A cascade of flowing brilliance.
So dazzling and searing to the eyes—purple, blue, red, and orange interwove into a curtain like a blinding incandescent lamp exploding at point-blank range, pressing forward as if to pierce straight through the eyeballs. A mysterious, aloof green stood upright, so close and yet forever out of reach. At the unreachable horizon's end flickered a dim yellow glow, hidden and subdued.
(PS: The inlay order of Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet is purple, blue, red, orange, green, yellow—namely Power, Space, Reality, Soul, Time, Mind.)
Thanos closed his eyes, firmly and clearly recalling in his mind every step of his long-cherished ideal. Again and again he repeated it.
He would bring perfect balance to the universe. He would return all things to how they were meant to be—and return them to Her embrace...
Such thoughts drifted like black flames within the dream-chasing soul of the mad Titan's last descendant, illuminating the parched and perforated sea of his spirit.
His face tasted the icy breath of deathly stillness. His entire body was powerless. Even his fingers had lost sensation. Only gloom ruled his being.
Ding... dong...
A deep and distant bell tolled from nowhere, spreading beside Thanos' flesh, his consciousness, his thoughts—even his soul. Like a pitch-black angel wandering a silent valley, pacing beneath an eternal day of loneliness.
It was the knell that announced a funeral—the evening bell that rang when death came visiting.
"...Can you hear this bell? This is the end of your destined fate. Accept it. Free your soul. This is your final chance, as a person, to obtain rest."
The bell continued to echo, to spread. That hoarse voice, like a blade dragging across stone, scattered like shattered dreams across the night sky, sprinkling despair thick with pain and fury over Thanos' head.
Splurt.
—So hot, so cold, so painful!
The alternating agony of heat and frost came from nowhere. His senses blurred. But Thanos knew—the executioner of "Gorgon," his Evening Bell Blade, was passing judgment upon his defeat.
Thanos would not acknowledge it.
Never!
Step... step...
Again and again, he tried to walk toward the source of those surging singularities of purple, blue, red, and orange. Yet some immense law seemed to bar his path, preventing him from approaching that beam of light.
His consciousness wavered within this hazy singularity space.
But he had no choice. His soul and body felt as if placed between extremes of ice and flame. On one side lay a frigid abyss. On the other, scorching fire beyond the limits of the physical universe. The withered evening bell pursued from behind. The contrast was unbearable.
Torment. Agony. Pain enough to drive an ordinary person to collapse into madness tens of thousands of times in an instant surged wildly through him—beyond the limits of language itself. Even a man of iron like Thanos let out dry, shriveled groans and howls, like an uncontrollable flood.
Yet he had no retreat. Once the funeral bell overtook him, it would mean complete death. His failure. No possibility of reversal.
And the promise he had made with his daughter. A promise made—how could he break it?
"Gamora..."
His armor had melted away. Naked. The once massive, vertically ridged chin like a purple sweet potato had shriveled. His face was desiccated. His charred body skeletal and gaunt. Where was the former majesty of the universe's overlord? Thanos raised his hollow eye sockets. Within the faint orange glimmer of the singularity, he seemed to see a small, familiar figure. He reached out, murmuring softly.
A childish face. Red hair. Green skin. No words were needed. Her mere presence was like a spring in the desert, shaking Thanos to his core.
Even the scorching heat of the primordial cosmic singularity seemed to soften.
Her twin braids stirred without wind, as though brushed by a gentle breeze. The young Gamora tilted her head up, looking at her father—her adoptive father.
"Is this truly what you want? Even if it means standing against the entire universe?" she asked.
"Yes," Thanos replied.
"And the price?"
"Everything."
Hearing his answer without the slightest hesitation, little Gamora smiled.
A bitter smile.
Huff. She dissolved into illusion, vanishing in an instant.
"..."
In eternal silence, the withered and charred Thanos stood amid drifting motes of light fading with the shadows of the past. Centered upon him, the surrounding light and shadow began to flow abnormally.
