In a realm far away from any physical plane, countless skeletons of different races stretched as far as the eye could see—human remains mixed with alien creatures, Gods, and beings from dimensions that had no names. Mountains of bones rose like twisted monuments to mortality itself.
At the center of it all, Thanos knelt unconscious upon dozens of skulls.
His eyes opened slowly, purple irises taking in the familiar surroundings. He had been here before, many times, though never under these circumstances. This was Death's domain, the place where all souls eventually came to rest.
Thanos stood up, his massive frame casting shadows across the bone-littered ground. In front of him sat a throne carved from obsidian, and upon it was the being he had courted all his life.
Mistress Death.
She appeared as a skeletal woman draped in darkness, her eye sockets burning with cold fire. For her, he had destroyed planets. For her love, he had slaughtered his own children. For her approval, he had become the Mad Titan.
"You have disappointed me, Thanos," Death said, her voice echoing through the realm like the final breath of dying stars. "For all the love you claim to have for me, you could not kill your offspring. Worse, you ended up dying yourself."
Thanos remained silent, his jaw clenched as he listened to her judgment.
"Are you even worthy of my love?" Death continued, her burning gaze fixed on him.
The question ignited something in Thanos's chest. His face filled with pride and arrogance as he stepped forward.
"Worthy?" he roared, his voice rumbling throughout the realm.
"Am I not Thanos? Did I not butcher the woman who gave me birth, who force-fed me into this hell called life? Isn't the wake of my passing crimson with the blood of my enemies and allies alike?"
His fists clenched as passion filled his words. "Death is with me every second of the day! My every moment is spent in either dealing out death or worshiping it!"
He spread his arms wide, gesturing to the countless bones around them. "All of it happened because my last use of the Infinity Gauntlet left me damaged. It would have taken at least a few centuries before I completely regained my powers. This is no excuse for my defeat against that human."
Thanos's voice dropped to something quieter but more intense. "But weak or not, I fell like the warrior I was, the god I was—fighting till the end."
He stepped closer to Death's throne, his eyes blazing with devotion and madness in equal measure. "So tell me, who under the stars is better suited than I to be your consort?"
Death stood up from her throne, her skeletal form towering over even Thanos's impressive height. For a moment, something like approval flickered in her burning eyes.
"Indeed," she said slowly, "no other being has done the same penance as you did for me. All the souls that you have killed for me—no being could have accomplished such devotion."
Thanos's expression began to shift toward hope, but Death's next words crushed it immediately.
"Yet you are not worthy," she said with a condescending look before turning away, the sweetest smile spreading across her skull-like face.
The dismissal hit Thanos harder than any of the punches he had received from the few beings who could challenge him in his prime... one of them was none other than Sentry.
"But I will give you one last chance," Death continued, turning back to face him. "One last chance to prove yourself."
Thanos straightened, his attention focused entirely on her words.
"That son of yours has an interesting power, quite related to me. And that human who killed you—he also possesses something that catches my attention." Death's smile widened. "I want you to kill them both. But to do that, you would have to become a god, a supreme destroyer above all else."
She stepped closer, her presence making the air itself feel cold. "If you are successful, I am yours. If not, then you shall suffer in life for all eternity, as I will take away the aspect of death from you. You will never die, and you will never see me again."
Death's voice carried absolute finality. "We will not meet until that is done."
Thanos's expression hardened with renewed determination. "You will be mine, Mistress Death. As for that human and that son of mine, they will be gone."
Death smiled and flicked Thanos on the forehead with her finger. The casual gesture sent him spinning through dimensions, his form disappearing from her realm entirely.
Death settled back on her throne, her skeletal fingers drumming against the obsidian armrest. "Let's see if you are worthy to be that Outsider's successor," she whispered to herself.
....
On a distant planet devoid of any population, a cocoon began to form. Inside it, the body of the Mad Titan slowly took shape, rebuilt by the blessings of Death.
...
Lucien was back in his apartment. It had been a few hours since he had killed Thanos. The city had descended into chaos as people spotted giant ships floating above their homes.
But there had been other changes happening as well. The Avengers had returned to Earth, and unlike what he remembered from movies in his previous life, their numbers were staggering.
Hundreds of heroes filled the skies, accompanied by support forces from the Kree Empire and other civilizations who had been fighting alongside the Avengers against what Natasha called "the Builders."
From his window, Lucien could see many Avengers flying nearby. Most of them were weaker than his current power level, but there were a few who registered as significantly stronger than even Thanos had been. Captain Marvel was one of them—her stats were much more than Galacta's.
Though Galacta had mentioned that she was nowhere near her father's level, which made Lucien genuinely curious about exactly how powerful Galactus was.
One thing he was certain of was that he would surpass even Galactus if the system continued to let him level up at his current rate.
He was lying on his bed when his door was knocked. Daniel walked in without waiting for permission, his face bright with excitement.
"Everything is set up," Daniel announced. "We even got a couple thousand pre-orders that just got boosted after what happened today. People want personal healthcare assistants now more than ever."
"Miss Natasha helped quicken the documentation process and made all the approvals happen a lot faster than normal," he continued.
"How long will it take to fulfill the orders?" Lucien asked.
"The factory I rented with the money you gave me can produce a couple of hundred units every day, so we'll be able to deliver within a month. And we can use the revenue to increase our production capabilities even more."
"Good. You're the boss—make us rich."
Daniel laughed. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to bring in a lot of money."
His phone rang, and he glanced at the caller ID. "That's the factory manager. I need to take this."
He stepped outside to answer the call, closing the door behind him. But as he turned his back to the room, a shadow slipped out from his own shadow and into Lucien's room.
Lucien had noticed it long ago—after all, these were his shadows.
The shadow slowly split into Sinister and the other knights he had sent to hunt down the clones.
The room instantly became crowded with dark figures, and Lucien made all the other shadows except Sinister return to his own shadow.
Sinister knelt on the ground while Lucien remained lying on his bed, looking down at his subordinate.
"So all the clones you had are dead now?" Lucien asked.
The shadow nodded.
"Any backup plans or anything left?"
Sinister shook his head.
"You sure?"
Sinister nodded again, more emphatically this time.
"Alright, good work." Lucien paused as Sinister began to move toward his shadow. "Not so fast."
He pointed to the study table in the corner of the room. "Write down everything about the serum you were researching. And also about the guy who was commanding you."
Sinister moved toward the table without hesitation. Since he could not speak, this was the only way he could help his Lord.
Lucien smirked. "That's the least you can do for all the suffering you caused us."
As Sinister began writing, Lucien settled back into his bed. The day had been long and eventful, but it felt good to have some of his loose ends tied up. The clones were eliminated, Thanos was dead, and Earth was safe for the moment.
But he knew this was just the beginning. He had a feeling that sooner or later, he would have to face the one who took away Thanos.
For now, though, he could rest. Tomorrow would bring new challenges, new opportunities to grow stronger, and probably new enemies who thought they could challenge the Shadow Monarch.
He closed his eyes as Sinister continued writing, the shadow's work creating the only sound in the quiet room. Outside, the city was slowly returning to normal as the returned Avengers helped people settle in, taking out any remnant forces.
Lucien allowed himself a small smile as he cozied up to the bed and went to the sweet embrace of sleep.
After all, even the Shadow Monarch needed to sleep sometimes.
...
.....
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