Tryco Slatterus had been born on a planet whose name had been forgotten by everyone except him.
His people were gone as well. Their cities had become dust, their culture had vanished, and even the galaxy their world inhabited was now close to death. Yet through it all, Tryco alone remained because he had been stronger than every one of them.
He was immortal, and he had devoted that immortality to a single purpose.
Becoming stronger.
He traveled from world to world, seeking worthy opponents. Kings, champions, monsters, and creatures worshipped as gods had all accepted his challenges. Some fought with weapons, others with magic or machines, but the result was always the same.
Tryco won.
Of course he did.
He was the strongest.
His latest journey had brought him to Areadira, a world inhabited by the Areadirans. They were a disciplined people who placed great value on law, public debate, and ritual combat. Their greatest warriors were respected almost as much as their lawgivers, and stories of their skill had spread through several nearby systems.
Tryco had expected them to provide a challenge.
They had disappointed him.
Warrior after warrior had entered the arena to face him. None survived more than five blows. Their supposed greatest champion lasted only four.
Tryco felt cheated.
Since the Areadirans had wasted his time, he decided they could compensate him by serving his needs. Their leaders protested at first, but all resistance ended when Tryco defeated the armies surrounding the capital without suffering a single visible injury.
He remained on Areadira for some time after that.
His new home was a vast tower in the center of the capital, once used by the planet's highest judicial council. Tryco had removed the council and filled the building with whatever luxuries interested him: rare foods, wines, musicians, servants, and fighters brought from distant regions to battle for his amusement.
Tryco rested near the top of the tower on a wide couch built to support his immense frame. Several attendants stood nearby, ready to respond to his every request. One carried a tray of fruit. Another poured him a drink. A group of musicians played quietly near the open balcony.
His thoughts were fixed on his next destination.
Perhaps he would return to the Thraxans. He had not visited them for nearly a million years, which might have been enough time for their species to produce stronger warriors. They had shown potential during his last visit, even if none of them had managed to draw blood from him.
The Flaxans were another possibility. Their sister species lived on a neighboring planet within the same system.
Tryco closed his eyes and considered the possibilities.
"What to do…" he muttered.
His quiet was interrupted by a sound rolling through the city.
The musicians stopped playing. The attendants looked toward the balcony as frightened voices began rising from the streets below.
Tryco opened his eyes.
Something was in the sky.
At first, he could see only a dark silhouette against the light of Areadira's star. It descended slowly until the glare no longer concealed it.
A man floated high above the capital, surrounded by a green aura bright enough to color the clouds beneath him.
Armor covered his body, and white lines traced its edges. A glowing symbol burned across his chest, while a long green cape flowed behind him in the upper winds.
Tryco stood.
Across the capital, millions of Areadirans stopped what they were doing and looked upward.
Then the stranger spoke.
"Citizens of Areadira, hear me and rejoice. Your planet has been chosen to feed the hunger of the great Galactus."
His voice carried across the entire world. Windows shook within their frames, and the tower trembled beneath Tryco's feet.
His eyes widened.
Could it be?
The emerald figure spread his arms. Green light gathered across the sky, forming an enormous image among the clouds. Galactus appeared above the planet, his form towering over continents as the construct slowly turned its gaze toward the surface.
Fear swept through the capital.
Tryco smiled.
"Your planet is dying," Ion continued. "Its core is failing. Soon, it will collapse and tear this world apart. Whether Galactus comes or not, Areadira has little time remaining."
The sky filled with green vessels.
Thousands of ships descended toward the surface. Some moved toward the capital, while others separated and flew toward settlements across the planet. They varied in size, from small transports to vast carriers capable of holding entire towns and cities.
"But you have not been chosen to die with your world," Ion said. "You will be evacuated. I will find your people a new planet with everything your civilization requires to survive. There, you may rebuild."
"Gather your families and everything your civilization cannot replace. My constructs will carry you to safety, but you must cooperate and move quickly."
