Silence spread moment Thanos arrived.
The air itself seemed to bend beneath the crushing pressure radiating from him, his mere presence smothering the battlefield into absolute stillness.
The four remaining generals of the Black Order exhaled in relief, shouting.
"Master!"
Only moments before, the shattering of Corvus Glaive's Peerless Blade had sent shockwaves through their ranks, rattling both morale and confidence.
Their enemies… Soren, the Avengers, and the Mutants had proven far stronger than anticipated, and the mental duel between Ebony Maw and Professor X alone had nearly pushed them to their limits.
But now Thanos had descended.
The tide, they believed, would turn.
Thanos's gaze swept briefly over Corvus, who still writhed on the ground, black aura leaking from his bones.
Then his eyes locked onto Soren.
"Great Devil Soren," He said slowly, voice deep enough to shake the sky,
"I have long anticipated this meeting."
Soren matched his gaze.
The destructive aura of the Power Gem surged across his body.
The magic array formed by his three Infinity Stones spun behind him like a blazing cosmic engine, its radiance so immense that even Thanos's pupils tightened.
But the fire beneath Thanos's eyes revealed his excitement. This was no ordinary opponent.
Likewise, Soren's stare fell to the golden gauntlet encasing Thanos's right hand, the Infinity Gauntlet, shining ominously.
The most dangerous construct in the universe.
The vessel of omniscience and omnipotence.
"Thanos, spare me your pleasantries. If you want my Infinity Stones, be prepared to face permanent annihilation."
Through the system, Soren had already seen Thanos's appraisal.
[Eternal Titan: Thanos]
[World Rank: EX]
[Abilities: Immortal Body, approaching omniscience and omnipotence]
Even Soren found the result troublesome.
An opponent beyond S-rank, one who existed at the EX tier, the highest classification.
Terrifying and practically unstoppable.
Thanos's aura flared, the air vibrating under his fury. "Then here are your terms,"
"Hand over every Infinity Stone you possess and kneel before me… serve me and I shall grant you anything your heart desires."
Soren scoffed. "Serve you?"
"I've already slaughtered many powerful titans. One more Eternal Titan won't change anything."
"If I'm not mistaken… You are the last of your kind. When you die, your species will vanish from the universe completely."
A deadly coldness forming in his Thanos expression. "Every enemy I've faced has ended up as a corpse."
"You will be no different. And when you fall, this planet will be destroyed as well."
Soren stiffened.
Thanos wasn't bluffing.
With his strength, annihilating Earth would be effortless. A battle here could shatter continents and wipe life from its surface.
Soren could not allow that.
"Thanos," He said quietly, "If it's the Stones you crave, come claim them."
With a sweep of his arm, Soren tore open a vast spatial rift. Beyond it lay a barren starfield, the remnants of Ego's destroyed domain.
A region empty of planets, empty of life, empty of anything that could be harmed.
The perfect battlefield for gods.
Before stepping through, Soren glanced down.
Corvus Glaive, still screaming, still drowning in the backlash of his shattered artifact, lay broken at his feet.
Soren lifted a hand. A blade of pure space formed…
Shhhk
One effortless stroke.
The space blade carved through Corvus's skeletal frame and the swirling dark aura around him.
Both were swallowed into the rift of chaotic space that opened beneath them.
Stripped of immortality, abandoned by his artifact, Corvus had no defenses left.
The spatial turbulence consumed him in seconds and Corvus Glaive, eldest general of the Black Order, vanished without a trace.
"…" Thanos's gaze became colder than the void.
Corvus Glaive may have failed and his artifact shattered, his body broken, but even that betrayal could have been punished later.
What Thanos could not tolerate was Soren striking down his general right in front of him.
The moment Soren slipped away and the spatial rift sealed shut, Thanos didn't waste a breath.
His massive form stepped into the dissipating energy trail, bending the fabric of space through sheer physical strength alone.
"Erase this planet." Thanos commanded flatly.
And then he was gone, vanishing into the same pocket dimension Soren fled to.
"…!?" For a long moment, silence hung over the battlefield.
The remaining members of the Black Order, those who had dared to hope Thanos would save them, stared in disbelief.
They had misjudged everything. They had overestimated their value and underestimated the lure of the Infinite Gems.
In Thanos's cold, vast universe, they simply… didn't matter.
He hadn't spared them a single glance.
"Take them down! We're going after Soren!" Jean shouted. The Phoenix Force surged out of her.
The concern she'd seen in Soren's eyes before he vanished had ignited something in her… fear, anger, and determination all at once.
Whatever danger awaited him, she refused to let him face it alone.
Flames in the shape of wings unfurled behind her, and the sky turned white-hot.
Where the Phoenix blazed, the land simply ceased to exist… steel, stone, alloy, alien composites, all reduced to vapor and drifting ash.
Warships buckled like paper and fighters disintegrated midair. The battlefield became a burning wasteland.
It was the first time many had seen Jean unleashed.
Even Professor X and the Ancient One, those who knew her best, felt a tremor of awe.
If not for Soren's terrifying display days earlier, Jean Grey would undoubtedly be recognized as the strongest force on Earth.
Meanwhile the morale of the Black Order Legion fell completely. Thanos had abandoned them, Soren had crippled them, and Earth's defenders now pressed forward.
The Hulk clashed with Black Dwarf. At first, the giant warrior could keep pace, trading blows.
But the Hulk's rage only deepened with every strike, stoked by the combat enhancements, potions, and potential-boosting Soren had given him over the past three days.
The green titan's power spiked.
With a thunderous leap, Hulk soared nearly a hundred meters upward, his shadow eclipsing the battlefield.
His hands clamped around an entire warship and with a godlike roar… He ripped the ship free of the sky.
Then he brought it down, aiming it straight at Black Dwarf.