Over the following days, Locke began laying the groundwork for chaos across the universe.
Ebony Maw, whose linguistic abilities bordered on outright psychological manipulation, personally spread countless rumors through interstellar networks, trade routes, and diplomatic channels.
The stories varied slightly depending on the audience.
Some claimed Thanos had already gathered five Infinity Stones and was preparing to seize the sixth from Earth.
Others claimed he had nearly completed the Infinity Gauntlet and intended to establish absolute rule over the universe once all six gems were assembled.
There were even rumors describing his future empire in terrifying detail. Entire civilizations would supposedly be enslaved, rival factions exterminated, and every force in existence crushed beneath his rule.
Naturally, all of it was intentional.
Locke's goal was simple.
He wanted to drag the entire universe into the game.
The Three Great Empires.
The Ten Grand Alliances.
Every major interstellar civilization.
Every paranoid cosmic faction.
Every hidden enemy.
The more chaotic the universe became, the less attention Death could focus directly on him.
After all, Death wasn't merely observing one universe. Her consciousness stretched across the multiverse itself. The larger the disturbance became, the more her attention would be divided.
And once her focus shifted elsewhere, Locke would finally have the opportunity he needed.
He would teleport to the Zeus Galaxy.
Find Doctor Strange.
Take the Time Stone.
Then immediately return to Earth using the Space Stone and seize the Reality Stone as well.
Once all six Infinity Stones were in his possession, everything would change.
At that point, he would finally possess the qualifications to negotiate with Death directly.
Or ignore her entirely.
Of course, Locke had considered the possibility that Gamir lied to him.
But whether the Celestial's words were true or not no longer mattered completely.
One thing was certain.
He could not remain under Death's control forever.
And since he never intended to complete Death's so-called mission in the first place, using this opportunity to break free from her influence was undoubtedly the best possible choice.
As the rumors spread farther and farther, unease gradually consumed the universe.
The phrase "five Infinity Stones" alone was enough to terrify countless civilizations.
Everyone understood what six stones represented.
Absolute power.
Universal domination.
No intelligent lifeform wanted to live beneath a cosmic tyrant capable of rewriting reality itself.
Under growing pressure, even long-standing enemies temporarily halted their wars. The Three Great Empires and Ten Grand Alliances abandoned their conflicts and began negotiations for a joint military operation.
Surprisingly, the discussions progressed with terrifying speed.
In less than three days, a unified coalition officially formed.
An expeditionary force of ten billion warships was assembled almost immediately.
Alongside the fleets came thirteen Heavenly Father-level powerhouses and hundreds of Sub-Heavenly Father-level combatants.
It was an army capable of erasing almost any faction in existence.
And because of Ebony Maw's carefully guided rumors combined with Locke's deliberate displays of strength, nearly every major force in the universe joined willingly.
Although only the vanguard fleets had arrived so far due to distance limitations, the military power gathered already surpassed anything seen in countless years.
Among all participating factions, the most enthusiastic was undoubtedly the Alliance of Gods.
After all, they were geographically closest to Locke's territory.
Which also meant they had the most to fear from him.
One month later, the coalition army finally arrived near the outer regions of the Milky Way.
Billions of warships filled the surrounding star systems like a cosmic ocean of steel.
At any moment, war could begin.
And just as Locke had hoped, Death finally appeared.
Darkness swallowed his vision before his consciousness was pulled into her private mental realm once more.
Death stood before him in the same seductive black outfit as always. Her flawless figure remained as mesmerizing as ever.
But this time, something was different.
Her brows were slightly furrowed.
She looked annoyed.
"What exactly have you been doing lately?" Death asked coldly. "Why is the entire universe suddenly condemning you? And why are there rumors everywhere claiming you've already obtained five Infinity Stones?"
Naturally, she knew Locke no longer possessed the stones themselves.
That was exactly why the rumors confused her.
Locke lowered his head slightly, appearing calm and respectful.
"I'm not sure either," he replied smoothly. "My guess is that Captain Marvel or Doctor Strange deliberately spread the rumors. They hate me deeply, after all."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Or perhaps something behind them is manipulating the situation."