Ion's eyes flared emerald as he looked down at the cities beneath him.
"Do not waste your final hours mourning a world that was already lost. Rejoice that your people have been granted another."
Silence followed his declaration.
Tryco stepped onto the balcony.
Power rolled from the herald in waves, and the sensation made Tryco's blood quicken. This was no local champion pretending to greatness. This being carried enough power to give him a proper challenge, one he had not faced in millions of years.
Tryco began to laugh.
The attendants moved away from him as the sound grew louder. His laughter filled the chamber.
At last, the universe had sent him something worthy.
Tryco launched himself from the tower.
The balcony shattered behind him as he flew upward, accelerating toward the emerald figure above the city.
He crossed the distance between them in seconds and threw a punch powerful enough to level the tower below. The herald shifted his head aside, allowing Tryco's fist to pass within inches of his face.
"You are no Areadiran," the herald said.
"No, I am not." Tryco stopped in the air and turned to face him. "I own this planet. Its people will not leave until I permit it."
"Is that so?"
"I am Tryco Slatterus. I challenge you, Herald of Galactus, to single combat. Once I defeat you, I may grant these weak creatures permission to flee."
The herald stared at him for a moment.
"First of all, I am not Galactus's servant. He is a friend I am helping out." He gave a casual shrug. "You know how it is. When you are as old as we are, you need something to keep yourself occupied."
Tryco's eyes narrowed.
"Second, I have heard of you before. I have been hoping we would meet."
The herald disappeared.
Tryco barely saw the fist before it struck him in the face.
For the first time in millions of years, he felt pain.
The blow drove him from the sky and sent him crashing through the capital. He tore through several empty towers before striking the ground outside the city, where the impact opened a crater across the desert.
Tryco rolled through the sand and forced himself upright. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth, and the unfamiliar sensation brought a smile to his face.
It had been millions of years since he had fought someone with that kind of speed. He searched the sky for the herald, but the emerald figure was nowhere in sight.
"My name is Ion, by the way."
The voice came from behind him.
Tryco turned and found Ion holding a strange construct in both hands. It was shaped like a bulky metal weapon, with two curved rods at its front and a series of spinning coils along its length.
"What is that?"
Ion pulled the trigger.
A concentrated bolt of green electricity struck Tryco in the chest and blasted him through a distant mountain. Stone collapsed around him as the current surged through his body again and again, locking his muscles and forcing a roar from his throat.
"ARGH!"
Before he could recover, a green orb formed around him and lifted him from the wreckage. Tryco struck its inner wall, but the construct held. It carried him high above the desert, then began throwing him from side to side.
The orb bounced across the landscape like a ball.
Tryco slammed into dunes, cliffs, and stretches of open ground as Ion guided the construct. Every impact drove him deeper into the orb's surface before it rebounded and hurled him somewhere else.
Finally, the sphere opened.
Tryco fell from the sky and crashed onto his back.
Ion descended slowly, his cape flowing behind him.
"You are powerful," he said. "Powerful enough to give me a proper fight. But you have spent too long challenging people weaker than you. You stopped testing your limits, and somewhere along the way, you forgot how much strength you truly possess."
Tryco pushed himself to his knees.
Anger rose within him, followed by something older and deeper. He reached for the primordial power inside his body, the same force that had kept him alive long after his species had vanished. It flowed through every muscle and bone, strengthening the body that had survived ages of battle.
Tryco released a war cry and crossed the distance between them.
His fist struck Ion's face.
The impact split the clouds and sent a shock wave across the desert. Ion's head moved slightly to the side, but the rest of his body remained still.
Tryco stared.
Ion slowly turned back toward him and smiled.
"Good," he said. "That is close to what I expected."
Emerald light spread around them.
"Let's do this your way. Hand to hand."
Ion seized Tryco around the waist, twisted in the air, and drove them both toward the ground. Tryco struggled to break free, but Ion's grip did not loosen.
"PILEDRIVER!"
Tryco struck the ground headfirst.
