Robert had no idea what was happening on Earth. After following the Celestial out of his universe, he found himself traversing a long passageway, suspended in a strange corridor for what felt like an extended period.
This wasn't because Instant Transmission was restricted—it was simply that the Celestial hadn't yet arrived at his destination. He too was still within this vast, eerie tunnel.
The scene was bizarre. The Celestial was flying ahead with all his might, guided by an energy pulse directing him toward the intended location. Meanwhile, Robert was casually following close behind, suppressing his presence so completely that the Celestial never even turned around to check if he was being followed.
Within this strange passage, Robert witnessed incredible phenomena unlike anything he had ever seen. Laws of different universes clashed against one another, sending ripples of energy in every direction—waves of power that didn't exist even between dimensions.
The intensity of universal laws was evidently much greater than mere dimensional shifts.
After what felt like a significant stretch of time, Robert finally saw a distant expanse of absolute darkness.
It wasn't light or brightness that marked their exit—it was a vast abyss speckled with countless small lights.
With his sharp eyes, Robert instantly recognized it.
It was outer space.
Or rather, this was a completely new universe.
SWOOSH!
The Celestial entered the new universe first. The moment he crossed over, Robert followed, appearing beside him.
"Looks like returning won't be too difficult," Robert murmured as he glanced over his shoulder, analyzing the path they had traveled. "I just need to break through the universal barrier and retrace my steps. The passage had multiple branches, but that won't be a problem—each universe has a unique signature. I'll be able to tell them apart."
Meanwhile, beside him, the Celestial seemed deeply unsettled.
"What's going on? Where's their signal?" The Celestial was murmuring to himself. Though he didn't say it aloud, Robert easily caught his thoughts.
"Why can't I detect any signals? Even if the others aren't here, I should at least find a signal from this universe's Celestials… Wait! There is one! I found one!"
Initially, the Celestial had been panicked. But the moment he discovered a faint signal, his anxiety transformed into excitement. Even though something clearly felt off, he clung to this as his only hope.
SWOOSH!
Without hesitation, the Celestial vanished, teleporting toward the signal's source. He was so preoccupied that he still hadn't realized Robert had been shadowing him the entire time.
Robert hadn't even bothered to mask himself beyond dampening his aura—yet the Celestial never once turned around.
"This universe… something feels off." Robert remained motionless, watching the Celestial disappear into the void. He had no urgency to pursue him—after all, he had already locked onto the Celestial's energy signature.
More importantly, Robert had also detected the identity of the source the Celestial was rushing toward.
It was Exitar, the Executioner—an old acquaintance.
The Celestial was so flustered that he hadn't even recognized the signal belonged to Exitar.
Before following, Robert took a moment to analyze his surroundings. Something about this universe felt off. Unlike his own, this one didn't seem as vast—it wasn't that he had detected an actual boundary, but his instincts told him this universe simply wasn't as big.
Additionally, he sensed familiar yet distorted energies scattered throughout. This suggested that this was not a true parallel universe.
"Let's see what's going on. The Celestials left together, but now only Exitar remains? Did their plan succeed? Exitar's power feels stronger than before…" Robert's gaze flickered as he pinpointed Exitar's location.
SWOOSH!
Robert vanished.
His arrival in this universe had gone largely unnoticed—compared to the vastness of the cosmos, he was but a single drop of water in an endless ocean.
—
On a distant planet, the newly arrived Celestial—now human-sized—materialized near Exitar.
The Executioner stiffened, his instincts flaring with caution. But when he saw who had appeared, he relaxed.
"Oh, it's you, Executor. Wait… something's wrong." Exitar narrowed his eyes. "Weren't you still incubating? How did you emerge so soon? And why did you come here?"
"I was…" The Executor started to explain but was abruptly cut off.
"Who's there? Show yourself! I know you're there!" Exitar's voice boomed as he snapped his head toward a nearby boulder.
A chuckle echoed from behind the rock.
"You're far more alert than him." Robert stepped into view, smiling at the two Celestials. "I followed him all the way here, and he never noticed."
"Saiyan?!" Both Exitar and the Executor exclaimed in shock.
The Executor was particularly stunned. "You… followed me?! How?! Why?!"
"Was it difficult?" Robert smirked. "You just had to turn around once. But you never did."
Exitar's face darkened. "You followed us all this way… What do you want?"
"You already know, don't you?" Robert's smile didn't fade. "You Celestials left my universe to find a way to power up and take me down. I just decided to speed up that conflict by coming to you first."
"But I have to ask… where are the others? There were so many of you when you left—why are you the only one left? Did your plan work?" Robert's eyes narrowed. "Because your power does seem greater than before… but that armor of yours looks wrecked. It seems more like you barely escaped something. What happened?"
"You—!" The Executor's anger surged at Robert's mocking tone. He stepped forward, but Exitar held up a hand, stopping him.
"We can't afford unnecessary conflict," Exitar said grimly. "Besides those Celestials who never emerged, we… are the only ones left."
"What?!" The Executor paled. He had already feared something had gone wrong when he couldn't contact the others, but hearing it confirmed left him shaken.
Robert's amusement faded slightly. "Interesting. So you ran into something powerful?"
Exitar took a deep breath. "You've already realized it, haven't you? This universe is different from ours. It's… incomplete."
When the Celestials first arrived, they had been caught off guard. They expected a parallel universe nearly identical to their own—but this one lacked key elements.
That wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
A weaker universe often meant weaker inhabitants, making it easier to harvest resources.
And indeed, this universe's Celestials were weaker and fewer in number. Some of the arriving Celestials couldn't even find counterparts to merge with.
But beings like Exitar and Arishem succeeded in merging, gaining new power.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly—until they attracted the attention of a certain Mad Titan.
Yes. Thanos.
In this universe, Thanos not only lived—he thrived.
Unlike Robert's universe, this Thanos had successfully acquired all six Infinity Stones. He had already wiped out half of all life, including the entire planet Earth.
And he wasn't satisfied.
Thanos sought to expand his mission across the multiverse.
The Celestials' arrival had merely given him the method he needed to reach other universes.
Thanos had watched as the Celestials merged with their counterparts.
But rather than stop them, he let it happen.
Because these Celestials were stronger than the native ones—and therefore, far more valuable.
Once they had completed their fusion, Thanos acted.
He used the Space Stone to trap the Celestials within a sealed domain.
And then he introduced them to his negotiation tactics.
With his dual-bladed sword in hand, Thanos personally slaughtered half the Celestials—all to make the survivors talk.
It was a familiar strategy.
He had once done the same to Thor, forcing Loki to surrender the Space Stone.
And this time, with six Infinity Stones at his command…
The Celestials never stood a chance.
______
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