The ground beneath Skyl's feet split apart, and he rose into the air with his crew, looking down into the layered structure inside Ego's planet.
In a sense, the rocky mantle and crust of this world served as Ego's skull. Clear as day, huge energy channels ran through it like the roots of ancient trees, acting as blood vessels and nerves, carrying Celestial power into every corner of the planet.
Skyl had created Counter-Earth too, but compared to a biomechanical megastructure as intricate as Ego's planet, Counter-Earth had relied far more on natural processes. All he had really done was reshape the surface, create an atmosphere, and set up a water cycle, more like giving a planet cosmetic surgery. Ego, by contrast, had turned a planet into a machine, into a living organ.
One casual strike from the Infinity Scepter had effectively given Ego brain surgery, and without anesthesia.
The deep rift cut straight down into the sponge-like cavern systems beneath the surface. Vast stretches of those icy blue energy pathways shattered, feeding vivid, living pain back to Ego. Deep underground, Celestial power gathered into a sphere like phoenix fire, and Ego's humanoid face formed across its surface as he roared at Skyl.
"You?! Why are you attacking me?"
The crew could not help asking, "Skyl, since when do you know him?"
Skyl shook his head. "I've never dealt with him before."
But Ego's burning face looked graver than the deepest sea. "High Evolutionary. Though you may have forgotten, I've seen you before. I once visited the OrgoCorp, and I traveled through your world as well. I admired the work you did trying to save the universe. You are an extraordinary and noble man. I'm sure there must be some misunderstanding for you to go this far. Why don't we sit down and talk this through? The long years of loneliness must have given the two of us many things in common. We could become friends."
Even with his face blown open, this Celestial could still speak politely, which showed a truly impressive degree of composure. Part of that was because he had heard of the High Evolutionary before and knew a wizard holding four Infinity Stones was not someone to provoke lightly. The other part was that Ego was dealing with something far too important at that very moment and did not dare distract himself by antagonizing a powerful enemy.
Inside the Celestial palace, Ego's avatar and Star-Lord had already started attacking each other after only a few lines of argument.
Father and son had known each other for only a handful of days. They should have been bound together by blood and affection, supporting one another and carrying out some grand eternal truth side by side. Unfortunately, Ego said exactly the wrong thing, and Quill turned on him on the spot.
Quill had been gradually swayed by Ego. He had been on the verge of abandoning everything in his old life to join forces with his father. But he also understood that Ego's plan would kill all life and destroy everything he cared about. That terrified him. He did not dare step over the final moral line.
Ego, on the other hand, was drowning in urgency and exultation. All he knew was that eternity was almost within his grasp, and that Quill's arrival would finally free him from the damned loneliness that had tormented him for millions of years.
The more desperate he became to persuade Quill, the more his judgment slipped. At the end of the day, he had never been a loving father, and never truly been a lover either. Even after creating a human body for himself and gaining the ability to feel love, hate, joy, and sorrow, Ego had never truly understood the human heart. He was only mimicking humanity, speaking like a man, acting like a man, while deep down remaining something utterly inhuman.
"You and I are extraordinary. Cast aside those lowly lives. To us, their existence is no more than viruses and bacteria. These lesser beings make the universe sick. They make the universe schizophrenic. Now that you have seen the truth, reshaping the universe is our mission. Do not let mortal pity become the chain that keeps you from eternity and supremacy. Those filthy microbes are not worth even a shadow in our hearts."
"But you said you loved my mother." Star-Lord's expression had already gone strange. Ego's utterly inhuman speech had shaken him, and he could not help reflecting on whether he really ought to abandon his friends for the sake of this so-called eternity.
Quill still remembered the crew aboard the Planeswalker, beautiful, gentle Moonshadow like a motherly figure, cheerful, adorable Gali and terrifying little Jormungand, the sharp-tongued and shameless Tony Stark, and the mysterious captain.
The time he had spent with them was short, but it had truly been the warmest stretch of his life since Yondu had taken him away.
It had felt like a loose, easygoing family. Everyone looked out for each other. There were no schemes, no dirty tricks, no one turning on each other over a few credits. They were all powerful and kind, never cruel to ordinary people, always helping the weak and the desperate, like a ship full of superheroes.
When Quill brought up the woman they both loved, even this lofty Celestial showed a trace of sorrow and nostalgia.
