The Babel Tower carrying Lothar and his companions descended slowly.
With one hand gripping each captive, Lothar flung them out of the ship effortlessly before stepping forward under the watchful gaze of his adoptive father—Thanos.
"Welcome back, my child."
"Father, the mission is complete."
Lothar bowed respectfully to Thanos. Behind him, the two captives exchanged uneasy glances, unsure of what to say. Diana, in particular, had already resigned herself to her impending demise—nothing more than a broken shell awaiting execution.
"Well done."
Thanos did not bother asking about the fate of Lothar's original warship. He had no interest in such trivial details. All that mattered was that his son had once again flawlessly carried out his orders, delivering a living, breathing target right to his feet.
"Whoa—wait, why am I floating?!"
Before Astra could even put away the bottle of liquor he had swiped from the Babel Tower, he found himself inexplicably drifting toward Thanos, his body completely out of his control.
"Lothar, who is this woman?"
Ebony Maw, the one responsible for levitating Astra with his magic, glanced at the visibly wary Diana and asked.
"Just an insignificant nobody. Pay her no mind."
"Excuse me, but could you at least put me down before we continue this conversation? Floating like this is incredibly uncomfortable."
Despite the tension of the moment, Astra's voice was calm—though his eyes were fixed firmly on Thanos.
He knew all too well.
Thanos was the one who truly ruled this place.
"I admire your courage, Astra," Thanos said, making a slight gesture.
Ebony Maw released his spell, and Astra finally touched solid ground. Taking a deep breath, he stretched his limbs, savoring the feeling of stability beneath his feet.
"Appreciate the compliment," he replied, his earlier theatrics fading as he regained his composure.
Even in the remote Torfa system, far from the Centaurian star cluster, Astra had heard tales of Thanos' fearsome reputation:
The Cursed Titan.
The last of the Eternal Titans.
The cosmic enforcer of balance.
The supreme ruler of the Black Quadrant.
The unchallenged conqueror of the Centauri system.
The Mad Titan—Thanos.
Standing in the presence of such a legend, even with all his bravado, Astra couldn't help but feel his stomach tighten. Fear gnawed at him, no matter how much he tried to suppress it.
"You seem to understand why I've summoned you," Thanos said, his voice calm yet laced with an oppressive weight.
"Now—tell me what I want to know."
A powerful compulsion surged through Astra's mind. For a fleeting moment, he felt an overwhelming urge to spill everything. But he gritted her teeth and resisted.
"I'm afraid I can't do that," he said steadily. "And I believe you already know why."
A storm of emotions churned within him. But beyond the fear—beyond the uncertainty—there was something else: a hatred so profound it drowned out everything else.
And then, the truth came crashing down upon the room like a thunderclap.
From the very beginning, this so-called 'kidnapping' had been orchestrated by Astra himself.
This was why he had never truly behaved like a prisoner.
He had never once feared being taken to an unknown location by Lothar. Because he had always known—he would inevitably deliver him safely into the hands of Thanos.
It had all been part of his plan.
On Torfa, he had deliberately manipulated circumstances so that he would be alone when Lothar came for him. He had even fired a plasma cannon at him—not to kill him, but to test his strength.
And once he confirmed that Lothar was powerful enough, he had gone along with the "abduction" without resistance.
Lothar frowned, his sharp gaze locking onto Astra.
"I want the Skrull Empire destroyed," he said at last. "More precisely, I want their 2nd, 3rd, and 10th Imperial Legions annihilated."
He ignored Lothar's stare, his focus solely on Thanos.
A few months ago, due to an unexpected scientific accident, Astra had stumbled upon a mystical realm—a place beyond ordinary comprehension.
There, he had received a gift from the universe itself.
He called it the Power of the Grand Cosmos.
The so-called "Hundredfold Energy Amplification" was merely one of its effects. And even that was only a fraction of its full potential—a mere sliver of the true power he had obtained.
But it had been enough.
Enough to reignite a hatred that had never truly died.
Astra sought vengeance.
Vengeance for his people.
Vengeance for his family.
He had once believed in the Kree Accuser Corps. But to him, they had become nothing more than decayed remnants of a bygone era.
When the Skrulls invaded, the Accuser Corps had hesitated.
When he demanded action, the Supreme Tribunal ignored him.
When he stormed Hala, demanding justice, he was turned away—unable to even meet the Supreme Intelligence.
So he had left.
Abandoning his homeworld, he sought refuge on Torfa, a remote Kree war reserve planet. There, he nurtured his hatred in silence, waiting for the day he could strike back.
And when the Power of the Grand Cosmos found him, he knew he had finally found his path.
He began spreading rumors. Whispering tales of an energy amplification formula that could turn ordinary soldiers into gods.
The Kree heard the rumors first. They came to him, demanding proof. He gave them exactly what they wanted: a single weapon infused with cosmic energy.
The moment the Kree accepted it as fact, he knew the Skrulls would too.
And once both empires had set their sights on this false promise, he reached out to Thanos.
He knew a being like him would never ignore the whispers of such an unfathomable power.
He also knew he would see through his deception in time. But it didn't matter.
He had gambled everything on one simple truth:
Thanos would get him off Torfa.
Thanos would not pass up the chance to claim the Power of the Grand Cosmos.
And if Thanos accepted his deal—if he annihilated the Skrull Legions responsible for the massacre of L77—then Astra would give him what he wanted.
He would hand him the secret to power beyond imagination.
Even if it meant his own life in the end.
"Baltan. Gazzler. Aurgus. Magar."
"I want them dead."
"I want them to pay for what they did to Planet L77."
"I want justice."
Finally, Astra took a step forward, stopping just inches from Thanos.
His eyes burned with a fire darker than the void itself.
"So, Thanos..."
"Do you accept my deal?"
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