Did it hurt?
Very much... but he did not regret it.
The death knell drew nearer. Thanos raised his hunched, ruined body and stepped forward. In an instant, his frail frame was swallowed by the raging waves of purple, blue, red, and orange.
...
Selene looked down at Thanos.
"Is he dead?"
Clink, clink. Her clawed blade shifted lightly. There was a trace of disappointment in her tone.
She did not know what Thanos had been thinking at the brink between life and death, nor was she interested.
In her perception, the dying Thanos had already stopped breathing. His heart and brain had ceased their rhythm.
Frozen by Mahāpadma at the cost of Esdeath shattering her Spirit Origin. Bound at joints and limbs by the Chains of Heaven wielded by Gilgamesh and Enkidu. His skull and face pierced by Scáthach's spear of mortal flight. Locked at the throat by fighters and Heracles. His left arm wearing the Infinity Gauntlet dragged by a Nova Centurion supervisor. His left arm cleaved by the executioner's greatsword of death...
There was no escape.
It was not impossible that the Heroic Spirits, empowered by the divine ascent granted through the "Limiter," working in coordination, could truly ambush and overturn a Thanos still awakening to "destiny."
Battle had never been a simple comparison of numbers on a panel. Too many uncertain factors existed.
Thanos was powerful—undeniably so—but not the sort who could instantly one-sidedly annihilate everything. Selene had raised the Spirit Origin limits of the Servants who entered the Marvel universe far too high.
Moreover, battle was about information. There were countless first-encounter kills. Thanos' past, the Stones he wielded in the Infinity Gauntlet, and their flaws were practically public knowledge. But the Heroic Spirits? Thanos had no idea what they excelled at, what their Noble Phantasms did, what unique innate skills they possessed.
They met—and fought head-on.
What could Selene say? That the coordinated burst assault of the surviving, exceptional Servants was wrong?
The act had been convincing—painfully convincing. Of course it was. Selene had told no one of the true plan, nor could she. Even Esdeath had been half-guessing. The other Servants had genuinely been trying to kill Thanos with everything they had—not to disappoint their Master...
Even someone as prickly as Gilgamesh had fought in deadly earnest. He knew that if he slacked off, postured like a king, and held back under such circumstances, once he returned to the Throne of Heroes, the Root Empress would dare to tear him apart alive—split him into refined fragments across different timelines and personalities, then kick him off as a laboring slave without a shred of dignity.
Oh, Esdeath? She had simply fought until she was exhilarated—and then bored. Though this Servant body was evolving at astonishing speed, who knew how long it would take to reach her true self? Being restricted and suppressed by Thanos, she had likely thought of finishing the fight and calling it a day.
Selene glanced at Esdeath, whose chest had been pierced open by her own hand, her figure flickering and fading. "Ha, it seems he still didn't meet the standard," she replied lightly.
Esdeath waved at Selene.
"Bye. I'm taking my exit..." she said.
Her spiritrons dispersed. Esdeath left the stage.
Clang—!
Crystal sparks flew high into the air. Before Selene's eyes, the instant-death effect of the Angel of Death Greatsword pierced through the Power Stone's attached invincible physical laws that coated Thanos' left arm. The Infinity Gauntlet was nearly torn free.
"So close," Selene said with a faint smile.
Plans existed to be broken.
If Thanos failed, that meant she would have to adjust her strategy.
Well then... more investment it is. What a nuisance for my main body. Sigh. I'll keep playing the righteous ally for now—wipe out the Black Order completely. As for devouring the host... I'll think about that later. The Cosmic Cube, the Heart of the Universe, the Immortal Hulk of World War Hulk, the One Below All, Earth's Celestial embryo Tiamut...