"Of course I loved her, more than anyone. My daffodil, my songbird. She remembered every lyric on every song that came over the radio. Listening to her sing was one of life's greatest pleasures. I still remember the joy of driving her down the back roads through the Missouri countryside. On this planet, there is a place exactly like the blue meadow where your mother and I fell in love. Whenever I miss her, I go there and sit quietly for a while."
Quill brightened a little. "Then why did you leave her? I mean, if you could fall in love with an ordinary person, then why do you call them lowly lives? Wouldn't falling in love with a microbe be kind of... I don't know, a weird symptom?"
"Yes, love is a kind of madness. Millions of years of loneliness drove me insane. I returned to Earth three times and secretly watched your mother. You didn't know it, but when you were born, I was waiting outside the delivery room. Back then, I had only one thought in my head, stay. Stay with your mother for the rest of her life. Raise you. Then bring my own life to an end and go with her."
Tears gathered in the corners of Quill's eyes. All of Ego's grand speeches had not moved him half as much as that single moment of genuine feeling.
"Then why didn't you stay?"
"Because that would have meant giving up my destiny. For an immortal being, when does death come? The moment he abandons his purpose. Because what remains alive after that is no longer greatness, only a rotting reef left behind by the tide of history. To expand, to reshape the universe, I had no choice but to give my daffodil brain cancer. That decision still causes me pain."
Ego admitted that he had personally killed Star-Lord's mother. He claimed it was painful, but the expression on his face was one of relief.
"What did you say?" Quill froze.
"Emotion is not merely a comfort to ease loneliness and sweeten life. It is also a burden too heavy to bear. So one must have the courage to cut it away. That is what you should do now, Peter. Cast off unnecessary burdens. It is difficult, but trust me, you will not regret it."
The next second, Star-Lord drew his gun and unloaded on him in a frenzy.
Ego's avatar was instantly riddled with holes.
"You evil bastard!" Quill roared in fury, like a young lion covered in scars challenging the old lion king.
Ego's face turned cold. "Peter, what are you doing?" His body was shattered, but a skeleton made of pure Celestial power held him upright, and those dreadful wounds were already slowly healing. On this planet, Quill alone did not have nearly enough power to defeat Ego.
The dazzling, many-colored floor of the Celestial palace exploded apart, and countless energy tendrils rose up to surround Quill.
At that desperate moment, a familiar hoarse voice rang out from beyond the palace gates.
"Quill, you little punk, you're always causing trouble for me."
Everyone turned at the sound. Ravager chief Yondu Udonta stood there with both hands on his hips, grinning wildly.
Ego's expression darkened. "You. You broke our agreement. You should have delivered Peter to me long ago."
"Scumbag. You may be Quill's father, but you sure as hell ain't his dad." Yondu bared his teeth. "I'm his dad."
Quill looked briefly embarrassed, then let out a huge breath of relief. "Yondu, do me a favor and kill this bastard."
Yondu gave a whistle, and a Yaka Arrow flew out of the quiver at his waist. The thing was like a flying sword from a fantasy epic, darting and weaving through the air, unstoppable wherever it went.
Peter Quill had spent his time in prison training hard, and by now he had gained a basic grasp of how to use Celestial power. Since his power and Ego's came from the same source, he was actually able to contest control over that Celestial energy. On his own, he could hold out about evenly. And with the Ravagers helping him, they really did manage to cause Ego some serious trouble.
But once the star-core, Ego's true body, unleashed its divine power, Quill was suppressed, the Ravagers were swept aside, and the battle immediately turned one-sided.
Then the great quake struck and interrupted the father-son showdown.
When Skyl arrived at the Celestial palace with the crew, Quill was overwhelmed with delight.
"Skyl! Stark, Professor, Gali, little snake, and Gamora, Drax, you're all here!"
Ego's face stiffened. "You... know each other?"
Skyl nodded. "Mr. Quill is a probationary member of my crew."
Tony broke into a thoroughly evil grin. He slung an arm around Star-Lord's shoulders and growled in a melodramatic voice, "Counselor Quill is my one true love, Mr. Ego. You can't steal my beloved from me."
Quill's whole body went rigid. "Come on, man, you're joking... right?"
But Ego genuinely snapped. "Peter is mine!"
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