Seeing that Marcus knew everything, Thanos abandoned all pretense.
This burden had been weighing on him for millennia, forcing him to take up the butcher's blade to delay Celestial births. Finally, someone understood his true purpose.
"Then give me the Infinity Stones and allow me to solve all problems permanently," Thanos said, regarding Marcus with quiet intensity.
He believed Marcus would agree. After all, this was about protecting Earth as well. The lives that would be erased didn't factor into his calculations at all.
But after waiting several moments, he saw no action from Marcus. Instead, the man looked at him with obvious mockery.
"The concept is sound, but such measures would only delay Celestial births—not destroy them entirely," Marcus observed.
Thanos understood the implication. He only wanted to suppress new Celestial emergence, not eliminate them completely.
The reason was simple: he couldn't risk attracting other Celestials' attention. Very few Celestials existed throughout the universe, and newborn Celestials were even rarer.
This scarcity made the Celestials extremely aware of their population. They monitored each member carefully and waited for their development. When new beings awakened, they would personally welcome these additions.
Because of this oversight, Thanos dared not kill Celestial embryos within life-bearing planets.
As an Eternal, he was born to protect immature Celestials. While his power was formidable, it proved less effective when confronting actual Celestials.
He possessed methods for dealing with weaker Celestials, but if the strongest among them were summoned, the situation would become catastrophic.
Facing those legendary Celestials, he and the entire Eternal race could be casually eliminated.
"What do you intend to do?" Thanos asked with growing unease.
"Nothing complicated—just solving some problems," Marcus replied casually.
He raised his hand and gestured, sending Void energy shooting forth. "Lend me your Soul Stone."
As his words concluded, the Soul Stone embedded in Thanos's Infinity Gauntlet was lifted out and fell into Marcus's waiting palm.
"Hmm, the Soul Stone," Marcus mused after examining the gem. "Sorcerer Supreme, please lend me your Eye of Agamotto."
"Take it," came the response.
A spark-rimmed portal opened, and the Eye of Agamotto was thrown through.
"Now all Infinity Stones are present," Marcus announced.
Six Infinity Stones of different colors suspended themselves before him. Simply embedding them in Thanos's gauntlet and snapping his fingers would reduce universal life by half.
But Marcus had no such intentions. He required only their combined power.
With a light press on his wrist device, the watch face opened to reveal six embedded sockets within.
He had crafted this after acquiring four Infinity Stones, confident he could eventually fill all receptacles.
He hadn't expected it would take so long—only now had he finally collected all six Infinity Stones.
As the stones were embedded, Marcus could clearly feel tremendous force surging through his arm.
Infinity Stone power could resonate with each other, continuously amplifying as more stones were gathered.
A single Time Stone allowed a Sorcerer Supreme like the Ancient One to contain and repel dimensional demons from multiple planes. Now Marcus possessed six. After resonance enhancement, the resulting power was unimaginable.
This energy was volatile. If Thanos attempted to wield it, even if he could withstand the force, he would become severely weakened after use.
But for Marcus, while such power flowed through his arm, it had no negative effects on him.
This represented merely the stones' passive energy emission—their true combined power remained unused.
"Impressive," Marcus nodded approvingly. "If properly utilized, this might actually delay Celestial awakening."
He focused his thoughts, and Infinity Stone power flowed into the surrounding blood blades.
Every blood blade began radiating brilliance. After enhancing Prime blood blades with Infinity Stone energy, their attack range improved dramatically, along with their destructive potential.
"Let me provide you with entertainment," Marcus declared.
Countless blood blades flew from the barrier toward a specific location. Seeing their destination, Thanos showed surprise.
Marcus was targeting the Deviant nest—the Eternals' enemies and a crucial area near the Celestial's location.
"What are you planning?" Thanos demanded.
"Follow me and observe," Marcus replied.
He walked through the air, flying rapidly while Thanos followed on his floating throne. The Mad Titan needed to understand Marcus's intentions.
They soon reached an island that appeared completely ordinary, lacking any special characteristics.
But in Thanos's perception, this island posed far greater threats than anywhere else on Earth.
This location was closest to the Celestial embryo and served as the Deviant nest—the Eternals' sworn enemies.
Deviants could also be called aberrants. Like Eternals, they were created by Celestials.
However, compared to Eternals, Deviants possessed numerous flaws. Beyond other issues, their appearances differed dramatically.
Eternals represented perfect Celestial creations, while Deviants were malformed products. Though both originated from Celestial hands, natural hatred existed between the factions.
After all, most Deviants resembled monsters more than intelligent beings.
"Don't you want to greet your family?" Marcus asked, looking at the Eternals battling Deviants below before turning to Thanos.
If he remembered correctly, those people below were Thanos's relatives.
Seeing Marcus's mocking expression, Thanos shook his head impassively.
As an Eternal, he had already died when Titan was destroyed. While those below shared his race, their philosophies conflicted completely.
The group below still trusted the Celestials, awaiting judgment when the cosmic beings returned to Earth.
But he was different. Before Titan's destruction, he had shared similar beliefs. Only after witnessing Titan's annihilation did he realize no judgment existed—everything they did was merely to awaken sleeping Celestials.
"How truly heartless," Marcus observed with a slight smile and shake of his head.
He flicked his fingers, and blood blades wrapped in Infinity Stone power shot forth continuously like flowing water.
