The surrounding was dark and wet, the only source of light being the line trailing across the entire room. The line was an opening that revealed a yellow energy that powered the whole ship.
A giant man wearing golden armor which would have suited conquerors was walking around in that dark and gloomy place which almost looked like a cave rather than the heart of a gigantic spaceship.
At the center was an elevated platform that went up ten steps, and at the top was a majestic throne made of stone. The intricate carvings and humongous frame hinted at the might of the being who would've sat on such a throne.
The air inside the room seemed to be in a perpetual state of despair, it felt heavy and cold, giving the impression of an invisible hand constantly pushing you down.
Thanos walked around the platform which held the throne at the top. Every step he took echoed in that dark, silent room as if he were the only existence that walked the universe.
His face was a stoic wall that hid everything behind. He paced around for a long time before he inevitably came to a halt.
Silence stretched for a few more seconds and he finally waved his hand. At his gesture, a yellow hologram screen revealed itself along the edge of the platform.
The screen was wide and showed a multitude of information, but Thanos focused on the information about the latest planet he had - as labeled in the hologram - 'liberated'.
.
.
7,647,890,153.
.
.
That was the number of lives that had been reaped in a single day, in the name of salvation. That was the number of lives that have been sacrificed for the greater good.
Thanos did not like it. He did not like how all those lives lost were represented with those cold numbers.
7,647,890,153.
It did not show all the love, all the emotions, and all the memories that have been lost with the loss of every single life.
Thanos wondered how many stories were hidden beneath those 10 numerical figures. How many love died, just to add a single unit (+1) to the insane casualty numbers?
"Hmmm.." Thanos hummed as he stared at the digits which showed the casualty of the aftermath of his latest conquest. The numbers showed the exact number of losses and nothing at the same time.
But why should he care anyway? He thought to himself.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
"Good shower thoughts." He simply commented with a shrug as he continued his walking inside the cave-like room.
The place was made entirely out of rocks and there was even a puddle on the ground. Thanos instinctively looked up to search for a leak but quickly realized the stupidity behind his action.
He was at the heart of a moon-sized spaceship and - he was not sure but - there was no rain in space. He was no longer at the run-down orphanage.
He looked around the dim cave-like room which was a strange thing to exist inside a technologically advanced spaceship.
"Did Thanos do this just for the aesthetics? What is he, Batman?" Thanos joked while examining his surroundings.
He did not admit it out loud but he thought it was really cool. Quite fitting for the final villain.
He turned his head to look at the ground before he strongly stomped on it with his right foot. He put enough strength to destroy the ground completely but he was surprised to see no crater was formed from it.
The result was only a small crack in the ground.
"Okay, that was cool." He said with his deep voice, noting that it was way more studier than it looked.
He turned to look at the yellow hologram again and waved his hand in a downward motion, after which the hologram screen disappeared.
It has been almost a day since he entered Sanctuary II and he was getting used to the basic functioning of the technology after many trials and errors.
Then he heard the sound of doors opening. He turned his head and saw a person with a hooded cloak entering from the entrance.
Thanos saw that and walked to his throne. By the time he sat his massive body on the throne, the person was already at the bottom of the steps.
The person was someone Thanos remembered from the movies in his past life. He was called "The Other".
The Other was a mysterious alien who worked under Thanos and usually spoke on Thanos' behalf. He had shown superhuman speed but other than that, his abilities are unknown.
He was quite weak and was simply killed off by Ronan the Accuser in the first Guardian of the Galaxy movie.
"My Lord." The Other said, waving his bluish-grey hands which only had found fingers - two thumbs and two middle fingers.
"It has been done. Loki had finally reached Earth and had begun his operation. Everything is going according to your plan." He said in utter admiration. His obsession with Thanos could be heard from his voice even though his face was hidden.
"Good." Thanos simply said with a nod even though he had no idea what the fuck was going on. 'What plan?' He wanted to ask but held himself back.
His situation greatly reminded him of that novel he once read titled 'Overlord'. Hopefully he was as lucky as the main character there.
But Thanos was actually not as clueless as he seemed. He had spent a day on the Sanctuary II and during that time, he had gotten familiar with his armies through the information displayed on the hologram.
Like for example, he was now aware that his armies were currently split into five parts with each one under his children, The Black Order.
They were currently indifferent galaxies, crusading in his name, invading different planets and killing half of the population in the name of salvation. His two favorite daughters, Nebula and Gamora were also away on missions.
Gamora was on a mission to find the soul stone while Nebula was with Ronan, acting as an observer of Ronan the Accuser and the actions of his armies.
The only one with him amongst his children was Ebony, who never really left him as he was his right hand.
He also got to know why Thanos' army, which was supposed to be the biggest and strongest in the universe was so crap in the movies.
They were all spread out in different galaxies and his armies mainly consisted of programmed soldiers which were of low quality but great quantity. This was needed to reduce resources as he was constantly at war.
His main military strength did not lie in those though, but the armies under him. Apparently, there were many space kings across the universe who agreed with Thaons' ideals and followed him like some sort of cult.
Thanos also had many galactic empires under him and that was his main power and strength. Not the mass-produced armies that people saw in the movies. He almost always rules the planets he invaded afterward and does not just kill half and leave.
He had to at least recover the resources he lost after all.
.
.
But even though Thanos was now more knowledgeable, it didn't mean he knew everything. He was still like a kid finding his way under a thick fog.
And it was showing now, he had no idea about Loki being sent to Earth. From Gamora still being under him and on a mission to find the soul stone, he concluded it was still before Guardians of The Galaxy but he did not know exactly which timeline he was on, but now he knew.
It was around the time of the First Avenger. It was 2012 to be exact.
Now, that changes everything. All the plans that he had formulated beforehand were thrown away as a new plan formed in his mind.
"Did you prepare the army?" Thanos asked and The Other answered.
"Yes, my lord. I have sent the Chitauri Mothership to a distant Solar System, waiting for Loki to open a portal. They are one of our weakest troops but it would be more than enough for a primitive planet like Earth." The Other said in reverence.
Thanos' smiled a wicked smile that made The Other immediately go to his knees.
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.
.
.
"Take me there." Thanos said.
"Take me to the place where Loki would open the Portal."
A new plan was beginning to form in the purple head of Thanos. One that should end everything in but a quick sweep.
.
.
.
Soon.
He will be home soon.
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