When they first heard the title Celestial, even though they knew Celestials were powerful, the Guardians of the Galaxy did not have a concrete idea of what that meant.
Only after Harry explained did they finally understand what kind of species the Celestials truly were.
Without a doubt, beings capable of manipulating cosmic energy to create matter, rewrite genes, and twist space-time were no different from true gods to mortals.
No, it was not that they were no different from gods. They were gods.
Yet even a Celestial this powerful had chosen to avoid answering when Star-Lord asked whether he was stronger than Harry.
Although Ego had not directly stated the result, his attitude alone was enough to imply many things.
Could it be that even a Celestial like Ego was no match for Harry?
The Guardians of the Galaxy had heard many stories about Harry, but limited by their own level, they still did not truly understand what those deeds represented.
Now, through Ego's reaction, they once again glimpsed the tip of the iceberg when it came to Harry's strength.
But even that tiny glimpse left the Guardians of the Galaxy utterly shocked, and they realized they had still underestimated Harry.
Soon, everyone arrived inside a great hall.
This hall was completely different from the High Priestess's temple on the Sovereign homeworld. There were no dazzling pure-gold decorations inside. Instead, colorful reliefs and paintings filled the space.
Off to one side of the hall stood an oval silver device. The oval device had an opening facing them, and through that opening, they could see an exquisite projection model inside.
Ego led everyone to the oval device and stopped beside it. Pointing at the white brain quietly standing in deep space within the projection, he said, "I do not know where I truly came from. My memory begins in the flickering, drifting expanse of the cosmos, utterly alone, a solitary being unlike any other.
"Over millions of years, I learned to control the tiny particles around me. I created this planet, and at the same time, I became powerful and magnificent."
At that moment, the brain in the projection was gradually wrapped in a layer of matter. That layer visibly transformed into a barren planet, the very Ego's Planet they were standing on now.
Ego continued telling his story. He stared into Star-Lord's eyes and said, "Then I continued building from there, until at last, the planet became beautiful and turned into what you see now.
"But I was not satisfied with that. I still sought the truth hidden in the unseen order of the universe.
"I thought to myself, surely I was not the only life in the universe. So I made up my mind and prepared myself. With my own hands, I created all kinds of life-forms from my imagination."
At that moment, Drax, who was picking his nose, said in a buzzing voice, "Did you make genitals?"
How could Star-Lord tolerate Drax asking his father such a rude question? He immediately turned his head and glared fiercely at Drax, snapping angrily, "Hey, man, what is wrong with you?"
Drax's almond-sized brain did not have much processing power. He did not understand why Star-Lord was angry, so he said innocently, "If he is a planet, how did he make you with your mother? He would have crushed her!"
Star-Lord was a little confused too, but he did not want to think about that. "I don't want to hear about how my parents did…"
"Why?" Drax became even more puzzled. "Every winter solstice, my father would tell me how he did things with my mother, and what marvelous methods he used to make her pregnant."
"Ugh, you're disgusting!"
"No, it was beautiful!" Drax argued. "You Earth people have emotional problems."
Seeing that the Guardians of the Galaxy looked like they were about to start arguing again, Ego hurriedly took over the topic. "Oh, yes, I do have genitals."
Ego's answer made Drax very excited. "Ha! I told you!"
"Mm, and they are quite good," Ego added. "I also have pain receptors, a nervous system, a digestive system, and every other tissue and organ humans possess.
"I wanted to experience what it truly felt like to be human, so I walked among the stars, until I discovered other life. It turned out that in this barren universe, I was not alone."
The projection now showed Ego in human form meeting a red-skinned humanoid being.
Star-Lord sensed the melancholy in his father's heart. It was a loneliness he could not understand.
To change the subject and satisfy his own curiosity, Star-Lord fell silent for a moment before asking, "When did you meet my mother?"
"Not long after that!" Ego turned his head and raised his eyebrows at Star-Lord.
