Mottled, dim strands of darkness.

Accompanied by the dark-red ruined spirit remains returning toward the depths of the Turbid Abyss.

They were the withered and extinguished Spirit Origins.

"The path of the One Who Unifies All, is it."

As violet-crimson motes of light gathered, Selene’s graceful figure emerged, half submerged in shadow, half bathed in radiance. Where there is creation, there must be destruction.

Those threadlike veins formed from Spirit Origin dust danced at her fingertips.

"Even forbidden destiny is still destiny. The destination of existence—existence itself is reason. You cannot deny it. To deny it is to be disqualified. How marvelous—the intertwined laws and statutes weaving into a cage, all living beings trapped within it, and you as well."

"I am also trapped within it."

Within this resplendent super-multiversal veil of flowing light, Selene reclined sideways upon the Sea of Origins of her sub-omniversal universe. Before the vast, surging domain of the Boundary Sea, her eyes gleamed with excitement and delight.

Do not make things too absolute—after all, you were the one who created it.

As though galaxies were rising and falling within her, her slender fingers lightly traced across the bubbles of the universe. Bizarre patterns shimmered with chaotic glimmer along her arm, exuding the aura of abyssal profundity, bearing an erosive scar capable of contaminating countless multiverses. They resembled a fragmented web of black silk as Selene slowly outlined upon it.

"I am waiting for you." The corners of Selene’s lips—no, more precisely, upon the ’face’ sketched into existence by the abstract concept of the second-generation First Firmament [Eternity] manifested in infinity—curved into a smile of quiet anticipation.

"The destiny of being devoured—of being unified."

Behind her, a colossal rift in the Boundary Sea stretched across the boundless expanse, half-open, radiating intense [Surge], [Quantity], [Mass], [Change], [Increment], [Possibility], [New]...

For the Marvel Universe.

"For you," she said, extending her hand toward the far side of the Boundary Sea rift. "Though I perish, I remain the [First Eternity]. Do not let us wait too long."

"Tch. I don’t recall being someone who talks this much."

"Oh, don’t be so serious. There’s an advantage to split spirits—relax a little. There’s too much fun here. I couldn’t resist sharing it with you, my true self."

"Understood. Enjoy yourself, but don’t forget to apply pressure."

Beyond the rift of the Boundary Sea, communicating through the will-network of her split incarnation, the true Selene slowly gathered the Servant spirit remains that had responded to the Marvel expedition.

Steady as ever, how could she allow herself to take risks lightly?

Though for the current Selene there was no longer any distinction between true body and avatar—she could exist in any time, any dimension, any form of point or plane. Each was the true body, each was the avatar. Infinity divided remained infinity. Yet this in itself was a paradox, dependent entirely on how consciousness chose to perceive and act.

Loss could still be quantified.

Hooo—

The wind of cosmic dust brushed by, nearly nonexistent, carrying the tranquility and depth of the void.

Selene filtered away all foreign elements within the spirit remains. The experiences, insights, and apotheotic awakenings of the "Limiter" were automatically extracted. After being engraved, together with the spiritual thoughts the Servants had acquired during their journey in this world, they were transmitted in an instant back to the Throne of Heroes—shaped, sublimated, anchored—completed in a single thought of her will, like a dutiful Creator within the Immaterium.

"OAA." After digesting everything, Selene softly invoked that ineffable and unspeakable name filled with mystical weight throughout Marvel.

Through the surface of all things, the so-called "OAA" ([Marvel Editorial Department])—could it restrain her? At most, they could cooperate. Both sides coveted everything about the other. Selene knew many beginnings and endings, and with the cards she currently held, it was enough to exploit the bugs.

Only exploit the bugs.

Within the opponent’s complete omniscient and omnipotent domain, Selene truly found it difficult to maneuver. In other words, if "OAA" were to enter Selene’s Honkai omnipotent domain, and failed to seize ’control’ at the first moment, Selene could flay and devour it alive.

A pity—it was only a thought.

Impossible.

And no longer necessary.

Because, "You have already begun to transcend the standard, my ’good senior.’"

As Thanos officially stepped onto that path, the forbidden heavenly mandate loosened and reemerged into daylight. Even though he had only just crossed the threshold, the process of "OAA" (the supreme of the mainstream narrative) transitioning toward "AAO" (the post-transcendence under the Jim Starlin system) had already become irreversible.

Though still invincible, still supreme—the highest god of the Marvel Universe, a true and genuine God—flawless and flawed, no matter how small, how young, how subtle and imperceptible, there was still a difference.

The seamless egg had cracked.

And that crack—"The beauty of the ’Limiter’ has taken effect."

...

At this very moment, within the star sector where the Anti–Black Order Covenant Alliance and the Black Order were engaged in war, deep space that had cooled following the retreat of the Divine Empress Order and the defeat or death of the Alliance’s upper-echelon super soldiers was once again illuminated by countless dazzling lights and incomparable brilliance and heat.

"Thanos of Titan!"

