Ronan's body went rigid.
That face—this man—was the deepest terror haunting his dreams for decades.
Back then, within the spatial rift, he had been torn apart by endless void, every inch of flesh being stripped away. It was Thanos who had dragged him out and granted him greater power, teaching him how to wield the darkness.
He had believed he was no longer the Kree who could be toyed with at will.
And yet now, this man stood before him again.
Still wearing that same calm, unhurried expression—as though Ronan's decades of struggle and growth amounted to nothing in his eyes.
Fear slithered up his spine like an icy serpent. But the power and pride bestowed upon him by Thanos forced him to suppress the urge to flee.
"You think this is still the past? You think I'm the same man I was back then?" Ronan's voice was dry as he forced himself upright. Dark energy surged within him, black mist coiling around his warhammer. "The universe has changed. And so have I! Hand over the Orb, and I might grant you a quick death!"
Levi's lips curved faintly, as if he'd just heard something amusing.
"Oh?"
Just one word.
The next second, golden light erupted from his body.
It wasn't warm light—it was like a star detonating at point-blank range. Violent. Scorching. Carrying the oppressive might of annihilation. His hair flared upward, transforming into pure golden flames. In his eyes burned twin suns.
[Binary Form].
A terrifying pressure instantly blanketed the entire fleet. On the bridge of the Dark Aster, alarms from the energy shields shrieked. Every Kree officer felt as if a mountain pressed upon their chests; breathing became a struggle. Many collapsed to the floor, trembling uncontrollably.
Ronan's face went deathly pale.
This power… Levi's energy was purer—more terrifying—than it had been all those years ago.
"Impossible…" His lips quivered. The confidence Thanos had granted him was washed away completely.
Levi didn't even look at him. Casually, he raised a hand toward one of the escort warships on the fleet's flank and gave a light wave.
[Spatial Severance].
There was no sound. No explosion.
The several-hundred-meter Kree warship split cleanly in half, as though sliced by an invisible blade.
The cut was smooth as a mirror, reflecting the distant starlight.
Two seconds later, the interior of the severed vessel erupted. A massive fireball blossomed in the silent vacuum, devouring the wreckage like a wordless funeral pyre.
One wave of his hand—one warship gone.
Inside the Dark Aster's bridge, deathly silence reigned. Every eye was fixed on that firework of destruction. Hearts seemed to forget how to beat.
Ronan began to tremble uncontrollably. The power he had been so proud of was a joke in comparison. He knew that if that casual wave had been aimed at the Dark Aster instead, the result would have been no different.
"I find this little thing… somewhat interesting." Levi withdrew his hand. The golden radiance receded, and he returned to his ordinary appearance. He weighed the Orb in his palm and looked at Ronan calmly. "Now take your fleet and get lost. I won't repeat myself."
Ronan's face flushed a livid purple. Humiliation, rage, and uncontrollable fear churned within him. But he knew he had no choice. To stay meant death.
"You'll regret this," he ground out through clenched teeth, invoking his final backer. "That stone will belong to me—and my great master!"
With that, he spun around and roared at the terrified crew, "Retreat! All ships, retreat!"
The Dark Aster and its remaining vessels scrambled to engage their engines, tearing open space and jumping away as if fleeing a nightmare.
Levi watched them vanish and clicked his tongue.
"Running to call the parent now, huh?"
He made no move to pursue. Instead, he turned his gaze elsewhere.
Gamora's body had gone stiff in the vacuum, her life force nearly extinguished.
In a flash, Levi appeared beside her. A gentle golden energy enveloped her, pulling her back from death's edge.
Then, carrying Gamora in one hand and the Orb in the other, he vanished once more.
…
The landing platform of Knowhere was in ruins.
"It's over, it's over! Gamora's dead, the Orb's gone—we're screwed!" Rocket darted around the debris, frantically tugging at his own fur.
Quill stood dazed, staring at the sky, clutching the old Walkman his mother had left him.
Just as despair set in, a figure appeared out of thin air.
Levi.
He held the Orb in one hand and the unconscious Gamora in the other—like carrying a chicken.
"Yours?" He dropped Gamora onto the ground and tossed the Orb to Quill.
Quill caught it reflexively, surprised by its weight.
"She… she's alive?" He stared at Gamora in disbelief.
"She won't die," Levi replied flatly.
He had no interest in watching their emotional reunion. His attention was focused inward.
The moment he had obtained the Orb, he had chosen to copy it. A violent torrent of purple information flooded his mind.
[Law of Force].
This wasn't mere enhancement of strength—it was conceptual understanding.
Gravity, repulsion, the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force… the four fundamental forces that governed existence and motion in the universe. No longer abstract equations—they had become tangible tools he could touch and command.
In that instant, he understood their essence.
The Power Stone was the physical embodiment of these laws.
To wield it was to wield the rules of physics themselves.
"So that's how it is…" Levi closed his eyes, savoring the sensation.
Before, when he punched someone, it was kinetic energy. Now, he could command the particles in their body to cease interacting—causing them to disintegrate from within.
Before, to move a stone, he needed to push it. Now, he could alter the gravitational constant between it and the planet—letting it float of its own accord.
This was the authority of a god.
Opening his eyes, he saw Quill, Rocket, and Groot scrambling to administer first aid to Gamora. Drax was being dragged from the rubble—missing an arm, but alive.
"Alright, everyone," Levi said, interrupting their chaos. "Let's discuss compensation."
Quill blinked and stood up. "What do you want? We don't have any money—it just got blown up."
"I saved all your lives and retrieved this hot potato." Levi gestured at the Orb in Quill's hand. "I don't need money. I need you to do something for me."
"What?" Gamora had woken, leaning weakly against a container.
Levi's gaze settled on Quill, his smile faintly peculiar.
"After you deal with the stone, Peter Quill—you're coming back to Earth with me."
"Back to Earth?" Quill frowned. "Why? I haven't wanted to go back in years."
"To see your grandfather."
"My grandfather?" Quill looked even more confused. "He's been dead for years!"
"Not that one." Levi shook his head.
He remembered the WWII tours—Steve performing patriotic shows across the country, always surrounded by cheerleaders in revealing outfits. One of them looked exactly like the woman in Quill's mother's photo.
If that old fossil Steve found out he had a grandson running around the galaxy as a petty thief, his expression would be priceless.
"An old predecessor of yours. A veteran," Levi said vaguely. "He misses his family. Take you to meet him—grant him some closure."
Quill eyed him skeptically. The whole thing felt bizarre.
"That's it?"
"That's it." Levi nodded. "Until then, I won't interfere with your affairs. I've been meaning to travel the cosmos anyway."
Of course, he wasn't sightseeing. Having just obtained the Law of Force, and with new insights into the Law of Space, the vacuum of space—free from planetary gravity—was the perfect training ground for abilities worthy of a god.
Quill and Gamora exchanged glances. The deal was strange—but they had no choice. This man could scare Ronan off with a few words and pluck someone from the vacuum of space. If he wanted something, no one here could stop him.
"Fine," Quill said at last. "Deal. Once we handle this thing—I'll go with you."
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