Han Yu walked forward but didn't attack immediately. Instead, he stood at a distance, silently observing Thanos.
"Unbelievable... truly unbelievable. I spent my entire life searching for it, thinking that merely finding it would be an incredible feat. Yet, I never expected that someone else in this universe would possess it as well."
Thanos looked up. As he did, his pupils gleamed with a deep, radiant blue, and an immense surge of Cosmic Heart energy emanated from his eyes.
Faced with Thanos' cold yet overwhelmingly powerful words, Han Yu simply smiled faintly, let out a quiet sigh, and casually slipped his hands back into his pockets.
The moment he exhaled, the wave of energy surging toward him dissipated into nothingness.
"Let's skip these pointless tests. If you have any real moves, bring them on—let's see if you're even worth fighting."
Han Yu lifted his chin slightly. The usual calm and smiling demeanor he had before was now gone, replaced with an air of arrogance. His eyes narrowed as he locked onto Thanos.
"I've never met someone this arrogant in my entire life."
Watching his attack being effortlessly neutralized, Thanos wasn't shocked—if anything, he found it unsurprising. After all, someone who had obtained the other half of the Cosmic Heart could hardly be considered ordinary.
"Well, now you have."
Han Yu spread his hands slightly. The moment his words fell, the entire atmosphere of the small, enclosed world shifted—growing colder and heavier.
Within mere breaths, frost formed over the trees and the ground, coating them in a thin, icy layer. Amidst the chilling air, a flicker of black light shimmered faintly, filling Thanos with an inexplicable sense of suffocation.
Battles between singular-universe-level deities in the Marvel cosmos rarely involved flashy, grandiose exchanges of energy blasts. Even for Thanos, such combat didn't rely on dramatic energy duels.
Despite wielding an immense power, Thanos' preferred method of fighting remained straightforward—channeling his energy into his weapon and attacking with sheer force.
At this moment, he gripped a massive double-edged blade, its surface covered in a thick layer of deep blue crystal—pure Cosmic Heart energy.
Meanwhile, in Han Yu's hands, he wielded the Hyorinmaru in a reverse grip, while his other hand controlled the Haotian Hammer, a soul ring floating up and down around it. He gazed at Thanos with an impassive expression and asked:
"I have just one question—why did you do it?"
The question seemed vague and disconnected. If anyone else had been present, they would have had no idea what Han Yu was referring to.
But Thanos understood perfectly.
"Why?" He chuckled. "Because it's fun, of course. I wanted them dead. I needed their souls as an offering—a gift for someone else. You, as a mere mortal, cannot possibly comprehend the existence that resides beyond this universe. She is a supreme deity who only finds joy when living beings perish."
Upon hearing this, any last shred of leniency Han Yu had for Thanos vanished completely.
The Thanos he remembered from the original timeline wasn't necessarily an outright villain. He was, at best, an extreme pacifist who believed in maintaining balance within the universe at any cost.
In the past, many life-bearing planets had over-exploited their resources, pushing their ecosystems to the brink of collapse. Their inhabitants, in turn, sought to plunder and ravage other worlds, causing the death toll to skyrocket.
It was a situation where reasoning would never work.
In the original storyline, Thanos' actions—though cruel and devastating to humanity—would only have lasting consequences for, at most, two hundred years. After that, the surviving civilizations would ultimately thrive.
Under those circumstances, Han Yu might have spared him. Perhaps he would have crippled Thanos instead, leaving him to live out his days in obscurity.
But now, upon hearing the truth—learning that his slaughter of countless lives had all been for the sake of a single entity—there was no mercy left in Han Yu's heart.
Han Yu pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, "For… Death?"
The moment he uttered that name, the proud expression on Thanos' face froze. Then, his body began to tremble slightly—out of sheer excitement.
"How do you know? Why?!"
Hearing this, Han Yu was momentarily speechless. Alright then, the Thanos he had encountered wasn't the "Population Control Officer" version but rather a simp for Death.
Now, he finally understood Thanos' actions. To please the legendary Goddess of Death, one of the Five Cosmic Entities, he had done all of this. She had no real name. From what Han Yu knew, she usually appeared in the form of a woman and was simply referred to as "Death."
Just as the battle between the two was about to begin, a sudden flash filled the room, and two figures appeared out of nowhere.
"Galacta?"
"Death?"
Seeing the unexpected arrivals, both Han Yu and Thanos instinctively blurted out two names. One of them was Galacta, someone Han Yu was quite familiar with. The other was a woman whose beauty was utterly transcendent—so much so that even Han Yu was momentarily stunned. No wonder Thanos was so infatuated.
The Goddess of Death possessed a face and figure beyond anything a mortal could compare to, but even that paled in comparison to the aura she exuded.
"Death! You've actually appeared! You can take a seat and watch for a moment—I shall offer you the most magnificent spectacle of a life's demise! I am certain you will be pleased!"
Not knowing why the Goddess of Death had suddenly shown herself, Thanos, ever the devoted admirer, called out to her with fervent enthusiasm.
Yet, to his dismay, she completely ignored him. Instead, her gaze remained locked onto Han Yu. After a brief moment, her red lips parted slightly as she spoke:
"You… are interesting."
Being singled out by such a supreme entity—even though she was an indescribably beautiful woman—sent chills down Han Yu's spine. For a moment, he was frozen in place, unsure of how to respond.
"Hey, don't just stand there like an idiot! I went out of my way to bring this deity here for you, you know? Death doesn't just casually appear before mortals—you should be thanking me!"
Galacta bounced over to Han Yu, speaking with a playful grin.
Han Yu, still in shock, asked in disbelief, "How did you bring her here? And more importantly, how were you even able to?"
Galacta waved her hand dismissively. "We're on good terms. I sensed she was nearby, so I just went and found her. No big deal."
Han Yu was baffled. "On good terms?"
People like them… have relationships? At Death's level of divinity, she should have long transcended all emotions. If she had no emotions, then how could she have good relationships with anyone?
Han Yu stared at Galacta in astonishment. She, in turn, flashed him a smug expression. She clearly understood what he was thinking—being on good terms with the Goddess of Death was simply one of her many talents.
Han Yu opened his mouth, about to say something else, when he suddenly heard an outburst from Thanos in the distance.
"Impossible… Impossible! She looked at you… and even spoke to you! That's impossible! She has never once spoken to me!"
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