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[Ashes Scatter]

A brilliant longsword thrust from behind, piercing Thanos' chest with a scream tearing from his throat.

Luckily, he evaded at the last moment, narrowly missing a fatal blow to his heart.

Gasping, Thanos leaned heavily on his broadsword, eyeing the spot where the attack originated—delivered by the silver-haired man.

"You..." Thanos managed, breath ragged as he confronted his assailant.

The silver-haired man wiped his blade clean, lips twitching. "Forgive me, Thanos. I've chosen to carry the burden of continuing our race, to be Titan's last survivor."

Surveying his decimated forces, Thanos realized the silver-haired man had planned this ambush meticulously, minimizing his own losses.

Outnumbered and wounded, Thanos gritted his teeth as the silver-haired man issued a deadly command.

"Kill them all!" he ordered, his soldiers charging with a unified battle cry of "Attack!"

Thanos roared in defiance, meeting the onslaught with his massive broadsword.

The sword, towering over many, was imposing but weakened by his severe injury, forcing Thanos to focus solely on defense amidst the frenzied assault.

Thankfully, his thick armor spared him from grievous harm, though it wouldn't hold forever under such relentless pressure.

Thanos fought valiantly, inching back to regroup with his remaining loyalists, barely staving off their attackers.

Meanwhile, the silver-haired man, having struck only once in ambush, now observed silently as Thanos and his cohorts struggled.

Suddenly, his demeanor shifted, eyes narrowing as he swiftly turned and flung his dagger.

*Qiang!* The blade flew true.

"Fair lady, it seems you've no desire to be Titan's survivor," he coldly remarked, raising his sword against Sehira.

Sehira paled.

She attempted to dodge, but proved no match for the silver-haired man, her resistance futile as his blade pierced her chest, blood spattering.

"Thanos!" Her gaze pleaded as she collapsed.

Before her plea could fade, the silver-haired man's second strike swiftly followed, severing her head from her body in a gory fountain of crimson.

Even in death, her visage conveyed fear, pain, and sorrow, her eyes fixed upon Thanos.

Caught in a stunned silence, Thanos watched her head roll, immobilized by grief.

Seizing the opportunity, the soldiers assailing him drove several blades deep into his flesh simultaneously.

"Ah—!" Thanos cried out in agony, eyes locked on Sehira's fallen head.

"Die!" A warrior swung his blade down, aiming for Thanos' neck, expecting to bisect him as Sehira had been.

Yet, to everyone's astonishment, the blade halted midair, halted by some unseen force protecting Thanos' neck.

Initially mistaking it for armor, the soldier soon realized the blade had indeed struck Thanos' bare neck, leaving him almost unscathed.

Simultaneously, a faint purple aura emanated from Thanos, exuding a menacing presence.

"This—" The soldier recoiled in horror.

The silver-haired man sensed the escalating power enveloping Thanos, his expression shifting to one of dread. "The third awakening!"

Cursing under his breath, he glanced around, then gritted his teeth and bolted without hesitation.

With bloodshot eyes, Thanos swung his broadsword. Several assailants were cleaved in two, their armor and bodies alike rent apart, blood spraying.

With a mighty roar, he leapt skyward, his landing creating a crater, the ground quaking under his wrathful descent.

Like a falling meteor, Thanos brandished his broadsword, hurtling toward the fleeing silver-haired man.

Terror-stricken, the silver-haired man turned to parry.

*Crack!* Their swords clashed, the silver-haired man's blade shattering under Thanos' immense force, severing his arm in the process.

The impact shattered Thanos' broadsword as well, reducing it from a double-edged to a single-edged blade.

Undeterred, Thanos pressed on, relentless in his pursuit, wielding his single-edged sword.

"No, Thanos, we can talk this out!" the silver-haired man pleaded in panic.

But Thanos showed no signs of halting. His sword flashed, each strike slicing through the silver-haired man until he lay bisected, lifeless.

Witnessing their leader's demise, his followers faltered, paralyzed by fear.

"Thanos?" A soldier cautiously approached.

Thanos, kneeling amidst the carnage, stared at Sehira's lifeless head, his silence profound.

"What now?" the soldier asked tentatively.

Thanos gazed at the dimming sky. "Titan is collapsing, everywhere... You all can stay here in the warehouse, at least for a while."

"And you?"

"I'm leaving Titan."

The soldier gasped. "Are you mad? No one escapes Titan!"

"At least... I won't let time take me," Thanos murmured, digging a deep grave with his bare hands.

Gently, he laid Sehira's body to rest within, discarding his shattered blade before departing without looking back.

Yet, just a few strides away, Thanos halted abruptly, his gaze drawn to a dagger lying nearby—Sehira's weapon.

Compact, with twin blades resembling a miniature broadsword.

Staring at it, memories flickered in Thanos' eyes. With a sigh, he stooped, retrieved the dagger, and departed without a backward glance...

Days later.

Thanos piloted his spacecraft off Titan, ascending into the sky.

Though the launch proceeded smoothly and all seemed calm, Thanos, still clad in armor, remained vigilant and tense.

During the ascent, he glanced out a porthole, spotting another spacecraft above—another attempting to flee Titan.

Thanos watched in silence.

Initially, the ship, like his own, ascended without incident.

Yet, at a certain height, it fractured without warning, shattered into fragments that dissipated into stardust, vanishing as though they'd never existed...