After dismissing Arishem, Marcus examined the light orb in his hand with genuine satisfaction.
The sphere contained information about the most powerful beings in this universe—entities that exceeded even Arishem's capabilities and served as the multiverse's fundamental pillars.
"What a shame," Marcus mused with amusement. "Even the multiverse consists merely of adjacent realities, all separated from a single supreme being."
He smiled before clenching his fist, absorbing the light completely.
Though Arishem's memories revealed that most of these entities remained hidden, they undeniably represented the multiverse's cornerstone.
"The five Creation Gods? What exactly does Galactus represent among them?" Marcus pondered.
The five Creation Gods were Eternity, Death, Infinity, Oblivion, and Galactus.
Each name represented their fundamental power, symbolizing their influence across the multiverse.
Unfortunately, Marcus had never understood Galactus's status as a Creation God.
No matter how he analyzed it, the first four Creation Gods' domains seemed to encompass everything. Galactus, despite his position among the five, appeared to exist merely as proof that Creation Gods weren't invincible—he served as a prominent example of their limitations.
"Come to think of it, Galactus seems to conflict directly with Celestial actions," Marcus observed.
While both Galactus and Celestials destroyed life-bearing planets, their methods differed fundamentally.
Celestials required life force sustainment, so planets hosting Celestial seeds were invariably worlds teeming with vitality. Before Celestial awakening, planetary life would only grow more prosperous.
Galactus operated differently. He thought little beyond satisfying his hunger, earning his title as the Devourer of Worlds. He regarded all life-bearing planets as food sources.
This created inevitable conflict. When Galactus devoured life-supporting worlds, he would likely encounter planets seeded with Celestial embryos.
Though Marcus suspected the World Devourer wouldn't care, and Arishem probably wouldn't concern himself with destroyed god-seeds either.
After all, entities entering individual universes weren't the true Galactus—merely his avatars. His actual form couldn't be sustained within ordinary single-universe boundaries.
"Why do I sense his power contains fragments from other gods?" Marcus wondered, considering Galactus's abilities.
After this contemplation, Marcus turned his attention to another Creation God.
"Universal gods are being slaughtered?"
According to Arishem's memories, Marcus identified a man wielding a distinctive sword intimately connected to his being.
That blade's power was extraordinary—sufficient to grant a mortal god-slaying capabilities.
Indeed, the man's strength surprised Marcus considerably. While Eternals appeared no different from mortals in his perception, their combat capabilities remained formidable.
As the Eternal homeland, the gods dwelling there possessed tremendous power.
At least for mortals, such strength warranted divine classification.
"As a faithless believer, his abilities are impressive—or perhaps his sword provides that strength," Marcus noted.
Through Arishem's memories, Marcus observed clearly that the man's power derived entirely from his blade.
The sword granted him darkness manipulation and sufficient force to battle deities.
"Is he seeking Eternity?" Marcus wondered.
Though he couldn't determine the man's motivation for divine genocide, Marcus had gleaned his intentions from Arishem's recollections.
This sword-wielding god-slayer was pursuing Eternity among the five Creation Gods—seeking the deity who represented the multiverse's temporal totality.
"He apparently wants to use Eternity's power for something. Some form of regret, perhaps?"
Regardless of the man's motivations, Marcus felt indifferent. He simply wanted to observe whether this individual would ultimately locate Eternity.
After organizing his thoughts, Marcus glanced at Thanos and the other Eternals below before vanishing instantly.
Following his departure, the crimson sky dissipated completely as a beam of light descended from the horizon, flying rapidly toward Thanos.
"Your gem has been returned. You may do whatever you wish in the future, but don't target Earth again," Marcus's voice echoed in Thanos's ears.
The Mad Titan caught the falling Soul Stone and lapsed into deep contemplation.
With Earth's Celestial eliminated, launching massacres had become meaningless. However, he still needed to continue his journey—other universal planets continued nurturing Celestials.
Standing on his floating throne while regarding Ajak and the other Eternals, Thanos spoke slowly.
"I'm departing. What are your intentions?"
After all, these people shared his heritage, and Ajak was his father's sister. He couldn't simply ignore them.
"Our mission has concluded. We intend to enjoy life on Earth," Ajak replied.
Behind her, Gilgamesh took Thena's hand—they were perfect soulmates who would live together.
Beyond them, Kingo, whose arms could project energy beams, also nodded agreement.
Unlike other Eternals, he had long integrated into human society. Recently, he'd had been a generation of actor as a Bollywood star, leaving his mark in the film industry.
Other Eternals had made their own arrangements. Those who appreciated humanity chose continued coexistence, while those preferring isolation selected secluded lifestyles.
Without exception, all refused to leave Earth.
Seeing no one willing to depart, Thanos reluctantly turned away. He had extended invitations—since everyone declined, he wouldn't force them.
The floating throne carried Thanos toward Temple II. Earth's war had concluded, and the planet's Celestial was destroyed.
Though he hadn't ultimately achieved his goal of eliminating half the universe's life, after witnessing Marcus and Arishem's capabilities, Thanos realized continued conflict couldn't wrest the Infinity Stones from Marcus's possession.
With Temple II's departure, Earth fell into profound silence, with only scattered individuals remaining active.
Whether human or creature, most hadn't recovered from Arishem's oppressive presence—some remained unconscious.
