Marvel : Master of Role-Playing

The visuals on the old videotape were unstable, flickering occasionally. Yet, as Tony pressed the play button, the scenes from the past still came to life.

"Science and technology are the primary productive forces..."

As the camera panned upward, a younger Howard Stark appeared on the screen.

"Life becomes more wonderful, bodies healthier! And for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace emerges."

Instinctively, upon seeing Howard's confident face, Tony grabbed a book from the side and began flipping through it.

For some reason, he simply couldn't bring himself to look directly at his father, even though it was just a pre-recorded video.

Even after seeing his own room—one filled with signs of his father's longing for him—Tony continued to deceive himself.

"This is merely my mother's love for me," he told himself. That annoying man, the one who happily sent him off to boarding school, surely wouldn't care about his well-being.

Tony kept hypnotizing himself this way.

"I'm Howard Stark. Everything you'll ever need can be found here. The city of the future? Tomorrow's city? Or... Tony, what are you doing?"

Hearing his name from Howard's mouth made Tony involuntarily shift his gaze from the book to the screen, where his younger self now appeared.

Memories from the past resurfaced.

Yes, he was only 21 now. Not that much time had passed since then, and the scenes from those days remained vivid in his mind.

"Jarvis, he should be coming now," Tony murmured to himself.

As if summoned by his words, the younger Tony, who had tried to sneak away with the Stark Future City model as a toy, was caught by Howard and handed over to the arriving Stark family butler, Jarvis.

"Go, go, go!"

Howard's hurried words in the footage were exactly as Tony remembered them, as if his presence had been the greatest stain on Howard's life.

It felt as though, without him, Howard's world would have been perfect.

This was the root of the conflict between Tony and Howard—the fundamental reason they could never truly understand each other.

At this point, Tony didn't want to watch anymore.

All he could see was the cold, unfeeling Howard who never treated him like a son. There was no useful information to be gleaned from this footage.

The screen flickered, and the recording restarted, once again showing Howard introducing Stark Future City to the public. But this time, Tony never looked up. He never watched the scene again.

"I was right. Howard never loved me. He never did…"

Frustrated, Tony tossed the book in his hand aside. He stood up, intending to continue searching for something useful. But just then, the screen suddenly went black.

When it lit up again, Howard reappeared, his face etched with exhaustion after a long day of work.

"Tony!"

Hearing his name once more, Tony turned around in surprise. From Howard's eyes, he saw something unusual—a certain emotion that made it feel as if the Howard of the past was speaking directly to him in the present.

"You're still too young to understand many things," Howard said. "So I've made this into a film to leave for you."

In the footage, Howard gestured to the Stark Future City model behind him.

"This is built for you. One day, you'll realize it represents everything—not just an ordinary invention. This is the culmination of my life's work… the key to the future."

Tony didn't notice anything special about the model.

At 21, he was still too young. He hadn't yet officially taken over Stark Industries, nor had he contributed to the creation of the Arc Reactor. He couldn't grasp the significance of this model of Future City.

But in Howard's words, spoken over a decade ago, Tony felt something he had never experienced before—something new.

A sense of trust from his father.

"I'm limited by the technology of my time," Howard continued, "but one day, you'll solve this puzzle. And when you do, you'll change the world…"

Those words carried the deepest hope a father could have for his child, leaving Tony staring intently at the screen, afraid of missing even a single word or syllable.

"My greatest creation—now and in the future—is you..."

...

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Howard lay alone in a hospital bed.

The intelligence agency he had founded had compiled a detailed report on Tony's whereabouts and placed it on his bedside table, but he couldn't bring himself to look at it.

He feared seeing disappointment and anger toward him in Tony's actions and words as a son toward his father.

Though he suspected Tony had likely gone to seek out that old gentleman, he wasn't sure if the man could truly help Tony reconcile with himself.

Howard believed in Tony's ability to change the world, but as long as he was alive, he couldn't shake the feeling that Tony wasn't yet mature or strong enough.

He wanted Tony to always be safe, but he also knew that Tony would never stop moving forward.

"Hey, old man…"

Just as Howard was lost in his painful and conflicted thoughts, he suddenly heard Tony's calm voice.

His confused eyes lit up with renewed life.

Summoning his strength, Howard propped himself up with his arms and sat upright in bed, watching Tony approach step by step.

There was no anger, no joy—just a quiet calm. Howard realized he could no longer read his son. Perhaps it was because he had truly grown old, or maybe it was because Tony had finally grown up.

"Isn't that what you said?"

Tony sat down by Howard's bedside, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Your greatest creation, now and in the future—isn't that supposed to be me?"

"Ah…"

"Pfft! Hahaha!"

Howard froze for a moment. Seeing his brilliant father display such a dumbfounded expression, Tony couldn't help but burst into laughter.

And in that brief moment, Howard pieced everything together.

Tony hadn't been blinded by anger—he had regained his composure.

Howard never expected Tony to come home, let alone retrieve the tapes that he had arranged for S.H.I.E.L.D. to secure long ago.

He also never dared to hope that, within his lifetime, Tony might finally understand him.

"Thank you… Alfred," Howard silently expressed gratitude to the old gentleman who had likely guided Tony to this point.

Then, Howard embraced Tony tightly, the tension and misunderstandings between them dissolving completely. There would be no more barriers between them.

And now, Howard's legacy could be passed on directly to Tony.

"So," Tony said with a sly grin, "are you finally going to tell me who's behind all of this?"

Howard looked at his son one last time. There was no anger in his expression, only calm determination.

He knew now that his son would no longer act recklessly or thoughtlessly endanger himself.

And so, Howard began to speak slowly.

"Have you ever heard of… Hydra?"