Only Creating a New Universe Could Solve the Root Problem

Thanos's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"Liberation?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than hurried footsteps sounded outside the Temple.

Five different rhythms of footsteps approached the Temple simultaneously from all directions, the metal soles of boots striking the hard ground of Titan with a crisp yet tense rhythm.

Russell, who knew who the visitor was, did not move; he merely tilted his head slightly.

The Temple's entrance gates were flung open, and five figures rushed in from five different directions, their movements as swift as streaks of black lightning.

Corvus Glaive burst in from the east, his Godslayer gleaming eerily in the dark red Nebula light.

Proxima Midnight cut in from the west, the spear already raised, its tip aimed at Russell's vest.

Cull Obsidian stepped through the main entrance; his massive, armored body resembled a moving wall.

The Supergiant fell through the hole in the ceiling, his hands brimming with spiritual energy.

Ebony Maw stood at the very back, his hands behind his back, his cold eyes fixed on Russell.

Thanos's Black Order surrounded Russell from five directions.

Their movements were perfect, their teamwork seamless, and they blocked all possible escape routes.

"Your Majesty," Ebony Maw spoke, his voice cold and restrained, as if something was pressing down on his throat.

"This man has stormed your palace. He defeated Knull, unified the Nine Realms, and he is the being known as ' Omnipotent God.' Please step back and let us handle this."

His fingers tightened slightly, and some unseen energy seemed to condense in the air.

He was secretly using his mind to probe Russell, who was quite famous in the universe, but he couldn't detect anything.

Russell was surrounded by emptiness, as if Russell did not exist in the mental world at all, as if he were standing behind a one-way mirror, able to see everyone but no one could see him.

Ebony Maw's fingers trembled almost imperceptibly.

"Step back."

Thanos's voice was deep and steady.

"His Majesty."

Corvus Glaive spoke.

"I said leave," Thanos repeated. "Mr. Russell is my guest."

The Black Order remained silent for a moment, then one by one they sheathed their weapons, carefully retreated, and then turned and left the Temple.

Corvus Glaive was the last to leave. He paused at the door and glanced back at Russell.

There was something bordering on confusion in his eyes, as if he were trying to understand something beyond his comprehension.

As far as he knew, Russell was currently the next guardian of Earth after the Ancient One, and should be an enemy of Thanos.

He couldn't figure it out for the time being, and then he left the Temple.

The Temple fell silent again, and the dark red Nebula light streamed in through the collapsed dome, casting a blurry beam of light between the two.

Thanos sat on his Throne atop the steps, looking at Russell.

"You said you came to liberate me," his voice echoed within the Temple. "I don't understand."

Russell had his hands in his pockets and tilted his head slightly.

What don't you understand?

"I am the ruler of countless Galaxy." Thanos's voice was steady and heavy.

"The Black Order are my subordinates. My army can sweep across half the universe. My name is revered by countless civilizations. I need no one to liberate me."

"You are the overlord," Russell repeated. "That's right. You have an army, subordinates, and the largest War Machine in the entire universe."

He paused.

"But have you ever thought that wherever you go, all that's left is ruins and fear? The Five Star Generals around you only admire your power; they're not truly willing to risk their lives for you."

You rule over countless Galaxy, but Galaxy inhabitants hate you. You adopted a daughter, but in the end, you pushed her off a cliff to obtain the Soul Stone.

Thanos frowned slightly.

"What have you accomplished over the years?" Russell asked.

"You ruled over countless Galaxy, but you sit alone on the ruins of Titan, looking at the crimson Nebula, thinking about how your homeland was destroyed, and how your people slaughtered one another."

I bet he's still thinking about the look in his daughter's eyes when she was sacrificed.

Thanos remained silent.

"So you are a lonely overlord; the greater your power, the fewer people you have around you."

The more worlds you conquer, the emptier you feel inside.

After saying that, he took a step forward.

"You tell me you'll collect Six Infinity Stones, snap your the Snap, wipe out half of all life in the universe, and achieve your goal, and then what?"

Thanos stared intently at Russell.

"Then I will stop and watch the universe rebalance, and watch the survivors build new civilizations with abundant resources."

Perhaps I will build a small house on a quiet Planet, grow some crops, and sit in front of the house, watching the sun set.

Are you alone?

Thanos acquiesced through silence.

"Is this what you wanted? To go to a quiet Planet and live the life of an old farmer after achieving your goal?" Russell asked rhetorically.

Thanos gazed into the distance, the dark red light of the Nebula slowly flowing between the two.

In the distance, the ruins of Titan silently watched all this: the dried-up oceans, the collapsed cities, and the buildings whose edges had been worn away by time.

They were once Thanos's Thanos homeland, and also something he wanted to save.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Thanos's voice was very low, almost drowned out by the sound of the wind in Nebula.

Watching the universe march towards destruction? Watching the tragedies I once experienced repeat themselves on every Planet?

I've witnessed too many civilizations slaughtering each other as resources dwindled; I've seen mothers leap into flames with their children in their arms; I've seen fathers give their last drop of water to their sons, then die of thirst in the desert themselves.

His fingers gripped the armor on his knees tightly.

"Eliminating half the universe's population is the best way I can think of to alleviate the pressure on the universe."

"Eliminating half the population is only treating the symptoms, not the root cause," Russell shook his head.

"You actually know this very well. Even if the universe's population is reduced by half, it will only take a few hundred years for the population to grow back to its original size."

No matter how many people you eliminate, resources will still be exhausted. Your approach is merely postponing the problem; hundreds of years from now, the universe will face the same issue.

Thanos's eyes darted around as he carefully considered the question Russell had raised.

"Then I will destroy everyone in the universe."

His voice was deep and sharp, "After all life disappears, let the universe start anew, let it give birth to new life, and let it evolve anew."

Starting from scratch means there will be no resource depletion, no overpopulation, and no civilizational collapse.

Russell shook his head again.

"What's the point if everyone's dead?"

Thanos frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You said to let the universe start anew, to let our universe evolve into new Galaxy, new civilizations, and new life."

But have you ever considered that by doing this, you're just killing everyone, turning the universe into a deathly silence?

In reality, you'll encounter the same problem again later. You haven't created anything, you haven't saved anything; destruction is merely a temporary solution to the immediate problem.

Russell paused briefly before stating his opinion.

"That's why I say, instead of annihilating everyone, let's create a new universe."

Thanos looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"What's the difference between creating a new universe and wiping out the entire population of the universe and then restarting it?"

"Of course," Russell replied. "When I say 'creating a new universe,' I don't mean destroying this one; I mean expanding the capacity of the existing one."