"He's going back in time!"
Strange cried out as emerald light from the Time Stone wrapped Thanos's body. The Titan shrank into the glow—and vanished.
The cosmos itself slipped into a bizarre state.
Time… reversed.
Ten years earlier.
A world before Saitama's arrival.
Hydra research base. Red Skull had just secured the Cosmic Cube and was marshaling scientists to study it.
Space writhed; a hulking figure stepped out of the void.
"Y-you—who are you?!"
The researchers gaped at the intruder.
"What is he trying to do? Stop him!"
Alarms blared. Soldiers surged in, unleashing a storm of bullets.
Ratatatatatatatat—!
Red Skull—one of the heads of the Nazi leadership—stared, dumbfounded, at the silhouette swallowed by gunfire.
For nearly ten minutes the barrage raged. When the last shot echoed out, the floor glittered with twisted slugs and steaming brass.
"At this point in Earth's history… you're practically prehistoric."
The giant muttered, gaze never leaving the Cube's cold blue glow.
Thanos.
Hurtled through the timestream by the Time Stone—his half-ruined body whole again.
Before their stunned eyes, he simply reached out and seized the Cosmic Cube.
"He's insane! You can't touch that! Any organic matter that makes contact—"
The scientist's warning died in his throat.
The Cube settled into Thanos's palm. His fingers tightened—lightly.
Crack.
Azure radiance flared, power waves blasting the room. Men flew like leaves in a gale. Only Red Skull managed to remain on his feet.
"The Space Stone. Good."
Thanos breathed. With the Cube crushed, a small, perfect gem fell into his Infinity Gauntlet.
Yes—the Infinity Gauntlet. Thanos had chosen to drop into the timeline after he'd obtained it from the Dwarf King.
He spared Red Skull a single, unreadable glance—and vanished.
In the next instant—
The ancient World Tree.
The age when Odin, All-Father of Asgard, clashed with Malekith, king of the Dark Elves. Thor and Loki were still children.
The Reality Stone—then in liquid form—had fallen to Malekith. Even so, the Dark Elf was no match for Asgard; Odin's might smashed him from the sky.
"The glory of Asgard will shine across the World Tree! There will be no place for Dark Elves in the era to come!"
Odin stood proud, far younger than in the tales to come, gazing down at his fallen foe.
"Losers don't deserve an Infinity Stone."
He reached for the Aether.
Space heaved. A lone figure stepped from the rift.
Odin's hand stilled. Around him, Asgardian warriors lifted their weapons, eyes narrowing at the intruder.
Thanos.
Now armed with the Time Stone and the Space Stone.
This was the only path he saw to defeating Saitama: run the river of time and gather all six stones.
"The Reality Stone, is it? Seems I'm just in time."
His eyes never left the liquid crimson mass in Malekith's grasp.
"Stop! That is the All-Father's spoils! Who are you?!"
An Asgardian bellowed, stepping forward.
Odin's brow furrowed. The power he sensed from this stranger made even him uneasy.
"Me? The savior of the universe. Your merciful deliverer."
Thanos smiled faintly—and reached for the Aether.
The affront to an Asgardian's honor was too much. With a roar, the warrior charged.
"Weak."
A pulse from the Space Stone rippled out from Thanos like a tidal sea. Space buckled and shattered in concentric waves. The warriors caught in it didn't even have time to scream; they were reduced to drifting fragments in an instant.
Only Odin still stood, face ashen, wrath boiling in his eyes. A heartbeat ago, living heroes of Asgard—now dust on the wind…
Thanos lifted Malekith with one hand.
"Don't kill me! Don't— I'll give you the Reality Stone!"
"The Reality Stone? It's already mine."
Thanos's smile widened. His fingers tightened.
Crack.
The Dark Elf king's skull burst. The headless corpse dropped, while the Aether—scarlet and liquid—rose in a slow, gleaming spiral.
"Enough! I see the doom of the universe upon you!"
Odin's voice finally thundered. Golden sanctity cloaked him; in his hand, the Eternal Spear. Below him, the eight-legged steed stamped and snorted, lightning gathering to his call.
"Once, perhaps, I would have heeded you, All-Father. But now? 'Skyfather' is… very small in my eyes."
Thanos's indifference cut like ice.
A golden streak—
The Eternal Spear screamed through the air.
Clang—
Odin stared, aghast. Thanos had swatted his divine weapon aside with a casual palm.
With two stones, Thanos already stood far beyond the Skyfather tier.
And in the next breath—he took his third.
The Aether coalesced midair, hardening into a small crimson gem that clicked into a waiting socket on the Gauntlet.
Three stones.
Complete.
Power like nothing he had felt before flooded Thanos's frame.
"Odin, 'All-Father'… name without substance."
His massive hand swung down.
Space seized, compressing into an invisible mountain that crashed from above.
Odin's face tightened. He hurled lightning skyward.
KRAK!
Thunder met the crushing space. Even so, the shock hurled the All-Father back, blood spraying from his lips.
Thanos stepped once into the void, spared Odin a cold glance, and turned away.
He had no time to linger.
Three Infinity Stones remained.
(End of Chapter)
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