More than an hour later, Thanos's faint smile finally faded, replaced by a heavy, solemn expression.
The Marvel universe was far more complicated than he had initially assumed.
If the feud between the God of Death and the Celestials wasn't handled properly, even he could end up dragged into eternal damnation. And that was… inconvenient.
Watching Thanos carefully, Tanlia swallowed and asked in a cautious voice, "Can I… go now?"
He had long heard that Thanos was a man of his word—once given, his promises were unbreakable.By that logic, he should be safe.
But when Thanos heard this, a cold smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
The next second, a flash of light tore through the air.
Thanos's figure appeared behind Tanlia, and almost lazily, he swung the Tyrant's Blade twice.
Slash. Slash.
Blue blood splattered, then slid cleanly off the blade as Thanos gave it a casual shake.
"Why…?" Tanlia croaked.
A thin red line appeared at his waist, then widened as his body slowly split in two.
Seeing the confusion frozen in the other man's eyes, Thanos spoke calmly, almost patiently."When did I ever promise to let you go?"
Tanlia froze.
Only then did it dawn on him.
Yes—Thanos had never actually agreed to anything. It was all wishful thinking. Tanlia had simply assumed that answering the questions would earn him mercy.
Regret came too late.
Resentment, fear, and helplessness surged together as the deep purple Power of Destruction swallowed his body whole.
Moments later, Tanlia vanished completely, leaving behind not even a speck of dust.
Thanos turned his gaze toward the Guardians of the Galaxy's spaceship.
After a brief pause, he lowered the Tyrant's Blade.
He still hadn't obtained the Soul Stone. If it wasn't on this planet, he would need Gamora to continue searching for it.
As for whether she would cooperate?
That wasn't a concern.
He had plenty of ways to make Gamora comply.
Inside the spaceship, the five members of the Guardians of the Galaxy were absolutely terrified as they felt Thanos's gaze fall on them.
They were convinced that if he got even slightly annoyed, he might casually wipe them out.
Even Drax—normally loud, proud, and painfully arrogant—felt the chill of death crawl up his spine and wisely kept his mouth shut.
Fortunately, Thanos soon looked away, and the crushing pressure finally eased.
"Gamora, what do we do now?" Star-Lord asked anxiously."This damn ship won't respond at all. It's completely locked down."
Gamora shook her head, her voice heavy with frustration."Father must've let us escape on purpose. He wanted to track us and use us to find the Soul Stone. That's why the ship's systems are still under his control."
If she were truly foolish, she wouldn't have realized it by now.
She had walked straight into her father's trap.
But even knowing that didn't help. The ship was remotely locked, and none of them could survive in the vacuum of space. Escape seemed impossible.
Just then, Rocket suddenly grinned.
He grabbed a wrench and a screwdriver, waving them proudly."Alright, geniuses, enough panicking! Everybody move. First step—replace the control board!"
Rocket wasn't just a heavy gunner and pilot. He could fix spaceships too. Usually better than the people who built them.
Star-Lord's eyes lit up."Right! While Thanos isn't paying attention, we swap out the control panel and get the hell out of here."
Soon, all five Guardians jumped into action.
…
On the other side, Thanos had already arrived near the third planet.
Guided by a faint but unmistakable aura, he quickly located a canyon surrounded by towering mountains.
One peak in particular stood out—so tall it pierced the clouds, easily over ten thousand meters high. Yet the surrounding land was barren and lifeless. No plants. No animals. No signs of activity.
Only weathered statues and broken structures hinted that a civilization had once existed here.
Now, it was gone.
Or rather, it had been erased.
When a star leaves its galaxy, the cosmic radiation and spatial turbulence it experiences are beyond imagination. Primitive civilizations that failed to escape their homeworlds stood no chance.
Just like the planet where the Cosmic Orb had once rested.
Life and civilization were fragile things.
Under the dim glow of distant stars, Thanos moved forward without hesitation.
Eventually, he reached a place resembling an ancient altar.
Towering stone statues surrounded it, their faces worn smooth by time.
Then he saw it.
A black-robed figure floated silently in midair.
"Welcome, Thanos, son of Alars."
Thanos frowned slightly. This part of the story was fuzzy in his memory. Hearing his name spoken so casually, he asked, "You know me?"
"My curse allows me to know the origin of everyone who comes here."
As the figure drifted closer, Thanos finally saw what lay beneath the cloak.
A completely red being—no nose, no hair, no eyebrows, not even ears.
"…Red Skull?"
So this was someone from Earth after all.
Thanos shook his head. His memory felt annoyingly fuzzy, as if his mind had already auto-deleted anything that wasn't important to the plot. If it didn't matter in the long run, it clearly wasn't worth the storage space.
While Red Skull stood there patiently, waiting for a question that never came, Thanos simply walked past him and continued forward without a second glance.
Red Skull blinked, then finally couldn't hold it in anymore."Aren't you going to ask me how to obtain the Soul Gem?"
Thanos ignored him completely and lifted his gaze toward the sky instead.
Above them, an enormous black shadow rolled in, swallowing the heavens like a spreading stain. It was a massive ship—so large it felt less like a vessel and more like a moving piece of night itself.
With a low, mechanical groan, the hatch opened. Groups of Dark Cult members—ugly, sharp-featured, and radiating hostility—escorted countless couples as they descended from the ship in neat, unsettling lines.
Just then, a deep-blue holographic projection flickered to life a short distance in front of Thanos.
"Master," the AI reported calmly, "out of the expected one hundred thousand couples, ninety-nine thousand nine hundred eighty-four have arrived. Sixteen couples committed suicide during the journey."
Thanos nodded, entirely unfazed."Have they been informed of the terms?"
"Yes, Master. The situation has been fully explained. Each participant will receive one million Titan coins and a green card granting citizenship in the Titan race. Additionally, those who successfully obtain the Soul Gem will be rewarded with one hundred extra citizenship slots."
Thanos's faction was known as the Titans—a name unapologetically borrowed from their own race and worn with pride.
A green card meant far more than a title. It granted full citizenship under Thanos's rule, including assigned work and housing on planets he controlled. In other words, survival—with benefits.
It was also clear that these couples were not subjects of Thanos's empire. They had been taken from a planet that had yet to be conquered.
As for Titan coins, they were the standard currency of the Titans. One million of them was enough for a family to live comfortably for the rest of their lives—assuming they lived that long.
Thanos gave a satisfied nod."Good. That's how you make them cooperate willingly. Proceed as planned."
Moments later, the couples were brought before him. One by one, they looked up at the towering purple giant with trembling eyes.
They hadn't grown up beneath Thanos's rule. They hadn't experienced what he would call his "benevolence." All they saw was an overwhelming sense of dread.
And honestly, it didn't help that Thanos wasn't exactly easy on the eyes.
Thanos, however, couldn't have cared less about their impressions."Begin," he said flatly.
The first couple froze. The wife stared at her husband, eyes wide and desperate. After a brief hesitation, the man clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and stepped forward with grim determination.
Then—under Red Skull's stunned, almost offended gaze—he deliberately leapt off the cliff.
Red Skull opened his mouth, wanting to say something. Anything.But no words came.
In the end, he could only remain silent.
.....
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