The projected image changed into two young people embracing each other. One of them was Ego in his younger form, and the other was a beautiful young woman. Judging by the tears gradually streaming down Star-Lord's face, it was not hard to guess that she was his mother.
Ego stared fixedly at the girl's face in the projection, his tone carrying a trace of happiness. "When I was with Meredith, I felt what true love was for the first time. I called her my little water lily, and the fruit of our love was Peter.
"Peter, I searched for you for a very long time. Later, I heard that an Earthling had become the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy and was famous throughout the universe. I thought that had to be you."
Star-Lord had almost been convinced by Ego, but he still had one doubt. "If you loved her, then why did you leave her?"
Ego's eyes shifted slightly. He quickly calmed the emotions in his heart, his mind perfectly cold, while his face showed pain. "Peter, I never wanted to abandon your mother. But if I did not return here frequently, this planet's light and this body would both wither, until they eventually faded into nothing!"
Star-Lord was not that easy to fool, so he pressed further. "Then why didn't you come back? Why send Yondu, that public enemy, to take me?"
Ego grew emotional and roared his explanation. "I loved your mother deeply, Peter. I could not bear to set foot on the planet where your mother had already died. You cannot possibly understand that feeling!"
"How could I not understand that feeling?" Star-Lord roared back. "I watched her die with my own eyes!"
Ego's attitude immediately softened. He sighed gently and said, "In the millions of years I have existed, I have made countless mistakes, but you are not one of them, Peter.
"So please let me fulfill a father's responsibility, as your mother wished.
"I have so much to teach you, about this planet, and about the light within it. They have always been part of you."
"What do you mean?" Star-Lord asked, confused.
At that moment, Harry answered in Ego's place. "Star-Lord, you're about to reach the sky in a single step. If you can master the energy your father possesses, you will become a new Celestial!"
There was deep meaning in Harry's words, but it was obvious that the emotionally stirred father and son did not notice it. Both of them had their own thoughts, and Star-Lord's thoughts were completely drawn in by the possibility that he could become a Celestial.
Ego glanced at Harry with an unreadable expression, not knowing why Harry had said that.
"A Celestial? I can become a Celestial too?" Star-Lord looked at Ego and asked expectantly.
Ego temporarily set Harry aside. Right now, he truly did not have the mental space to think about Harry's intentions.
On this planet, even Harry in his normal state could not do anything to him.
Even if Harry tried to attack him the same way he had attacked Mephisto, Ego could teleport the entire Ego's Planet to another corner of the universe and avoid Harry's attack.
He was different from Mephisto, and Ego's Planet was different from a hell dimension. He was not an immobile dimension. He could change his location at will.
Withdrawing his thoughts and focusing on Star-Lord again, Ego squeezed out a gentle smile and said softly, "Of course. Give me your hand, my child."
Ego positioned Star-Lord's hand as though he were holding up a basketball, then continued, "Keep it like this. Don't move. Now close your eyes, concentrate, and focus your mind on the very center of the planet."
Star-Lord did as he said. The next moment, dazzling arcs of blue-white energy shone from his hands.
Seeing this, Ego was so excited he almost jumped. He shouted, "Yes, that's it! Exactly! Now shape it. Feel this power!"
Star-Lord followed his instructions. He brought his hands together, and the energy inside slowly formed a regular sphere.
Ego was extremely satisfied. Star-Lord's talent was even better than he had imagined. With Star-Lord's help, he would definitely be able to absorb the energy of every planet in the universe and completely become a multiversal-level powerhouse.
At that moment, Ego looked at Harry, his heart filled with jealousy.
He had spent millions of years to reach this point, only now gaining the possibility of becoming a multiversal-level powerhouse.
But this human sorcerer in front of him, how old was he? In his twenties?
He could already unleash multiversal-level power!
What an unbelievable thing!
What made Ego even more jealous was that even if he became a multiversal-level powerhouse, there was still a high chance he would not be Harry's opponent.
After all, even someone on Mephisto's level had suffered a huge loss because of Harry, let alone Ego, who would have only just become a multiversal-level powerhouse.
