Ernst understood the game. Thanos was deliberately provoking him, trying to pry his true identity loose.
The Mad Titan wanted to make it clear that a cosmic hegemon relied on intellect just as much as raw muscle.
Ernst did not take the bait.
"Why play hide and seek?" Ernst replied, his voice calm beneath his mask.
"If you can grab our tail, there is no need for these traps."
He crossed his arms.
"We have kept our identities perfectly secure. Your intelligence network is simply too inept to uncover the truth."
Ebony Maw stepped forward, his pale face twisting.
"Eloquent words will not make you a true leader, coward."
Shaw sneered, stepping up to match the alien's aggression.
"And what exactly are you? Stop spouting nonsense and stay put."
Weapons were drawn. The Black Order generals tensed, preparing for a lethal confrontation.
En Sabah Nur and the other shadow commanders mirrored their hostility, energy flaring around their fists.
Thanos ignored the escalating threat of his own team.
He kept his eyes locked entirely on Ernst.
"Why don't you rein in your subordinates?" Thanos asked.
"Please," Ernst countered smoothly.
"You should rein yours in first."
Thanos narrowed his eyes.
"Why?"
Beneath their masks, Shaw and the others felt a sudden, sharp wave of embarrassment.
Ernst's blatant shamelessness was difficult to endure in front of a cosmic warlord.
Thanos, realizing he was dealing with a pragmatist who cared nothing for traditional honor, let out a heavy breath.
He waved his massive hand. The Black Order immediately lowered their weapons and fell back into line.
Ernst offered a subtle gesture. His team retreated as well.
A collective, invisible sigh escaped the mutant commanders.
Ernst had technically won the psychological standoff, yet they felt more awkward than victorious.
"Very well. Let us not beat around the bush," Ernst said.
"I believe our current conflict is a misunderstanding."
"Continuing this war benefits neither of us. Can we end it peacefully?"
Ernst knew the request was highly improbable, but the tactical math required him to offer it.
Thanos looked at the human with genuine curiosity.
"Do you truly believe that is possible?" Thanos asked.
"Anyone who hears my name across the galaxy reacts in one of three ways. They resist, they beg for mercy, or they flee."
"You are the very first to propose a truce."
Ernst shrugged easily.
"I know it is a long shot. But I hold no inherent ill will toward you."
"In certain aspects, I actually admire your grand purpose. Whether you act to serve Death, or simply to maintain the universe's fragile balance, it does not concern me."
Ernst tilted his head. "As long as I, and the people I care about, are not included in the half of life you intend to cull."
"From a universal standpoint, I am a very selfish man. If you harm someone under my protection, I will kill you, even if it burns my own life to ash in the process."
Thanos studied him. "You speak as if you understand my burden. Tell me, how exactly do you perceive me?"
"If you want my clinical assessment, you are the ideal villain," Ernst replied.
"You possess unshakeable confidence. You execute what you believe is necessary, regardless of the hatred it breeds."
"The galaxy labels you the Mad Titan, the Titan of Death, the Titan of Destruction. Only a rare few recognize the weight of your actions, because your path is entirely solitary."
Ernst took a slow step forward.
"What I find surprising is the irony. The Titans are historically associated with creation and the comprehension of universal rules."
"Yet, you have mastered the Law of destruction, the exact opposite of creation, to advocate for balance."
"Is your crusade truly about saving resources, or is it an attempt to force a balance between creation and destruction?"
Ernst's words had inadvertently pierced the Titan's deepest, most heavily guarded secret.
Thanos quickly masked his fury, forcing a veneer of nonchalance.
"I must admit, you comprehend my motives better than anyone," Thanos rumbled.
"It is strange. Those who understand me usually call me a lunatic and try to sever my head."
"You are different. You acknowledge the validity of my views, yet you refuse to endorse my methods."
"I do not deny your logic," Ernst answered.
"Your core theory is mathematically sound. Culling half of all life would temporarily extend the universe's finite resources."
"But I still stand entirely against it."
"Why?" Thanos demanded, his voice rising in volume.
"Are you content to watch this universe slowly suffocate and die?"
"I assumed a being of your intellect would see the truth. This universe is reaching its critical limit. It is overwhelmed by endless, consuming life."
"I am trying to save it."
Thanos grew visibly emotional. The sheer frustration of finally meeting a peer who understood the math yet still opposed it pushed the Titan toward hysteria.
"So what?" Ernst replied coldly.
"Life has a beginning and an inevitable end. The universe itself is no different."
"The cycle of life and death is a fundamental constant. It is not the first time a universe has died and been reborn."
"Look at Galactus. Look at the cosmic entities. They are survivors from the universe that existed before this one."
"If this universe is truly destined to shatter, then we must accept the arrival of death. You need to learn how to accept the end."
"No!" Thanos roared, his eyes turning blood-red as he glared at the human.
"I will never accept it. I will save this reality."
