When "Twin Flower" was mentioned, the Collector trembled violently.
Such a strong reaction confirmed Lord's suspicion that the Collector knew about it.
Back on Xandar, he allowed Rocket to steal the Zanpakuto and didn't immediately retrieve it; He used their group to lead him to the Collector.
The celestial skull in the Chaos Realm continuously shifts its coordinates.
Therefore, unless the Collector himself invites and shares the location, outsiders can't find him, and the risks of barging in are immense—one wrong move could lead to getting lost in the Chaos Realm.
Lord didn't want to take that risk even with confidence in his abilities.
So, he devised a plan, using the development of the original story and leveraging the power of the Guardians of the Galaxy to find the Collector.
Whether Rocket uttered that 'spell' or not, from the moment the Zanpakuto reached the celestial skull, Lord could use "I am all things" to cross millions of light-years and appear before the Collector.
"You know about it."
Lord's gaze was tranquil as he softly spoke, "Tell me the information about it."
"I think you might be mistaken..." the Collector's forced smile twitched nervously as he rubbed his hands together, swallowing hard, "I never knew anything about any Twin Flower. How about I tell you about the Heart of the Universe instead?"
"Oh, that's interesting."
Lord raised an eyebrow, his voice dripping with intrigue, "You'd rather reveal information about the Heart of the Universe than talk about the Twin Flower? Can I take it that the Twin Flower is of greater importance than the Heart of the Universe?"
"This..."
The Collector's complexion turned deathly pale.
The status of the Heart of the Universe was supreme, above even the Infinity Stones.
Its essence, an incomplete power of OAA, could allow the bearer to embody the universe, creating or destroying anything at will. Even the high and mighty Living Tribunal couldn't match a complete wielder of the Heart of the Universe.
Ignoring whether the Collector was lying, just this choice was intriguing.
Preferring to using the Heart of the Universe as a bargaining chip rather than revealing any information about the Twin Flower clearly showed that in the Collector's mind, the importance of the two was not the same; the Twin Flower was more critical.
"Just kill me!"
The Collector, realising he could no longer hide the truth, clenched his teeth and bravely closed his eyes, actually asking the Lord to kill him.
The Collector's reaction was far beyond the Lord's expectations.
Something that could make an immortal prefer death over disclosing any information must be hazardous.
For a moment, just a moment, his instinct as a living being warned him, making the Lord consider renouncing his right to know.
There are many things that, once known, leave no room for turning back.
This much was clear from the Collector's behaviour; he would rather die than reveal anything, even using the information about the Heart of the Universe to protect the secrets of the Twin Flower.
But such thoughts lasted only a moment before the Lord dismissed them.
Regardless of personal willingness, he had already been drawn in, so there was no way back.
"Do you know Michael?"
Lord suppressed his inner turmoil, and since he couldn't forcefully extract the information, he tried another method.
If the key to the heavenly battle involved the "Twin Flower," then the Collector knew the archangel Michael. Leveraging this heavenly connection might make the Collector lower his guard.
"You mean Saint Michael?" the Collector hesitated for half a second, his expression uncertain.
Just as expected, he knew Michael.
"Yes, her." Lord nodded slightly, then released a hint of angelic power, "You should be familiar with this power."
A rich golden light blossomed like a brilliant sun, illuminating the entire ruins like daylight. The sacred and pure light, accompanied by fluttering white feathers, revealed a fascinated expression on the Collector.
"Yes... that's the power!" The Collector reminisced, his eyes reflecting longing as he slumped amidst the ruins, "I never thought I'd see Her power again after all these years."
"Now, can you tell me?" Lord retracted the divine angelic power and continued, "My visit involves her somewhat."
"The aura from Xandar, right?"
The Collector seemed to have known already, "I had planned to use the conflict between Ronan and the Guardians of the Galaxy to disrupt the order on Xandar and seize the opportunity to investigate the source of the aura. But now that you are here, I won't need to act."
"You intentionally gave up the Power Stone?" Lord raised an eyebrow, "And... the Guardians of the Galaxy?"
"No need to be surprised."
The Collector chuckled, giving Lord a meaningful look, and leisurely said, "When you've lived as long as I have, you develop some special methods."
"You... are indeed no ordinary being."
Lord now understood he had indeed underestimated him.
An ancient being who had lived for millions of years and lacked significant combat power would have some unknown methods, and the Collector in the comics was most famous for his ability to foresee future events.
Considering he could outright name the "Guardians of the Galaxy," he must have seen the future.
Once he sensed the aura from Xandar, the Collector likely began to scheme immediately.
His plan involved using the collection of the Power Stone as a pretext to draw the attention of both Star-Lord and Ronan. Then, using the greedy maid to trigger an explosion amidst the chaos, he intentionally allowed Star-Lord and Gamora to steal the Power Stone and engage in a battle on Xandar with Ronan.
"Just curious, what if they decided to keep it for themselves?" Lord asked.
"Heh, they won't."
The Collector's lips curled slightly as he confidently stated, "Regardless of their choice, in the end, they will return to Xandar. The journey of the Guardians of the Galaxy can only and must start there."
"Foreseeing the future... truly a convenient skill."
Lord couldn't help but marvel; such a tool was indeed handy.
So, whether or not Drax notified Ronan, Ronan would have known about this place and led his forces here.
Regardless of whether Star-Lord and Gamora decided to hand over the Power Stone, it would eventually end up back in Ronan's hands, driven by hatred to invade the capital of the Nova Empire on Xandar.
The Collector wanted the two sides to battle, causing chaos in the capital of Nova.
While everyone's attention was focused on the invader Ronan, he would take the opportunity to investigate the source of the aura.
Indeed, an old fox who had lived for millions of years, Lord could only admire his methods.
After contemplating, Lord asked the question he most wanted to know: "What exactly is the Twin Flower?"
"It... is everything."
After a long silence, the Collector revealed something cryptic, "It encompasses all things, is both the cause and the result, forever incomprehensible, existing within everything yet transcending the world."
"They call that great existence... the Supreme Divinity."
"The Twin Flower... is the Supreme Divinity."