The desert ruptured beneath them. Sand and stone erupted upward, and the shock wave flattened everything for miles.
Ion flew out of the crater while Tryco remained buried at its center.
Instead of attacking again, Ion raised both hands.
Green light expanded across the desert and formed an enormous arena around them. Thousands of emerald spectators filled rising rows of seats, their featureless bodies jumping and cheering. Bright lights appeared above the arena, shining down on a square wrestling ring at its center.
Tryco found himself lying inside the ring, surrounded on all four sides by ropes of glowing green energy.
A construct wearing a suit appeared beside the ring with a microphone in one hand.
"Did you see that, folks?" the announcer shouted. "A devastating piledriver from the Green Lantern! I think that might be it for Tryco Slatterus!"
The crowd roared.
Tryco rose slowly, fury burning through him as the emerald spectators chanted against him.
He threw back his head and released a war cry.
Then he charged once more.
Tryco attacked with a rapid series of punches, each strike strong enough to break mountains. Ion slipped between them, moving only as much as necessary. Tryco's fists passed over his shoulder, beside his head, and across his chest without landing once.
Ion caught him by the throat.
Tryco's eyes widened.
Ion lifted him overhead and drove him down onto the glowing mat.
"CHOKESLAM!" the announcer screamed.
The arena erupted.
Ion stood over Tryco and raised both arms, inviting more noise from the crowd. The emerald spectators leaped from their seats and chanted his name while Tryco rolled onto his side, struggling to understand what was happening.
Ion looked down at him with a broad smile.
"It has been a long time since I had this much fun."
He dragged Tryco upright, wrapped an arm around his body, and threw him backward.
Tryco struck the mat hard.
Before he could rise, Ion grabbed him again and launched him across the ring with another suplex.
"Another one!" the announcer shouted. "The Green Lantern is taking Tryco Slatterus straight to Suplex City!"
Ion lifted him again.
Tryco hit the mat.
Then again.
And again.
Each impact shook the construct arena and sent the crowd into another frenzy. Tryco tried to resist, but Ion changed his grip before he could counter, throwing him effortlessly from one end of the ring to the other.
Tryco had challenged warriors throughout the universe. He had defeated champions, monsters, and even some so-called gods. He had spent ages believing that victory proved he had reached the height of his power.
Now he understood how wrong he had been.
He was completely outclassed.
Ion had been right. Tryco had spent so long fighting the weak that he had allowed himself to become weak as well. He still possessed great strength, but he no longer knew how to use it against someone who could truly challenge him.
Ion lifted him one final time and slammed him into the center of the mat.
"My God, I think that broke him in half!" the announcer screamed.
Ion pulled Tryco from the mat and drove a fist into his stomach.
The blow lifted Tryco from the ring and carried him into the sky. Ion followed before he could recover, striking him across the jaw, then in the chest, then beneath the ribs. Every punch sent Tryco higher, carrying the battle away from the emerald arena and through the clouds above Areadira.
Tryco forced himself to fight back.
He swung with all the strength he could gather, but Ion caught his wrist and struck him twice before he could pull away. Tryco tried to grapple him, only for Ion to twist free and drive an elbow into the side of his head. He attacked faster, drawing on more of the primordial power within him, but Ion remained one step ahead at every turn.
Far below them, the emerald announcer continued calling the battle, his voice somehow carrying across the sky.
"How much damage can Tryco Slatterus take? This is no longer a contest, folks. This is a slaughter!"
Tryco roared and charged again.
Ion stopped him with one hand.
"I call these my power punches," he said.
The ends of his gauntlets changed shape, expanding into anvils around his fists. Dark violet energy spread across their surfaces, and the same light began to shine from beneath the armor covering his chest.
A section of his breastplate opened.
Tryco's eyes widened.
"An Infinity Stone."
Ion smiled.
"No!"
"Yes."
The first punch struck Tryco in the face.
Power from the Stone flowed through the anvil-shaped construct and exploded on impact. Tryco's head snapped back as the force tore through his body, but Ion caught him before he could be thrown away.
