I, Matou Sakura, Third of the Flame-Chasers!

Thanos looked at the girl floating in space. She possessed power no less than that of an ancient god.

And there was that light, brimming with hope.

What an interesting existence.

"An outsider."

"Right?"

Thanos revealed a somewhat ugly smile. He had sensed it when he received the prophecy concerning her. Under normal circumstances, a prophecy could not possibly be so vague—unless the subject's existence transcended this universe, or rather, unless she did not belong to this universe.

There were not many possibilities. A little thought was all it took.

And now, upon seeing Sakura before him, he confirmed his choice.

That light and power did not belong to this universe at all. According to the prophecy, she already possessed four Infinity Stones. Aside from the most mysterious Soul Stone, the remaining Mind Stone was in his hands.

Some things had long since been destined, though her arrival at this moment did surprise him somewhat.

This had completely shattered the prophecy, but it did not matter. He had never trusted prophecies all that much.

He was himself. He was Thanos, the one ordained by fate in this universe!

He had already donned his armor and taken up his blade.

The coldly gleaming blade pointed directly at Sakura in the distance. This battle could not be avoided.

He needed the four Infinity Stones on her, and she needed the Mind Stone on him. The outcome had already been decided; the unseen hand of fate had already determined the path ahead.

The winner would win, and the loser would lose. It was that simple.

Thanos charged directly, his towering body erupting with terrifying speed.

His powerful Titan bloodline allowed him to ignore the constraints of space.

Thanos was a Skyfather-level being as well!

Sakura merely raised her hand, and a waist-high magic circle appeared before her.

Hermes' Heavy Crush!

Lightning and raging wind intertwined, yet Thanos had no intention of dodging.

He simply swung his fist and met the incoming magic head-on.

Mere magic!

He grinned savagely. His swinging fist erupted with terrifying power, while he brandished the Tyrant's Battle Blade in his hand. Cosmic energy was drawn in an instant, forming a deep-purple blade light with the swing of his weapon.

Sakura's expression did not change. Her spell had already been completed.

Fury of Ice and Snow! Assault of the Flood!

A snow-white freezing tide surged through space, and invisible cosmic energy transformed into an enormous wave.

Crimson light flared in her eyes, and thick Heat Vision burst forth.

Meanwhile, Thanos's army had already aimed the main cannons of their warships at Sakura.

A battle between Skyfather-level beings was not something they could interfere with.

Even the Black Obsidian Generals, the blades in Thanos's hand, could not intervene in such a battle.

So all they could do was use the powerful main cannons of their warships to support Thanos!

Energy accumulated within the warships, and at that moment, Nyarlathotep, who had been watching the show, finally prepared to make her move.

She did nothing more than smile softly within the Third Space. Invisible mental corruption passed through space and descended upon Thanos's army.

How terrifying was mental corruption from a Hyper-Multiversal Level existence?

Even though Nyarlathotep had restrained her power to ensure that this universe would not be polluted, for Thanos's army, it was no different from dropping a nuclear bomb into the human world.

At this moment, Sakura and Thanos's battle continued.

Four Infinity Stones rested upon Sakura's hand, nestled between her five fingers.

Power pulled in enormous celestial bodies, Space constructed countless gateways, Reality created true falsehoods, and Time formed endless corridors.

Patterns of magic emerged without end. Scarlet chains, gleaming celestial bodies, forbidden magic—all came effortlessly to Sakura's hand. Meanwhile, Thanos's armor had shattered, and the blade in his hand had been split in two beneath the celestial body drawn in by the Power Stone.

The outcome of the battle seemed to have appeared, but... it had not.

Sakura raised her head and looked into the depths of space. Some kind of energy was gathering.

And both the source and destination of that energy came from Thanos—or rather, from that so-called fate.

Standing atop a boulder left behind after a celestial body shattered, Thanos was covered in blood. His powerful body granted him nearly immortal regenerative abilities, but Time's endless corridors continuously rewound the wounds he had healed.

"The Infinity Stones are rejecting you! I am their true wielder!"

Cosmic energy gathered around Thanos's swinging fist, erupting into a powerful energy wave.

Sakura's expression remained unchanged as her Heat Vision fired once more.

Thanos's energy wave shattered instantly, and the Heat Vision slammed directly into his body.

Dark golden divine power gathered in Sakura's eyes. The power of her Heat Vision rose once more, its searing temperature even burning through the fabric of space.

