In the Realm of Death, in front of the palace gates of the Goddess of Death, the Iron Demon God and the Supreme Mage stood one to the right and the other to the left, like two guardians on either side of the door. The more Death looked at them, the angrier she became. What made her even more furious, however, was what Shiller had just said.
It wasn't his overt and covert mockery, or his strange, sarcastic tone that made her angry. After all, each of the five gods had been ridiculed by Shiller. Death had been schemed against by him more times than she could count. On any other day, a simple taunting call from Shiller would have been considered unusual restraint on his part.
What really infuriated her was his plan to establish a cult for Oblivion on Earth.
It might not necessarily have been Oblivion's idea, merely another one of Shiller's plots. Regardless, it made Death realize: even if all of this was just a facade for Shiller's plot and Oblivion was merely a figurehead, she could never achieve the same.
As had been mentioned before, Death had been secretly and openly spreading her doctrine across the Material Universe. Not as a collective religion, but she manipulated key figures to generate more death. Thanos was one such figure. She also brokered deals with heavenly fathers like Odin, providing Valhalla in exchange for his sponsored wars. These tactical maneuvers had continued for thousands of years.
But then the universe became independent; Eternity began to hold strict inspections, and Death became one of the major targets. Independent Valhalla was no longer allowed, nor could she appear in the form of the Goddess of Death to seduce significant figures into committing murder for her.
Even those religions that promoted Death's doctrine and were not established by Death herself were banned. Those cults on Earth that encouraged martyrdom via suicide utterly crumbled under Eternity's influence.
She grumbled about the unfair treatment, regardless of how justified the punishment might be. On the surface, rule-breaking deities influencing the law and order of the universe were strictly prohibited. Why was Eternity solely focusing on her then?
Oblivion was portrayed as a cosmic villain in most of his comic book appearances. His scandalous and lazy character was always shielded by Shiller's schemes or creating havoc for Eternity and Infinity.
Oblivion was the least diligent among the five ruling gods, but still enjoyed impunity. Even Star Eater faithfully executed its duty as the Cosmic Cleaner.
What angered Death even more was that religions that served Oblivion and his messengers escaped the crackdown entirely. Even now, the culture of nihilism was still being vigorously promoted on Earth, yet no one dared to challenge Oblivion's influence.
Most outbursts of anger start with the question, "Why?" and end with the sentence, "Is it worth it?". At this moment, the question reverberating in Death's mind was, "Why?"
The more she tried to suppress her rage, the more apparent the disadvantages she saw in her situation. Oblivion committed a massive regulatory violation without consequences while she was severely reprimanded for executing subtle schemes that didn't even disrupt the cosmic balance. Why should this be?
The more Death thought, the angrier she became. She waved dismissively at Stark and Strange: "Haven't you both realized? Shiller has fooled you both. He got away. If you return to Earth now, you might just catch his triumphant laughter."
Stark and Strange looked at each other, examined the forlorn figure of the Goddess of Death, and felt that there might be some truth to her words. After a moment of hesitation, they decided to look elsewhere. If they couldn't find Shiller, they would come back, so there was no need to rush.
Back in her palace, Death brooded. If she brought the matter up with Eternity now, she knew he would have the excuse to drag up old disputes. Considering Shiller had just manipulated Adam, Eternity was probably pretty upset. If he decided to launch another crackdown, she'd be the one who suffered.
After much thought, Death had a shrewd plan. Her repressed vengeance had been simmering for a long time. And so, one night, Thanos, our permanent advisor to the Interstellar Security Committee, once again heard a voice from the past.
"Thanos ... Thanos ... Thanos…"
The ethereal female voice repeated Thanos' name continuously, even his pet name. Thanos, who was at his desk working on a report, paused, then adjusted his glasses and said: "Hello, Goddess of Death. What can I do for you? I have a meeting at 6 o'clock tomorrow morning about using the Infinity Gemstones to enhance interstellar security levels. I haven't finished my speech yet. If it's not urgent, can we chat another time?"
Death was stunned.
There were too many points to take issue with in Thanos' words. She hesitated for a moment and said, "Well, Thanos, actually I have something..."
"Beep—beep—beep—"
The communication device on Thanos' desk suddenly emitted a sharp sound. Thanos frowned, picked up the call, and he abruptly stood up from his chair.
"What? The roaming planet-eater Galactus has approached the Star Area again? Is this a report of disruption from the Nova Corps? And that Universe Pirate Team, the Ravagers, are involved too? Alright, I'll be right there!"