Blood blades falling from the sky eliminated all Deviants reaching the shore with such efficiency that the present Eternals watched in amazement.
While Deviants were malformed beings, their strength was considerable. Even Gilgamesh, the strongest among the Eternals, needed several punches to kill a single Deviant.
Yet such creatures were like paper before the crimson blood blades, effortlessly destroyed.
"Thanos!" the Eternals called out, looking up to see him standing on his floating throne alongside the powerful blood-wreathed warrior.
"Oh, they really do know you," Marcus noted with amusement.
"Who are you?" one Eternal stepped forward, studying Marcus carefully. "What purpose brings you here?"
Thanos's invasion had forced them to gather and prevent aberrants from emerging underground.
Now a stranger appeared—a powerfully dangerous stranger.
"Who am I? Excellent question," Marcus said slowly, his voice growing cold. "I possess many identities, but today I have only one—Godslayer."
His tone carried lethal intent, and all Eternals immediately assumed defensive postures.
What did 'Godslayer' mean? Others might not understand, but as Eternals, they comprehended perfectly—this individual intended to kill Celestials.
Almost instantly, every Eternal prepared for battle, cosmic energy gathering around their bodies and manifesting as golden patterns across their forms.
"Don't be overly concerned—you're not my targets," Marcus assured them.
BUZZ!!!
The moment he finished speaking, Ikaris's eyes discharged twin energy beams aimed directly at Marcus's head.
SWOOSH!
Facing this attack, Marcus provided the most direct response. Heat Vision erupted instantly, red beams meeting Ikaris's energy discharge.
Because the power gap between them was enormous, Heat Vision immediately blasted the beams backward, sending Ikaris himself flying.
This represented Marcus restraining himself. If he had used full power, Ikaris would have been instantly vaporized without leaving any remains.
"What's this one's name? He doesn't seem particularly intelligent," Marcus asked.
"Ikaris. His name is Ikaris," Thanos provided the answer.
He scanned the assembled group, calling out names as he identified each individual.
"Sersi, Thena, Gilgamesh, Makkari, Druig..."
Every time he spoke a name, the identified person grew tense, as if worried Marcus might attack them.
"Gilgamesh? Druig?" Marcus repeated thoughtfully.
These names conjured completely different images from the individuals before him.
The Gilgamesh in his mind wasn't a powerfully built strongman, and Druig wasn't a mind controller.
"Come to think of it, if we're exploring other realms, we could seek out the Holy Grail universe. These Celestials seem remarkably similar to Warcraft's Titans," Marcus mused internally.
Lost in thought, he nodded politely to the assembled Eternals.
He intended to prematurely awaken the nearly-conscious Celestial. If these people planned to interfere, he didn't mind sending them on their final journey.
After all, none of them—including Thanos—shared any meaningful relationship with him.
Marcus slowly raised his hand and delivered a single punch toward the deep ocean.
This strike caused no surface storms—even throwing a stone would have created larger waves.
But as a mental manipulator, Druig clearly sensed the powerful will contained within that punch.
Soon after the blow landed, their island began trembling violently while the ocean surface became increasingly turbulent.
"What lies beneath?" not all Eternals knew about the Celestial sleeping within Earth.
They remained on the planet simply because they had received Celestial orders and awaited divine judgment.
Therefore, some questioned what was happening. All Eternals shared similar emotions, with Thena showing the most awareness—she had suspected the truth for some time.
"What's below is very familiar to us," Thanos said quietly.
The newborn Celestial had been dormant, and Marcus's punch had awakened the slumbering cosmic being.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM...
Earth shook violently while ocean waves became increasingly terrifying.
"Go to hell!" a voice roared behind Marcus.
Ikaris was flying rapidly toward him. He had been humiliated by Marcus's casual dismissal. As the self-proclaimed leader of all Eternals, being so easily defeated filled him with rage.
SNAP!
"Irritating," Marcus said without turning around.
He simply waved his hand, slapping Ikaris and sending him flying once again.
Ikaris, humiliated a second time, became furious. As an Eternal captain, this treatment was unacceptable.
This time he didn't shout angrily but flew silently toward Marcus. The distance between them decreased steadily, and his smile grew broader.
Just as he was about to reach Marcus, a hand clasped his face.
"You're genuinely annoying," Marcus observed.
His fingertips applied sudden pressure, and Ikaris felt sharp pain in his head as bone-breaking sounds continued.
CRACK, CRACK, CRACK...
As Marcus increased pressure, Ikaris's face was compressed together, his skull directly crushed.
Normally, such injuries would prove fatal, but Eternal vitality allowed rapid healing—the crushed skull began gradually repairing.
"Hmm? Decent regenerative abilities," Marcus noted.
Eternal healing allowed Ikaris to avoid immediate death, but this didn't mean he wouldn't die.
Void power erupted from Marcus's hand, spreading downward through the head he grasped. As Void energy corroded his body, Ikaris felt his life force draining away.
He sensed his body weakening while the power in Marcus's grip brought endless terror.
BOOM!!!
With a surge of tremendous energy, Ikaris was instantly reduced to ash.
"Finally, no more interruptions," Marcus declared.
His eyes focused on the churning seawater as a massive metallic hand slowly extended from beneath the ocean depths.
"Yes, even awakened prematurely, it possesses sufficient power," he observed.
He could clearly sense the giant metallic appendage's incredible strength.
"But now it's time to send you on your final journey."