While Gaia was announcing her return on Earth, Artoria, who had been slacking off, was currently on the hyperion. Bored, she was using the Kree star map. Artoria could indeed find the location, but she didn't know if the Cosmic Orb was still in its original position. If it was, that would be great. If not, she would have to go to Xandar, which would be too much trouble and might lead to a confrontation with the Xandarians.
"Do I still need the Infinity Gauntlet? That thing is just a carrier. Since it's a carrier, that means my Spirit Gear could do it too. Should I give it a try?"
Thinking of the Guardians of the Galaxy who grabbed the Power Stone with their bare hands, Artoria deeply admired these people. If they weren't extraordinary individuals, how could they withstand the erosion of the Power Stone on their bodies? Even Thanos couldn't do it! One could tell from his powerful body's miserable state after using the Infinity Gauntlet that this was an artifact that couldn't be fully unleashed. It wasn't just killing a thousand enemies while suffering three hundred self-inflicted wounds; it was better not to use all the Infinity Stones together.
"I, Gaia, have returned."
Just as Artoria was thinking about the Infinity Stones, a majestic voice appeared in her mind without any warning. This voice made Artoria frown. Gaia? Who is that!? She didn't know her. How did the voice reach all the way here? But wasn't that the name of the Mother Earth Goddess 'Gaia' from ancient Greek mythology? Could it be that Greek mythology existed in the Marvel Universe too? Well, the Asgard and gods from Norse mythology existed, so Greek mythology should exist as well.
If she thought about it that way, Pangu, Nüwa, and the Heavenly Court should all exist! She just hadn't seen them. It was also possible that these legendary gods rarely appeared in the human world. In such a chaotic world, there were beings like Dimensional Demons, so maybe the Heavenly Court really was in another dimension.
"Interesting, hmm! Very interesting."
This voice opened up Artoria's imagination, leading her to think of many possibilities. She couldn't help it; she was just so bored right now! Usually, she could use work as an excuse, approve a few documents, hand the tasks to Gwen, and then watch various happy videos from silly netizens online, drink watermelon juice from time to time, and be a spectator in front of the computer. That kind of life was very comfortable.
After coming to space, apart from glowing spheres, it was just black, completely black. Artoria was very reassured having Saturday operate the ship, but she could only boredly play single-player games to pass the time on her dull journey. Artoria now quite hoped for a space pirate to appear, rob her, and bring some excitement to her uninteresting life.
"master, according to the Kree star map, we are about to arrive at the abandoned Planet you set as the target."
She didn't wait for space pirates, but Saturday's words made Artoria very happy because she could finally get off the ship and play on another Planet. This was fantastic. It allowed Artoria, who had been flying in space for so long, to finally change her mood, take a good stroll on the Planet, and satisfy her curiosity.
"How much longer until we arrive?"
Throwing the pencil she had been toying with aside, Artoria asked Saturday excitedly. A solo journey was indeed very lonely. When she left Earth with Susan and the others, Artoria hadn't felt anything. Why did she feel so bored and a little bit lonely when she left Earth alone?
"We will arrive in 6 hours, Master."
Artoria was happy, and Saturday was also happy. Hatsune Miku in the video was happily jumping around on the screen, talking to Artoria. After absorbing the Kree system data, Saturday had grown once again. She already had the concept of a'self,' but she decided not to tell her Master for now. If she had the chance to obtain a body, she would give her Master a big hug and tell her that she, Saturday, could already be called a person.
"That is truly good news."
Not noticing Saturday's human-like 'emotions,' Artoria happily ignored it all. She was now like a sailor who had been sailing at sea for a year, very excited to see land she could step on. But in fact, Artoria had only left Earth for twenty days. Sure enough, staying in the same environment for too long made her forget that this abandoned Planet was a godforsaken place with no scenery to speak of.
"Saturday, let's go full speed ahead. I need to get off the car... oh no! Get off the ship and properly step on some land."
"Yes, master."
Under Artoria's command, the journey that originally would have taken six hours was shortened by Saturday, who transformed into an experienced driver, passing through two spatial points and quickly arriving at this godforsaken Planet. When Artoria stepped on this Planet, she was devastated. What kind of crappy place was this? A haunted house would be better than this! There wasn't a hint of green to be seen.
"Hiss~!"
With one kick, she sent a Little guy that wanted to eat the meat on her body flying into the distance. Artoria had to admit that this Planet was truly awful. The core was no longer burning, there was no moisture, and there was no green vegetation. Yet, strangely, one could breathe, and there was no atmosphere. Although she didn't know why such an unscientific phenomenon existed on the Planet, Artoria wasn't a scientist, so she just let it be.
"master, I suggest you wear your combat suit. It might be more appropriate, as there may be substances on this Planet that are harmful to your body."
Saturday's suggestion came through the earpiece, but Artoria refused. Through the last cosmic storm, Artoria had already felt that her body could move in space. Artoria hadn't tried it out, though; after all, it was just a feeling, and life only happened once. How could she carelessly court death?
She refused Saturday's suggestion because Artoria had already confirmed that The Things on this Planet couldn't hurt her, except for the Power Stone or the Cosmic Orb sleeping in the ruins.
"I wonder if that guy Star-Lord has come. If we run into each other, that would be fun."
Looking around, there were no ships. Artoria started to follow her intuition. After all, there was no map of this Planet. Looking from above, those ruin-like things could no longer be distinguished from the outside; they were as weathered as the Planet's surface. Artoria could only follow her intuition to see if she was heading in the right direction, kicking one small carnivore per step along the way. She didn't know how these things survived on this Planet. Did they eat dirt?
Thinking of that Star-Lord who would start dancing awkwardly at the drop of a hat, Artoria couldn't help but smile, but she didn't really want to run into him. He was a troublesome guy. Meeting him was equivalent to getting on the radar of a member of the Celestials. Being targeted by the Celestials was not a good thing, especially since this guy's goal wasn't that simple.
Artoria's luck wasn't bad; she quickly found the entrance to the ruins, which were built like a temple. While driving away these annoying Little guys, Artoria moved quickly. She wasn't in a hurry to get the Cosmic Orb; it was just that these little things were too annoying, and there were quite a lot of them. What a hassle.
Soon, Artoria arrived in front of a large gate. Compared to a thief's gentle style, Artoria's performance was indeed very rough. She raised an eyebrow, put on her mask, and slowly raised her right hand.
"Boom~!"
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