As long as Thanos sent troops to help him complete his revenge, Astra would give Thanos the specific coordinates of that mysterious cosmic power. In Astra's opinion, this was an extremely fair trade.
That mysterious and powerful cosmic force wasn't of much use to Astra himself. He had tested it, and with the sliver of a gift he had received, his body simply couldn't handle a full power infusion. It was better to hand over the coordinates and make a deal with Thanos.
After all, when it came to killing, Thanos was a professional.
"I agree."
Inside the Dark Order base, Astra lay on his bed, staring blankly at the magnificent starry sky outside the window. Thanos's agreement to the deal echoed in his ears, his mind a turmoil of thoughts.
He was suffering from insomnia.
Perhaps it was the unfamiliar environment, perhaps it was the excitement of reaching an agreement, or perhaps it was something else. In any case, he was sleepless, and no amount of alcohol could help.
"Why is this happening?"
"I've achieved my goal, and Thanos has agreed just as I wished..."
Unable to sleep, Astra decided to leave his room and get some fresh air outside the base to clear his head. However, in the hills outside the base, he saw Thanos and Beckett.
One was clad in golden armor, the other shimmered with silver.
The messy gravel crunched under their feet as they exchanged blows, their fists and palms a dazzling, overwhelming display.
"You've improved again."
Thanos, retracting his fist and standing with his hands behind his back, looked at his son, who was breathing a little heavily, his eyes filled with satisfaction.
"I'm proud of you, child."
In just a brief exchange, Thanos had already noticed the significant progress in Beckett's strength since their encounter on Jotunheim.
"Hoo..."
Calming his rapid breathing, Beckett wiped the sweat from his forehead. The silver armor on his body automatically detached as he willed it.
"However, there's still more room for improvement in how you utilize the energy within you."
Having long surpassed Beckett's stage, Thanos seemed afraid his son might go down the wrong path at this stage. He completely ignored Astra, who was "peeking" from behind, and continued his instruction.
Since Beckett had left his side to lead his own team, the time the father and son spent communicating face-to-face was incredibly scarce compared to Beckett's childhood.
It was basically two fixed sparring sessions a year, after which Thanos would summarize the shortcomings and promptly correct Beckett's misguided ways of channeling his internal power.
The simple and easy-to-understand principles, the profound yet clear explanations, and the practical demonstrations made Astra feel as though he could do it too.
Then, Astra attempted to guide the dormant gift within his body according to the method Thanos had described, but no sparks emerged from his fingertips.
This made Astra feel a bit awkward.
His eyes told him he should have understood, but his mind and body were slapped hard in the face by cruel reality.
His face was swollen.
"Ahem, I didn't mean to eavesdrop."
Perhaps it was because his efforts to manipulate the energy were too conspicuous. When Astra's gaze shifted back to Thanos and Beckett, he found their eyes fixed on him.
"The power within you is very special; this method of guidance won't work," Thanos said meaningfully, glancing at the nervous Astra before turning to leave.
"Alright, that's all for tonight, Beckett."
"Understood, Father." Beckett respectfully bowed towards Thanos's retreating figure. Astra, on the side, still had his right index finger raised, with small sparks occasionally appearing at its tip.
"That's nice." After Thanos left, Astra turned to look at Beckett, his gaze filled with a hint of envy.
It reminded him of when his parents used to take him to the training grounds and of his father's broad, supportive back.
"This time, you'd better not be plotting anything." Beckett glanced at Astra and snorted coldly.
Astra, who dared to scheme against Thanos, naturally didn't receive a pleasant look from Beckett.
"Don't always put on that ice-cold face, Beckett. No woman will like you if you do. Although some girls seem to fall for that act, in reality, truly mature women prefer steady, reliable, and cheerful men like me, understand?"
With Thanos gone and the pressure off his mind, Astra leaned against a large rock, raising an eyebrow at Beckett. His true nature was fully revealed.
Having already made a deal with Thanos, he wasn't worried about his safety. At least, until this deal was concluded, as long as he didn't court death by provoking Thanos, he should be fine.
As for Beckett...
"Shut your mouth."
The sudden pain in his jaw made Astra wince.
"Alright, neither father nor son are easy to deal with."
Rubbing his sore jaw, Astra shook his head. Just as he was about to go back to sleep, he saw Diana on the other side of the hills.
"What? Are you homesick?"
"Or perhaps you miss your six companions?"
"Shut your mouth." The same response as Beckett's earned Astra a cold shoulder.
"You know, I've actually heard of you. The Pirate Queen of the N52 Planet, the woman who once defeated the Kree Empire's Accuser fleet and the Skrull Empire's Seventh Army." Astra casually sat down beside Diana, looking up at the unknown starry sky.
"So what?"
"So, are you interested in going back with me to fight? Perhaps your powers can be restored."
For revenge, Astra didn't mind bringing this former queen along; perhaps it would have a miraculous effect.
"Has anyone ever told you that your pickup lines are terrible? Utterly, irredeemably terrible." Diana fell silent for a long moment upon hearing this, clenching her fists in frustration before reluctantly loosening them.
"No, actually, a lot of women have praised my skills," Astra raised an eyebrow and pulled out two bottles of wine from his waist pouch. These were found for him by Ebony Maw, following Thanos's orders.
"Care for a drink?"
Diana glanced over, then reached out and took a bottle. She uncapped it and drank heartily. The rich liquor spilled from the corners of her mouth, dripping onto her chest.
"Hic..." Diana let out a very unladylike burp and staggered to her feet, her eyes filled with an unconquerable resentment.
She still had so many things left undone. She hadn't yet avenged herself against the Kree and Skrulls, hadn't killed all those who had humiliated her, hadn't...
"Why... why!!!"
Astra was utterly bewildered by Diana's hysterical outburst after drinking.
Did she drink fake alcohol?
"Do you know? When I was a child, the N52 Planet was a very beautiful world. My hometown, Paradise Island, was the most beautiful place on the N52 Planet. Although my birth was an accident for my parents, and although my childhood was one of constant upheaval, I loved my hometown back then..."
"Back then, the sky was blue, and the water was clear..."
"Later, I grew up. Many people wanted to kill me, but I also killed many people. I did my best to prevent my homeland from being destroyed..."
"I killed many subordinates because they thought I was changing..."
"I..."
Like a rambling after a breakdown, or perhaps a monologue upon waking from a dream, Diana, dressed in a wine-red gown, gradually turned into sand and scattered on the ground before Astra.
Astra bent down and silently picked up the wine bottle buried in the fine sand. A bright red lipstick mark remained on the bottle's opening, as if still recounting Diana's past:
"Heaven and hell, I have no right to choose; I only have the fate of being chosen."
In a distant galaxy, the N52 Planet, having deviated from its orbit, had its core destroyed by the cannon fire of two empire-class star destroyers...
The second update tonight will be quite late, likely around midnight. (_)
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