Five Senses Deprivation
"It's no use. Everything you're doing now is just a futile struggle."
"However, I must say that your strength has indeed surprised me. Thanos's ability to raise his son seems to be no less than his other abilities."
Seeing Beckett adjusting his breathing, Shafrin waved his hand, and the bright red cloak behind him instantly transformed into a drill after detaching from the golden armor, rushing straight toward the ready Beckett.
"But you are ultimately just Thanos's son, not Thanos."
If Thanos were present, Shafrin might not be so confident, but now, possessing a portion of the Mind Stone's power, he completely disregards Beckett.
In terms of strength, they are not even in the same league. In Shafrin's view, Beckett's ability to break free from his mental control was already quite remarkable.
Boom!
The pure energy bombardment instantly tore apart the cloak that Shafrin had flung out, and beneath the fluttering red strips of cloth, Beckett's figure had vanished from his spot and reappeared before Shafrin's eyes.
"You talk too much nonsense."
The indifferent words suddenly rang in Shafrin's ears, and the fierce whip leg tried to sweep Shafrin's golden armor, but instead stomped on it, sending yellow mud flying everywhere.
"Too slow."
The afterimage in front of Beckett gradually dissipated, and Shafrin's true form appeared behind Beckett. He closed his deep eyes, transformed his hand into a knife, and drew an "X" in the air, opening the window in his Mind Stone.
Endless monsters roared and tore at the X-shaped window with their bodies, gradually tearing open a door crack as tall as a person at the intersection of the two diagonal lines.
With his eyes closed, Shafrin opened his arms and listened quietly to the darkness deep within his heart.
"Roar!!!"
Countless monsters roared and struggled, scrambling to climb out from the center of the [X] window in mid-air, their faces contorted in a ferocious display.
"This is impossible..."
Awakening from the ocean of philosophy, The Other, seeing the increasing number of opponents, frantically pulled out the Casket of Ancient Winters. Just as he was about to unleash the power of the Azure Scepter to freeze the still-snarling monsters, everything suddenly went black, and he could see nothing at all.
"Your His Highness Beckett!"
"Your His Highness Beckett!"
"I... I can't see!"
The panicked helplessness, the trembling, fearful voice, the sudden blindness—The Other was completely disoriented.
The Casket of Ancient Winters rolled to the ground in his hand. The Other crouched down and groped around for it, but found nothing.
"Aren't flies annoying?"
Shafrin withdrew his index finger from "The Other," his playful tone instantly putting Beckett on guard. However, it was too late.
Like The Other, Beckett also lost his sight in an instant.
[What?!]
"Let's see how long you can hold out, son of Thanos." With a light laugh, Shafrin opened his eyes and waved his hand. Behind him, a swarm of monsters poured out of the [X]-shaped windows as if receiving a command, charging directly at the now-short-sighted Beckett!
Vision—Deprivation, one of Shafrin's two thousand abilities, also derived from a portion of the power the Mind Stone had given him.
"Loss of sight?"
Suppressing his initial shock, Beckett simply closed his eyes, listened to the sounds to locate the monsters, and swayed left and right amidst the endless army of monsters, with explosive energy beams constantly emerging from the tips of Beckett ten fingers.
"This power fluctuation..." Astra, standing beside The Other, was filled with shock. The energy fluctuation emanating from Shafrin reminded Astra of the mysterious energy dormant within his own body, which he called the [Great Cosmic Power].
"How is this possible..."
He entered that mysterious place by accident during an experiment, but why does the leader of U40 Planet also possess such power?
Moreover, it seems that it can be used flexibly, much more obedient than the one in his body that only obeys commands.
"Hey! Beckett! The power that guy possesses is the Great Cosmic Power I was talking about!"
Astra loudly reminded him that Beckett dying here would do him no good.
[Great Cosmic Power?]
[What a strange title! If there's Great Cosmic Power, does that mean there's also microcosmic power?]
Upon hearing this, Shafrin paused in his actions, a hint of helplessness flickering in the corner of his eye beneath his mask.
All these years have passed, and his younger brother's choice of names remains as casual and unconventional as ever.
"Forget it, let's deal with this sooner rather than later, to avoid any unforeseen complications." Shafrin, still somewhat wary of Thanos, looked at Beckett, who seemed largely unaffected, and pointed his right index finger at him again.
An illusionary realm constructed from the energy of the Mind Stone instantly enveloped Beckett.
"Hearing - deprivation".
"Smell—deprivation."
"Touch—Deprivation".
"Taste - Deprivation".
Having lost all five senses, Beckett, who had never experienced anything like this before, froze on the spot.
His mind seemed to have entered the realm of death; he had lost all perception of the world, in any way.
He could not hear the wind, nor feel the invisible sound; he could only stand there blankly, letting the endless black monsters engulf him.
"Beckett!!!"
Witnessing all of this, Astra roared, shouldered his heavy cannon, aimed the muzzle at the monsters still crawling toward Beckett, and pulled the trigger.
He, who also possesses the power of the Mind Stone, is the only person on this planet who is immune to the manipulation of the Shafrin illusion.
The spitting fire snakes engulfed the monsters' hideous faces, but they couldn't make Beckett open his eyes. His motionless body stood quietly in place, his cold face lacking some of its vitality.
"It's no use. He's already fallen into my illusionary domain. Now, it's your turn." Shafrin's figure appeared behind Astra in an instant, delivering a chop to the latter's neck. The powerful force caused an energy shield to instantly appear on Astra's body!
That is the same power that originated from Shafrin.
"That's not necessarily true."
Taking advantage of her passive skill refresh, Astra broke free from Shafrin's restraints and tumbled to Beckett's side.
Knowing her own limitations, Astra, taking advantage of the Great Cosmic Power within her, directly touched Beckett's forehead with her hand.
He had to awaken Beckett, using the power within him that was usually quite unruly.
"Wake up!!"
Driven by an overwhelming will to survive, Astra let out a roar from the depths of his heart, and the sliver of power from the Mind Stone within him reluctantly surged into Beckett's body with his will...
"Sizzle..."
"Sizzle..."