Just as Selene was contemplating which backup plan to activate after the failure of the Thanos route, she turned with faint regret toward the interstellar war between the allied forces and the Black Order—ready to descend like a god and sweep away the demons—
"I haven't lost yet, Gorgon!"
Selene turned slightly, her scarlet vertical pupils glancing sideways toward the source of the voice.
"Oh?"
"Damn it!" The Nova Centurion supervisor cursed, both hands gripping Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet. Yet no matter how much strength he used—even straining with everything he had—it would not budge.
Crack—crack—
The same went for King Hassan. His greatsword had clearly severed the bones and flesh of Thanos' left arm, leaving only the final layer of shriveled purple-black skin. Yet it was like an incredibly resilient cord—translucent and crystalline violet—the blade simply could not cut through!
Amid the hair-raising crunch of bone fragments snapping, Thanos' skull—like a rotting purple sweet potato pierced through—dragged his spine upright. It writhed like a crawling spinal worm, enough to drain one's sanity.
"The battle between you and me has only just begun," he said in a low laugh.
The grayish-purple skin stretched taut again as fresh flesh regenerated within his skull.
"The Reality Stone."
Selene narrowed her eyes.
"Roar!"
Thanos took a single step. His withered left arm fused together in an instant, muscles swelling back to fullness as he clenched his fist. The Chains of Heaven rattled violently as he drove a punch straight into Gladiator's face at the front line.
Splurt! A heavy blow. Pus, blood, and shattered soft tissue sprayed outward. His head caved in, neck bending grotesquely as if snapped, spinning away like a meteor—life or death unknown.
Whoosh!
His right arm swung next, dragging Enkidu—who had been anchored deep into a celestial body along with the chains. The chains wrapped around his arm like iron-wire fists, rotating with centrifugal force. Blue light flashed as he broke through Heracles' axe guard with a crack, smashing directly into his chest.
Boom!
A thunderclap like an ancient bronze bell resounded. The void trembled violently. That vast, surging force tore apart a celestial body in an instant. Half of it transformed into a tangible shockwave vortex that expanded and smashed downward. A beam of light shot skyward, splitting the heavens in two.
Crunch.
Heracles' chest caved in. His shoulder joint dislocated. He let out a muffled grunt.
Everything happened in a flash.
With a cruel smile, Thanos regenerated his flesh, embedding King Hassan's heavy blade into the bones of his left arm. Unaffected, he dragged the Chains of Heaven with him. Accelerating from near sub-light speed, colossal void lightning erupted between his massive fists. Even Gilgamesh's Ship of Radiant Light was yanked apart in an instant, its structure fracturing. The golden king capsized on the spot and was flung away.
Crack—
"Presumptuous one!" Thanos reached toward King Hassan's pale skull mask.
Clang!
Selene's opened claw-blades pierced cleanly through Thanos—half withered, half swelling anew. She twisted hard, tearing open his sternum. Between her claws, violet-gold explosive cosmic energy flared slowly but resolutely.
Rumble—!!
Like divine might splitting heaven and earth, the already ravaged planet beneath Selene and Thanos disintegrated entirely, its structure erased as destruction expanded endlessly in all directions.
"Take everyone and withdraw."
Selene extended her hand horizontally, blocking King Hassan and the Kree super-soldiers who intended to continue fighting.
Though she very much wanted all participating Servants to perish, the performance had to remain convincing. Thanos must not suspect that someone was manipulating him. Even if he sensed something, he must never conclude that it was a god beyond Eternity or Death.
Stopping at the right moment was key. Overacting would ruin the play.
"Yes." King Hassan nodded.
Seeing this, the surviving allied super-soldiers dared not linger. The escalating clash of gods had already become unbearable even for these former "gods."
"You really are like a stubborn parasite. Impossible to kill."
Selene rolled her neck and shoulders, looking mildly irritated.
Secretly, she absorbed the spiritrons left behind by the departing Servants like Esdeath, gathering cosmic energy and pushing those spiritrons toward the center of the confrontation.
