After a while, Thanos began to understand what had happened.
The Celestials seemed to have put too much pressure on the local powers, so Dormammu, the Jade Emperor, Uranus, and others had joined forces to threaten them by opening the gates of Hell.
The Celestials had refused to be threatened, and the two sides had come to blows.
Thanos began to see an opportunity.
For some unknown reason, the whispers of Below All beyond the gates of Hell had grown fainter, and the energy of Hell had dwindled.
If Thanos did not find the cause, he might soon have nothing left to absorb.
He suspected the Celestials were behind it.
After all, the changes in Deepest Hell had begun only after they appeared.
His best option now was to break down the gates of Hell and join the Dimension Lords, gods, and Immortals in killing the Celestials.
But those Dimension Lords were no saints. If they learned he was not under Below All's control, they might get ideas of their own.
He looked at his new skill, Dimensional Thought, as possibilities raced through his mind.
The truth was, he had no clear measure of his strength. He did not know whether he was Universal Level or Multiversal Level.
There was nothing in Hell but negative energy, so even if he wanted to test his strength, he had no way to do it.
The cautious choice was to sit back and watch the two sides fight, then decide his next move once a winner emerged.
But as Dormammu and the others gradually lost ground, Thanos knew the Celestials would win if he did not intervene.
The Celestials were every bit as powerful as their reputation suggested.
Even against opponents of the same Multiversal Level, they had a vast array of abilities