A being like Drex Valen had never existed anywhere in the Marvel universe before.
Matter denser than a black hole should have only two possible outcomes. Either it would be expelled from the physical universe outright, or it would collapse reality around it into oblivion.
But Drex possessed something far stranger: a Kryptonian biofield powerful enough to restrain his own mass. Even carrying density beyond comprehension, he remained stable inside normal space without triggering universal catastrophe.
Under ordinary circumstances, a creature like him would have become a disaster greater than Galactus.
At his current level, Drex didn't even need to act. Simply existing was enough to erase everything within trillions of light-years. Matter, energy, time, space... all of it would eventually be consumed by his presence, converted into more mass, more power, more hunger.
A self-sustaining cosmic extinction event.
And technically speaking, that was his evolutionary path.
Consume. Adapt. Ascend.
As long as he kept devouring universes, there would eventually come a day when he reached true multiversal status. No bottlenecks. No hidden limits. Just an endlessly escalating trajectory that would make countless cosmic entities seethe with envy.
"You've got your eye on her now?"
Esdeath crossed her arms as she looked toward Captain Marvel.
To be fair, this version of Carol Danvers was far more striking than the one from the films. And lately Drex had been getting increasingly excessive with his creations. The man had literally assembled an entire angelic legion.
Drex glanced at her.
"What exactly are you imagining?"
He had little interest in ordinary women.
Collectible doll-like beauties were another category entirely.
Golden light bloomed from the Mind Stone.
Captain Marvel suddenly collapsed to her knees, clutching her head as psychic pressure flooded her consciousness.
"She's mentally tougher than I expected."
Drex sounded mildly surprised.
Still, resistance meant very little in front of him.
With the Power Stone amplifying its output, the Mind Stone unleashed its full force.
In an instant, Captain Marvel's will shattered beneath it.
Another hound added to the Kryptonian Empire.
"Your Majesty."
Captain Marvel rose smoothly to her feet, her expression completely calm.
Esdeath shrugged.
"That's incredibly twisted."
Still, she couldn't deny the practical side of it. With Captain Marvel under their control, there were even fewer beings left in the universe capable of opposing Krypton.
Drex looked toward the ruined planet below them.
"I don't particularly care how much territory you conquer," he said, "but blowing up an entire planet because of battle aftershocks is a bit excessive."
The world was already dying.
Its core had been destabilized during the clash between Esdeath and Captain Marvel. The planetary gravitational field was collapsing rapidly. Before long, the nearby star would capture the remains, tearing the planet apart and feeding on its debris until nothing remained.
Drex narrowed his eyes.
"Forget it. I'll borrow the Time Stone from the Ancient One and restore it."
He didn't care much about individual lives.
Planets were different.
Habitable worlds were renewable resources. Every life-bearing planet was valuable.
As for whether the Ancient One would agree?
Drex suspected she would.
After all, he no longer feared the Infinity Stones.
On Earth, the Sorcerer Supreme was enjoying a peaceful day of fishing.
Or rather, fishing for dimensional gods.
Every so often, another unfortunate entity took the bait and got violently beaten back into its own dimension.
As usual, the process earned her a fresh round of curses.
"Ancient One, you'll die horribly!"
"Your soul belongs to me when you die!"
"Repay your debts! Why are you hitting me?!"
Among the furious cosmic voices was an especially aggrieved Dormammu.
The Ancient One remained perfectly composed, ignoring them all as background noise.
As for the ownership of her soul after death...
That discussion could be taken up with Eternity.
With the Vishanti behind her and one of the cosmic abstracts effectively serving as an even greater shield, the dimensional gods were little more than noisy pests in her eyes.
Then something arrived.
Something comparable to a dimensional god.
The newcomer tapped lightly against Kamar-Taj's barrier.
The action immediately drew the attention of the barrier's original creator: Agamotto himself.
Child of Oshtur.
One of the legendary Vishanti.
Creator of the Eye of Agamotto and among the earliest wielders of the Time Stone.
In the age of the prehistoric Avengers, Agamotto had been known as the All-Seeing Eye, a being whose wisdom bordered on omniscience.
And the prehistoric Avengers themselves were absurd monsters.
Astra Feng, for example, had once shattered the complete Phoenix Force with a single punch.
Odin had also been one of their members.
At first, Agamotto assumed some arrogant dimensional entity was trying to provoke him.
Then he looked closer.
Not a dimensional god.
A true single-universe-level entity from the physical plane.
Outside his jurisdiction.
More importantly, the visitor had actually knocked first.
Polite enough.
Agamotto chose not to interfere as Drex casually opened a hole in the barrier and stepped into Kamar-Taj.
The Ancient One froze for a fraction of a second.
The barrier hadn't failed.
He had simply bypassed it.
Without actively using the Eye of Agamotto, she hadn't looked into the future today. Otherwise she might have anticipated Drex's arrival.
Then again, after Drex reached his current level, even the Time Stone could barely perceive his future anymore.
"Been a while, Sorcerer Supreme," Drex said with a faint smile.
The Ancient One studied him carefully.
Every future she had previously observed lacked this meeting entirely.
"Indeed, Mr. Valen."
Drex got straight to the point.
"I need a favor. A destroyed planet needs to be restored."
"You wish to borrow the Eye of Agamotto?"
The Ancient One frowned slightly.
"I have no hostile intentions," Drex replied evenly. "And I'm not interested in keeping the Time Stone."
As he spoke, the Mind Stone glimmered faintly, allowing her to directly perceive the sincerity behind his thoughts.
"The Eye of Agamotto cannot leave Kamar-Taj," she said.
"A rule established by Agamotto himself."
Drex said nothing, though inwardly he was highly skeptical.
Strange had literally worn it around his neck halfway across the universe.
The Ancient One blinked.
"However... the Sorcerer Supreme can leave Kamar-Taj."
A few moments later, Drex opened a portal with the Space Stone and brought her to the dying planet.
The Ancient One stood calmly in the void.
Her hands formed intricate seals.
The Eye of Agamotto hanging around her neck slowly opened, revealing the glowing green Time Stone within.