From afar, the Dark Quadrant appeared no different from countless ordinary small satellites in the Universe.
But this was one of the most dangerous places in the Universe.
Because this was the territory of the Mad Titan Thanos, with Black Order fortresses standing everywhere on the Planet.
The Black Order, an invincible army composed of cosmic mercenaries, pirates, rebels, and slave owners, had, under Thanos's leadership, slaughtered countless Planets, striking fear into innumerable people.
The Great Tyrant Thanos ruled this evil army with an iron fist, keeping them obedient and ensuring they followed his every command and will.
At the center of the satellite's land, a giant, tower-like fortress stood.
The door to the room at the top of the tower, belonging to the ruler of this Planet, had not been opened for a long time.
Thump, thump.
With a series of footsteps, Thanos's most loyal servant, Ebony Maw, whose every gesture exuded elegance, slowly approached the long-closed door.
"My Lord Sanos, you have not appeared before your army for a long time.
They are all a bit worried about you."
"What?
Do you think I would be defeated by a small setback?"
A deep, powerful voice came from the depths of the room, penetrating the steel door.
The voice still seemed full of vigor, but it sounded slightly different from before.
Ebony Maw's expression was somewhat puzzled as he lowered his head and replied,
"Of course not, we all know that having the Chitauri attack Earth was merely a small test from you."
After a pause, he hesitated before bringing up a piece of news that was gradually spreading throughout the Universe.
"My Lord Sanos, Ronan is dead.
Did you know?"
"Ronan, that childish boy?
I cooperated with him, gave him my two daughters, and helped him expand his power by fighting wars.
He searched for the whereabouts of the Stones for me in the Universe."
Thanos said with disdain and anger.
"He failed my expectations and died at the hands of the Inhumans."
The attack on Earth was a setback, and Ronan's Death at the hands of the Inhumans meant another one of his investments went down the drain.
Ronan, as a member of the Kree Empire's Supreme Controller, one of the Universe's strongest empires, could mobilize vast resources and intelligence.
He looked down on Ronan's insight and strength, but he had to admit that Ronan might find the Stones faster than he could.
"However,"
Inside the room, the voice calmed down.
"That is no longer important.
I have decided to personally search for the Stones."
"My Lord?
Has the time come?"
Ebony Maw exclaimed in surprise.
He knew Thanos's plan: to snap his fingers and wipe out half the population of the Universe.
In fact, all the high-ranking members of the Black Order were aware of this plan.
What a mad and grand plan; the one who completes it is destined to be forever remembered in the history of the Universe.
But Thanos also remembered telling them that the plan was not yet ready for implementation.
Because the action had to be swift, if the Infinity Stones could not be gathered in an extremely short time to catch them off guard, it would be very troublesome if some of the Stones' Guardians were prepared.
""
There was a moment of silence in the room; in truth, according to Thanos's vision, the plan shouldn't have been like this, but he had no other choice.
Ronan was dead; how could he find a new collaborator?
A cosmic empire ruler as simple-minded, arrogant, and easily swayed by emotions as Ronan was not easy to find.
What if the plan was exposed?
Click.
The door to the room suddenly opened.
In the dim room, a tall, majestic figure sat on a floating throne, gazing into the distance.
The Dark Quadrant was truly not a beautiful Planet; in the distance, there was only desolate land, and he seemed to be gazing at Death.
"My Lord Sanos?"
The atmosphere was heavy; a terrifying monster capable of destroying the Universe seemed to be hidden in the depths of the room. Ebony Maw slowly approached, swallowed, and tentatively called out.
He had never felt such a terrifying aura.
"Ebony Maw, how many Planets did I take you to in the past?"
Thanos, on the throne, asked slowly without turning his head.
"I can't remember, My Lord."
He replied, lowering his head, thinking hard, and his tone was uncertain.
"Too many Planets were conquered and saved by us.
Perhaps over a thousand."
"Over a thousand Worlds saved by me.
But not a single World could understand my greatness and mercy."
A low, deep voice echoed in the room, carrying a faint sadness.
As he got closer, Ebony Maw's expression changed slightly; he finally heard that something was off.
My Lord Sanos's voice sounded a bit old?
"Every World tried every means to stop my salvation.
Various assassinations, destructive weapons, I personally experienced countless of them."
Thanos stood up, his hands behind his back, gazing out the window, recalling the past, and sighed softly.
"From one to a thousand, why has no World understood my help?"
He thought of Titan, his home Planet.
It was once an extremely beautiful and fertile Planet, completely opposite to this Dark Quadrant, which was full of black and grey Earth and stone.
