At this time.
Chernobyl, abandoned underground nuclear bunker.
Gravik sat up abruptly from his bed.
"Huff... huff..."
He gasped for air, his body drenched in cold sweat.
He had the dream again.
This was already the fifth time this week.
The content of the dream was uncannily consistent: that Earth man draped in the stars and stripes, using two crimson rays more dazzling than a star, easily sliced through his own body and all his Skrull compatriots, turning them to ashes under that terrifying heat.
"Damn it..."
Gravik rubbed his face hard, trying to drive the lingering fear from his mind.
A week had passed since that interstellar broadcast that shocked the globe.
These ten days had been nothing short of an endless punishment for Gravik.
He was afraid.
He once thought that with the Skrulls' mimicry abilities and the nearly completed Super Skrull technology, Earth was nothing more than something already in their pocket.
In his eyes, humanity's superheroes were just slightly stronger savages.
But the footage of Homelander blasting through a God completely shattered his pride.
That absolute power gap was not something tactics or conspiracies could ever bridge.
What Gravik found even more troublesome was that his people's hearts were beginning to scatter.
To their core, the Skrulls were still a group of exiles who had lost their home; years of wandering had left them lacking a sufficient sense of security.
The power Homelander displayed in the broadcast had crushed the psychological defenses of many Skrull warriors.
Every day, people were privately discussing whether they should compromise with that Nick Fury and re-elect Talos as their leader; perhaps then the race could survive.
If they continued to follow Gravik, once that killing God called Homelander returned to Earth, they would surely face true extinction.
Pessimistic rhetoric spread among the Skrulls like a plague.
Even several of his confidants had suggested to Gravik that they evacuate Earth.
Gravik naturally refused. Leave Earth? To go where? The Kree patrol fleets were everywhere in the Universe; returning to space would only mean they would die faster.
However, after this incident, he also knew that if he didn't take action, his camp would collapse from within without humans even needing to lift a finger.
Earth was his last hope; he had to stabilize the situation.
Gritting his teeth, Gravik stood up and took a square lead box from the safe.
Inside was a broken green crystal tablet, covered in ancient Skrull script.
This was the object his father had clutched tightly to his chest before he died.
The oracle of the Skrull Supreme God... Kly'bn.
Legends about the Supreme God Kly'bn had circulated among the Skrull people for millions of years.
According to legend, Kly'bn was the ancestor of the Skrulls, the only Eternal Skrull.
And in the Skrull bible, the 'Book of Worlds,' it was clearly recorded that Kly'bn had bestowed a 'Promised Land' that would never be affected by the fires of war.
To be honest, during the decades of exile in the Universe, he had been an absolute atheist.
Because his father had once been the most fanatical believer of the Supreme God Kly'bn, praying every day for divine salvation.
And the result?
He had watched with his own eyes as his father was blasted into meat paste by a Kree Empire pursuer's cannon while in prayer.
From that moment on, Gravik completely abandoned faith.
He believed that so-called Gods were nothing more than anesthetics invented by the weak in their despair.
Gods would not save the Skrulls; only blood and slaughter could trade for living space.
He kept this tablet only to remind himself not to repeat his father's mistakes.
But now...
At a dead end, Gravik was forced to pick up this stone he had discarded for many years.
Because he knew clearly that in this desperate moment, the only thing that could reunite these people on the verge of collapse was faith.
"Notify all high-level Commanders and regional representatives."
Gravik turned to command the guard at the door, his tone returning to its usual coldness.
"In one hour, a sacred assembly will be held in the central hall. I don't want to see anyone absent."
...
One hour later.
The central hall of the underground Base had been arranged into a crude but solemn altar.
Thousands of Skrulls gathered below the platform.
Crowded together and whispering, the air was thick with unease and confusion.
"Silence."
Gravik, wearing a robe inlaid with ancient totems and holding the glowing green Oracle Stone in both hands, slowly walked onto the high platform.
As soon as he appeared, the voices in the hall gradually subsided, and all eyes focused on him and the holy relic in his hands.
Gravik looked around at the confused faces below and spoke.
"My compatriots, my brothers and sisters."
"I know you are afraid. I know why you lie awake at night."
"That monster draped in the stars and stripes... his shadow looms over your hearts. You are asking yourselves, how can we fight such an invincible enemy? Should we give up Earth and continue our flight?"
"In the past ten days, I have prayed day and night to the Supreme God Kly'bn, seeking guidance. And today, the oracle has finally revealed the truth to me!"
Gravik suddenly swept the Oracle Tablet downward.
"I tell you! No!"
"God told me that we don't need to go anywhere! Because Earth is the 'Promised Land' bestowed upon us by the Supreme God!"
Gravik raised his volume to the maximum.
"You only saw that demon's power to destroy Planets, but you did not see the sacred will hidden behind it!"
"Why did that demon leave Earth at this time? Why did he encounter that unmatched cosmic monster? Why is his whereabouts unknown since that battle?"
His gaze swept over every suspicious and uncertain face.
"This is no coincidence! It is all God's arrangement!"
"God saw our suffering, God heard our prayers. Therefore, God personally took action to lure Homelander—the greatest obstacle to reclaiming our Promised Land—into the endless deep space!"
"All of this is just a test of our faith by God!"
These words were like a heavy bomb, exploding loudly among the crowd.
Gravik pressed his advantage, shouting the slogan that had circulated among Skrulls for ten thousand years: "He loves you—!!"
He loves you!
These words seemed to trigger a mysterious switch.
The Oracle Tablet in Gravik's hand miraculously emitted visible shockwaves at this moment.
The ripples brushed over the heads of every Skrull present; instead of causing harm, the cowardice in the hearts of everyone touched by the ripples vanished, replaced by a surge of fanaticism.