Chapter 6: Full Moon Night

"Day 116 Summary: Today, I encountered three magic assassins, two tech warriors, and a small squad of thirty cyborgs."

"Judging from the insignias on their uniforms, they should be members of Father's Seventh Legion, 66th Division."

"They tried to kill me — they almost succeeded. The poisoned dagger nearly pierced my heart. But in the end, I won. I was the one who laughed last. They're all dead now."

"But now... I have a problem."

"The supply of nutrient fluid I prepared in advance is running low. I'll have to find a way to siphon some from the heavily guarded nutrient storage, or my wounds will heal slower — which could put me at a disadvantage in the battles to come."

"Also, during today's battle, I discovered more flaws in my technique..."

…

Night had fallen. The dark Sanctuary — Thanos' domain.

Perched at the entrance of the sanctuary base, Lothar chewed the end of his pen, forcing his limited vocabulary to compose today's bedtime diary entry.

The year-long trial had begun with him launching an energy blast at Cull Obsidian. Now, 116 days had passed.

During this time, the young Lothar had witnessed countless extraordinary powers across the cosmos and had been awed by a myriad of technological weapons. The once unblemished boy, with no scars to speak of, was now covered in wounds. His entire demeanor had undergone a drastic transformation compared to when the trial began.

Though his face remained youthful, the cold, lethal aura he exuded made it easy to overlook his age — a badge of battle-hardened warriors. The only difference was that every drop of blood staining Lothar's hands belonged to his own kind.

With ruthless resolve, Thanos had dispatched 1,024 death soldiers and a battalion of 3,000 cyborgs — warriors under Ebony Maw's command — to forge his son's warrior spirit through blood and death.

Now, after 116 days, Lothar had slain 404 death soldiers and 520 cyborgs.

"Ebony Maw is too shrewd not to calculate my daily nutrient fluid consumption. He must have noticed by now. He'll definitely set an ambush by the storage... maybe that brute, Cull Obsidian, is already lurking there."

Twisting the custom laser pen in his hand, Lothar rested his chin on one palm, contemplating his next move. Every night, as part of the trial, he was granted a period to rest, reflect, and summarize — though 20% of the time, the reprieve could be interrupted by sudden attacks.

As Ebony Maw often said, a warrior must always remain vigilant, even in moments of respite.

To instill this habit, Ebony Maw had left a deep scar across Lothar's waist on the second day of the trial — a wound that, even with nutrient fluid, had taken ten days to heal.

Lothar remembered that day vividly — the first time he'd felt such searing, soul-tearing pain.

On the second page of his blue notebook, written in black ink, the record stood clear:

"Day 2, clear skies. Tonight, Ebony Maw stabbed me in the waist. He said it was because I was too careless. The blade went in deep. I almost died."

It wasn't only Ebony Maw.

On Day 12, Day 13, and Day 62, Cull Obsidian had cleaved into Lothar's limbs with his axe. On Day 6, Day 37, and Day 73, Proxima Midnight had left three gaping wounds with her spear. Even Corvus Glaive had nearly impaled him several times.

Through the crucible of life and death, Lothar gradually discarded superfluous movements in battle, refining his combat style into something more efficient. He learned to dismantle cyborg parts to arm himself with tech weapons, and to counter the unpredictable spells of the death soldiers.

These were the "rewards" he had earned in 116 short days.

Every name that had scarred him was meticulously recorded in his blue notebook.

After finishing today's entries, Lothar tucked away the notebook and decided to scout the nutrient storage perimeter — to see just how many forces that wretched schemer Ebony Maw had stationed there.

…

"How much nutrient fluid does Lothar have left?"

High above the sanctuary, seated on his levitating throne, Thanos watched his son skillfully breach Ebony Maw's layers of defenses, a rare smile of paternal pride flickering across his face.

His painstaking efforts had not been in vain — Lothar was becoming a true warrior.

"By my calculations, he has about half a month's supply left," Ebony Maw replied smoothly. His knack for logistics was impeccable.

Confident that Lothar would inevitably attempt to steal nutrient fluid, Ebony Maw had stationed Cull Obsidian, the remaining death soldiers, and all remaining cyborgs around the storage, setting the perfect trap.

This was his chance to demonstrate his mastery of battlefield manipulation — forcing Lothar to unlock his latent potential while ensuring the boy survived, albeit gravely injured.

With Thanos making a rare return to the sanctuary, Ebony Maw was determined to put on a flawless performance, hoping to earn a transfer from his current role as glorified babysitter.

Though only 116 days had passed, the burden of orchestrating Lothar's growth was already wearing thin. But he dared not complain.

As commander of the Second Legion, his place was among the stars — not playing nursemaid to a seven-year-old in some cosmic game of house.

"You seem quite confident in your plan." Thanos cast a glance at Ebony Maw, his measured tone betraying no emotion.

"Do you know why I returned today?"

As if recalling something amusing, Thanos looked up at the full moon hanging over the sanctuary.

Its pale light bathed the desolate planet — the universe's silent gesture of love, guiding all life home.

"The moon tonight... is very round."

-----------------------

Want to read ahead of schedule?

Join here for advance chapters: PATREON.COM / PRIMALDEMON