Of course, no one really understood what Lock meant.
After going through the death of the Queen of Asgard, Lock knew that completely reversing the sacred timeline was not something that could be done by just saying a few words.
Many events have powerful inertia, and there might even be a Time Variance Authority or some higher cosmic force pulling strings behind the scenes.
Unless he protected things with his own hands, Gamora's fate might still not change.
This was not the right time to talk about it. Lock casually changed the subject and asked:
"Where did the body of this head go?"
Tivan said:
"It is said that it was taken away by other Celestials. As for why a head was left behind, I do not know. I came here to mine hundreds of years ago."
This god had been dead for countless thousands of years, and no one cared anymore.
Perhaps it was precisely because the powerful one who beheaded him did not care that Tivan dared to use this place as his mining base.
Even just the head alone was the size of a moon. If you counted the body, this ancient god's remains would be comparable to a planet.
Later, in the Eternals incident, Arishem the Judge appeared—his massive body even longer than the Earth's diameter.
The moment he appeared, his mass alone altered Earth's gravity. Without doing anything at all, his very presence caused global storms.
Lock continued:
"Then do you know where the Abyss is?"
If this head was cut off by Knull, the god of the symbiotes, then perhaps Knull's lair—the Abyss—was nearby.
Many people only knew Knull as the God of Symbiotes, but they didn't know he had another title: Lord of the Abyss.
The Celestials had gone to the Abyss to kill Knull, but were instead defeated, one of them beheaded.
If that was true, then the Abyss could be close…
But what counted as "close" was relative.
With the ability of the Celestials, they could cross wormholes at will — "close" could mean a few light-years, or dozens, or hundreds.
Tivan shook his head:
"I have never heard of an Abyss."
"I see."
Lock nodded slightly, a little disappointed. This trip didn't seem to gain him much.
Seeing Lock's slight dissatisfaction, Tivan cautiously said:
"Prince of Asgard, it is rare for you to visit my collection. Why not take something you like as a gift?"
"If you brought companions, each of them may also choose one."
"Whoa…" Rocket's eyes lit up, and he shouted excitedly:
"Do you have anything here worth ten billion credits?"
Tivan smiled:
"That depends on your eyes — and your luck."
Lock expanded his senses. There were many rare treasures here, but nothing he urgently needed. Anything truly useful, he could simply get from Asgard later.
Instead, the red-skinned alien maid standing quietly nearby reminded Lock of the original timeline.
In that future, she would seize the Power Stone with her bare hand to rebel against Tivan's oppression—triggering a massive explosion that destroyed the entire collection hall.
She herself was vaporized by the Power Stone's energy.
Tivan's concept of "collecting" included intelligent beings, imprisoning them like objects. Naturally, he had no respect for life.
Now that Lock knew this… he could change it.
"I want her. And her people," Lock said calmly.
Rocket blinked and said in surprise:
"Lock, that species is worthless. On the black market, you can buy one for a few dozen credits."
Star-Lord also gave Lock a strange look. He leaned over and muttered to Gamora:
"Maybe Lock has a thing for exotic skin colors. Careful, maybe he likes green skin too."
"Shut up," Gamora snapped, glaring at him. "Not everyone is as vulgar as you."
Without asking for an explanation, Tivan released the other members of that race from their cages.
Facing the two nervous, trembling alien maids, Lock said calmly:
"You are free. When we leave, you may come with us. Tell us where you want to go, and we will take you."
The moment he spoke, the system prompt appeared: [Lives saved: 2].
So even without the Power Stone event, these two would likely have soon rebelled and died.
Gamora rolled her eyes at Star-Lord:
"See? You're the only one thinking about that."
Star-Lord shrugged:
"Men only think about that. Don't overestimate us."
While everyone was picking through the collection, the ground suddenly trembled, shaking dust loose from above.
"Boom…"
A loud explosion echoed outside, followed by screams.
Lock frowned and glanced at Drax. In the original timeline, Drax was the one who secretly contacted Ronan, luring him here for revenge.
But Drax had been with them the entire time—he hadn't had the chance.
So where was this attack coming from?
Drax asked bluntly:
"Are you staring at me?"
"No."
"Then why are you looking at me? I don't understand silent looks. Just say it out loud."
Lock nodded:
"…Someone might be here for us. Let's go take a look."
Outside, the entire mining colony was under attack.
Massive explosions erupted everywhere, flames engulfing structures, and panicked aliens screamed as they ran.
The ones quick enough to react dove behind cover and began firing back.
Some enemy ships were shot down, but many more descended from the sky.
As soon as Lock and the others stepped outside, several attack ships turned and came straight for them.
"Zzzzzzz!"
Blaster fire rained down in the open area where they stood.
Lock raised his hand and gestured lightly. One of the warships suddenly froze mid-air, crushed by an invisible force into a twisted metal ball, and crashed into the ground.
Seeing this, another ship immediately launched a missile before Lock crushed it as well.
The missile, unguided, shot straight toward the collection hall.
"BOOM!!!"
The explosion was massive, fire erupting into the sky as the hall was completely destroyed. Countless collected treasures were shattered, flames and shockwaves sweeping in all directions.
Lock raised a divine shield, protecting especially the two newly freed maids.
If he had not chosen to free them, they would have died instantly.
"NOOOO!" Rocket howled in despair.
"My ten billion credits!"
He yanked up his hadron cannon and unleashed a massive energy blast, shooting down five or six ships in an instant.
The surviving ships quickly backed away, circling at a distance, unwilling to face that firepower head-on.
But one massive command ship, dozens of meters long, charged straight ahead.
Through the glass viewport, Lock could see the pilot:
A woman with light purple skin, cybernetic limbs, and metal plates on her face, laughing wildly as she roared toward them:
"Hahahaha! Sister! I finally found you!"
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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