Ronan never revealed the truth about Thanos destroying Xandar after he returned home. Instead, he chose to shoulder the blame himself.
At the same time, the Kree Empire—clearly not eager to fight on two fronts—deliberately announced that Xandar had been destroyed by Thanos.
Their goal was simple: appease the Peace Alliance and keep things from spiraling out of control.
Ironically, they had stumbled onto the truth by accident.
The Peace Alliance, for its part, had no real desire to start a war with the Kree Empire either, so it tacitly accepted the official explanation and let the matter slide.
Any civilization that manages to survive in the universe is naturally cautious to the extreme.
When two major powers are evenly matched, no one wants to gamble everything over a single incident—no matter how serious it might be.
That said, relations between the Peace Alliance and the Kree Empire had clearly sunk to a new low.
If the Kree Empire ever showed signs of losing ground in its war against the Skrull Empire, the Peace Alliance would not hesitate to kick them while they were down and settle old scores.
Meera, of course, believed she already knew the "real" truth. Because of that, she never truly intended to make things difficult for Gamora.
Just as the five Guardians of the Galaxy were silently groaning and bracing themselves for trouble, Mela suddenly stopped breathing—and then reverted to the appearance of an ordinary woman.
"However," she said calmly, "considering that your father also works for Ronan, I won't make things difficult for you."
She shook her head lightly and continued, "The reason I asked you here is simple. I want you to do something for us. Don't worry—you'll be well compensated. One billion Peace Coins."
The Nova Corps, naturally, used Peace Coins. There was no way they'd still rely on the Commercial Alliance's Cosmic Coins.
The moment Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon heard the number, their eyes practically lit up like star engines. If drooling were an Olympic sport, they'd both be medal contenders.
"What is it?" Star-Lord blurted out. "We'll get it done. No problem. Easy."
"Yes, yes," Rocket added quickly. "I swear in the name of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Totally reliable. Extremely professional."
Mela ignored both of them and turned her gaze directly to Gamora, waiting for her answer.
Gamora didn't show even a hint of excitement. Instead, she asked in a low, steady voice, "What do you want us to do?"
Mela smiled faintly. "I want the Infinity Stones from Thanos. For every one you bring me, I'll give you one billion. Two stones, two billion."
The legend of the Infinity Stones was common knowledge among anyone with real power or influence in the universe.
Ronan knew about the Power Stone—so there was no way the leader of the Nova Corps wouldn't know as well.
Mela's desire for the stones came down to one thing: power.
Those who survive and rise in the universe are never naïve. Given the chance to gain more strength and expand their influence, they would seize it without hesitation.
Star-Lord felt a headache coming on the moment he heard both "Infinity Stones" and "Thanos" in the same sentence.
Of course, he didn't know that Thanos had been present when he originally obtained the Orb of Destiny, or that Thanos had even ordered his death.
After all, Ronan had already killed him by then.
Star-Lord had simply woken up the next day in a safe place, completely unaware of what had happened afterward.
But Thanos's name—the cosmic overlord who killed Odin and destroyed Xandar—was known everywhere. Almost no one in the universe hadn't heard of him.
And now they were being asked to steal Infinity Stones from that guy?
That wasn't a job. That was a suicide note.
Rocket Raccoon, however, didn't hesitate at all.
"Leave the Infinity Stones to us," he said confidently, then paused. "But, you know… we'll need a deposit."
As he spoke, he rubbed his thumb and forefinger together in a gesture understood across the entire universe.
Mela smiled faintly, glanced at Gamora, and said, "One hundred million Peace Coins. As a deposit."
At her level of power and status, money was trivial—something she could obtain whenever she wished.
Infinity Stones, on the other hand, were priceless.
The moment they heard "one hundred million," even though it was Peace Currency, all lingering doubts vanished.
"Deal!" Star-Lord said immediately. "We'll head out right now."
"Yes, yes!" Rocket nodded eagerly. "Right now sounds perfect!"
Mela didn't respond. She simply looked at Gamora.
Clearly, Star-Lord and Rocket weren't factors worth considering. From the beginning, Gamora had been the only one she cared about.
Gamora glanced at her teammates, then remembered her father's warning—and the fact that she would eventually have to face him again anyway.
She nodded. "Fine. But I can't guarantee I'll get the Infinity Stones."
Mela's smile widened slightly. She turned and began to walk away.
"That's fine," she said over her shoulder. "Just do your best. One stone is worth a billion."
…
One month later.
On an unnamed planet somewhere in the Milky Way.
Thanos, clad in gleaming golden armor, extended his right hand toward the ground.
From deep within the planet's core, vast streams of crimson energy surged upward, pouring relentlessly into his palm like molten blood drawn from the world itself.
After spending three years cultivating inside a star and fully digesting its power, I can finally use the Star Absorbing Technique again.
At his current pace—roughly one planet every ten days—this was already the third world he had drained.
Just then, Xiao Lan's calm voice echoed in his mind.
"Master, Miss Gamora has returned."
Thanos paused, genuinely surprised.
Given Gamora's temperament, he had expected her to stay away for at least three months. Possibly longer, just to be difficult.
So she came back this soon?
The thought barely registered. Without hesitation, he increased the absorption speed. The planet shuddered, its remaining vitality ripped away in seconds. Once the last traces of energy vanished, Thanos lifted off and streaked toward Temple II, drifting silently in the void of space.
One day later.
He returned to Titan.
Night had fallen, but the sky was dull and washed out. Light pollution smothered the stars, leaving only a single purple moon hanging forlornly overhead, like a tired witness to a dying world.
As Thanos's foot touched the ground, his senses immediately spread outward. Besides Gamora, there were four unfamiliar presences nearby.
Weak. Extremely weak.
So weak that they barely warranted notice.
The temples of Titan had been modeled after those on Talos—towering, solemn structures meant to inspire reverence. Unfortunately, stripped of ornamentation and grandeur, they now looked almost whitewashed. Compared to the Nova Corps' dazzling golden towers, they were painfully plain.
Thanos walked forward, his footsteps echoing through the halls.
Tap. Tap. Tap…
The sound reverberated unnaturally, heavy and deliberate, as if the temple itself were holding its breath.
Moments later, he pushed open the doors and entered the brightly lit palace. Without breaking stride, he walked straight toward the throne.
Standing below it were Gamora, Star-Lord, a massive grey-skinned man, a raccoon barely a meter tall, and a tree-like humanoid towering over two meters.
Thanos had met Star-Lord before. The others required no introduction.
At the instant he appeared, Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, and Drax were crushed by an overwhelming pressure—ten, perhaps a hundred times stronger than what they had felt from Mela.
Each echoing footstep felt like it was stomping directly on their hearts.
Breathing became difficult. Cold sweat soaked their backs. Their legs trembled uncontrollably, threatening to give out at any second.
Gamora alone remained unmoved.
She stood silently with her head lowered, her expression hidden, her thoughts unreadable.
Fortunately for them, Thanos neither focused his aura nor released his full power. Otherwise, standing would have been the least of their problems.
A moment later, Thanos seated himself on the throne. His gaze locked onto his daughter, cold and sharp as a blade.
"So," he said calmly, "you finally decided to come back."
His eyes flicked briefly over the figures beside her, then returned to Gamora.
"Did you bring the message I asked for?"
.....
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