BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Like the wrathful drums of an approaching god, the thunderous detonations echoed across the bloodied skyline. Each pulse of light from William's arm-mounted cannon tore the heavens asunder, every blast of energy battering the cohesion of the construct, until it groaned under the relentless onslaught. The green lattice, forged by Willpower, quaked and fractured with every shot, cracks spider-webbing across its surface like a dying star losing its form.
William stood tall, encased in a radiant aura of gold and crimson, like a sun wrapped in divine fury. His silhouette pulsed with impossible energy, his cannon still warm and smoking with each cycle of fire.
Below him, chaos reigned.
The first wave of invaders had already made planetfall. Alien infantry, armed with kinetic rifles and plasma launchers, opened fire upon William. Their bullets sparked uselessly against the aura around him, rippling through the air like raindrops on a forcefield. Realizing their weapons were meaningless against his presence, they redirected their bloodlust elsewhere, toward the innocent, the defenseless.
And the Rognarrs... gods, the Rognarrs.
These enslaved beasts, towering, skeletal, wrapped in veiny muscle with eyes glowing like dim coals, sprinted with a frenzied hunger. They tore through humans as if their bodies were paper, their claws slicing through flesh and steel alike. Some climbed buildings with insect-like precision, scaling concrete and glass as though it were jungle bark, converging toward William in mindless instinct.
A grotesque snarl pierced the cacophony.
"SKREEE—"
WHOOSH!
A single yellow beam, precise and searing, lanced through the open jaw of a Rognarr scaling a skyscraper. The beam punched through its skull, leaving a clean cauterized exit wound before it collapsed limply into the throng below. With no hesitation, the others turned on it, ripping into their fallen kin like rabid dogs, their hunger eclipsing any sense of allegiance.
KRA-KOOM!
The ground shattered.
William descended like a meteor.
He landed with such violent force that the pavement cratered beneath him. Shockwaves erupted outward, sending dozens of Rognarrs hurtling into walls, vehicles, and each other. Some exploded mid-air, their organs vaporized from the kinetic backlash alone. Smoke and dust blanketed the ruins like a funeral veil.
Then, light.
His golden aura flared to life once more, sweeping the dust aside like the parting of clouds before a storm. It pulsed like a living sun, casting long shadows of fleeing soldiers and beasts alike. In that divine radiance, his muscles tensed, eyes burning like twin infernos. His very presence screamed danger.
And the Viltrumites heard it loud and clear.
Three of them, high-ranking, battle-hardened, prideful, descended from orbit like falling blades.
One male dove first, aiming a devastating chop at William's neck, faster than sound itself. A female followed with a spiraling kick, aimed directly at his ribs with enough force to shatter a mountain range. The third held back, calculating, watching.
But the moment they entered his proximity, they slammed against an invisible wall.
CLANG!
The air warped around them. William's aura had solidified, its edges razor-sharp, blazing gold and red like molten metal. Every strike, every kick, every burst of power they unleashed was absorbed, redirected, nullified. They pushed harder, snarling through clenched teeth, trying to pierce the barrier through sheer Viltrumite pride.
But William didn't flinch.
He didn't move.
He was still channeling something, something massive.
"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!"His cannon continued its cadence, unrelenting. Every shot above weakened the construct that shielded the mothership. He was holding the line and bringing down the enemy's command structure. Multitasking at planetary threat levels.
The Viltrumites began to sweat.
Then it hit them. Not the cannon fire. Not the aura.
Dread.
A primal, instinctual whisper at the back of their minds.
Impending doom.
William's eyes snapped open, no longer just gold, but burning with spirals of red energy that reached beyond mortal comprehension. His grin widened, unhinged, feral, godlike.
He stomped forward.
STOMP.
The ground cracked again.
STOMP.
The air pressure collapsed. Windows shattered for blocks. Sirens blared in the distance.
Then, nothing.
WHOOSH.
He vanished.
In that microsecond of stillness, the Viltrumites blinked.
And then—
SLASH.
Time caught up.
