Several silver-white energy tendrils shot into Star-Lord's body, flooding him with a relentless surge of power. Ego was forcing his will into him—trying to transform Peter Quill into his own kind. In Ego's grand vision, father and son would join hands to conquer the entire universe.
"Aaaargh!"
Star-Lord's scream was raw and agonized. He could feel his thoughts being reshaped, twisted… a seductive voice whispering constantly in his mind:
"We are the sa. Together, we can accomplish sothing truly great."
From his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, silver-white light began to pour.
"Quill!" Yondu bellowed, his voice sharp with urgency, trying to snap him back to reality.
It wasn't just Yondu—every mber of the Guardians of the Galaxy was staring anxiously at Peter. They feared he wouldn't be able to resist Ego's ntal invasion.
"Quill, if you give in now… you'll lose forever!" Gamora shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. "Rember what I said!"
Sothing in her words struck him. His silver-glowing eyes flicked toward her, and his lips parted. "Gamora, I—"
Ego, sensing his hesitation, poured even more pressure into the link, eager to finish the assimilation so he could turn his full attention to dealing with Gene.
"No matter what, I will never let your plan succeed!"
Peter's eyes suddenly cleared, returning to their natural color. He slamd his finger onto the button of his old Sony Walkman—the one that had sohow survived all the chaos without damage. His mother's favorite upbeat dance track filled the air.
"You murdered my mother, you executioner," he growled. "Over my dead body will you win!"
With that roar, the silver tendrils embedded deep within him began to withdraw, retreating inch by inch.
"Impossible!"
Ego's voice thundered across the entire planet, disbelief dripping from every syllable. Then, as though given fresh orders, the silver-white tendrils surged forward again—this ti even more fiercely—trying to reenter Star-Lord's body.
Up above, Gene maintained his relentless assault, every enhancent in his armor's visual systems active. Through the swirling battlefield, he spotted Peter struggling under Ego's "baptism." This was the mont Gene had been waiting for.
Because this "baptism" wasn't just Ego's last hope for victory—it was also the tolling of his death knell.
Gene had anticipated this scenario long ago. Back when Ego had been away from his planet, Gene had infiltrated the surface using the power of the Space Stone, slipping directly into the planetary core where Ego's consciousness was stored. There, he had planted a small device—one he had designed himself.
This wasn't just any weapon. It was a Planet Devouring Device, a creation inspired by Galactus' own abilities during Gene's past battle with the world-eater. Once activated, it could drain a planet of its energy entirely. For a sentient world like Ego, it was a perfect executioner.
The catch? The conditions for using it were far more demanding than a simple detonation. All of Gene's prior moves—every feint, every calculated strike—had been to set the stage for this exact mont: the instant when Ego's mind intertwined with Star-Lord's. Only then could the device activate and consu Ego's core.
"Now."
Gene's neural network transmitted a silent command to the device embedded deep in Ego's core. Instantly, the Planet Devouring Device began its programd mission—unwavering, unstoppable: consu the planet, convert it into energy.
The conversion rate wasn't perfect, but it was still infinitely better than letting the planet be destroyed in vain.
Ego, still locked in combat with Gene, suddenly felt sothing he hadn't felt in millennia—fear. Deep in his planetary heart, his consciousness sensed the approach of death's door.
"What… is this?"
His panic sharpened when he saw it—a device floating calmly within his ntal core, its surface pulsing with a blood-red glow. A violent gravitational pull erupted from it, sucking at the very essence of his being.
"No!"
He tried to crush the device, to eject it from his core, but it was too late. The Planet Devouring Device had already begun. Matter and energy from his heart surged toward it like water into a black hole. Ego's mind began to dim, his awareness blurring at the edges.
Peter, still straining against Ego's influence, noticed sothing strange—the pressure in his mind was weakening fast. It was as if Ego's presence was fading on its own. For the first ti, Peter realized he could shove that consciousness out with minimal effort.
The silver-white tendrils recoiled from his body, disintegrating into motes of light. The colossal face that had lood over the landscape fractured, deep red light in its eyes sputtering before vanishing entirely.
"Hey, buddy, what the hell is going on?" Rocket staggered, the ground beneath them quaking violently. Cracks tore open in the earth around them, splitting wider by the second. "Because it feels like this whole planet's about to blow!"
"You're damn right, little raccoon!" Yondu shouted over the deafening rumble. "Ship's scanners show the planet's energy dropping like a rock—she's gonna blow any second! So move your asses—we're out of ti!"
The roars of the planet filled the air like the end of the world. In the depths, more than eighty percent of Ego's core had already been consud by the Planet Devouring Device.
"Then let it all end here," Gene said quietly, his voice carrying the weight of finality.
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T/N:
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