The second punch struck his stomach.
The third hit his chest.
Ion continued, each blow carrying more force than the last. Violet light flashed across the sky with every impact, illuminating the clouds and sending waves of pressure through the atmosphere. Tryco tried to defend himself, but his arms were battered aside. He tried to flee, but Ion moved with him and kept striking.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Tryco's armor broke apart. Blood filled his mouth, and his vision blurred as the endless impacts drained the strength from his body.
Ion finally stopped.
Tryco hung in the air before him, barely conscious.
Ion seized him by the head.
Then he dropped beneath Tryco, wrapped one arm around his neck, and turned them both toward the planet.
They fell.
The clouds split around them as they accelerated. Tryco struggled weakly, but Ion tightened his hold and guided him toward the desert far below.
The emerald announcer leaned over the ropes of the distant ring, screaming into his microphone.
"RKO! RKO!"
Ion twisted at the final moment and drove Tryco face-first into the ground.
The impact formed a crater large enough to reach the capital miles away, where the city was still being evacuated.
When the dust cleared, Tryco lay motionless at the center of the crater.
Ion rose beside him, placed one boot against Tryco's chest, and looked toward the construct audience.
The announcer dropped to the mat and slapped one hand against it.
"One!"
The emerald fans shouted with him.
"Two!"
Tryco did not move.
"Three!"
The arena erupted as music began to play.
Emerald spectators leaped from their seats, cheering as streams of green light shot into the sky. The announcer climbed onto the ropes and raised his microphone above his head.
"It is over! The Green Lantern remains the undisputed Universal Champion!"
Ion lifted both arms as the crowd roared.
Beneath his foot, Tryco Slatterus finally lost consciousness.
.
.
.
Max rose from Areadira as hundreds of thousands of emerald vessels carried its people toward safety. The transports moved in organized streams, each one filled with citizens and everything they had chosen to preserve from their dying world.
Taa II entered the edge of the system as he cleared the atmosphere. Max accelerated beyond light, crossed the distance to the worldship in seconds, and entered through one of its open landing bays.
Tryco floated behind him inside a green sphere, still unconscious after their fight.
Max lowered the orb onto a medical platform. Several of Galactus's robots approached at once, scanning Tryco's battered body with bands of blue light.
"Make sure he's fully healed," Max told them. "And have him ready to leave soon. He is probably going to wake up angry, so maybe don't stand directly in front of him."
The machines acknowledged the order and carried Tryco deeper into the medical section.
Max continued through the ship.
A great deal of time had passed since the day he met Galactus and helped him defeat the Proemial Gods. Millions upon millions of years had gone by while Max served as the Devourer's herald, traveling across the universe in search of suitable worlds.
During those early years, Max had feared the sheer length of his existence would destroy his mind. He had imagined himself slowly losing touch with everything human as centuries became millennia and millennia became eons.
That had not happened.
His body had changed too much for time to affect him as it once had. The primordial energies within him and the Power Cosmic had altered everything, particularly the way his mind processed existence. Those changes had become even more pronounced after Galactus bestowed the Power Cosmic upon him.
A century no longer felt like a lifetime. It felt closer to a season. A million years felt like a long journey. He could remember events from ages earlier with the same emotional clarity as he would have remembered his childhood when he was mortal.
He had accomplished a great deal during those millions of years.
Max had learned more than he had once believed any mind could hold. Veridion had taught him all the knowledge possessed by the Celestials. Galactus had proven an equally valuable teacher. Beneath the endless hunger was one of the greatest scientists in creation, possessing knowledge even the Celestials did not fully understand.
Over the years, the Devourer had shared much of that knowledge with Max.
Max had been a good herald. He located suitable worlds, evacuated civilizations whenever possible, and guided Galactus away from planets whose destruction would cause greater harm. What had begun as an agreement between two cosmic beings gradually became something more.
They had become friends.
Galactus would never admit it in those words, of course.
