Sparking Soul: Ch.34

“Hey, Quill! I'm starting to see why you don't like your old man!”

“Oh, just now?!”, Quill shouted at the bipedal raccoon flying past before ducking down to dodge a bright blue glowing tendril. Firing back a barrage of plasma bullets, he dove down to the layer of ground below where the rest of their team were trying their best to fend off the attack.

“I thought that galactic crises were a one in ten thousand event?!”, The muscular man with dark grey skin and red veins running across his body asked with a grunt as he caught a tendril, Quill firing through it and letting the man tear off the section he had in his hand.

“They are!”

“Then, what do you call this?”

“Bad fricking luck, okay?”

“Just say 'fucking', would ya?! You used to say 'fucking' a whole lot more before you started trying to impress the blue murder-robot over there!”

“I do not want to impress Nebula!”

“Nor would it work! I have far more important things to worry about!”, Nebula shouted back as her left arm morphed into the shape of a sharp blade, its edge heating up before she began slicing through every tendril that came close to her.

“Hey, you didn't say that last night right when we were about to kiss!”

“…That is another matter of its own!”

“No, it ain't! You kiss me, I kiss you, it's all the damn same!”

“Quill, back!”, Rocket shouted as he turned his Laser Cannon to him, Quill doing a backflip midair right as the raccoon pulled the trigger and fired a potent bomb at the tendrils that tried to attack the man from behind.

The very moment the tendrils made contact with the bomb, it imploded with a sharp hiss, Quill and the others quickly landing on the ground as they watched the implosion reach its smallest point before exploding outwards with a deafening boom.

“…Rocket?”

“Yep?”

“Is that the thing you shot me with on Xandar?”

“…It might be, yeah.”

“…Holy shit, you are an asshole,” Quill murmured, Rocket snickering before their group looked to the side to see the shadows twisting upon themselves.

“…Quill, can your dad do that too?”

“Considering we've just been fighting off the tentacle light show, what do you think?”, The man asked sarcastically, watching as the shadows opened up before grimacing as dozens of muscular horned beasts made out of shadow-like tendrils erupted from the ground.

“Hmm, it appears you are not alone as I was expecting Ego,” A voice hissed from the shadow and the group watched as a dark-cloaked being walked out of it, an abyssal black blade in their hands as they tilted their head at the group.

“Mortals and…one Celestial? No, half-Celestial.”

“Quill, should we run?”, The last member of the group asked as she hid behind Quill, her tendrils helping her feel the absurd malice from the man while Quill narrowed his eyes.

“Mortals and a half-blood are of no use to me. Leave while I still have some smidge of mercy left.”

“Oh, we'll glad-”, A sharp whistle echoed in the air before Quill could finish speaking, his eyes widening as an arrow flew past and pulled him back right before the sword could stab through his chest.

Instinctively, the rest of the group fired their weapons while hopping back as well, but it was not enough as the black-cloaked being simply clicked his tongue while slapping the blasts to the sides.

“Leave the half-Celestial with his father and I may let you live.”

“…Okay. Quill, it's been fun.”

“Rocket!”

“Argh! It's a joke!”, Rocket exclaimed with a groan, grumbling under his breath as the group kept their doubtful looks on him while Quill turned to the blue-skinned man who saved him.

“This another one of the guys you delivered to that sperm donor calling himself my dad?”

“Nah. If that was one, he would have been dead had he not been the right one.”

“Who dares to enter my domain?!”

“Oh, great, he's here now too,” Rocket mumbled with a sigh as the vibrant tendrils condensed together, taking the form of a glowing skeleton before flesh formed on it and a middle-aged man with light grey hair formed with a furious look in his eyes.

However, the group was surprised when that fury vanished and panic took his place, the man himself staring at the cloaked being who gave an eerie smile as they flourished their blade.

“Ego, the Living Planet and one of the last Celestials remaining. It took me decades to find you.”

“N-No…No, we…we killed you.”

“No, you killed the one before me.”

“Yondu, is now the time to run?”, Quill asked, feeling dread settling in at the sight of his old man looking absolutely terrified when the cloaked being took their first step.

A second later, everyone stopped in their tracks as an iridescent beam slammed down onto some of the black behemoths still tearing through the tendrils. Some of them quickly charged at the tendrils before a storm of lightning shot from it, Quill glancing at Yondu as an army charged through the light.

“Yep, we're leaving.”

“Who the hell are those guys?!”, Quill exclaimed as the group began to run away, watching as the army, the tendrils and the monster hoard fought in earnest against each other.

