On the barren world of Titan, silence ruled the desolate landscape.
At the center of a vast ruined hall floated an enormous throne suspended in the air. Upon it sat a towering figure whose presence alone could make entire civilizations tremble.
Thanos.
The Mad Titan sat with his massive arms resting on the throne's armrests, his face dark with fury. The normally calm and calculating warlord now looked ready to explode with rage.
"This is unacceptable," Thanos growled.
His deep voice echoed across the hall like distant thunder.
"A group of useless fools. You couldn't even complete such a simple mission."
His eyes burned with anger.
"The invasion of Earth was a complete failure. Not only did you fail to bring back the Space Stone, you even lost my Mind Stone."
The words were spoken slowly, but the pressure behind them made everyone present feel suffocated.
For Thanos, the Infinity Stones were everything.
His entire life's purpose revolved around gathering them. Every plan he created, every war he waged, was aimed at bringing those cosmic relics into his possession.
Yet the recent invasion of Earth had ended in disaster.
Not only had his forces failed to retrieve the Space Stone, but the Mind Stone he had personally entrusted to Loki had been left behind on Earth.
The result was nothing but humiliation.
Thanos clenched his massive fist.
"What I want to know," he said coldly, "is why a Kryptonian appeared on that insignificant planet."
Just remembering what had happened a few days earlier made his anger surge again.
At the time, when news of the battle reached him, Thanos had been prepared to intervene personally. He had already opened a spatial gateway, intending to step through and salvage the failure of his subordinates.
But before he could emerge from the portal, a terrifying figure appeared on the other side.
That man's body had been like living steel.
The sheer force radiating from him felt like a collapsing sky. Before Thanos could even react properly, the Kryptonian had slammed him back through the portal with overwhelming strength.
The Mad Titan had been forced to retreat.
Even now, the memory made Thanos' jaw tighten.
"We had no way of predicting such a development," one of the figures below the throne said carefully.
Standing beneath the floating throne were several members of the Dark Order. Among them was also the commander of the Chitauri army.
Unlike in certain past battles, the Chitauri had not been completely wiped out. Without a nuclear strike destroying their command center, their leader and a portion of their forces had survived.
"It appears the Kree Empire also launched an assault on Earth at the same time," another subordinate explained. "They lost an entire fleet as well."
"No one expected Krypton's Superman to appear."
Murmurs spread through the gathered warlords.
According to the intelligence gathered from the Kree Empire, the Kryptonian's appearance was connected to a traitor from their own ranks.
"That woman," one of the commanders said reluctantly, "is apparently the partner of that Kryptonian."
Several members of the Dark Order cursed under their breath.
The entire disaster could apparently be traced back to that single connection. What should have been a decisive victory had instead collapsed before it even began.
Thanos remained silent for a long moment.
Before these events, he had heard rumors about a new Kryptonian warrior rising from the ashes of their fallen empire. At the time he had dismissed the information as irrelevant.
From what he understood then, the conflict was mainly between that Kryptonian and the Kree Empire.
But now everything had changed.
This so-called new generation Kryptonian had interfered directly with his plans.
Thanos' eyes burned with cold fury.
"Don't let me encounter you again," he muttered.
"If I discover where your Kryptonian Empire is hiding, I will make sure my wrath spreads across every inch of that land."
In his mind, the solution was simple.
Once the location of Krypton's new base was discovered, he would send the full might of the Dark Order and the Vanguard fleet to crush it completely.
But at that moment, a dark shadow streaked across the sky.
A figure descended rapidly toward the hall.
It was Proxima Midnight.
One of the Obsidian generals arrived like a black meteor, her movements swift and sharp. Normally her presence commanded respect and fear, but today something about her appearance seemed wrong.
Her armor was damaged.
Her expression was exhausted.
Thanos frowned slightly.
She had arrived late to the gathering, something he did not tolerate from his generals. However, before anyone could speak, Proxima Midnight had already dropped to her knees beneath the floating throne.
Tears streamed down her face.
"Great Titan," she cried out hoarsely. "Please avenge my husband."
The entire hall fell silent.
"What?" several voices exclaimed at once.
For a moment everyone forgot their anger.
Corvus Glaive was dead?
As everyone knew, Proxima Midnight's husband was Corvus Glaive, one of the most feared members of the Obsidian generals.
The two had fought side by side for countless years.
"Who did this?" someone demanded.
Another commander frowned in disbelief.
"Corvus Glaive possesses near immortality. Unless someone discovered the secret of his weapon, killing him would be nearly impossible."
A cold wave of shock spread through the chamber.
Even Thanos narrowed his eyes.
He had not expected such news.
Regardless of revenge, the mere fact that someone dared to kill his subordinate was already an insult to his authority.
"Speak," Thanos said slowly.
His voice was colder than ice.
"Who killed him?"
Proxima Midnight's body trembled as she knelt on the ground.
After several moments she finally raised her head.
"The Vanguard soldiers told me before they died," she said through tears. "It was Superman… the new generation of Kryptonian Superman."
An uproar instantly broke out.
"What?"
"Did she just say Superman again?"
"That's impossible!"
"Why would he target us?"
The members of the Dark Order began shouting in disbelief.
Proxima Midnight barely seemed to hear them.
Her voice remained filled with grief as she continued speaking.
"That Kryptonian killed my husband. He destroyed the Vanguard forces and seized control of the dwarf kingdom of Nidavellir…"
She suddenly stopped speaking.
Only then did she realize that the entire room had become strangely quiet.
Every face around her looked grim.
"…Don't tell me," she whispered slowly, "that you've also encountered this Superman?"
No one answered immediately.
But the expressions around the room said everything.
Thanos' face had twisted into something terrifying.
Corvus Glaive had died at the hands of that Kryptonian.
More importantly, Corvus had been carrying out an extremely important mission at the time. He had been tasked with locating the greatest craftsmen in the universe to forge the Infinity Gauntlet.
Now Corvus was dead.
And the dwarf kingdom of Nidavellir had fallen into someone else's hands.
Which meant the Infinity Gauntlet itself was gone.
For the first time, a chilling thought formed in Thanos' mind.
The Kryptonian might be collecting Infinity Stones as well.
The realization struck him like a bolt of lightning.
If that were true, then the situation had already become extremely dangerous.
The Kryptonian already possessed the Space Stone.
He had also taken the Mind Stone.
And the Power Stone was likely in his hands as well.
"Damn it!"
Thanos suddenly rose from his throne.
The terrifying aura radiating from his body darkened the skies of Titan itself.
"I thought this Kryptonian only had a conflict with the Kree Empire," he snarled.
"It turns out he has been interfering with my plans from the very beginning."
Everything suddenly made sense.
The escape from the Kyln prison.
The theft of the Orb containing the Power Stone.
This Kryptonian clearly understood the value of the Infinity Stones.
"Bastard!" Thanos roared.
"What I hate most is that he stole everything before I could claim it."
Even worse, the Infinity Gauntlet—the most important tool needed to wield the stones—was now missing as well.
Hatred burned in Thanos' eyes.
Never in his life had he despised someone this deeply.
"The new generation Kryptonian Superman," he said slowly, his voice dripping with rage.
"Don't let me find where you're hiding."
"If I do, I will personally destroy you."
His massive fist clenched tightly.
"I've heard rumors that the Kryptonian Empire is rising again."
Thanos' voice turned cold and merciless.
"That dream will end the moment I find you."
"You will repay everything you've done."
"A hundred times over."
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