Together with Veridion, they had continued studying Max's ring. It was now nearly seventy percent restored. Jade remained unresponsive, but the ring's energy controls and internal architecture had become far more stable.
They had also made progress in reverse-engineering its technology.
The work was unlike anything any of them had attempted before. The ring could not simply be copied. Much of its structure depended on materials and principles that did not yet exist anywhere else in the multiverse. To reproduce it, they first had to invent the science required to build the tools that could create its components.
The damaged AI pathways were even more difficult to restore because Jade's consciousness was stored across a folded informational dimension rather than within conventional memory. Max had learned how to repair the ring's energy channels, but any attempt to access Jade's deeper matrix risked overwriting and corrupting the AI itself.
Yet he persisted. He had plenty of time, after all. One day, he would bring her back and completely understand how the ring worked.
It was slow work, and it was only getting slower, but Max did not plan to give up. Two years earlier, he had finally uncovered the first viable path toward constructing a Central Power Battery.
That changed everything.
The theory remained incomplete, but it was enough to begin. Max could no longer divide his attention between serving as Galactus's herald and laying the foundations for the Corps. It was time to leave the Devourer's side and focus on what came next.
He entered the central chamber, where Galactus sat before an enormous monitor. Images of Areadira's core rotated across the display, accompanied by readings from the planet and its surrounding star.
"Honey, I'm home," Max called.
Galactus answered with an irritated grunt.
Max smiled and floated closer.
"The planet's core is unstable," Galactus said. "It contains an unusually high concentration of uranium."
"Yep. One of the rarest kinds, too. Your favorite." Max gestured toward the display. "Think of it as a going-away present, since I'm retiring."
Galactus gave a slow nod.
After millions of years, Max had learned that the gesture was the closest the Devourer came to openly showing happiness.
"The Celestial has contacted me again," Galactus said. "He provided coordinates."
The display changed, showing a point near the center of the universe.
Max studied the location.
Galactus turned his head toward him. "It is a dangerous region in which to construct a base for your Corps."
"Veridion can tidy it up enough for us to build what we need."
"Very well."
Galactus rose from his seat.
The chamber seemed to shrink around him as he reached his full height. Cosmic energy moved through the lines of his armor, and for a moment, he regarded Max in silence.
"Ion," Galactus said, his voice carrying through the vast chamber, "you have served me faithfully across the ages. You have aided me in fulfilling the necessity of my existence. Our agreement is complete. From this moment, you are no longer my herald."
Max inclined his head.
"Thank you, my friend."
Galactus remained still.
Max smiled, raised one hand, and created a humanoid construct as large as the Devourer. It resembled Max in his armor, complete with an emerald cape and the symbol across its chest.
The construct stepped toward Galactus and spread its arms.
"Come on," Max said. "Bring it in."
"Galactus does not do that."
"I think you can handle one hug."
"No."
"Come on. Millions of years together, and this is how you send me off?"
Galactus stared at him.
The giant construct continued holding its arms open.
At last, Galactus stepped forward with visible reluctance and allowed the construct to embrace him. He placed one massive hand awkwardly against its back, as though uncertain how much force the gesture required.
Max laughed.
"I knew you had it in you."
Galactus released the construct and stepped away.
"You will be missed," Galactus said.
Max's smile softened. "I knew you would miss me."
Galactus gave another irritated grunt.
"You know where to find me if you ever want to visit," Max added.
He dismissed the giant construct and flew toward the exit.
"Dont forget to take your infinity stones i do not want them here"
"Yes..Yes.. I know"
The robots had prepared Tryco for travel by the time Max returned to the medical bay. His injuries had been healed, though he remained unconscious.
Max wrapped him in another green sphere and lifted him from the platform.
"Come on," he said. "We have some people to meet."
Carrying Tryco behind him, Max left Taa II and flew into the stars.
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You can read up to chapter 93 here.
p.a.t.r.eon.com/Illusiveone (check the chapter summary i have it there as well)