“That's the strongest goddamn army in the universe, boy. Those are the fucking Asgardians!”

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A few minutes earlier:

“The Living Planet called Ego. All-Father Odin said that it is a planet that I should only monitor for a brief moment and then leave it as is considering that it's the true form of a Celestial. However, in my viewing a few moments ago, I found myself unable to see anything on the planet as well as in it.”

“Were you unable to see anything whenever you did so any of the other times?”, I asked, frowning as Heimdal shook his head before looking to Loki as he spoke up.

“Sounds to me like it could be the same as the situation with Svartalfheim.”

“It might be. Volstagg, Hogun! Get the forces ready! Heimdall, prepare for our departure!”

“Yes, my king!”

“Hulk, Emil, Beta, you three are coming with me! Hela, Loki, I know you're going to be mad, but taking every powerful fighter to Asgard-”

“Is not the best strategic move. We know. We'll keep your little kingdom running,” Loki spoke with a smile and I shook my head while looking at Hela, who narrowed her eyes at me before smiling eerily.

“Very well. One of us two need to be here in case it's a trap and the figure tries to attack Asgard again.”

“ 'One of us…' Are you calling me a weakling, sister dearest?”, I heard Loki ask, tuning out him and Hela arguing again while looking to my three royal guards.

“You three are already suited up so I want you three to learn more about each other and figure out how you can fight together.”

“Well, Hulk and I are the close-range fighters and Beta Ray here is the best with the weapons even with the experience I have so there's not much to figure out. The only thing we need to worry about is making sure you make it back in time for dinner.”

“Of course. You ready to finally have some time to cut loose, big guy?”

“Oh yeah~”, Hulk growled, a chuckle escaping my lips as I stared at the figure of Heimdall standing at the point with Hofund pointed to the void of space and chanting under his breath.

It took only a few minutes before I stood in the middle of the Rainbow Bridge, my royal guards and the entirety of Asgard's Einherjar army behind us.

Not just that, but Brunnhilde, Sif and the newly recruited Valkyries were flying above on their winged steeds, the woman looking down at me before I smiled as she nodded.

“Men! Women! Brave warriors of Asgard! Today is a day unlike any other for today, the Einherjar, the Valkyries and the brave warriors ofAsgard are fighting as one once again! Today, we face against ah enemy that injured our own! Today, we face against an enemy that wishes to bring the ruin of Asgard! Today, we fight to make sure that Asgard and the other of the Nine Realms live on to see a better tomorrow! Now, will you brave warriors fight for such a cause?!”

“Yes, King Thor!”

“Will you put your mind, body and soul on the line to ensure that civilians do not have to pick up your blade?!”

“Yes, King Thor!”

“WILL YOU JOIN ME TO FEAST IN VALHALLA SHOULD WE FALL IN THIS BATTLE WHILE TAKING OUR ENEMIES WITH US?!”

“YES, MY KING!”, They roared in unison and I grinned as I raised Jarnbjorn to the skies, Gungnir glowing from where it was levitating above Asgard before a pillar of Odinforce shot from both weapons and washed over the entire army.

“THEN, FORWARD! VICTORY OR DEATH, ASGARD WILL REIGN!”

“FOR ASGARD!!”, They all roared as Heimdall twisted Hofund, the Rainbow Bridge glowing before we all were sent racing through space and to our location.

It didn't take us more than a few seconds before I was the first to land, narrowing my eyes at the shocked faces of the Guardians of the Galaxy. However, I ignored them and my eyes locked on the cloaked figure immediately, lightning shooting from Jarnbjorn and tearing through the monsters rushing towards us.

With a battle-cry, I smiled as the Einherjar charged through the portal, the Valkyries quickly following after while the cloaked man pointed his blade at us.

“Shadows, rise and become my servants once again,” He hissed and I watched as the shadows everywhere darkened, the man spinning the blade into a reverse grip before stabbing the blade into his own shadow.

The next moment, it looked as if hell itself had appeared on the planet as battles broke out by the dozens, the two armies clashing against each other and tearing each other apart.

I myself was rushing through the group, Beta Ray in front of me and tearing through everything that lunged at me while Hulk and Emil were on a rampage through the enemy army.

“Beta!”, I shouted as I threw Jarnbjorn forward, Gungnir flying through the portal and into my grasp while Beta caught the axe and cleaved through a black berserker.

Stabbing forward and unleashing a burst of Odinforce, I tossed the spear upwards as Beta threw the axe back, spinning in wide arc and unleashing a burst of lightning that shot around the Einherjar and burned through the monsters attacking them.

