Marvel: Rise of the Ultimate AI

The Guardians of the Galaxy's trio—Star-Lord, Gamora, and Drax—finally touched down near the battlefield. The moment they got close enough, they could see clearly who Ego was locked in combat with.

A figure clad in black-and-gray armor was trading devastating blows with the Living Planet himself. Azure light pulsed and shimmered across the armored warrior's frame. Even from this far away, they could feel the violent surges of energy bursting from the clash.

The sheer force of it made their scalps tingle, their instincts screaming at them to stay out of it—or be reduced to dust in an instant.

"This…" Gamora's eyes narrowed as she watched the two titans exchange attacks. In that moment, she couldn't help but think of her adoptive father—the Mad Titan, Thanos. The raw power radiating from this battle… was on par with his.

Star-Lord, on the other hand, was burning with questions. Why was his father fighting this man? More importantly, how had this man even gotten to Ego's planet? His father had told him before—without his explicit permission, no one could set foot here. And yet, not only had someone arrived… they were now battling him with enough force to shake the heavens.

Clearly, this intruder hadn't been invited.

"Enough, insect!"

Ego's voice thundered with barely contained fury. One of the oldest Celestials in existence, Ego's power ranked among the greatest in the cosmos. Yet now, this infuriating opponent had driven him to the edge.

He would tolerate it no longer.

From the ground erupted countless silver-white energy tendrils, surging upward like a living tide. In seconds, they wove together into a cage, snapping shut around Gene.

White light flared in Ego's palm, gathering into a roaring energy beam. It blasted skyward, punching through the cloud cover, turning the planet's warm golden sky into a cold, blinding white.

"You will die! My plan will not fail!" Ego bellowed, unleashing the beam in a single merciless strike.

The colossal energy column crashed down like a titanic drill, boring into the ground where Gene stood. The earth split apart, jagged fissures racing outward as the blast seemed to punch straight into the planet's molten core.

The force of the impact tore the land to shreds. Dirt, stone, and molten debris were flung into the air, shrouding the once-serene surface of Ego's world in a hellish inferno.

"Quill… your father's… actually pretty impressive," Drax muttered, wide-eyed, staring at the devastation in awe.

Star-Lord's jaw tightened. He had always imagined his biological father as an extraordinary man, yes—but still, just a man. This display of godlike power shattered that image.

And yet, an inexplicable unease began gnawing at his chest. He didn't know why, but something about this felt wrong. Very wrong.

He shook his head sharply, as if to throw off the thought. Your own father would never hurt you, he told himself.

Then his eyes caught it—a flash of brilliant blue.

The light burst from beneath the ground, piercing layers of shattered stone until it struck Ego dead-on.

The Celestial's massive form jerked violently as a gaping hole was blown straight through him. From the wound, silver-white light poured out—only for strange, fleshy tendrils to writhe from within, sealing the injury at unnatural speed.

"I told you… I cannot be defeated!" Ego roared.

Now, the once golden sky had been completely swallowed by his silver radiance, turning it into a blinding wasteland of light. Even the clouds above seemed to reflect his wrath, contorting into massive, furious faces that glared down at Gene as he unleashed a relentless barrage of palm cannons.

Ego's enormous hand locked onto Gene's position—and then, impossibly, it was there, as if it had bypassed space entirely, closing in on him in an instant.

Gene's V-shaped visor pulsed once.

His thrusters ignited at maximum output, hurling him clear of the crushing grasp. In the same motion, the golden Sacred Sword of Vishanti sliced through the air—and through Ego's wrist, severing the massive hand cleanly.

Silver-white light spurted from the wound like liquid fire.

"ROOOAR!"

The sound that tore from Ego was a blend of pain and unbridled rage. The pain came from the injury, yes—but worse was the corrosive magic in Gene's blade, seeping into him through the cut, tearing through his colossal form from the inside.

The rage was something else entirely.

A god… a Celestial… toyed with and wounded by some upstart in strange armor. Unthinkable. Unforgivable.

"I'll drag you to my planet's core!" Ego thundered, voice shaking the sky. "I'll make you understand what worse than death truly means!"

Gamora's expression darkened as she watched from the ship. From the moment she met Ego, something about him had felt… off. He carried himself like a refined noble—polished, graceful, composed no matter the situation.

Too perfect.

And it was that perfect image that made her uneasy.

She had served under Thanos for years, crossed paths with countless powerful figures, but none had given her this exact feeling—the sense that something far darker lurked beneath the surface.

"Quill," she said quietly, "did your father ever tell you what his real intentions were?"

"Yeah, he said—"

Star-Lord didn't get to finish. The ship shuddered violently, alarms screaming in their ears.

From above, another ship swooped in like a predator—Nebula at the helm. Without warning, she opened fire, her shots hammering Gamora's craft with lethal precision.

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