The Pillar of the Heavens towered over the land, making the surrounding skyscrapers look minuscule in comparison.
Behind the colossal pillar, a massive cannon had risen, its muzzle glowing with a dazzling, eerie blue light. In the darkness of night, that glow shone like a torch held high in the hand of the Statue of Liberty.
A roar erupted, deep and primal, as if it came from the abyss itself.
The Star Devourer felt pain, and it chose to unleash it violently.
"Damn you, Nolan Reid!" it raged. If not for him, how could it have suffered this kind of injury?
Bound by the rules of the universe, it was perpetually starved. This timeless hunger meant that even its immense power could only be used sparingly. Even after devouring countless worlds, the relief was fleeting, and the gnawing emptiness returned. It had to keep consuming everything it could find.
And now, for the first time, it had been betrayed.
Unacceptable. It would devour this cursed planet.
A massive, terrifying face appeared before everyone, its gaping maw seemingly capable of swallowing all of time.
At that moment, the Emperor Titan finally reached full charge.
The abyss of the Star Devourer loomed toward the ground, but a beam of eerie blue energy shot straight into its maw.
Most people couldn't identify what it was, but they guessed it was some kind of weapon. Some felt hope; others despair. No human weapon could possibly match a god.
Then came the impact, a thunderous explosion.
The blue energy slammed into the Star Devourer's mouth.
The colossal face shattered, revealing a mysterious starfield within, as vast and unfathomable as the universe itself.
Nolan's expression hardened as he glanced at Carol Danvers.
"It's time."
The Emperor Titan's main cannon had undeniably struck the Star Devourer. But one shot alone would never end this fight. The ultimate outcome would still depend on them.
Carol gave Nolan a brief nod.
"Not bad."
Not just "not bad." If the shot had landed on her, she would have been seriously injured.
Without another word, Carol surged into the sky.
"Stay here and wait."
Nolan chuckled at her audacity. She certainly had confidence but he said nothing. With a flick of his right hand, magic surged, and a portal opened.
He reached inside and felt a chilling sensation along his arm.
The mechanical arm of Unit-01 emerged. Not just that the flesh, constructed from intricate fibers, flowed over Nolan, gradually engulfing him.
"Nolan!"
Susan screamed, startled. She had seen the terrifying mechanical arm before, but never like this. The unknown unnerved her.
Nolan remained calm.
"Don't worry. All you need to do is wait for my good news."
In an instant, his body was fully enveloped by the merging flesh.
Unit-01, in essence, was the bound Apostle from the EVA world, a lifeform of a unique kind perhaps not even a lifeform at all. When Nolan first encountered it in the system, he had been astonished.
Regardless, this was now his trump card.
Unit-01 possessed the power to destroy Earth. This incomplete model was far from that, but Nolan had been cultivating it, using every technological means to control the Apostle. Now, it was time to unleash its true strength.
Fused with Unit-01, Nolan felt the might of the semi-mechanical body. He remained short and stocky, with one arm enormous, but the flesh covering him now pushed his height to seven or eight meters.
The long, grotesque mechanical arm, combined with the skinned, monstrous body, made him look utterly terrifying.
He stared at the Star Devourer in the sky, his eyes burning red.
In the next moment, he crouched, his muscular, skinless legs coiling, and then propelled himself with explosive force.
Boom!
The earth trembled as the raw power created a massive crater.
Tony Stark and the others reacted quickly, scooping up those who could not fly and retreating to safety.
When the dust settled, a chasm seven or eight meters deep, spanning hundreds of meters, scarred the land.
"What a monster…"
Tony muttered in awe. Previously, he had called Nolan a monster out of mockery, but now, seeing such destructive force and the unknown capabilities of the nanotech armor, the word felt terrifyingly accurate.
He sighed. Nothing could have prepared him for this.
Even the fireworks of missiles streaking into the sky indicated that humanity had thrown everything into this fight some of them likely nuclear warheads.
Inside the Star Devourer's abyssal maw, a violent eruption shook the skies, yet against this being, the explosions were minor. Nuclear weapons, humanity's ultimate arsenal, were but a small obstacle. They were prepared to wager everything on this battle, but mass detonation risked annihilating the planet.
"Damn it!"
Tony punched a wall in frustration. The helplessness was familiar, a bitter sting he had felt countless times.
