Captain Marvel's body hung pinned to the surface of the meteorite by the spear.
The shaft ran from her back out through her chest, and its tip was buried deep in the meteorite's iron-nickel core.
Her hands hung limp at her sides, and the last of her gold-and-blue energy slowly faded.
Fresh blood seeped from the wound through her chest and instantly froze into flowers of ice.
Aboard the Milano, which was dodging Imperial fire across the void battlefield, Star-Lord stood at the observation window, despair written across his face.
Rocket Raccoon and the other rebels stood around him, each sunk in deep sorrow.
But they had little time to grieve, because they soon found themselves in dire straits.
The Blood Angels launched a full-scale assault, boarded the rebel ships, and slaughtered the rebels.
In armour that had been repeatedly reinforced and upgraded with advanced technology, the Blood Angels easily overpowered Star-Lord and the others.
They put them in golden shackles and locked them in solitary cells.
The once-mighty resistance was badly weakened by this battle, and its morale suffered a devastating blow.
The nations and powers that had once sworn passionately under the banner of the resistance alliance that they would "never submit to a dictator,"
on hearing of Star-Lord's capture, Carol's death, and Thanos's surrender, announced one after another that they would submit to the Imperium of their own accord.
Datch only learned of it after the war was over.
He was not particularly moved by Captain Marvel's death.
He simply could not understand how these superheroes thought.
The Imperium of Man was willing to take on the burden you didn't want to carry, and you still refused!
Datch quickly put the matter out of his mind.
The next day, he took the Emperor, Malcador, and the others to visit the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters in Westchester, New York.
Xavier's school was a very special place, standing quietly on an estate deep in forests of ancient maple and oak in Westchester County.
Its main building was a Victorian Gothic mansion on vast grounds.
The school took in mutant children who, after the awakening of their X-gene, could no longer attend ordinary schools and were shunned and feared by society.
Through a systematic curriculum, it developed the students' remarkable abilities and teamwork, offering a wide range of subjects including languages, art, finance, leadership, and tactics.
When Datch and the Emperor arrived, banners were already hung at the entrance, lettered neatly in both High Gothic and English.
"Welcome to the great nameless one of the Imperium, and to the Master of Mankind who guides us."
Led by the headmaster, Professor Charles Xavier, Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, and the other teachers welcomed Datch and his party at the gate.
They were all very nervous, terrified of making a mistake.
They had already experienced the power of the Imperium of Man firsthand.
Never mind the school. Even the entire mutant population put together…
the Imperium could wipe it out in an instant, with a single thought, without making a ripple.
Datch walked in holding a thermos in one hand and gesturing at the school buildings with the other.
"Your school's educational philosophy is excellent, but you need to strengthen ideological education and do a more thorough job of patriotic education for the children."
"We must put people first and prioritise their needs, so as to achieve harmonious coexistence with other groups."
"I'd also like to criticise the school for neglecting public opinion and not knowing how to connect with ordinary citizens."
Charles, in his wheelchair, kept nodding and bowing with a flattering expression. "You're right, you're right."
It was not that he was weak-willed. The man before him could annihilate the entire school, or even every mutant alive, with a snap of his fingers.
The Emperor, Malcador, and Valdor, who accompanied them, followed in silence.
They knew the nameless one was simply bored and looking for something to do.
Datch held his thermos in one hand and kept the other behind his back.
He strolled around the campus, stopping now and then to offer a little "guidance" on curriculum design, campus culture, student morale, and so on.
The mutants did not dare say a word of their own and merely kept heaping on compliments.
Professor X looked as though he wanted to get up out of his wheelchair, pour the tea himself, and loudly applaud, "Well said, nameless one!"
After visiting the mutant school, Datch led the Emperor and Malcador on to their next destination.
However, several unexpected incidents occurred along the way.
An octopus-like monster with one gigantic, terrible eye was rampaging through the streets, chasing a girl of about fifteen or sixteen with long dark-brown hair.
Valdor was the fastest. He took up the Spear of Apollo and charged at the one-eyed octopus monster.
In only two exchanges, he drove the solar spear into its gigantic eye and killed it outright.
The instant the monster's corpse hit the ground, sparks scattered through the air and a spinning portal appeared.
The Ancient One, clad in a vivid yellow robe, stepped out of it, followed by Stephen Strange, who had only recently joined her and wore an apprentice's robe.
"Nameless one, Your Majesty." The Ancient One gave the Aquila salute, imitating the salute of Imperial soldiers.
Since the nameless one had destroyed the Time Variance Authority, Cegorach had become the master of time, and the Sacred Timeline had been replaced by the Tree of Fate.
Those who rebelled in the real world had been either captured or destroyed.
By now, the Ancient One recognised the power of the Imperium of Man and had no choice but to adapt to this new era.
"Why are you here?" Datch looked at the Ancient One and asked.
"I sensed something abnormal." The Ancient One signalled Stephen Strange to step forward from behind her.
The former top surgeon was now a disciple of Kamar-Taj, and the most talented sorcerer it had.
He was also the one the Ancient One believed was fit to inherit the title of Sorcerer Supreme.
"My new disciple dreamed last night that this monster killed him. He also dreamed of that girl."
The Ancient One pointed at the girl, the one-eyed octopus monster had been chasing.
Datch frowned and signalled the Imperial guards to bring the girl over.
She was escorted to Datch with a guard on either side, trembling with fear and stammering incoherently.
To save time, Datch simply read her memories.
