Chapter 384: Domain
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Zane knew that his current companions had already grown to the level of god-like entities. However, even with their immense power, most of them likely still couldn't defeat the Celestials of the main universe.
But escaping? That wouldn't be a problem at all.
Not to mention, they also had Lorna, who could knock out the Planet Devourer with a single punch, protecting them along the way.
Whoosh!
With just a thought, Zane teleported everyone from the Divine Realm into the void.
Then, Zane turned to look at Gamora, who was standing quietly in the corner, trying her best to hide her shock.
Previously, although Gamora was aware of how terrifying Zane's power was, she had no idea that her adoptive father, the Mad Titan Thanos, had long been killed by Zane with a single blow.
She had merely assumed that Zane was slightly stronger than Thanos.
But now, witnessing the overwhelming energy radiating from Zane's companions—far surpassing Thanos—she could easily deduce just how powerful Zane, the core of this group, truly was.
Even now, when facing Zane, who hadn't revealed a trace of energy, Gamora couldn't help but feel a deep-seated fear.
This fear compelled her to suppress her pride and reluctantly acknowledge her cowardice.
"I told you I would keep my promise."
Zane's gaze sharpened. In the blink of an eye, he transported Gamora and the unconscious Star-Lord out of the Divine Realm and into outer space.
Then, with a slight gesture of his hand, Gamora was stunned to see Star-Lord, who had been "dead" for so long, subtly twitch his eyelids.
Zane paid no attention to the stunned and tearful Gamora, who was overwhelmed with joy at her lover's resurrection.
At that moment, his eyes glowed with a crimson triangular pattern. Immediately, Gamora's eyes mirrored the same pattern, even as tears streamed down her face.
Before long, Gamora slumped forward, gripping the medical pod tightly, and fell into a deep sleep.
"You will completely forget everything that happened before. From now on, your lives and deaths are no longer my concern."
With that, Zane casually tossed Gamora and the medical pod containing Star-Lord to an unknown life-bearing planet somewhere in the cosmos.
Afterward, he vanished in a flash and reappeared on the Dwarven homeworld, where he informed the Dwarven King of his plan to relocate their entire planet.
He explained that those who wished to stay could do so, while those who wanted to leave should enter his Divine Realm.
In no time, every single Dwarf expressed their willingness to enter the Divine Realm without exception.
After all, they weren't fools. They had already witnessed Zane saving their entire race once. If they missed this chance to cling to such a powerful protector, they would have no hope of survival when hostile cosmic forces came knocking again.
Zane understood their reasoning and said no more.
Floating in space outside the Dwarven planet, he meditated briefly.
Finally, a moment of inspiration struck. He extended his hands downward, and a wide, radiant portal opened above the planet.
The portal cast a trapezoidal beam of light, which grew wider and wider until it enveloped the entire planet.
Whoosh!
With a flash, the planet rapidly shrank and disappeared into the portal.
"Drake, conduct a headcount."
Zane focused his consciousness inward. This was his first time performing such a feat, and he felt a bit anxious.
"Reporting to the master, all members of the Dwarven race are accounted for. Awaiting your instructions."
From defeating the avatar of Death and entering the Divine Realm, to integrating the Dwarven planet, the entire process had taken less than half a day.
This meant that two and a half days still remained before Zane's agreed-upon "three-day appointment" with Roma.
At this moment, Zane had returned to the planet within the Divine Realm.
It was on this very planet that he had just witnessed an ordinary human being from the universe evolve into a demigod of the Marvel Universe.
Zane believed that, in this Marvel Universe, possessing a divine spark wasn't necessarily the hallmark of becoming a god.
To be precise, breaking through to the eighth dimension, with the ability to freely traverse the Omniversal Cosmos, was the true qualification for godhood.
Meanwhile, beings surpassing the fifth dimension but not yet reaching the eighth were considered demigods.
Strictly speaking, they were merely a group of extraordinarily powerful superhumans or extraterrestrial beings.
Of course, if one wanted to split hairs, the former "687" Sky Net and his allies were never truly ordinary humans either.
But it was akin to a speck of dust evolving into an organic lifeform;
The transformation of mortals into deities carried an immense gap and an overwhelming sense of awe.
This realization sparked a moment of clarity in Zane's heart—an inkling of understanding on how to break through to the eighth dimension.
Whoosh!
In a flash, Zane left the planet within the Divine Realm and flew straight to the edge of this nascent universe.
He recalled what Elder Uatu of the Watchers had once mentioned:
At Zane's current level—beyond the high seventh-dimensional stage—he was capable of establishing a Domain, a space governed by his own unique set of rules.
Clearly, the current Divine Realm was still some distance away from achieving that level.
Zane extended his hand and lightly touched the intangible, formless boundary of the Divine Realm.
A strange, indescribable sensation surged from his fingertips into his heart,
like an invisible restraint wrapping around him, preventing him from crossing the threshold.
A Domain?
If a Domain represented a relatively vast and complete form of a pocket universe,
then could a pocket dimension be considered an embryonic, incomplete, and smaller version of a cosmic domain?
After all, even beings like Satan and Jehovah on Earth, who were merely at the fifth-dimensional level, could create pocket dimensions.
Yet, in some way, they were also restricted by the very worlds they had created.
Breaking through the fourth dimension to the fifth meant transcending the three-dimensional space visible to ordinary beings,
as well as the time dimension that constituted four-dimensional spacetime,
and entering an entirely new dimensional framework.
But what about reaching the eighth dimension?
What kind of existence would that entail?
And what about the Beyonders Zane had encountered earlier? What dimensional level did they occupy?
How was one of them able to effortlessly place Zane's Divine Realm, a space that even Zane himself couldn't modify,
into the Phoenix Orb and expand it directly into a pocket universe?
Moreover, how would the true form of Death, whom he was about to confront, differ from the avatar he had defeated earlier?
What exactly was the nature of her eighth-dimensional power?
Floating at the edge of his Divine Realm, Zane immersed himself in deep thought.
The Phoenix Orb hanging around his neck inexplicably floated into the air, swaying gently.
Like a flame being tempered, the orb's color fluctuated between light and dark, constantly shifting.
…
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