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The more Tony thinks about Soul’s powers, the more unsettled he gets.
If a ghost was effectively a soul—and both Stephen and Soul had said it was—then it followed that the nature of the soul was independent of the human body. Which made sense given the transformations he knew Stephen was capable of: no matter what he did to his body, his soul remained the same.
Further, given that astral projection was a thing—and Stephen had demonstrated it several times—the body didn’t have to be dead in order for the soul to go walkabout.
So if a soul could be removed from a living body, and a disembodied soul could be encouraged to pass on into the afterlife, what was stopping Tony from killing people just by pulling their souls out and sending them on?
Soul? Tony demanded.
Nothing, the Soul Stone admitted. Such a thing is entirely within your power. Tony shifted uneasily, and Soul stirred. How is killing them this way any different than shooting them with a gun?
It just is. Tony hadn’t even believed in souls until recently, but they still felt sacrosanct. The core of who you are should be something outside of anyone’s control but your own.
An isolated soul is a damaged soul, the Stone insisted. All souls are connected, and therefore all souls are subject to influence. Your influence is greater in many ways, this is just one more.
Influence is one thing, control is another, Tony says. No matter how much someone influences me, the choice is ultimately mine. Even if the options are shitty, I still get to pick from the shitty options. But what I can do, what you can do, is more than that. If I can pull a soul out of someone, can I put it back?
Yes.
Tony took a shaky breath. What if I wanted to put it back somewhere else? Can I play musical chairs with people’s souls?
There’s a pause. Soul feels reluctant. Tony knows the answer before it comes: Yes.
When you warned me not to make contact with that boy’s ghost, Tony goes on, despite the dread that was slowly filling him. What would have happened if I had?
Several things are possible, Soul hedged.
Give me the worst news first, Tony says. Soul hesitates, and Tony waits. He needs to know this.
You could have consumed him, Soul admits. Absorbed his soul and used it to strengthen your own.
Tony swallows down a surge of nausea. His knees feel shaking, but he’s already sitting down. His breath is coming faster. His heart is racing. He drops his head into his hands, struggling to breathe. This wasn’t right, this couldn’t be his life now, he wasn’t the right person, he couldn’t, he couldn’t—
Slowly, Tony becomes aware of a hand resting on his back and another curled around his forearm. A deep voice is murmuring nearby. Tony’s breathing slows bit by bit, and eventually he raises his head to meet Stephen’s gaze.
“Soul called Time, and Time directed me here,” Stephen explains.
“Makes sense.” Tony takes a shaky breath. “Soul and I were talking about some of the things I can do now. Which apparently includes consuming people’s souls to make my own more powerful.” Stephen winces, but doesn’t seem surprised. Tony stares at him for a minute. “How does that not horrify you?” he demands.
Stephen grimaces. “Sorcerers can do something similar. Not with souls specifically, but with magical creatures, some of which are sentient. It’s frowned upon, but… not forbidden.”
“Not forbidden,” Tony repeats, swallowing down an edge of hysteria. “I really didn’t know what I was getting into when I said yes to this whole deal. I don’t want to be doing this, Stephen. I don’t want to be dealing with ghosts, I don’t want to lie to all my friends, I don’t want to be the guy who gets to decide when it’s okay to suck out someone’s soul, and I don’t want to live forever!”
“I know,” Stephen says simply. That’s… not what Tony was expecting. He stares. Stephen goes on: “When I found Kamar-Taj, all I wanted was to heal my hands. I didn’t want to be a sorcerer. I didn’t want to be the keeper of the time stone. And I certainly didn’t want to spend 14 million lives facing down Thanos and losing.” He spread his hands. “But the alternative was the death of half of all life. For both of us. Even now, would you choose that instead?”
All the anger drained out of Tony. “No.”
Stephen slowly, carefully takes Tony’s hand. “I know this is hard, but you don’t have to do it alone.”
Tony doesn’t know the name for the feeling rolling off of Stephen now. It’s deep, and intense, and a little like love, but not exactly like that. Whatever it is, there’s a certainty to it that steadies Tony. He takes a deep breath and gently squeezes Stephen’s hand. “Okay, then.”