Thanos's decision, driven by his desire for his son's greatness, stunned everyone present, including Frigga and the Ancient One.
They had both assumed that Thanos would use the dimensional power from Hela's body as a weapon to destroy Dormammu. Instead, he was giving the opportunity away?
The Ancient One, who had seen the future with the Time Stone, was especially baffled. In all the scripts she had watched, it was Thanos, not Lothar, who had fused with the dimensional power.
What was going on?!
"I don't understand, Father. What's happening?" Lothar was just as confused. He trusted Thanos, but he had no idea what his father was talking about or what this "evolution" entailed.
What kind of change could Hela bring him? How was he supposed to absorb and fuse with this so-called "dimensional power of the Nine Realms?" And after successfully fusing with it, how would he "push open that mysterious door?"
Becoming a god, a Super Saiyan God—this had been Lothar's clear objective ever since he was on the planet Gafa. He wanted to become a Super Saiyan God, break free from the constraints of this universe's rules, become the strongest warrior in the cosmos, and then go back and kill the space emperor, Frieza.
For all these years, Lothar had been working toward this goal.
Thanos saw it all and kept it in his heart.
On Planet U40, the Super Saiyan experience he got from the Mind Stone showed him there were more powerful forms beyond his base state.
In Svartalfheim, he fought the Dark Elf King Malekith and truly broke through to Super Saiyan 1.
On Sakaar, he absorbed the divine essence from the bones of a previous cosmic god to break through to Super Saiyan 2 to get revenge on Ego.
Later, when he destroyed the Kree Empire's capital, Hala, he clearly understood the direction of Super Saiyan 3's power.
His transformation into a Golden Great Ape during his battle with Odin on Asgard gave him a glimpse of the possibility of a physical peak.
So, in another universe, Lothar had reached Super Saiyan 3 and, in his fight against Darkseid, absorbed the power of the Golden Great Ape to evolve completely into Super Saiyan 4, reaching the peak of both physical and energy power.
These were all facts that Woz had recorded in his reports.
Lothar had no path left to tread; his evolution had reached its final limit.
As a preeminent Eternal Titan, Thanos had immediately seen it when Lothar transformed into Super Saiyan 4 after returning to the Black Quadrant.
His physical strength had reached its limit, and his energy output was also restricted by the universal laws, preventing any further conventional increases.
Thus, to create a path beyond Super Saiyan 4, and achieve Lothar's goal of becoming a Super Saiyan God, he needed another unconventional and forceful method.
And Hela was that method.
Odin had to die, and Hela had to be unsealed. For the sake of his son's path to a breakthrough, Thanos arranged for Lothar to personally kill Odin. He then stalled the Ancient One, all so that when Hela was unsealed, she would willingly dedicate herself to Lothar.
The only thing he hadn't anticipated was Dormammu also being unsealed, but that didn't matter. Dormammu's arrogance and foolishness gave Thanos plenty of ways to manipulate him. Especially after seeing that Dormammu had a person abduct Frigga and bring her to the Black Quadrant, Thanos was even more confident in his theory.
And so, the "masterpiece" was born: using Dormammu's hand to bring Hela to a near-death state.
"You take one, Hela takes one."
"Put them on, then take Hela's hand." Thanos tossed two silver-white earrings to Lothar. The broad, giant blade in his hand became a shield, blocking all of Dormammu's attacks again.
"What are these...?" Lothar looked at the earrings in his hand.
"This is something I created back when your engagement to Hela was confirmed. It has no offensive capabilities. Its only purpose is to allow you to borrow Hela's dimensional power." Thanos turned around, his broad and tall figure walking toward Dormammu.
"Back then?"
Frigga, who had forcefully opened a portal in the Dark Dimension, frowned. From what he said, did that mean that over a thousand years ago, Thanos had already figured out how to exploit Hela's unique abilities?
"Lothar is my successor."
"He is my son."
"Is that a problem?"
Laughing lightly, the golden-armored Thanos plunged into the boundless dimensional wall, his giant blade in hand... The Ancient One and Frigga reached out to stop him but were too late.
"Thanos!"
"You'll regret this decision!"
"This is my world!"
Dormammu's roars were filled with fury and hatred. The sharp, overwhelming pressure from the gleaming blade made Frigga gasp.
"I have no regrets."
Thanos's calm voice echoed from within the dimensional wall. The sound of his metal armor cracking was startlingly clear.
"Father..." Lothar grit his teeth. Dormammu had no metal armor, so it was obvious what the cracking sound meant.
"Put it on... then hold... Hela's hand..." Remembering all of Thanos's instructions, Lothar obediently put the earrings on himself and the unconscious Hela.
"No reaction?"
After a moment of nothing, Lothar, holding Hela's right hand, frowned and instinctively tapped the silver-white earring hanging from his right ear.
"I—!!!!"
Whumph!
Two sudden waves of energy slammed against Lothar's heart like a raging torrent!
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
His eyes wide, Lothar could even hear his own powerful heart beating.
Swoosh!
In the blink of an eye, the blue and deep green divine powers shone brilliantly on both Lothar and Hela!
Dimensional power.
A power completely different from conventional energy was now flowing back and forth between Hela and Lothar.
Lothar could only watch, unable to make even the slightest expression or movement. He was completely held in place by an invisible hand.
"Ahhhhh!!!!!"
The surging muscles were scoured by the dimensional power over and over again. Even in his Super Saiyan 4 state, the pain was excruciating.
Years ago, Dormammu had willingly sacrificed his physical body to gain the power of the Dark Dimension, but Lothar was not willing to do the same.
He wanted control, not assimilation!
"Father said..."
"Power..."
"Must always be controlled!"
"Hraaaahhhh!!!"
Lothar stomped his feet hard on the ground, closing his eyes in agony. His hunched, roaring figure only made Dormammu's rage grow even more chaotic from within the dimensional walls.
"Hela! Hela is awake?!"
"How is that possible?!"
"She's not back in Asgard yet, how could she be awake?!"
Frigga, who had been watching them, stared in astonishment at Hela, who was now lying on the ground with her eyes wide open.
"The blessing of the World Tree."
"No, to be precise, it's the blessing of Ymir..." The Ancient One, in her orange robes, looked at the now-conscious Hela with a complex expression.
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