However, I frowned as my gaze focused to the cloaked being, who was busy fighting against Ego's physical form. I couldn't help but notice as I saw Ego looking more and more panicked the closer they got to the pile of rocks and rubble behind him.

'Why would he-His core must be under that and he's trying to stop him,' I thought in realization before pointing Gungnir at them, aiming before grunting as I unleashed a thin ray of Odinforce that sliced through the air.

The cloaked being quickly tilted his head to dodge the attack, but Ego's eyes widened as the beam pierced through his head and out the other side, impacting his core that began to glow.

“Make sure he does not get away!”, I shouted as I began making way towards the cloaked being, the other warriors hearing me as they began to fight in earnest towards the man.

“It appears you share my ideals, son of Odin,” The being spoke as they stabbed their sword through Ego's neck, ripping the sword out and tossing it towards the core.

With a growl, I launched myself through the air, an aura of lightning pushing everything away before I spun Gungnir and launching it at the figure.

To my surprise, he spun around and caught it, immediately spinning and throwing it back right as I raised Jarnbjorn and blocked it. However, my eyes widened at the force behind the attack as it sent me flying through the air.

Quickly stabilizing myself while looking at the figure, I frowned as he smiled, Ego's head in one hand while the other hand grabbed onto the hilt of the sword stuck in Ego's core.

“Until we meet again, Odinson,” He muttered before he vanished, a grimace on my face as I heard a loud grumble echoing across the planet, the Einherjar finishing their battles against the army as I shot up into the air.

Narrowing my eyes as I looked around, I frowned as I saw the large fissures spreading across the planet, looking to the side as I heard wings flapping beside me.

“He's gone?”, Sif asked and I nodded as I floated in the air, sighing as I saw the planet beginning to rumble and crack down.

“Round up the wounded and get them ready. Heimdall, make sure to bring us back once we're ready.”

“Will do/ Yes, my King,” Sif and Heimdall answered respectively before the former floated back down, a frown adorning my face as I took a deep breath.

'Okay, this is going to be a lot harder than I was expecting,' I was expecting the figure to have some anger at me for being a god, but it appears we're dealing with someone that is far more calculative than I was expecting.

'But what is his endgame? What is it that he-'

“THOR ODINSON!!!”, I turned my head as I heard a female voice bellowing from above, looking up only to blink at a familiar blue figure dive-bombing to me with a roar.

'Nebula?…And she's not alone,' I thought as two more figures flew after her, one grabbing her into a full-nelson while the smaller of the two tried to push her back.

“Nebula, let's not anger the king of an entire kingdom.”

“He killed my father!”

“Thanos? That guy did?”, I heard Star-Lord ask and I smiled before nodding, watching as he blinked before shaking his head and tightening his grip.

“Even so, you know your dad was a monster. Just calm down and I'm su-”

“Don't call him that!”, She growled as I watched her slip out of star-Lord's grasp, pushing Rocket to the side before diving towards me with her left arm shifting into a glowing blade.

Yet, as she stabbed at me, I shifted to the side while swinging Gungnir upwards, its blade cutting through her arm and cutting it off at the elbow. Her eyes were wide as she flew past slowly before I smacked the back of the spear against the back of her head and knocked her out cold.

Rocket was quick to catch her, a frown on my face as I looked at the planet that now had fissures that stretched out into the horizon and towards the ship floating above us.

“Bring your ship to float above the crack right here.”

“Uh, thanks, but we're just going to leave.”

“You can do that, but from the looks of it, your ship has a lot of damage. If you come to Asgard, we can help you fix it.”

“…They do have a lot of good tech at Asgard,” I heard Rocket say, watching as Peter Quill looked at him and to me before nodding slowly.

“Fine, but no funny business. King or not, try anything and I will blow a hole in your head.”

“You can try. Remember, keep your ship above the crack,” I spoke before dropping down, landing with a soft grunt that cracked the ground before looking at the army all gathered together.

“Everyone, ready?”, I asked, watching as they all nodded before looking up as the shadow of the ship appeared above us.

“Heimdall.”

“Right away, my King,” I heard him say and the next moment, a pillar of iridescent energy slammed down onto us, pulling us back to Asgard.

A/N: And we end it here~!! A quick skirmish between Gorr and the Asgardians, but it appears he has a plan for Ego and his core. What that is, we'll have to wait and see.

Next chapter: Recuperation and New Weapons.

As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!!