Ernst shook his head slowly.
"Our philosophies are incompatible. I have no intention of convincing you."
"Thanos, the universe approaching its limit is an undeniable fact. You believe maintaining balance through slaughter is the only cure."
"But to me, free will is significantly more important than forced survival."
Ernst looked at the desolate landscape.
"On my homeworld, we have a saying. Life is precious, but freedom is invaluable."
"Even in the face of inevitable extinction, is it not better to grant life the right to choose its own fate, even if they choose to perish?"
Thanos caught the slip instantly. His mind worked like a steel trap.
"Freedom. Homeworld. Earth," Thanos deduced, his gaze snapping toward the ancient mutant.
"So, you are Terrans. Mutants from Earth."
Thanos pointed a heavy finger at En Sabah Nur.
"You are En Sabah Nur. The oldest of their kind. Intelligence reported you dead."
"It seems the one who claimed your life made a critical error."
Realizing his origin was finally exposed, Ernst let out a wry, self-deprecating smile.
"Well, the mask is off. I admit it. We are from Earth," Ernst said.
"You may call me Ernst. I am merely a researcher."
"But let us discard the pleasantries. We have business to settle."
Thanos sneered, his massive jaw setting into a hard line.
"I find your theory of liberty entirely ridiculous. I have observed Earth for a long time."
"Humans are a disease. They are cowardly, greedy, jealous, and selfish. They are defined by endless betrayal and slaughter."
"The air of your world is choked with the smell of gunpowder and smoke. You are the dirtiest parasites in the cosmos. You are entirely unworthy of free will."
Standing silently behind Ernst, the three mutant commanders, En Sabah Nur, Shaw, and Borgin, shifted uneasily.
Hearing a cosmic warlord systematically belittle their entire species was difficult to digest.
Yet, they found themselves completely speechless.
As extreme and hateful as Thanos's words were, they contained a heavy, undeniable truth.
"I will concede that point," Ernst admitted freely.
"What you just described is mostly accurate."
"Earth's inhabitants have committed endless atrocities. But they possess the capacity to correct their own trajectory."
"There are decent people on Earth striving for progress. How they choose to live is their own business, provided they do not threaten the wider galaxy."
"No outside force is qualified to strip them of their existence."
Thanos stared at Ernst, searching the human's eyes for deception.
"Do you truly believe the moral rhetoric you just spoke?" Thanos asked.
Ernst let out a short, quiet laugh.
"Actually, no. That was entirely fabricated to sound noble."
Ernst dropped his posture, his eyes hardening into ice.
"I am selfish because I happen to live there. I care about specific people on that rock."
"I will excuse humanity's flaws simply because I want to protect my home. Anyone attempting to harm that planet automatically becomes my enemy. It is that simple."
En Sabah Nur, Shaw, Borgin, and Stakar listened to the exchange in stunned silence.
They struggled to process the surreal reality of the conversation.
The feared Mad Titan, universally branded as a mindless tyrant, was driven by a tragic, desperate desire to save all of reality.
They vehemently disagreed with his genocidal methods, but their perception of the warlord had permanently shifted.
Even as bitter enemies, they harbored a sincere, grudging admiration for his terrifying resolve.
Thanos let out a slow, heavy sigh.
"It seems we can never be comrades," Thanos said quietly.
"This ideological divide can only be bridged by force."
"It was always going to end this way," Ernst agreed.
Ernst remained perfectly still, but the air around him violently fractured.
His momentum erupted, creating a gravity well.
Thanos responded instantly. The Titan's aura flared, a crushing wave pushing back.
Their respective energies collided in the space between them, stirring an invisible, howling hurricane.
Both leaders knew the stakes. Once the physical blows began, the sky and earth would shatter under the impact.
Any subordinate accidentally caught in the crossfire of their shockwaves would be instantly pulverized.
Observing from a safe distance was the only logical option for the others.
Ernst and Thanos stood motionless in the swirling dust.
They were competing purely in spirit and will, attempting to mentally crush the other before throwing a single punch.
Both possessed unbreakable minds.
They waited with lethal patience for the other to reveal a microscopic physical flaw.
The silence dragged on, heavy and suffocating.
Nearby, a massive stone pillar, heavily weathered by centuries of harsh winds, finally succumbed to the crushing atmospheric pressure.
It snapped with a loud crack, crumbling into the dirt.
It acted as the starting gun.
Ernst and Thanos moved faster than the eye could track.
They threw their fists forward simultaneously.
Flesh and bone collided with an apocalyptic boom.
A shockwave engulfed the entire battlefield.
The ground cratered beneath their boots. A massive cloud of pulverized rock and dust exploded outward, entirely concealing the two titans.
Miles away, safely aboard the Vanguard ships, the Generals and the mutant commanders stared nervously at their tactical screens.
They understood the gravity of the collision. The fate of the galaxy hinged entirely on the outcome of this single duel.
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