This world indeed had the five great Deities of Eternity, Death, Infinity, Oblivion, and Devourer. Fortunately, they were not the creator gods born from every Marvel World, but merely the Deities born from this particular world.
They were manifestations of laws, holding partial authority over this world. Yet that power did not wholly belong to them. In essence, they were still part of the World Will.
Their prolonged control over those authorities had brought them ever closer to the Heavenly Dao. Under the world's assimilation, the emotions that belonged to humanity gradually faded, while the torrent of information nearly washed away their sense of self.
As the oldest beings in the universe, they naturally noticed their own abnormalities and sought ways to resolve them.
Avoiding revealing themselves before all living beings, even actively diminishing their own presence and severing their connection with all things, was how they delayed assimilation.
Ancient One was the reincarnation of a portion of Eternity's humanity, as well as one of his pieces on the board.
As for Thanos, Bai Xuan had originally thought he would be a pawn of Death. After all, in the comics, he had been deeply in love with Death, and that was partly why he had used the Infinity Stones to destroy half the life in the universe.
Yet the information granted by his authority said otherwise.
Thanos truly acted only for his dream, and his purpose was exceptionally pure.
If Death had truly guided Thanos into doing such a thing, then in terms of Causality, she would have become the first among the five creator gods to completely undergo assimilation.
She was unwilling to bear such Causality, so she was even less likely to guide Thanos.
Bai Xuan removed the portion of Eternity's humanity from Ancient One. In the future,