"Father."
Inside the main hall of the Black Quadrant base.
Lothar, who by Thanos's decree should have returned tomorrow, was now kneeling on one knee, respectfully bowing to the figure on the throne.
"Is the matter handled?"
Thanos, still examining the galactic map, asked without looking up.
"The Other is handling it."
Lothar stood up, his gaze falling upon the galactic map before Thanos.
Thanos paused his movement, then finally rose from his throne. He slowly descended the steps, his now calm gaze scrutinizing the adopted son he hadn't seen in over a thousand years.
Lothar also looked up, meeting Thanos's eyes, just as he had a millennium ago.
"Back then, you forcibly broke out of the Penal Zone and severely injured the Black Order. Do you have a belated explanation for me?"
"Because Hela owes me a self-reflection." Lothar replied righteously.
Thanos waved his hand, and the artificial intelligence in the main hall of the base immediately presented the yellowed papers Lothar had left behind. Lothar glanced at them, the title "Self-Reflection" particularly prominent.
Lothar subtly twisted his neck, a flash of guilt appearing and disappearing. If not for Thanos's increased power over the last thousand years, he might not have noticed Lothar's unease. This was an emotion Lothar only displayed in front of Thanos; after a millennium, it hadn't changed at all. He was still the child who revealed everything to him.
Thanos had expected to be angry, or perhaps very serious. But now, Thanos found that his heart was filled only with joy. The joy of Lothar's safe return.
"Which ones did you write?"
Thanos, with his back to Lothar, asked calmly.
"None." Lothar looked straight ahead at the empty throne, unblinking, his concise and blunt answer utterly self-righteous. The first few self-reflections were ghostwritten by Woz, and all the later ones by Hela. Lothar's only contribution was his signature at the end.
"Anything you want to explain?"
"No."
Lothar still looked straight ahead, unblinking.
Rip...
Rip...
Rip...
Thanos carefully stacked all the yellowed papers together, then slowly and deliberately tore them into wind-blown scraps.
One tear, then another.
The imposing aura, which commanded respect without needing anger, made Lothar's eyes twitch. While it was true his power had reached a perfect balance of physical and energy, facing the father he had respected and adored since childhood, Lothar still couldn't make any disrespectful move. The vast main hall became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"Now that you're back, what are your thoughts?"
After a long pause, Thanos, with his imposing yet calm stature, finally spoke, breaking the eerie silence.
"Kill Odin, Father."
Lothar responded instantly.
"Are you sure?"
Thanos turned, his eyes fixed on his adopted son's face.
Boom!
Lothar didn't speak, choosing instead to respond with action. The roaring energy instantly alarmed everyone in the entire Black Quadrant, including Loki, who was still in the dungeon.
"Assassin? Is Father in danger?"
At the mission rendezvous point, Gamora, trailing behind her instructor Proxima Midnight, frowned.
"No, that power... it's your brother's."
"It's Lothar's power."
Rumble!!!!
The skies above the Black Quadrant, where the climate had remained unchanged for years, instantly gathered massive thunderclouds. Lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and winds howled!
"Super Saiyan 3."
Words like a booming bell echoed in the ears of everyone in the entire Centauri Galaxy. A crimson-golden pillar of light almost instantly stretched across the entire Centauri Galaxy!
"Super Saiyan 4."
This time, only Thanos, who was close by, could hear Lothar's words clearly. The boundless energy gradually receded. Lothar's golden hair slowly returned to short black hair, while his previously emerald eyes gradually turned brilliant gold. The oppressive aura that had enveloped the entire Centauri Galaxy vanished instantly.
In the dungeon, Loki, bruised from The Other's interrogation, curled up in the corner, trembling, his back drenched in cold sweat.
"This power..."
"How is that possible?!"
Having witnessed this level of power for the first time, Gamora's eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief.
"This guy's power has grown stronger again..." Proxima Midnight, already accustomed to Lothar's rapid progress, could only sigh.
The immense power fully contained, Lothar, now looking normal except for his golden eyes, caused Thanos's expression to shift. The perfect fusion of energy and body; he only needed to break through the constraints of cosmic rules to become a god. The most supreme god in the entire universe.
"You've evolved your power to this extent?"
Even Thanos, with his formidable heart, couldn't help but feel a touch of awe. This power was indeed enough to kill an Odin without Infinity Stones. Even he, without the power replenishment of the Infinity Stones, couldn't defeat his son. This was Thanos's intuition, and his intuition was always accurate.
But unfortunately, there were still two extremely overpowered Infinity Stones in this world: Space and Time. Lothar had personally experienced spatial banishment, and as for time loops... Thanos himself had experienced them, more than once.
"To kill Odin, this isn't enough."
"I know. The Other is already interrogating that man named Loki. He's Odin's son, so he should know where Odin usually keeps the Space Stone."
Lothar also understood this principle, though he only believed taking the Space Stone would be enough.
"Odin's son won't know."
"The Space Stone is now on Midgard."
"Odin's agreement with Agamotto back then was that if Agamotto stopped me, he would relinquish ownership of the Space Stone after the war and bury it somewhere on Midgard."
The Other wasn't the only one secretly watching Odin and Asgard for the past thousand years.
"Midgard?"
Lothar frowned; the name sounded familiar.
"That backward planet?"
Lothar remembered; he and Hela had visited that backward place a few times. Agamotto, the Sorcerer Supreme who helped him temper his soul to perfection, was there.
"Agamotto is dead. The one who succeeded him is his apprentice."
"A human named the Ancient One."
Thanos, hands behind his back, narrowed his eyes, recalling his first encounter with the Ancient One. Left hand wielding time loops, right hand with vast magic, playing with mirror dimensions with unparalleled mastery. It truly astonished Thanos that such a powerful lineage of Sorcerers Supreme could emerge from backward Midgard.
"The Ancient One, then?"
"I understand."
Lothar nodded.
Inside his bracelet space, Woz, busily writing a report, couldn't help but roll its eyes.
You understand jack shit! All you know is to barge in!
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