Death fell silent.
She lowered her gaze and began thinking quietly.
Unlike beings focused solely on one reality, most of her consciousness remained occupied with the multiverse itself. She simply didn't have the energy to constantly monitor every small event inside a single universe.
After considering it for a while, she finally nodded slowly.
"That explanation makes sense."
Then her expression became colder.
"I'll help resolve this problem," she said. "But behave yourself for now. The Annihilation Plan will begin soon."
Locke's eyes flickered slightly.
"What exactly is the plan?" he asked immediately. "And what do you need me to do?"
Death shook her head.
"You'll know when the time comes," she answered calmly. "I'll inform you later."
The next second, she vanished.
Back in reality, Locke slowly rubbed his chin while deep in thought.
She still refused to reveal her actual plan.
But the information she accidentally exposed was already enough.
Whatever Death intended to do, the scale was enormous.
And if Earth's gods were somehow involved, then the targets could only be other gods.
After all, only gods could threaten gods.
But killing a god-level existence would inevitably involve multiversal-level combat power.
Except…
True multiversal entities normally couldn't unleash their complete power inside a universe itself. Their real bodies existed beyond reality, within the endless void outside creation.
What appeared inside universes were merely avatars or clones.
The most famous example was Galactus.
One of the Five Cosmic Gods.
Galactus maintained countless avatars throughout the universe, endlessly devouring life-bearing planets in the name of preserving cosmic balance.
However, because his consciousness was split among so many incarnations, his mental state was notoriously unstable. Sometimes he behaved intelligently.
Other times, he seemed almost braindead.
Worse still, Galactus was constantly targeted by countless cosmic forces, causing many of his incarnations to die repeatedly across the universe.
Over time, it even became common for civilizations to measure power levels by comparing them to "fed Galactus" states.
Then suddenly—
A possibility appeared in Locke's mind.
Could the Annihilation Plan involve luring Galactus toward Earth?
His eyes narrowed instantly.
There actually had been a major Earth-devouring event around this time period.
And the ending had always seemed absurd to him.
Galactus was supposedly killed by the self-destruction of Silver Surfer.
The more Locke thought about it, the less believable it sounded.
Silver Surfer had spent countless years helping Galactus devour inhabited worlds. Yet somehow, he suddenly developed a conscience at the perfect moment?
That alone was suspicious enough.
But even more ridiculous was the idea that a single self-destruction attack could kill Galactus entirely.
No matter how mentally unstable Galactus might be, there was absolutely no way he would grant a servant enough power to destroy him completely.
Just like the divine power Locke granted the Black Order, most rulers only distributed a tiny fraction of their strength specifically to prevent betrayal.
So how could Silver Surfer possibly possess enough energy to kill Galactus himself?
Clearly, hidden hands had manipulated the entire event behind the scenes.
But things were different now.
There were no superheroes left on Earth capable of handling such disasters.
Which meant the gods themselves might be forced to intervene personally.
And if that happened…
Wouldn't that create the perfect opportunity for Death's so-called "Annihilation Plan"?
Countless thoughts rapidly filled Locke's mind.
If Galactus devoured Earth, then the Reality Stone would inevitably be lost as well.
Which raised another question.
Why did Death refuse to let him activate the Reality Stone?
Could the Reality Stone possess some special connection to the embryonic Celestial hidden within Earth?
And what about the Nine Realms?
Why did they overlap near Earth once every thousand years?
Was there some deeper connection between that phenomenon and the Reality Stone?
And why was Earth itself a dimensional nexus?
Dormammu watched Earth constantly.
Mephisto watched Earth constantly.
Even the Four Ancient Gods kept their eyes fixed on Earth.
The more Locke thought about it, the colder his expression became.
Earth's secrets ran far deeper than he originally imagined.
Even primordial creator gods were scheming around that single planet.
After thinking for a long time, Locke finally stopped forcing himself to guess further.
Without additional clues, speculation alone was meaningless.
Still, one conclusion had become absolutely certain in his mind.
Earth contained unimaginable terror.
But it also contained unimaginable opportunity.
.....
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