Unlike the comic settings, both the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers 3 have described the origins of the Infinite Gems—fragments of singularities from the Big Bang, collected by the four great Divine Spirits: Eternity, Death, Infinity, and Entropy.
Infinite Gems indeed possess immense power and can reshape the rules of the universe, but in the cinematic universe, they are still unable to transcend these four foundational figures.
Previously, the Black Death Sword had already caught Tao Yu’s attention, and now he didn’t expect Thanos to be connected to ’Eternity’ and ’Death’ as well.
"Have they been polluted?"
Tao Yu wanted to confirm this with Thanos.
"Probably not, but they seem to have had disagreements. ’Eternity’ likely wanted to strip away all the negative aspects susceptible to corruption, so ’Death’ was imprisoned."
Thanos’s words also reminded Tao Yu of Luke’s earlier failure to locate their soul—perhaps it was related to ’Death’ being imprisoned.
Theoretically speaking, the forces of nature utilized by mages—so long as they are not dimension-based—originate from the dispersion of Eternity’s energies in the universe.
Those four Divine Spirits could be regarded as the cornerstones of the universe; at least, their prestige in the cinematic universe is significantly high.
They typically serve as background players, without directly intervening, and are rarely something to consider in daily circumstances.
But now, unexpectedly, Thanos had revealed that these entities might have already stepped into the fray.
This revelation even gave Tao Yu the urge to retreat as quickly as possible.
After all, he’d already gained quite a bit—returning wouldn’t be a loss!
Yet, with only a small portion left, within arm’s reach, he found himself unwilling to let go.
"Dealing with this level of being, I better refrain from using my divination to probe them..."
Tao Yu felt a bit helpless internally.
Divination inherently requires feedback from the World Will.
And if the multiversal setup within the Marvel cinematic universe wasn’t as deep as what the comics described, then entities like Eternity themselves represent Tianyi!
At the very least, they are part of the World Will!
Attempting to divine the Infinite Gems often results in nebulous results, and probing such entities would practically equate to sending them a notification with an inquiry.
"It’s quite troublesome. Compared to the Abyss, I do know a bit more. Can you still communicate with ’Death’?"
As thoughts swirled in Tao Yu’s mind, he noted that he hadn’t felt any malice from the World Will toward him yet, and the continued feedback from his divination was proof of that.
So, there was no need to scare himself.
Just as he had formed an alliance with Asgard, if these great Divine Spirits possessed self-awareness and were capable of dialoguing, perhaps directly discussing matters with them might be feasible!
Thanos’s tone was calm. If communicating with such beings were truly possible, he wouldn’t have been so filled with concern.
"Is there a way to meet them?"
Tao Yu pressed further. Since Thanos had connections to ’Death,’ he might know a considerable amount.
"Not certain. Lately, that self-proclaimed God Slayer seems to be searching for the Eternal Altar, but even if they locate it, opening it would be incredibly challenging. These are the true Divine Spirits of the universe—not those self-titled god races."
Thanos’s words sparked another thought in Tao Yu’s mind.
"Why does he want to open the Eternal Altar?"
"It is rumored that the first being to enter the Eternal Domain can have their wish fulfilled by Eternity, perhaps related to that."
Evidently, Thanos had considered this possibility as well and answered without hesitation.
This made Tao Yu’s eyes light up slightly as he recalled a past vision.
Asgard gathered the energies of the World Tree, activated by the Rainbow Bridge, and opened a dark Door!
"Did it connect to the Abyss? Or could the Rainbow Bridge be used to open the Eternal Altar for wish fulfillment from Eternity? Tch~, doesn’t seem very clever..."
Currently, this universe still appeared relatively intact, so Tao Yu didn’t suspect that the Eternal Domain had been completely polluted.
If it had, this world would already be on the brink of collapse.
However, it wasn’t impossible for someone to attempt to become a traitor, using this power to invite the Abyss in.
"The Black Death Sword!"
Tao Yu once again locked onto this crucial key, connecting it to the God Slayer.
"In any case, I better focus on securing the final gemstone first. Tch~, still cutting it close in terms of time."
Tao Yu calculated the timing of the Nine Realms alignment.
Simply waiting over there didn’t seem feasible anymore—now he could focus on collecting other pieces while attempting to trace the God Slayer’s trail...