Meanwhile, Nolan and Carol were unaware of the chaos below. Carol surged ahead, confronting the Star Devourer directly. As one of the universe's most terrifying beings, the Star Devourer existed as a pure energy entity, which explained why Silver Shadow's sacrifice had affected it.
To each observer, the Star Devourer's form appeared differently. None could perceive its true essence until it chose to reveal itself. Now, it had manifested fully in its planetary-devouring form.
Carol unleashed her full power, her body radiating like a miniature sun as she attacked relentlessly. She could sense the Star Devourer weakening, no longer able to dominate her. Even Carol Danvers allowed herself a brief sense of relief.
Yet, the Star Devourer's might was still terrifying. Facing such power, fear was inevitable a feeling every lifeform she had confronted before had experienced. Now, she experienced it herself.
Suddenly, a massive energy hand shot toward her. Carol responded instinctively, channeling all her energy into a punch that obliterated the hand.
Boom!
The energy hand exploded, sending shockwaves that hurled Carol backward. Before she could recover, another explosion from a missile behind her pushed her forward.
"Damn it!"
The attacks could not harm her meaningfully, so she soon disregarded them.
At that moment, Nolan arrived beside her.
"What kind of monster are you?"
Carol was startled by Nolan's appearance. Without the energy surrounding her to reveal his true form, she might have attacked him immediately.
"A monster?"
Nolan smiled.
"This is just my nanotech armor. It's not complete yet."
"Fine, whatever."
Carol's long hair flowed as she focused on the Star Devourer.
Ahead of them, a massive humanoid energy creature had emerged, pulsing with sheer power. This was the aggregation of the Star Devourer.
Carol spoke one warning:
"Struggle all you want, but don't give me trouble."
"Impressive line," Nolan said unexpectedly, drawing a look of disbelief from Carol.
Then he smiled faintly and whispered:
"AT mode, full deployment."
The prism-shaped energy barrier ignited, unleashing blinding white light that illuminated the sky, forcing both to shield their eyes.
Carol's heart sank. Nolan had done something. Nuclear weapons.
Before she could react, the destructive energy swept through, wreaking havoc inside the Star Devourer. A scream echoed the creature was pushed to its limits. Even nuclear detonation had some effect.
When the light faded, Carol was battered but alive. Nolan had anticipated the outcome and prepared defenses without revealing them.
"You'll pay for that!"
Carol spat, realizing they had established a personal grudge. Nolan shrugged.
Their focus, however, was fixed on the energy manifestation of the Star Devourer. The earlier nuclear strike had little effect on it.
Nolan stared in awe at the humanoid energy creature. He silently thanked Silver Shadow for the initial strike; without it, even his preparations might not have sufficed to repel the Star Devourer.
"Time to begin the real fight."
Ignoring Carol, Nolan advanced, the AT field surrounding him as the energy creature charged back.
Boom!
They collided.
His massive mechanical arm slammed against the energy creature. The creature's fists pounded the AT field in return.
This was raw, unrestrained combat. The destructive shockwaves prevented the Star Devourer from consuming more of Earth.
The fate of the planet hung in the balance, witnessed by countless mortals below. Every explosion and eruption reflected the ferocity of the battle.
Facing the force of gods with mortal bodies, Nolan and Carol fought tirelessly, joined now by each other in a three-way clash.
To the outside eye, the energy creature seemed in control, but inside the Star Devourer's aggregation, Nolan and Carol fought without restraint. Any damage done fell upon the creature's energy projection.
Yet Carol's face darkened.
They could not win. Truly, they could not.
The creature appeared as one entity, but it was fueled by the entire energy of the Star Devourer.
"Earth, do you have any other options?" Carol asked. She had to admit Nolan was strong, and humanity had prepared extensively.
Nolan frowned.
"Options? At this point, there are none."
Despite all his preparations, the Star Devourer still made him feel powerless. In the prime universe, not even the five greatest gods of creation posed such a challenge. He had spent months preparing, yet this near-limitless Star Devourer could still overwhelm him.
Retreat was unthinkable.
Looking down at New York, at everything he cherished, he sighed.
"I really don't want to do this…"
He had prepared countless measures and technological backups for after the Star Devourer was neutralized, to bring the Titan system online and seize control.
Now, that would not suffice.
He refused to leave in defeat, to hand this planet over, to let Susan, Tony Stark, and all those he cared about face death.
"In that case…"
Nolan activated the system.
"Star Devourer, let's see if you can survive this."