Step by step she advanced. The void trembled. Thanos' shattered, desiccated body gradually filled out again. Golden armor reassembled over him once more.
"I am no longer who I was."
"Is that so?"
The corner of Selene's lips lifted. Her gaze was colder than the deepest frozen hell and hotter than a supernova's explosion.
In the next second, a deafening shriek—like the radiation of a million stars being drawn through the cosmos—erupted from her without warning. The entire star system shattered. Spatial structures were pierced and shaken by the sheer intensity of golden energy, teetering on collapse.
A million stars. The power of the Sentry.
Splurt!
With a casual motion, Thanos—who had launched himself forward—seemed to crash straight into Selene's hand. She seized him by the throat. With a clean downward slash, as if slaughtering a chicken, blood poured from his neck. Just as Selene reached toward the Infinity Gauntlet on his left hand—
Bzzzz—!
Purple, blue, red, and orange brilliance flashed simultaneously.
"I told you. I am no longer the same!"
Even his eyes ignited with mottled flames. A new Thanos appeared at her flank.
Only then did Selene realize that her rapid barrage had been striking a fabricated reality.
The Reality Stone could twist reality itself—turning beam rifles and daggers into bubbles, even disintegrating people.
If one's mind were strong enough, it could manipulate nearly all possible realities—ignore science and law and rewrite them at will. Heaven and hell were determined by the wielder.
"Die!"
Empowered by the Space Stone, Thanos moved in a true instant. Combined with the explosive impact of the Power Stone, he shattered Selene's stellar-flare defensive layer.
"Rewind..."
Seeing the faint green glow rise in Selene's eyes, Thanos' laughter grew more frenzied. Buzz! Orange light flashed within his massive pupils.
"Mm."
For a split second, her consciousness wavered.
She felt sudden pain in her Spirit Origin. An impulse surged—like her soul being drawn out, her Spirit Origin on the verge of disintegration.
"The Soul Stone." Selene frowned slightly, looking at Thanos, who had recovered almost simultaneously from a millisecond-long temporal extraction.
The Soul Stone could twist the souls of all living beings in the universe—even twist one's own soul. It could command the dead, reverse cognition, reverse identity with a single thought.
Thanos had not yet reached the level of extracting Selene's soul—her Spirit Origin—but restraining and interfering with it, disrupting her attacks, was not difficult.
"The tide has turned!" Thanos' vicious grin was almost uncontrollable—anger, sorrow, and exhilaration intertwined.
Do you know, Gorgon, how disgusting your Time Stone ability is?
Selene snorted coldly and assumed a serious defensive stance.
As expected.
Fine. Mutual disgust, then.
Using the power of four Stones simultaneously—Thanos had gained their recognition. He had truly crossed that threshold. Faintly sensing the lingering activation of the foreign "Limiter" law within his body, Selene reached her judgment.
Now, his path toward becoming a cosmic god would be unobstructed.
"You've slowed down, Gorgon!"
In the instant Selene's thoughts drifted elsewhere, Thanos' mastery of spatial authority grew ever more refined. He caught up to her, crossing and weaving at light speed. Stars detonated one after another under impacts that exceeded mortal limits.
Rumble—rumble—rumble—!
Countless intelligent civilizations across neighboring star regions witnessed strange observable phenomena reflected in their skies—stars extinguishing one after another, two resplendent "great stars" colliding and burning entire constellations to ash.
The cosmos itself seemed to ignite, turning vivid crimson.
Bang!
Once again, amid a momentary instability in her Spirit Origin, Selene was struck and sent flying. She smashed through several great stars before plunging deep into the heart of a sun, where she was engulfed by raging solar flares.
Feeling the throbbing pain in her claw-blades and the numbness spreading through her body, Selene knew—even if Thanos was suffering as well—it was time for her to risk everything.
It was time.
A fight to the death.
Master Chief, prepare.
—
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