Ego accepted the glass and downed it in one swift motion.
"What's your relationship with that woman?"
Hela, clearly intrigued, perhaps for the first time in her long life, teased Ego, deliberately probing his nerves.
"Does it matter?"
Exhaling as he set the glass down, Ego's face had already shed its former gloom.
"There's nothing between us now."
"Maybe so. Have fun, then."
Hela gave a small nod, grabbed the sunglasses resting on the edge of the bar, and waved casually as she took her leave.
As Ego watched her walk away, his gaze swept over the now eerily silent tavern before fixing on the man who had been seated closest to where Lothar had been earlier.
With a flick of his right hand, a silver stream of energy surged outward, forming an arm that yanked the man to him.
"Tell me, what happened between that woman and that man just now?"
The cold gleam in Ego's eyes made the already terrified bystander tremble uncontrollably.
...
"Do you know Ego?"
After leaving the tavern, Jennifer finally broke the long silence with that question.
Walking ahead of her, Lothar didn't pause. His voice drifted back to her ears, carried by Gafa's gentle winds.
"We've met once."
If he didn't count the footage Woz had recorded, it truly was just one meeting. If he did count it, then it wasn't just once.
"You two—"
"Things between Ego and me aren't as complicated as you think. On the other hand, you and he... now that's complicated."
Apparently unwilling to answer any questions about Ego, Lothar cut straight to the truth Jennifer had kept buried in her heart.
Jennifer's expression shifted drastically.
"Why?!"
"There is no why."
Lothar turned around, casting a glance at her. His pitch-black pupils sent a chill through her, as if she had been stripped bare before his gaze.
Her relationship with Ego had always been a closely guarded secret. She was certain not even her master knew. So how... how did Lothar...?
"My father once told me, in this world, there is no such thing as a perfect concealment. As long as something exists, it always leaves traces behind."
Lothar's figure receded into the distance. His words, carried by the wind, left Jennifer's expression in flux.
She began to retrace the times she had secretly met Ego on Gafa.
Lothar had only arrived on Gafa within the last two days... unless—
Unless something more terrifying was true.
Before falling out with Rodus, Lothar had been a VIP of the Cosmic Auction House. What if he had learned about her and Ego... from Rodus?
If so, then Ego, because of her, was already under Rodus' watchful eye?
Gritting her teeth, anxiety gnawed at Jennifer as she dialed a secure communication channel. But all she got was the white noise of a blocked signal.
Ego…
"Ego, please listen to me. I know... I know it was wrong of me to end things the way I did. But I swear it was for your own good. Please, believe me."
"And... you're in danger now."
"I'm sorry. Because of me, Rodus may have already set his sights on you. Be careful, of anyone unfamiliar who shows up around you."
"You must be careful!"
In the large, quiet room, Jennifer's heartfelt plea echoed.
Ego stood by the window, overlooking Gafa's night skyline, swirling the liquor in his glass. His eyes narrowed, the glint in them unreadable.
...
Gafa Control Center.
As Hela casually tossed the shattered remains of the sunglasses into a waste incinerator, a sharp instinct jolted her. With a quick flick of her right hand, a black, metallic magical weapon flew outward.
"Divine Essence of Death? Not a bad trick."
That voice, calm, resonant, and laced with magnetic authority.
Rodus stood clad in violet armor, looking down at the weapon at his feet with mild admiration.
"What do you want?"
Hela was far from pleased with Rodus for barging into her quarters uninvited.
She was not his subordinate. Their relationship was nothing more than a tenuous, transactional partnership.
"Ego. How's the situation with him progressing?"
Rodus clearly couldn't care less about Hela's attitude.
"The initial contact went smoothly enough. But why do you care? Shouldn't you be more concerned about your own safety?"
"Just a friendly reminder: Lothar nearly destroyed Svartalfheim."
If Odin hadn't intervened at the last moment, the Nine Realms might already be in chaos from the realm's destruction.
"And?"
"What's your point?"
Rodus' face remained expressionless, as unmoved as dead water.
"Compared to Lothar, it's Ego I'm more concerned about."
A being that had existed since the birth of the universe... his mystery alone demanded caution.
According to his intelligence network, Ego was Jennifer's boyfriend.
"Wait a second... how do you know that?"
Hela's expression twisted with suspicion.
In front of the Collector, Rodus had clearly acted as if he knew nothing about Ego.
"Did you know... thirty million years ago, I endured centuries of silence to bring down the Tuskari Empire?"
"Five hundred years?"
"No. Far longer than that."
Hela's eyes flew open in shock...
...
Three days later.
On a remote region Gafa.
Lothar descended slowly, his loose black battle suit billowing in the wind. Jennifer, her golden hair fluttering behind her, followed close behind.
"Master."
Upon landing, Jennifer respectfully knelt.
At the center of the desolate landscape, a small figure turned slowly at her voice, leaning on a staff.
He stood no taller than 1.3 meters, shorter even than Woz. His face was aged, beard snow-white, staff in hand, and a dark green turtle shell strapped to his back.
This... was far from the image Lothar had envisioned.
"Lothar. Survivor of the Titan Cataclysm. Son of Thanos. A being who nearly razed Svartalfheim."
"You call yourself a Super Saiyan beyond the Saiyan race. An interesting form, indeed."
At the moment their eyes met, the old man's words caused Lothar's gaze to sharpen instantly.
"I'm Jennifer's master. The Great Sage of Gafa, Gubo."
"You know what happened on Svartalfheim?"
That was a closely guarded secret. Odin himself had sealed the truth.
The official story was that their ally, Thanos, had split mountains and shattered rivers with a single strike, slaying Malekith, leader of the Dark Elves.
"Cough, I know far more than you think."
Gubo coughed lightly as a glass sphere, roughly the size of a human fist, materialized in his right hand.
"As a welcome gift…"
Inside the sphere, a swirl of energy formed, slowly revealing Lothar's face.
Suddenly, a burst of twin-colored light, blue and red, engulfed the image, and the sphere exploded!
"An unpredictable god, is it?"
Gubo's gaze toward Lothar shifted dramatically.
"What does that mean?"
Lothar frowned. This cryptic old man made no sense.
"Lothar, son of Titan..."
"Do you, wish to become a god?"
Gubo stroked his snowy beard, his voice filled with temptation.
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