Earth - Later
"So that helmet with six searchlights for eyes was actually a cosmic entity?" Tony asked incredulously after hearing Marcus's explanation upon his return.
Even Dr. Banner appeared shocked beside him.
What had they heard? That enormous planetary-sized existence was actually a living cosmic being? They had assumed it was mechanical.
"Six searchlights for eyes? Not a bad metaphor," Marcus smiled approvingly. "That was Supreme Celestial Arishem—the entity who spreads Celestial seeds and father to other Celestials."
"Celestials? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere," Tony muttered with confusion.
The designation seemed familiar from somewhere.
"Ah! It's you!" a surprised voice interrupted their contemplation.
Star-Lord and Rocket had returned. Upon discovering Thanos's army's retreat, they'd attempted pursuit. Unfortunately, the fleet withdrew too rapidly for their damaged spacecraft to maintain pace.
Before they could exit Earth's atmosphere, Thanos's forces had initiated space jumps, vanishing from the solar system.
"Yo!" Marcus smiled at Rocket Raccoon and Groot beside Star-Lord.
He remained genuinely fond of those two.
"I returned to suddenly hear news of your arrival. Are you here to join Tony?"
Their last meeting had occurred on Xandar ten years ago, when he'd brought Tony to participate in that world's defense. He'd acquired the Power Stone then.
"Join him?" Star-Lord and his companions regarded Tony with exaggerated expressions before showing obvious disdain. "Though we're not wealthy, we wouldn't associate with such an arrogant individual."
"Exactly! He's even more arrogant than Quill," Rocket declared noisily, arms raised. "Fortunately, Uncle Rocket's temperament improved after joining the Guardians, otherwise..."
Groot nodded agreement, stating, "I am Groot."
Obviously, during their Earth visit, they hadn't gotten along with Tony—his abrasive personality was legendary.
"I remember now!" Tony suddenly exclaimed, pointing at Star-Lord. "You mentioned once that your father was a planetary Celestial!"
"My father being a Celestial poses problems?" Star-Lord asked with genuine confusion.
Though he might exaggerate minor details, he hadn't lied about his father. His biological parent had indeed been a living planet Celestial named Ego.
Moreover, he and the Guardians had personally killed his father—representing one of their team's achievements.
Thinking Marcus remained unaware, Star-Lord enthusiastically described his father Ego, even introducing Mantis to Marcus.
However, when discussing Gamora, his expression showed uncontainable sadness.
After the explanation concluded, Marcus shook his head helplessly.
"You truly have complex paternal relationships."
This individual's biological father had been killed by his own hand, his adoptive father Yondu had died saving him, and now he despised his late girlfriend father, Thanos.
Thanos had murdered his cherished Gamora—Star-Lord would never abandon revenge against the Mad Titan.
"Never mind. Do whatever you wish, just don't destroy this place," Marcus said dismissively.
Green light rose from his hand as the Time Stone slowly ascended. When a portal opened, the gem returned to Kamar-Taj.
He had now copied all Infinity Stone powers, converting them into enhancement cores. Even the combined power generated by six Infinity Stones had become empowerment material.
With these acquisitions, the Infinity Stones held little further value for him, though he hadn't dispersed his remaining gems.
Infinity Stone power was extraordinarily potent for most universal life. Careless dispersal would only increase cosmic chaos.
He would eventually scatter these gems, but their distribution required appropriate timing.
"The Eye of Agamotto has been returned—these serve as gratitude gifts," Marcus announced.
After sending the Time Stone back, several runes emerged from his fingertips, flying toward Kamar-Taj.
"Unexpected bounty!" the Ancient One's voice echoed ethereally around him, seeming to originate from all directions.
"Truly unexpected. I never imagined you'd choose such a ridiculous death method," Marcus replied.
Upon returning, he'd already detected the Ancient One's demise. Through temporal observation, he'd witnessed her death circumstances.
It seemed incredible that a Sorcerer Supreme would choose such a clumsy death method to transfer authority.
She was a Sorcerer Supreme who had battled countless dimensional demons, possessing power far exceeding the current Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange.
Such an individual had passed the Sorcerer Supreme position to Strange by falling from a building—leaving Marcus speechless.
"I've served as Sorcerer Supreme for ages. Can't I be willful once?" the Ancient One's voice carried obvious amusement.
Regardless of Marcus's thoughts, she felt completely satisfied with Strange's succession.
While Strange's spells and combat experience couldn't match hers, his capabilities improved rapidly after becoming Sorcerer Supreme.
She'd repeatedly stated Strange possessed the greatest talent among them. Wasn't he performing excellently now?
"Certainly, though others will find seeing you difficult—except myself."
As a being outside normal existence, time held no meaning for Marcus. He could communicate with past and future entities freely, but others faced different limitations.
Even the new Sorcerer Supreme possessing the Eye of Agamotto couldn't traverse time freely, making Ancient One communication extremely challenging.
"Kamar-Taj maintains its own mission—they'll adapt. Your gratitude gifts are excellent. You've apparently discovered a powerful magical civilization."
"Essentially correct. These runes serve as their world's foundation. Though weakened here, they're sufficient for your mages' use."
The two conversed briefly before Marcus concluded their exchange.
The Ancient One had her own responsibilities, and he planned to remain here temporarily. He sensed something unusual about this world's temporal flow—something requiring investigation.