Above, a vast and majestic voice thundered across the void filled with the lingering heat of infinite warfare and its fading aftermath. Every jump network, every layer of spacetime and parallel dimension echoed with a deep, resonant tone like a colossal bronze bell.

From the towering Celestials—cosmic gods whose immense living metal bodies could coil around asteroid belts—one after another forced their way into this region of space where scorching and cooling coexisted. The void shields still operating upon multiple defensive satellites within the star system instantly surged with raging turbulence. The immense cosmic energy dispersing into the universe shattered and overloaded them in an instant.

This was power beyond the limits of mortal warfare in the present world.

To mount such a crusade, either a superpower on the scale of the Shi’ar or Kree empires would need to mobilize their entire national strength, or it would require a pantheon at its zenith like Asgard of old—with Odin, Hela, the Destroyer Armor, the spear Gungnir, and multiple divine kings and supreme artifacts.

As for the spectacle before them—if Odin saw it, he would likely shoulder Asgard’s golden palace overnight and flee.

The Celestials stood shoulder to shoulder, as though they themselves were the true descent of the stars, nearly filling this stretch of the cosmic curtain. Already, dozens of celestial bodies had disintegrated under the pressure of their sheer presence—

One must remember, when Odin battled the Celestials in ancient times, it had been only a small squad—five or six at most—including surveyors, planters, observers. Not dedicated combat units of the Celestial host.

Woooong—!

The Celestials acted cleanly and decisively.

As simple and casual as bursting a bubble, the void shields layered upon the planet’s surface overloaded in an instant. The entire planet exploded.

"Ah, it is you—the gardeners and interferers of the cosmos. You have not borne your responsibilities. I have borne them in your stead."

Amid blinding radiance and countless fragments of shattered stone, Thanos stepped out from the collapsing stellar corpse. The hive-city fortress that had withstood prolonged orbital bombardment had already fallen into ruin. Wielding an Infinity Gauntlet now far dimmer than before, Thanos ascended into deep space and fixed his gaze upon the metallic giants before him—varying in color, in the number of eyes they possessed, each bearing distinct inhuman traits.

"Derelicts. Incompetents. You failed to shoulder your duties. You failed to make the universe better. I bore your responsibilities in your stead. Look—how beautiful it is now."

He swept his gaze across the mechanical constructs that had come to a halt—stilled by loss, by the countless beings selected and erased into nothingness. With a dismissive wave, indifferent to the disparity in their physical scale, he seemed far more concerned with his impending retirement into the embrace of [Death] than with the Celestials blocking his path. Calmly, he gestured for them to move aside.

"Thy actions have gravely disrupted the balance of the universe. The Celestials should not be deceived nor humiliated by the supreme authority thou hast seized for such laughable reasons."

The foremost among them—the crimson Judge—spoke with solemn majesty. Six star-like eyes burned in alignment, dazzling beyond measure. "Thanos. Surrender the Gemstones. Thy mission is complete. Let the universe return to its origin—"

"Hahaha... laughable!"

Thanos’ coarse laughter cut him off. "Arishem, you call yourself the Judge, yet you would overturn your own kin? Are Celestials not permitted to die? What difference is there between you and the teeming masses—between you and ants crawling in the dust?"

"I said before—random. Calm. Fair. Regardless of wealth or station. That includes you."

"To return to the embrace of the universe requires not thy definition, transgressor."

"Then there is nothing left to discuss."

Because of the Celestials’ unwelcome intrusion, the emptiness in Thanos’ heart after snapping his fingers began to beat once more. With the six Gemstones upon him, he now comprehended and understood many cosmic truths once beyond him.

"I should thank Gorgon," he said.

Originally, Thanos’ purge had targeted only living beings within the present universe. Yet under the pressure imposed by the Divine Empress Order—their so-called blessing—his dormant Eternal bloodline had been further excavated. Far stronger than in the original timeline, Thanos could now unleash the Infinity Stones’ power more completely.

And so a new ambition had taken root—

To drag the gods down to mortality.

Aside from [Death], [Eternity], [Infinity], and [Oblivion]—the four abstract primordial deities embodying the universe’s own concepts—there was little he could not challenge. Even Galactus no longer warranted his regard, much less the Celestials and other cosmic deities. (In the cinematic universe, Thanos’ snap affected only the mortal world.)

Fairness should encompass all—that alone is true fairness.

His lips curled back. His eyes shone like the Gemstones themselves—bright, resolute. "Clearly, you cling to the past. You seek to reverse my accomplishment—and you possess the possibility to do so." He continued, "And the best precaution is to reduce you to atomic dust."

Thanos laughed wildly.

"Arrogant!!! The Infinity Gauntlet is shattered. Without the medium of transgression, thou—"

"Old relic. Your era ended long ago." He cut the Celestial off brutally.

It was not the prelude to a storm, but the suffocating tremor brought forth by countless bolts of energy lightning—millions upon millions—spreading outward from Thanos. Violet, blue, red, orange, green, yellow—sixfold radiance crackled across space.

An ineffable aura surged.

"Who decreed that without the Infinity Gauntlet, I cannot wield the authority of the Gemstones?!"

—

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