Just as Thanos adjusted his strategy on the shattered Titan, preparing to stir up turmoil across the universe, an even greater upheaval—one concerning the fundamental order of this universe—had already quietly occurred in a higher dimension, on a level ordinary lifeforms could neither comprehend nor perceive.
The Living Tribunal, the supreme existence authorized by the origin of this universe to oversee and preserve the balance of reality, had long noticed the anomaly.
When Neos and the Primarchs who came later descended upon Earth and acted with power systems entirely different from this universe's rules, the Living Tribunal's omnipresent awareness had already reached them.
Outsiders.
Not merely dimensional travelers, but beings from beyond the universe.
Their essence and the source of their power were fundamentally incompatible with this universe.
At first, however, this "anomaly" had not provoked an excessive response from the Living Tribunal.
It was a universe, after all. An occasional transmigrator was nothing unusual.
So long as their actions did not significantly damage the universe's fundamental balance, the Living Tribunal generally chose to observe.
More importantly, its triune consciousness had not reached a unified opinion on the matter.
The face of Justice believed they should be warned; the face of Necessity believed their ultimate purpose should be observed; while the face of Vengeance had yet to sense sufficient "offense."
Thus, the Living Tribunal remained silent. Like an eternal star, it continued watching the universe's development in silence.
But as events unfolded, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.
The defeat and submission of Asgard's god-king, the invasion of the Solar System by an alien-universe fleet that blotted out the heavens, and the open challenge to the order of the entire universe... all of it finally brought the Living Tribunal's three consciousnesses to a swift consensus—such foreign forces