One day later.
Above the ruins of the Supreme Intelligence's grand hall on Hala.
Frieza watched Gamora being dragged up bound hand and foot.
He glanced at Thanos, who knelt before him, that purple head bowed low.
The air was thick with an awkward silence.
"My liege…"
Thanos's voice was hoarse.
The iron-willed commander who had just been directing fleets to sweep across star systems now trembled slightly, his broad back quivering.
"About the price for obtaining the Soul Stone…"
"Is there… another way to pay?"
"Perhaps… the glory I carry?"
Thanos lifted his head. In those fierce eyes flickered something perilously close to pleading.
Though he had become Frieza's most loyal hound, though he had gained strength enough to crush stars, Gamora was the only warmth left in this cold Universe, the sole anchor of his twisted fatherly love.
"Tch."
Frieza set down his wineglass with impatience.
A crisp clink rang out.
"Thanos."
Frieza shook his head, scarlet eyes brimming with cold disappointment.
"I just praised you as a professional Demolition Office Director—why are you acting stupid now?"
"That's the price set by cosmic law, not some market where you can haggle."
Frieza rose, walked to Thanos, and tapped the hard chest-plate with one finger.
"Besides…"
"She's only an adopted daughter."
"Out with the old, in with the new."
"Once we conquer the Universe, how many daughters do you want?"
"Even if you want to buy them by the crate from orphanages, I'll reimburse you."
At those words Frieza's gaze turned icy and terrifying killing intent locked onto Thanos.
"Or do you think your daughter's life is worth more than my command?"
In that instant, Thanos felt himself hurled into an abyss of absolute zero. The shadow of death had never been clearer.
He didn't doubt that a single "yes" would turn him to cosmic dust the next second.
"N-no… I wouldn't dare!"
Thanos shuddered, forehead pounding the ground.
"I… understand."
He stood, seized the still-cursing Gamora, and his eyes turned cold once more. Only, a tear seemed to slip from the corner of his eye, vaporizing before it hit the ground.
"That's better."
Frieza nodded in satisfaction and raised his left hand.
Voom—
The blue Space Stone blazed.
A portal to the realm of death opened before them… Vormir.
A planet forever cloaked in shadow and despair.
Atop towering cliffs, the wind howled.
The tattered-caped Red Skull drifted out like a ghost.
"Welcome, Thanos, son of A'Lars…"
"And…"
Red Skull looked at the white-suited man with hands in pockets, voice suddenly choking.
He could not see through him. That man's soul was a bottomless black hole, striking fear even into the Soul Stone's Guardian.
"Enough with the lines, you're creeping me out." Frieza waved dismissively, interrupting Red Skull's preamble.
"We know the rule: one life for one soul, right?"
He turned to Thanos. "Do it, Director."
"Don't keep us from dinner."
Thanos drew a deep breath, staring at Gamora in his grip.
"Sorry, little one."
His voice was low, thick with a sob.
"It's for… the great cause."
"Let go of me, you maniac! What are you doing?!" Gamora shrieked in terror.
But the next moment—
Whoosh!
Her body arced through the air and plunged toward the bottomless cliff.
"Noooo!!!"
Her shrill scream echoed through the canyon, then died into silence.
Though no impact reached their ears, everyone knew the bargain was sealed.
Dark clouds parted and a strange light bathed Thanos. When he awoke, an orange gem lay in his hand.
The Soul Stone.
"Hand it over."
Before Thanos could grieve, a pale hand thrust before him.
Frieza snatched the Soul Stone, studying it in the light.
"Tch, mediocre quality."
"Trading a life for this rock—what a rotten deal."
He pocketed the gem and glanced at the dazed Thanos still kneeling.
"Enough melodrama."
"Double bonus when we get back—enough to buy you plenty of daughters on other Planets."
Frieza straightened his collar, gaze turning toward another dimension.
"Next, only one piece left."
"The Reality Stone."
…
Svartalfheim.
Homeland of the Dark Elves, forever sunless.
Inside an invisible black ark.
Malekith, the Dark Elf leader, was curled on his throne, trembling.
He had just received the news, that demon called Frieza had conquered even the Kree Empire.
"Terrifying… too terrifying…"
Malekith clutched a mass of crimson fluid.
The Aether—Reality Stone.
It was his final trump card, the hope of returning the Universe to darkness. Now, however, the thing felt like a burning coal in his grip.
BOOM!!!
With a thunderous roar, the ark's roof was blasted clean off.
"Oh my, is this what they call a rat's nest?"
Frieza hovered in mid-air, trailed by Apocalypse, Loki, and a retinue of enforcers.
He pinched his nose, eyeing the Dark Elves in disgust.
"Ghost-white and hideous."
"Hey, you shivering cataract patient over there."
Frieza pointed at Malekith. "Hand over that lump of red mud in your hand."
"N-never!"
Malekith was terrified, but this was the Reality Stone—the hope of his entire race.
"The Aether is invincible!"
With a roar, he absorbed the Aether into his body.
His frame ballooned and countless red spikes shot toward Frieza like whips, trying to rewrite reality and turn Frieza into rubble.
"Invincible?" Frieza smiled.
"Before me, you dare speak of invincibility?"
He didn't even dodge, he simply lifted a finger and tapped the air.
"Scatter."
BUZZZZ—
A terrifying Ki slammed against the Reality Stone's revision, forcing it back.
Pop!
Malekith's inflated body burst like a balloon, reverting to his frail self.
The crimson Reality Stone was ripped from him and floated above Frieza's palm.
"Trash."
With a casual wave, a Death Beam vaporized Malekith and his throne.
"What a waste of time."
…
Top floor of Frieza Tower.
Frieza dismissed his entourage, leaving himself alone. He stood at the vast window, gazing at the thriving city that belonged to him.
On the table before him, six Infinity Stones hovered quietly.
Blue Space, yellow Mind, purple Power, red Reality, green Time, orange Soul.
Their lights interwove, exuding a bewitching, perilous aura.
"All six… finally."
A fanatical grin appeared on Frieza's lips.
He hadn't bothered searching for any Infinity Gauntlet. That dwarven scrap-metal was clumsy and ugly—how could it match his elegant suit?
Besides…
"I am the Emperor of the Universe."
"My body is the mightiest vessel."
"Can a few pebbles of energy possibly burst me?"
He inhaled, his scarlet eyes snapping wide.
"Bring it!"
Arms spread, his Ki erupted like a black hole.
Whoosh—
The six gems answered the call, turning into six rays that plunged into his body.
BOOM!!!!!!
In that instant, not just Earth—the entire Solar System quaked.
Frieza was swallowed by rainbow brilliance, the infinite power merging with him.
Pain!
Agony enough to shatter gods.
Yet Frieza laughed.
"Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho…"
"That's the stuff."
"Strength… endless strength!"
His skin glowed golden, the once-purple zones now swirled with star-fields.
Time, Space, Power, Soul, Reality, Mind—the six primal laws of the Universe became part of him.
No snaps, no medium required: a single thought was the Universe's will.
After an eternity, the light faded. Frieza reappeared, outwardly unchanged, still elegant. Yet one step closer and you felt the suffocating presence of the entire cosmos.
He lifted a hand, studying his crystalline palm. "So this is Infinity?"
He clenched gently.
Crack!
The surrounding reality fractured like a mirror.
"Magnificent."
"Even if the Celestials' leader himself shows up now, I can roll him into a ball and punt him."
"Oh, right—let me adjust the height first."