The Black Order and the others might have been insignificant compared to Thanos.
But he had no intention of handling everything himself.
Besides, this unknown god had told him not to intervene.
That made his subordinates necessary.
At Thanos's words, the unknown god merely raised one hand and gave it a seemingly casual wave.
Time reversed. The vanished fixed stars, planets, and even satellites slowly gathered and returned to their original forms.
Before long, Apokolips reappeared beneath Thanos's feet. The plants and trees on its surface, along with the Black Order and everyone else, slowly took shape again.
This was true time reversal, not the kind that merely traveled through a parallel universe to reach the past.
It restored everything down to its atoms, reversing even the atoms themselves.
Thanos's heart sank at the sight.
With this ability alone, his opponent was beyond defeat and far beyond anything he could handle.
Only his true body deep in Hell might stand a chance against the god.
A moment later, Darkseid opened his eyes, though he still looked as if everything he knew had been turned upside down.
The others, including the Black Order, went on with their work.
They seemed to have no memory of dying.
"All right," the unknown god said. "The game continues."
Without waiting for Thanos to reply, the god vanished into a Space Rift.
The god seemed utterly unconcerned that Thanos might refuse.
A moment later, Superman resumed his flight toward them.
"Die!"
But Thanos's frame of mind had completely changed.
Earlier, he had worried that the being behind Superman might intervene. Now that he had fought that being, he realized he was not weak himself.
He looked at Superman as a Player looked at a piece on the board, with nothing but calm in his heart.