But Ego was not discouraged. He still had plenty of time.
After devouring the energy of major planets across the universe and breaking free from this universe's restraints, he would no longer fear Harry. He would also be able to easily open portals and travel to other parallel universes.
As long as he absorbed enough energy, he would keep growing stronger, until he finally became even more powerful than Harry Potter.
At that time, he would kill and devour Harry Potter, that jealousy-inducing man!
Ego withdrew his gaze from Harry and smiled at Star-Lord. "Congratulations. You did it. Welcome home."
Everything was going perfectly. Father and son had reunited. But at that moment, Rocket Raccoon suddenly took out a communicator and connected a call.
On the other end of the communicator appeared the image of a skinny man. He was acting furtively as he said to Rocket Raccoon, "Hey, you're one of Quill's teammates, right? I have something important to tell Quill!"
Rocket Raccoon clicked his tongue, then tossed the communicator directly to Star-Lord. "Quill, it's for you. Looks like it's from Yondu's ship."
"Yondu? What the fuck, Rocket, what are you doing? Hang up right now! They'll track our location." Star-Lord became nervous.
Ego patted Star-Lord's shoulder and comforted him. "Don't worry, my child. With me here, no one can hurt you."
Only then did Star-Lord remember that he was now the son of a Celestial and the heir to Ego's Planet. As long as he was on this planet, he possessed endless life and power. He no longer needed to fear that damned Yondu.
So he arrogantly held the communicator and said to the man on the other side, "Kraglin, what do you people want from me? I'm telling you, if you've got something to say, say it fast. I just became the heir of a Celestial, and I'm busy.
"Of course, if you want to track my location, go ahead. Ego's Planet is right here and never moves. If you want to catch me, then hurry up and come over. I'll be waiting for you to come die."
Kraglin knew Star-Lord had misunderstood him, so he quickly explained in a low voice, "Star-Lord, you've got it wrong. I contacted you because I need you to come save Yondu. He's about to die!"
Star-Lord: "!!!"
Although he had always said that his adoptive father was a damned bastard, when he learned that Yondu was really going to die, Star-Lord immediately became nervous.
Deep down, his heart told him that he absolutely did not want to see his adoptive father die.
So he immediately asked anxiously, "What happened?"
Kraglin's voice grew even lower, as though he was afraid someone would hear him. He sped up and said, "Because everyone else was unhappy with Yondu's favoritism toward you, and because Yondu violated the Ravager code against trafficking children and was exiled from the Ravagers, the others found an opportunity after he lost the Ravagers' protection. They shattered Yondu's control fin and locked him in prison.
"If you don't come soon, Taserface is going to throw him into space before long.
"So hurry up and save him!"
Star-Lord did not immediately answer Kraglin. Instead, he hesitated.
He did not know whether he should save Yondu. If Yondu died, he would no longer be threatened by Yondu ever again. From then on, he could do whatever he wanted.
And now, he was already the heir to an entire planet, with a bright future ahead of him. Did he really need to save the adoptive father who had trafficked him and kept him from seeing his biological father for decades?
Ego had long been dissatisfied with Yondu for privately taking Star-Lord away. Seeing Star-Lord hesitate, he said bluntly, "Peter, don't bother with that damned bastard. Let him die like this. With him gone, the universe will have one less scourge."
Harry silently watched Star-Lord from the side, waiting for his choice.
He knew what Star-Lord would choose. In the vast majority of universes, Star-Lord was a smart man. He knew who truly mattered most to him.
Sure enough, after hesitating for a moment, Star-Lord gritted his teeth and said, "No. I'm sorry, Ego. I have to save him. After all, he raised me for decades. Even if he wasn't good to me, I can't just watch him die!"
Ego's brows furrowed tightly. He had not expected Star-Lord to defy him for Yondu's sake. Just as he was about to discreetly destroy Star-Lord's ship, a terrifying force suddenly pressed down on his shoulder.
That force actually suppressed the vast energy inside his body all at once, even affecting the brain that was his true body beneath the planet's surface.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810