The next stop was Knowhere, where the Collector resided.
The Collector looked human, but he was actually one of the elders born in the early days of the universe. He had two peculiar hobbies:
The first was well-known. As his name suggested, he enjoyed collecting rare and valuable things.
Those things included, but were not limited to, inanimate objects. They also included living species. Howard the Duck and Cosmo were among the more famous ones. It was said that the Collector had considered collecting members of the Avengers, but had yet to put the idea into action.
The Reality Stone existed in the form of Aether particles and was one of the Collector's exhibits. After Thor defeated the Dark Elves, he seized the Aether particles. Sif and Volstagg believed it inappropriate to keep a second Infinity Stone on Asgard, so they handed the Aether particles over to the cosmic elder—the Collector.
The second was pretending to be weak while hiding his strength.
Though the Collector looked like a frail human and acted like a complete coward in daily life, he was one of the earliest lifeforms in the universe. His primary abilities included immortality, time-space travel, and foresight.
Among the Collector's collection were many rare items that enhanced combat power. Thus, not only was the Collector formidable himself, he could also rely on all manner of miraculous artifacts.
Star-Lord had actually met the Collector on Xandar before.
At the time, the Collector had been playing the role of a black-market dealer, purchasing illegal goods. He had intended to buy the Orb—the Power Stone—from Star-Lord, but for various reasons, the deal had fallen through.
Hayato wondered whether Star-Lord would still recognize him when they met.
After resting for two days and replenishing their supplies, the Minora set sail once more.
Yondu