In near-Earth orbit, a colossal warship floated silently above the blue planet.
The vessel was enormous.
It stretched ten kilometers in length and stood roughly five kilometers wide and tall. Its shape resembled a massive metallic coffin drifting through space, radiating an oppressive and ominous presence.
This ship was the flagship of Thanos's fleet.
And it was a gift he had prepared especially for Wanda.
Half an hour later, inside the main control room of the flagship, Wanda hurried in while pulling someone along behind her.
She quickly led her brother forward and stopped in front of Thanos.
Quicksilver stood stiffly in place.
Thanos merely observed him calmly.
The young man looked to be in his early twenties. He stood about 1.7 meters tall, with striking silver hair and a blue bodysuit that clung tightly to his lean frame.
Thanos didn't release any deliberate aura or killing intent.
But even so, Quicksilver felt a terrifying pressure pressing down on him.
It was the pressure created by an overwhelming difference in life level.
Even when Thanos remained completely calm, ordinary beings would instinctively feel suffocated simply by standing in front of him.
Seeing that her brother was frozen in place, Wanda quickly kicked him lightly in the leg.
"Hurry up and greet Father."
Quicksilver snapped out of his daze.
He suddenly understood what was happening, but his nerves had already tightened to the limit. All he could do was nod awkwardly.
"Fa… Father… hello."
Compared with the cheerful and fearless Wanda, Quicksilver looked extremely uncomfortable.
Which was perfectly understandable.
After all, how many people could remain calm while facing a cosmic overlord?
Thanos simply smiled faintly.
"From today onward, you are my son as well. Remember this clearly—maintaining the balance of the universe is our mission."
After speaking, a curious thought surfaced in his mind.
Quicksilver's power was speed.
If that speed ever surpassed the speed of light, could he truly reverse time?
If that happened, would the Time Variance Authority appear?
But thinking about it carefully, they probably wouldn't dare.
After all, Thanos was here.
During the events of the Avengers' time heist, several heroes had traveled across multiple timelines and other universes in search of Infinity Stones. Their actions had recklessly disrupted countless timelines.
Yet the Time Variance Authority had never appeared to stop them.
That meant something—or someone—had suppressed them.
There was another contradiction as well.
Marvel's established rule once claimed that Infinity Stones from other universes could not function within a different universe.
But that rule had also been broken during those same events.
Which meant a powerful hidden force must have interfered behind the scenes.
Perhaps even the Celestials themselves.
From that perspective, the Time Variance Authority was nothing more than an organization that bullied the weak and feared the strong.
Meanwhile, Quicksilver was growing increasingly nervous.
He looked completely at a loss for how to behave.
When Wanda quietly kicked him again, he hurriedly straightened his posture and nodded vigorously.
"Yes! I definitely won't disappoint you, Father!"
Noticing how uncomfortable the young man seemed, Thanos waved his hand casually.
Wanda immediately understood the signal.
She pulled her brother away and left the control room.
Once the two siblings had gone, Thanos spoke calmly into the empty air.
"Deep Blue, display the current governance status of Earth."
The moment his words ended, a massive three-dimensional projection appeared in midair.
The holographic display showed a digital model of Earth.
Every region on the planet was marked with detailed data representing the current political and social conditions.
Some areas showed violent resistance and armed conflicts.
Others appeared calm and orderly.
There were even regions where people were cheering and celebrating the new rule.
According to the data, most areas of the planet had already accepted Thanos's rule peacefully.
In fact, many people seemed surprisingly satisfied.
Although Thanos governed with strict authority, ordinary citizens felt almost no direct pressure.
Children were provided with food, housing, and education from birth.
All basic expenses were covered by the government.
When they reached adulthood, they could either choose their own careers or accept jobs assigned by the state.
Housing was arranged nearby.
Marriage worked the same way.
People could search for partners themselves, but if they couldn't find one, the government would assign a spouse.
From birth to death, every stage of life had already been arranged.
For many struggling people on Earth, this level of stability felt like a blessing.
Some citizens even reported neighbors who attempted to organize resistance.
With enormous alien warships hovering above their cities, most governments didn't dare take any action.
Civilian resistance was almost nonexistent.
The strongest opposition came from a few highly developed regions.
Those societies had already enjoyed extremely comfortable lifestyles.
In their spare time, people could even enjoy realistic battle simulations and competitive games.
Naturally, they disliked a system that restricted such entertainment.
But whenever serious unrest began forming, Wanda would simply send a warship.
One shot.
The entire city vanished.
After witnessing such demonstrations, rebellion rarely lasted long.
After studying the projection for a while, Thanos saw nothing particularly concerning.
So he turned his attention to another matter.
"Deep Blue, display the extradimensional scan data from this period."
Before leaving Earth earlier, he had ordered Deep Blue to monitor the planet for spatial fluctuations connected to alternate dimensions.
More than ten days had passed.
The scan results should now be complete.
According to known cosmic records, the Reality Stone currently existed in the form of Aether particles hidden within an alternate dimension connected to Earth.
That dimension only fluctuated once every thousand years.
When the fluctuation occurred, an entrance would temporarily open.
For ordinary beings, that brief window was the only chance to reach the Reality Stone.
But Thanos wasn't an ordinary being.
With the Space Stone, he didn't need any entrance.
As long as he located the exact coordinates of the dimension, he could teleport directly into it.
As Deep Blue displayed the new projection, Thanos immediately frowned.
The holographic model revealed something shocking.
More than thirty alternate dimensions were densely clustered around Earth.
It was almost unbelievable.
Alternate dimensions were usually created when powerful beings separated portions of space from reality.
Some created them to hide from enemies.
Some used them as personal territories.
Others sealed dangerous entities inside them.
The reasons varied.
Although alternate dimensions were much smaller than true higher-dimensional spaces, their existence still influenced the surrounding reality.
On most inhabited planets, there were usually only two or three such dimensions.
At most, perhaps four or five.
Yet Earth had over thirty.
The planet truly deserved its reputation as the central stage of countless cosmic events.
How many powerful beings had once been born here?
Just as Thanos prepared to investigate these dimensions one by one, Deep Blue suddenly spoke again.
"Master, Miss Wanda is in trouble."
Thanos immediately frowned.
Hadn't Wanda been on the flagship just moments ago?
Where had she gone?
More importantly, nearly all of Earth's superheroes had already been eliminated.
Who could possibly threaten her now?
"Deep Blue, display the situation."
A new projection appeared instantly.
While Thanos had been analyzing the dimensional data, several new superheroes had suddenly appeared on Earth.
They had destroyed one of his warships.
After discovering the incident, Wanda had taken Quicksilver with her to investigate.
But the current situation didn't look good.
The two siblings were being overwhelmed by their opponents.
Looking at the group of newly arrived heroes, Thanos let out a cold laugh.
So the Celestials had finally sent their servants.
The Eternals.
In truth, Thanos himself had a complicated connection with them.
Because if one traced his racial origin carefully, his full designation would be the Eternal Titan.
Long ago, the Celestials had chosen the Titan race for genetic experimentation.
They modified them and entrusted them with the responsibility of protecting planetary seeds across the universe.
At that time, they were known as the Eternal Titans.
However, after discovering the true intentions of the Celestials, the Eternal Titans chose to rebel.
In order to sever all ties with their former masters, they abandoned the title entirely.
And returned to their original name.
The Titans.
.....
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