win over members of the Void Cult is your skill."

"But don’t expect to use my name and title to show off."

"Publicly, yes; privately, you can just call me Kassadin, but never mention my real name on Earth."

Harvey said this plainly.

"Void God Kassadin—fits your title perfectly."

"I’ll remember. I definitely won’t cause you trouble."

Tony showed a hint of regret on his face.

He had originally planned to leverage Harvey’s identity to get closer to other members more easily.

After all, Harvey was the founder of the Void Cult and its spiritual guide.

Having someone close to Harvey would surely earn other members’ respect.

But Harvey saw through his intentions and cut off that path.

Tony didn’t regret it for long; after all, Harvey didn’t mind him gaining other members’ favor, which was already good enough.

"Just remember that. I’m taking you to a planet called Shandar."

"The first Void Cult base is on a private island there."

Hearing this, Harvey relaxed and casually explained some details.

"That’s the planet of the famous Nova Legion in the universe. You really know how to pick places."

Tony had learned a bit about cosmic civilizations from books Harvey had brought back before.

"Yes, though the Kree’s planet is also advanced, their laws and regulations are complicated."

"So I chose Shandar, which is equally advanced."

"Anything you want to bring?"

Harvey nodded.

"Not much, except the gravity device you sent me and J.A.R.V.I.S."

"Without J.A.R.V.I.S., my research and inventions would slow down significantly."

Tony was excited to be going to the famous imperial planet Shandar.

"No wonder I haven’t heard J.A.R.V.I.S.’s voice. You took him apart first?"

Harvey only noticed after Tony mentioned bringing J.A.R.V.I.S. that it had been a while without hearing J.A.R.V.I.S.’s usual greetings.

"I didn’t take him apart, just made a copy—a backup AI called J.A.R.V.I.S. Two."

Tony answered.

Just then, a voice rang out: "Mr. Tony, how may I assist you?"

"No need, you don’t have to worry. Just follow Pepper’s instructions as usual."

"Understood, Mr. Tony."

After Tony’s command, J.A.R.V.I.S. Two’s voice quickly quieted.

"No wonder you took so long—making a backup AI."

Harvey said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, wait a moment and we’ll be off."

"Armor, deploy!"

Tony nodded slightly, stood up, and moved to an open area in the hall, spreading his arms wide as he called out.

Normally, the armor would fly to him automatically at his call, but now seconds passed with no response; the air hung in a brief stillness.

Tony had planned to show off a little in front of Harvey, but the armor didn’t arrive, and instead, Harvey gave him a strange look.

Tony wished he could just dig a hole and crawl into it.