Frankly, the Time Stone was exactly what Hela wanted. In fact, she wanted it very badly. She had just promised her future father-in-law, Thanos, that she would bring him the last Infinity Stone on Earth.
However, she had thought of many ways to take it by force, but she never imagined that the current Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Strange, would offer the Time Stone to her as a bargaining chip.
"What about him?" Cautiously, Hela didn't reach out to take it. Instead, she looked at the bound Thor standing behind the Sorcerer Supreme. Strange's behavior was completely out of the ordinary, and she suspected there was a trap, especially with her foolish brother standing there.
"As I said before, he's also part of the deal." Strange shrugged and pulled his hand back, though he didn't put the Time Stone back around his neck. It was strange.
Strange had expected Thor to put up a fight, but the prince who had spent sixteen hundred years as the heir of Asgard simply kept his mouth shut, staring at Hela with a look that was incredibly calm, almost serene. So calm that even Strange found it unbelievable.
He's cooperating this much?
"In that case..."
"Tell me, what do you want?"
Since it was a deal, Hela had to give something in return. A Time Stone and a Thor was a more than generous offer from Strange. That's why Hela was curious about what this man wanted from her.
"Lothar," Strange said, raising an eyebrow.
"What?"
"I want to meet with Lothar, but unfortunately, I haven't earned his trust yet. So, I will give you the Time Stone and Thor Odinson in exchange for a chance to meet with Lothar."
"A peaceful meeting," Strange added, in case Hela misunderstood.
"Why?" Hela strode up to the top of the stairs and sat regally on the throne. Her powerful presence instantly pressured the wizard standing below.
"This universe is in danger, and right now, the only one who can save it is Lothar," Strange said truthfully, holding nothing back.
"Save this universe?"
In the grand hall of the Black Quadrant, Thanos stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the Ebony Maw floating before him. The other members of the Black Order lay motionless on the floor, including the unconscious Lothar.
A minute ago, Ebony Maw had suddenly lashed out at everyone in the secret meeting, leaving Thanos alone. Even Lothar hadn't been able to survive a single strike and fell unconscious before he could even transform.
"Thanos, you must save this universe." This was the first thing Ebony Maw said to Thanos after he cleared the room.
"Coming from your mouth, that's truly ironic," Thanos said. As a survivor of the Eternal race and a renowned scientist from his home planet, Thanos was very familiar with the energy radiating from this Ebony Maw.
It was one of the legendary gods of the cosmos, a being whose true form no one had ever seen, not even Thanos. He knew because there were traces of this entity on Titan. He had studied them.
"You've always worked to balance the resources of the universe, Thanos. That is why we believe you can handle this," the entity said through Ebony Maw.
"That's only because you've always done nothing," Thanos sneered, showing no respect for the mythical god who had borrowed Ebony Maw's body. If these gods had done anything, Thanos would be a simple farmer, tending his crops.
"The inter-universal war has already begun. Your adopted son destroyed the planet of the Grandmaster, drawing the attention of Galactus," the entity said, looking at the unconscious Lothar on the floor with emotionless silver eyes.
"That was my order," Thanos said, taking full responsibility.
"But the other universe's invasion began because of your adopted son," the entity said, without a trace of anger, pinning the blame on Lothar.
"Are you afraid?" A rare hint of mockery appeared on Thanos's face.
"This is a war, Thanos. All the other gods have been tied up, and Odin is dead. Now, you are the only one capable of stopping this invasion."
Thanos's eyes flickered, as if he had heard something interesting.
"No, if this war truly breaks out, the only one who can stop this invasion is Lothar," he said, his eyes filled with a pride that was impossible to hide as he spoke of his most satisfactory adopted son.
"He's not from this universe, Thanos. You should know that."
"No, he is. He is my son. That will never change."
"He will not be accepted by the rules."
"Then we will break the old rules."
"..." The entity's questions were met with Thanos's unwavering rebuttals.
"Your son is no match for Darkseid," the entity said, shaking its head and pointing out Lothar's biggest weakness.
As the strongest New God of another universe, the unapproved Lothar was no match for Darkseid's true form.
The war had already begun, and this universe had no time to wait for Lothar to break through. Who knew how long that would take? Once the balance between the two universes was lost, the invasion would be unstoppable.
"We can give you the final push, Thanos," the entity continued. "You are intelligent. You can use your wisdom to fight Darkseid. Don't be so stubborn. I don't think you want the entire universe to fall into a dark age because of your decision." The entity didn't get angry, continuing its persuasion in its stiff, emotionless tone.
"You are right," Thanos said with a soft smile. His kind eyes fell upon Lothar. "But it doesn't apply to Lothar."
"You'll regret this, Thanos."
"After Titan fell into ruin, I have never done anything I would regret."
Thanos's stubbornness was something the entity hadn't expected. Rebuffed, the legendary, eternal god left Ebony Maw's body.
Thud!
The unconscious Ebony Maw fell to the floor.
Thanos didn't mind. As he said, he trusted Lothar. Even if the universe fell into a dark age, Thanos believed his son would not disappoint him.
If there are to be no torches after this, then Lothar will be the only light.
This was Thanos's expectation for Lothar.
Because he was his successor.
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