When the population was overflowing and resources were depleted, he proposed killing half the population to solve the problem, but his father, Alars, the ruler of Titan, personally ordered his expulsion and exile.
He was universally condemned and denounced as a foolish madman.
"From a young age, due to my strange appearance, I was out of place compared to others on Titan, with only a few friends."
Thanos, rarely, spoke to others about his origins; he was a genetically mutated Eternal.
"Exiled, I lost my family, lost my friends, lost my people, and traveled alone in the Universe."
At that time, he was not yet the terrifying Mad Titan of the Universe, but merely an unknown nobody.
He joined a group of cosmic pirates, taking a position as a technician on a pirate ship named Holk, and with his innate superior intelligence and the vast knowledge he acquired on Titan, he was responsible for repairing spacecraft, weapons, and everything related to technology.
"Following that cosmic pirate crew, I went to never-before-seen star systems and encountered unimaginable creatures.
Everyone on that ship was a ruthless executioner, except for me.
Having been exiled for proposing slaughter, I no longer laid a hand on anyone, vowing never to take another life.
Even if I was called a coward by the people on the ship, called a 'little purple flower' who would faint at the sight of blood, and was brazenly mocked."
The cosmic overlord slowly recounted that unknown experience, his words revealing a hint of self-mockery.
"Gradually, I grew tired.
The daily noise and revelry on the pirate ship always made me think of my home Planet in the deep of night, the only place that could bring peace to my heart."
Then he left that pirate crew, which was gaining notoriety in the Universe, and returned to Titan.
It was a grave crime for him, who had been sentenced to exile, to return to Titan without permission, but he still went back.
He wanted to go back and see his family, friends, and people.
"But when I returned, that beautiful Planet no longer existed.
Everyone had died, from resource depletion, leaving only desolation."
"At that moment, I understood: I was right!"
Thanos, with a slightly sad expression, suddenly raised his powerful arms, clenched his fists, capable of crushing the hardest metal in the Universe, his eyes sharp, burning with mad conviction.
"My Lord Sanos, your face—"
As he moved, Ebony Maw saw Thanos's profile, his eyes widened in shock, his voice suddenly rising, as if he had seen something unimaginable.
"If I had persisted then, my home Planet might have been saved."
Thanos seemed not to hear his exclamation, continuing his impassioned narration.
"My weakness and doubt ruined everything.
From then on, I embarked on a path of redemption, and a path to save this Universe; to achieve all this, I can sacrifice everything!"
At this point, he sat back on the throne, controlling it to slowly turn around, exuding a majestic authority, and softly comforted him.
"Don't be afraid, Ebony Maw.
I am very well now, better than ever before."
Thanos, clad in golden armor, sitting on the throne, had an aged face, with a white beard covering his deeply furrowed purple chin, as if he had entered old age.
However, his physique remained as imposing as ever, showing no sign of stooping or weakness, and the majesty emanating from him was even more terrifying, as heavy as a mountain, making it hard to breathe.
"But My Lord Sanos, you seem to have aged many years."
Ebony Maw stammered.
"During my travels through the Universe, I have always been studying my own body.
My people said that only a deformed body like mine could harbor such deformed and mad thoughts."
Thanos raised his palm, and a highly condensed purple cosmic mystic energy, emitting a terrifying aura, emerged, fluctuating and changing according to his will.
Ebony Maw's expression was astonished; Thanos was known throughout the Universe for his indestructible body, and he had never heard that he could manipulate energy.
"I discovered that my body structure is unique, almost resistant to the erosion of time.
After hundreds of years, once I reached my prime, the flow of my life became imperceptible."
"Moreover, I found that I am actually like an Asgardian; the older I get, the stronger I become!"
He took out an empty wine glass, which contained some residual grey herbal juice, emitting an ominous aura.
"My lifespan is longer than that of an Asgardian; perhaps I can live for hundreds of thousands of years without effort.
But as I said, I can sacrifice everything to save the Universe."
"Ebony Maw, do you recognize this thing?"
Playing with the wine glass, Thanos asked.
"Sigh of Ages—"
Ebony Maw recognized what was in the glass; it was a highly potent poison squeezed from an herb on an ancient, technologically backward Planet they had once slaughtered, which could cause rapid aging and lead to the end of life.
A single drop could make a race with a lifespan of several centuries age to Death.
"Someone once tried to use this in your food to assassinate you.
Just like countless previous assassination attempts against you, the assassination failed—"
Past assassinations had failed, but now Thanos had willingly consumed this poison, only to gain power, the power to defeat the anomaly that had appeared on Earth.
He slowly stood up.
"Ebony Maw, wake up my troops.
Depart!"