Nyarlathotep watched Sakura and Thanos's battlefield, smiling as he narrowed his eyes.

The battle was not over yet. This universe truly had placed great expectations on that purple sweet potato.

If Sakura had also belonged to this universe, then destiny would have had nothing to do with that purple sweet potato.

But there were no ifs.

Triga of Truth

Vast energy pressed down upon Thanos.

Sakura merely watched in silence. The powers of the Time Stone and Reality Stone had already dissipated.

More precisely, they had been shattered.

The universe's destiny... that was far more formidable than any protagonist.

If Thanos had not snapped his fingers for the first time in Avengers, wiping out half the life in the universe and fulfilling his destiny, then Thanos, still carrying the universe's destiny, would have been utterly invincible!

Even this universe's five Celestial Gods of Creation would have had to bow their heads before him.

Though those five probably would not come looking for trouble with Thanos.

After all, ever since she advanced to the Celestial Father level, she had not sensed the existence of those five.

And this universe's Thanos was not that Lapdog Thanos from the comic universe.

Still, it really was enviable—the universe's blessing.

Feeling Thanos's surging power, Sakura clenched the four stones tightly in her hand.

Fortunately, she had a trump card of her own.

"Let's begin the second round!"

Thanos opened his eyes. With destiny's blessing, he had now gained the power of the universe.

His strength had already far surpassed that of a Celestial Father!

"Yes."

Sakura smiled faintly. In an instant, endless Radiance burst from her petite body.

|*}

At that moment, even Thanos could not help narrowing his eyes.

The dazzling Radiance seemed to illuminate the entire universe, drawing countless gazes.

Ancient beings awakened one after another, turning their eyes toward the source of the light.

And when the light faded, a giant floated amid the vast universe.

Ultraman Triga · Composite Form!

It was slightly different from the usual Composite Form.

Red, blue, and white remained Triga's primary colors, with touches of gold as accents. Yet within the gold on his chest lurked an eerie black.

This was not merely a Giant of Light.

"So this is your light."

Thanos smiled. He could sense the giant's strength, but so what? He was destiny itself!

Amid that overflowing power, Thanos's body gradually grew larger, stopping at a size only slightly smaller than Triga's.

Fist met fist, and the battle was on the verge of erupting.

Terrifying force surged outward in all directions.

Triga stepped back, borrowing Thanos's remaining momentum. He spread his hands as light particles laced with black continuously gathered before his chest.

Zepellion Ray!

The black-laced beam struck Thanos precisely, forcing him to raise an arm to block it.

His abundant energy and powerful body allowed him to contend against Triga's beam.

But Triga's attack was not over.

Red light flashed—the power of the Reality Stone!

A phantom appeared beside Triga.

Dark Triga.

The same stance, but this time black-and-red light particles gathered before Dark Triga's chest.

Dark Zepellion Ray!

"Argh!"

Under the dual beam assault, Thanos's massive body was sent flying by the rays.

At that moment, purple light flew from Triga's chest and entered Dark Triga's body.

That was the power of the Power Stone!

Purple radiance shimmered across Dark Triga's body, while dark crimson particles gathered once more before Dark Triga's chest.

Meanwhile, energies symbolizing darkness and light burst forth from Triga's body, piercing through the universe. Light and darkness fused together, and amid that exquisite gray, Triga of Truth made her appearance!

The intertwining of light and darkness bore witness to the power of truth!

A terrifying torrent that made countless people tremble gathered before Triga of Truth's chest. The surrounding space began to shatter, exposing pitch-black fault layers, while even time was twisted beneath that dreadful power.

The power of space, the power of time.

Blue and green intertwined as well, merging into the terrifying energy before Triga's chest.

Dark Zepellion Ray!

Triga of Truth Zepellion Ray!

Where the two beams passed, space shattered inch by inch, and even time was torn apart.

At that instant, the entire universe shook violently under that terrifying power!

Within the Third Space, Nyarlathotep closed his eyes.

The outcome had already been decided.

Sakura had won.

She had transformed into a Giant of Light, then used the Reality Stone to materialize part of her dark power, creating another Giant of Light in a dark form.

Although that Giant of Light was only at the Sub-Celestial level, once Sakura handed the Power Stone to her manifested other self, even someone at the Sub-Celestial level could unleash Celestial Level might!

Even more interesting was Sakura's new form. The intertwining of light and darkness was chaos—and one of the truths of the universe.