In an instant, he understood the whole story.
Earlier, he had destroyed the Time Variance Authority, let Cegorach and the Eldar take control of the Marvel Universe's timeline, and branched out countless parallel universes, which formed the World Tree.
Among those countless parallel universes, the Imperium of Man existed in only one: the main universe they were in now.
In the other parallel universes, neither the Imperium of Man nor the nameless one existed, and they continued along their own fated paths, undisturbed.
One of those parallel universes was called 884.
In that world, the Avengers had not disbanded.
Thanos had not abandoned his dream of restoring cosmic balance by wiping out half of all life.
After many twists and turns, the Thanos of Universe 884 gathered all the Infinity Stones, snapped his fingers, and wiped out half the life in the universe.
Using every means available and at enormous cost, the Avengers defeated Thanos and brought back everyone who had turned to dust.
But the husband of one superhero, Scarlet Witch Wanda Maximoff, did not return.
Her husband, Vision, had been killed before Thanos snapped his fingers, so reversing the snap could not save him.
After losing her love, Wanda broke down. She used chaos magic to take over an entire town, bring her love back, and create two children.
Then S.W.O.R.D., the agency responsible for protecting the world, discovered what was happening, woke Wanda from her illusion, and freed the townspeople.
And so Wanda lost her love again, along with the children she had created.
Between her overwhelming longing and the influence of chaos magic, Wanda gradually became obsessed and descended into madness.
While practising chaos magic, she happened to see Vision living a peaceful, happy life in the neighbouring parallel universe 883.
There, Vision was not dead, and their two children were alive.
The Wanda of Universe 884 hit upon an outrageous idea: take the place of the Wanda of Universe 883 and live that happy, wonderful life herself.
But even with her powerful chaos magic, she could not cross the barrier between parallel universes and could only endure the agony of longing day and night.
Until, by chance, she learned that a girl named America Chavez could travel between dimensions.
The Wanda of Universe 884 used the Darkhold to summon monsters to attack America, hoping to use the girl's power to carry out her plan.
Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme of Universe 884, sensed that something was wrong with his former comrade.
He immediately led the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj to protect America and fight back, but they suffered enormous losses.
Strange himself was killed by Wanda's chaos magic.
Kamar-Taj's main temple was destroyed by an ancient colossal creature summoned from the Darkhold.
The magical books and relics gathered over the ages were all consumed by fire.
The sorcerers fought desperately and finally managed to send America away to safety.
But Scarlet Witch remained obsessed and used the Darkhold to send monsters across the multiverse, trying to corner America and bring her back.
"Actions like this seriously threaten other parallel universes and must be severely punished."
"Otherwise, these people really will treat Imperial law like toilet paper."
Now that he knew the whole story, Datch resolved to intervene and teach Scarlet Witch a lesson.
The moment he finished speaking, another portal opened on the school lawn.
A squad of Time Guardians in wraithbone armour stepped out of it.
The crest of the Tree of Fate was engraved on their shoulder plates, and at their waists hung long blades capable of destroying targets across timelines.
They were Eldar warriors who had noticed the anomaly and come to investigate.
They were now responsible for maintaining the balance of the timeline and the parallel universes.
When they saw Datch and the Emperor, they respectfully bowed their heads.
"I'll handle this. You can go back." Datch waved a hand, signalling the Eldar squad to leave.
He took out Rick's portal gun and set the coordinates for the Kamar-Taj of Universe 884.
When he pulled the trigger, a portal to Universe 884 opened.
Datch passed through the tunnel of light together with the Emperor, Malcador, Valdor, the main universe's Ancient One, Stephen Strange, and America, and arrived at the ruins of Kamar-Taj in Universe 884.
The terrible sight shocked the Ancient One and Stephen Strange.
The once-magnificent temple of magic lay in ruins, its main hall and outbuildings destroyed by some unknown force.
The bodies of monks lay everywhere.
Some still held the hand seals they had used to cast defensive spells, while others had been eaten away by chaos magic, half their bodies charred black.
Some huddled in corners, clutching nearly burned-up old books until the moment of their deaths.
The whole area was filled with the distinctive scorched smell of magical fire.
All of this was the work of the Scarlet Witch and her Darkhold.
"I didn't think you'd come back on your own." A low, hoarse voice came from deep within the ruins.
"Then be the bridge I need."
Before everyone's eyes, the Scarlet Witch, her body wrapped in red chaos energy and circled by a book emanating an evil aura, rose from the ruins.
"Excuse me, let me interrupt for a moment," Datch said, stepping forward. "You have broken the laws of time and the parallel universes and are threatening other parallel universes."
"Under the laws of the Imperium of Man, you could be sentenced to more than five hundred years in prison, or, depending on the circumstances, to death."
"I recommend that you stop resisting, surrender, and ask for leniency."
Scarlet Witch: "..."
Do you see the chaos energy pouring off me?
Do you see the Darkhold next to me?
I destroyed all of Kamar-Taj. Those sorcerers were ants before me. I crushed them with a flick of my wrist.
And you dare lecture me about the law?!
What is this worthless Imperium of Man, anyway? Say one more word and get between my children and me, and I'll wipe your country off the map.
"You're in my way. Move, or I'll kill you too."
Scarlet Witch's patience snapped, and she sent chaos energy hurtling toward America.
What kind of ridiculous Imperial law is this? It's too stiff even to wipe my arse with.
Feel the terror of chaos magic. Nothing can stop me from seeing my children.
...