"No!" The Grandmaster shrieked, horror contorting his face. But once Thanos seized command of the Soul Gem, all resistance became meaningless.
The power gripping him was absolute.
A blinding radiance erupted from the Infinity Gauntlet, an ultimate soul-light, the pure essence of domination.
Though the Grandmaster had existed for millennia and cultivated a soul of immense fortitude, the light was too overwhelming.
He watched, helpless, as the chains of soul-force lanced into his body, bypassing flesh and tearing straight into the core of his being.
There was no dodging it, no shield to hide behind, no remaining dignity to cling to. In a single breath, the brilliance around him dimmed.
His will… extinguished.
The Grandmaster's soul had been shackled. Thanos had consumed it whole.
After several long seconds, the last flickers of his expression settled, and he knelt with eerie calm.
"Master," He said, voice devoid of defiance.
Thanos regarded him with cold indifference.
Mercy was not something he believed in, yet sparing this once-mighty immortal served a purpose. The Grandmaster's empire, influence, and accumulated power across countless ages were valuable assets.
Even weakened from Soren's assault, Sakaar's ruler remained one of the universe's most deeply rooted beings.
With such a foundation, Thanos's resurgence was all but guaranteed.
BOOM!
Space itself cracked like glass.
A surge of pressure washed over the planet, and Thanos's eyes narrowed, unease flickering across his face.
"Oh? I had a feeling you weren't dead." A voice followed, smooth and mocking.
" So this is where you crawled off to, Sakaar. And you've made a little partnership with the Grandmaster, I see."
Soren materialized from the rupture in reality. His presence alone warped the air.
Since absorbing the full power of the Power Stone and gradually mastering four others, his strength had grown so quickly that even Sakaar's notoriously unstable space could barely endure his existence.
Cracks splintered outward wherever his aura brushed the world.
Five Infinite Stones rested under his control, and four had fully yielded to him. He stood at the very edge of what this universe could contain.
Thanos's lips curled into a sharp smile. The Soul Gem pulsed on his gauntlet, feeding him confidence as it fortified his now-immortal spirit.
He was no longer afraid.
"Master has the Soul Gem," The Grandmaster roared, hatred twisting his newly-devoted face. "You, you're nothing but a thief, stealing the universe's Infinite Stone power!"
"To dare come to Sakaar now, you will die by the master's hand!"
He trembled with fury. The darkness of servitude corrupted his thoughts, but his hatred for Soren who started all of this, stayed true.
Soren didn't even look at him. "Who let the dog bark?"
The Grandmaster flinched, humiliated beyond measure, but he could do nothing.
Thanos growled, rage igniting. With a gesture, he summoned a narrow beam of pure soul-force, condensed to its absolute limit.
Once that beam touched Soren, even he would be hollowed out and bound forever to the Soul Gem's will.
A deadly crisis surged toward Soren, faster than breath, aiming to invade his spirit and rewrite his existence.
A violet radiance flared.
Three arcane circles spun to life, divine symbols rotating like celestial gears. A shimmering ring of godly power wrapped Soren's body just as the soul-ray struck it.
The ultimate soul assault dissolved against his defenses like mist touching a mountain.
Power of that magnitude could only be opposed by its equal. Soren knew this instantly.
Thanos wielding the Infinity Gauntlet, with the Soul Gem fully awakened, was longer dangerous.
He could channel the gem's will without resistance, bending its consciousness to his own. His control over it even surpassed Soren's mastery of his four stones.
Which meant one thing… A direct clash could not be taken lightly.
The divine barrier around Soren shimmered back into quiet equilibrium. He had blocked the Soul Gem's ultimate attack, but he couldn't ignore the truth he felt in that instant.
After binding the gem, Thanos's power had multiplied severalfold.
Killing him now would be far more difficult than before.
[Fear-Titan: Thanos]
[Threat Level: EX+]
[Abilities: Immortal Body, Near-Omniscient Mind, Soul-Class Immortality]
The panel flickered across Soren's perception, detailing Thanos's transformation.
This was the strongest state Soren had ever seen someone achieve, far beyond the Thanos who once nearly succumbed to him.
An immortal soul, a will anchored beyond destruction. As long as that remained true, Thanos could not truly die.
"So it's come to this." Soren exhaled slowly.
Deep inside, he reached for the final card he'd never once revealed… the last insurance the system had granted him… The Death Scalpel.
A single-use artifact with one terrifying property… guaranteed annihilation.
He had avoided relying on it.
A power that absolute always carried a price, but if Thanos's soul now existed outside the universe's cycle…
Then this tool might be the only thing capable of finishing him.
Still, Soren didn't draw it yet. Not until there was no other path left.
Thanos, drunk on newfound power, hurled another barrage of soul-light. The ground of Sakaar cracked like dry earth beneath the impact, and the divine rings shielding Soren trembled violently.
"Hahahaha!"
Thanos's laughter was unhinged, rage and exhilaration twisted through his words.
"To think, you nearly destroyed me! But now?"
He raised his hand, and the Soul Gem flared with hungry brilliance. "You can only defend now. You cannot win."
"Boy… hand over the remaining stones." His smile turned vicious.
The Grandmaster, still kneeling bowed deeply, as if confirming the demand of a god.
"Become my servant, as he has." Thanos gestured toward the humiliated immortal beside him.
"Kneel, and perhaps I might consider sparing the creatures of your Earth."
The air thickened with malevolent intent.
"Defy me…"
The Soul Gem pulsed, releasing tendrils of spectral fire. "…and their souls will be chained to me for eternity."