Thanos

Hearing Thanos say that, Adam froze again. He slowly raised a hand, pointed at "Thanos," and said unhurriedly, "Spit it out. Don’t beat around the bush!"

Underground, Alex was stunned once more. Although he had long guessed that Adam was extraordinary, he had never expected him to dare curse even Thanos! Thanos was a monstrous figure whose notoriety resounded throughout the universe. To please Death, one of the universe’s five great cosmic deities, he had once slaughtered several star systems. The cruelty of his methods and the coldness of his heart were horrifying!

Just as Alex thought Thanos was about to fly into a rage and attack, Thanos unexpectedly brushed it aside as though nothing had happened. Instead, he said, "Adam, the universe is about to fall into chaos once again. You should not exile yourself. It needs you to save it."

Alex was slightly stunned, then quickly understood. Since Adam even dared curse Thanos, his strength went without saying. The core prison likely could not hold him. The reason Adam had remained here was probably truly the self-exile Thanos had mentioned.

What confused Alex was what Thanos meant by "the universe is about to fall into chaos once again." As far as Alex knew, the universe had been quite peaceful lately, aside from the escalating war between the Kree and Skrull.

"Could Thanos be planning to interfere in the war between the two races?" Alex’s mind raced as the thought struck him.

While he was lost in wild thoughts, Adam’s voice rang out again, still carrying a faint chill. "Get lost!"

"So domineering!" Alex did not know whether anyone else in the entire universe had ever said something similar to Thanos, but he felt that no one could have been as direct and imposing as Adam.

Alex secretly extended his Psionic Power, wanting to see "Thanos’s" reaction. Yet to his surprise, "Thanos" was still not angry. Instead, he revealed a mysterious smile and said slowly, "Adam, are you really going to watch the world be destroyed?" At that point, "Thanos" deliberately paused, gave Adam a meaningful look, and continued, "That includes your birthplace, Earth!"

"An Earthling?!" Alex was completely dumbfounded. He had always assumed Adam was an alien. With skin as golden as his, that was not a trait an Earthling should possess.

Thinking of this, Alex suddenly paused, as though something had occurred to him. He muttered in disbelief, "Could he be a mutant? An Inhuman?" Other than humans, as far as Alex knew, only mutants and Inhumans on Earth could have golden skin like Adam’s!

"Tell me the truth. What exactly do you want?" Adam seemed to be growing impatient. His voice turned stiff as he asked bluntly, "Don’t try to fool me with such a pathetic excuse!"

"Thanos" remained calm, looking at Adam with complete seriousness as he insisted, "The Kree Empire and the Skrull Empire are about to go to war again. Earth is caught between them and could be destroyed at any moment."

"Thanos, I said, tell me the truth!" Adam’s voice became terrifyingly cold. A tangible pressure burst forth from his body. Even with Adam’s protection, Alex, hidden underground, could barely endure it. Fortunately, Adam’s aura came and went quickly, vanishing in an instant.

As Alex was still wondering about it, Adam suddenly spoke. His icy voice now carried a trace of anger. "No matter what you want to do, I can help you. But you need to do me a favor as well!"

Thanos clearly had not expected this outcome. He had prepared a whole series of contingencies, but they were useless now. With an inward chuckle, Thanos nodded without hesitation. "Don’t worry. I will help you, just as you help me."

"Before I help you, you must first help me deal with my Dark Incarnation." Adam stared into "Thanos’s" eyes. His expression grew solemn, and his tone became far more serious.

Thanos’s heart stirred, and he asked in confusion, "Dark Incarnation?"

"I foresaw that in a certain future time and space, I would fall into darkness and become a threat to the safety of the entire universe." Adam’s mood was somewhat low, and his voice grew much quieter. None of the domineering force with which he had cursed Thanos earlier remained. "Therefore, I hope you can help me prevent his appearance and ensure that a darkened version of myself will not appear in the future."

Underground, Alex was utterly confused by what he heard. He had no idea what Adam was talking about, even though he understood every single word!

"Thanos" was only slightly startled before instantly understanding everything. He nodded and said with a solemn expression, "All right. I can guarantee that Dark Warlock Adam will never appear in the future!"

Adam gave "Thanos" a deep look, then nodded. "In that case, I will come find you!" As he spoke, Adam waved a hand. Alex’s body trembled for a moment, and the originally fierce, domineering look in his eyes suddenly became unfocused, devoid of all vitality. But only moments later, it swiftly returned to normal, clear and bright.

Deep underground, Alex’s out-of-body consciousness immediately discovered that his physical body had awakened and regained control of itself. Alex cheered and, without a second thought, immediately returned to his body.

"Now tell me, who exactly are you?" Alex had only just regained control of his body when Adam’s voice reached his ears, still as cold as ice.

Alex paused at those words. After hesitating for a moment and thinking of Adam’s identity as an Earthling, he no longer hid anything. "Actually, I’m an Earthling too. Due to an accident, I ended up stranded in the Shi’ar Empire…" He roughly recounted his experiences. As for why he had entered Kyln Prison, Alex thought about it and simply explained that as well. From the conversation between Adam and Thanos earlier, Alex believed Adam was not on Thanos’s side. At the very least, their relationship was far from friendly.

Adam did not speak the entire time, merely listening quietly. After Alex finished his final sentence, Adam remained silent for a long while before saying, "I know what Thanos is like. He went to great lengths to find me, so he must have some special purpose." Adam glanced at Alex, and a faint smile suddenly appeared on his zombie-like face. "I’ll be careful. I won’t let him succeed."

Alex smiled awkwardly, nodded, and said happily, "With your word, Thanos surely won’t get his way!" Adam had cursed Thanos repeatedly, yet Thanos had endured it without retaliation. In Alex’s eyes, Adam was far stronger than Thanos. With Adam watching him, Thanos definitely would not be able to stir up any trouble.

Thinking of that, Alex could not help smiling. This meant his mission was complete, even though he had not learned Thanos’s purpose. But he could be sure that no matter what Thanos wanted to do, he would not succeed. That was enough!