Agonized screams filled the sky as the male Viltrumite dropped to his knees, clutching a sudden, gushing stump where his arm used to be. His face twisted in horror.
"AAAAAAGHHHHHHH!!"
He howled like a wounded beast, blood spewing in rhythmic bursts onto the crater below.
The female stared, momentarily confused.
Until her leg gave out beneath her.
She looked down—and saw nothing but a smooth stump above the knee.
"Wh… wh—AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Her scream shattered every nearby glass surface, storefronts, car windshields, even drones in the sky, each one exploding like fragile ornaments. She writhed in mid-air, clutching her wound, blood cascading like crimson rain.
The third Viltrumite, the one who had been watching, didn't dare move.
She understood now.This wasn't just a warrior.This wasn't even a Viltrumite.
This was a cataclysm given flesh.A Supernova wearing human skin.
William stood in the center of it all. Alone. Unbent. Unyielding.
Golden energy crackled along his arms like living plasma. The battlefield around him smoldered, alien bodies littering the streets like confetti at the end of a massacre. The construct in the sky above was now fractured and buckling, green shards raining down like broken glass.
And William… was just getting started.
The battlefield had gone eerily silent, save for the crackle of residual energy still sparking around William's golden form.
Blood dripped steadily from his knuckles, still warm, still smoking. Around him, Viltrumite bodies twitched in their final moments, and the Rognarrs, sensing something far more terrifying than themselves, had begun to scatter.
But one hadn't fled.
One remained.
The third Viltrumite, female, fierce, and now very, very afraid, hovered midair, trying to maintain her composure. Her alabaster skin was splattered with the blood of her comrades, and her breathing had gone shallow. She met William's gaze for a single, cursed moment.
And that was all it took.
William's eyes narrowed.
His grin widened.
That monstrous, predatory smirk.
And in that instant, every cell in the Viltrumite's body screamed the same truth:
RUN.
She turned without a word, no battle cry, no prideful snarl, just fear. Pure, biological terror.
She rocketed skyward, punching through clouds like a living missile, hoping, praying, she could reach orbit before death caught up with her.
But it already had.
"POWWWW!!"
Time itself seemed to bend as a golden fist materialized in front of her face. It hit with such inconceivable speed and force that the air combusted around it. Her skull didn't shatter, it evaporated, vaporizing into a red mist that expanded like a grotesque halo in the stratosphere.
But the fist didn't stop there.
It kept going, driving clean through what remained of her neck, carving downward into her chest cavity.
"SHLUCKK!"
William's hand exploded out the back of her torso, coated in gore and still clutching something wet and vital. Her body spasmed around the arm embedded within it, muscles tightening as if in shock, but the mind that once controlled them was already gone.
William's eyes glowed brighter as he gritted his teeth and ripped.
"KRSSHH!"
With a grotesque squelch of torn flesh and broken bone, he yanked his arm back through the ruined passage he'd made. What remained of her heart and lungs were still clutched in his fist, dangling like pulp from his fingers.
The lifeless remains of the Viltrumite fell in two broken halves, spiraling through the upper atmosphere like forgotten debris. She didn't even make it back to Earth whole.
William hovered alone now, his silhouette backlit by the curvature of the planet.
Blood stained his boots.
His breathing was steady.
But his eyes…
They were locked on the heavens above.
Something was coming.
His senses, finely tuned from years of battle and honed to atomic precision, tingled like an alarm. He felt the space around Earth bend with incoming mass, the quiet before a second storm.
And then he saw it.
A fleet.
A real one.
Dwarfing the last by scale and presence, the newly arriving ships pushed through the black of space like invading titans. Sleek, obsidian hulls gleamed under the light of Earth's sun, forming an arc around the planet. They weren't here to conquer, they were here to erase.
But more than the ships, it was him.
William could feel it, that pressure.
Like the feeling of being watched by a god who wanted nothing more than to unmake you.
A singular presence.
Not machine. Not man.
But beast.
And there, at the vanguard, stood the source.
A white silhouette emerged from the lead vessel, framed by burning thrusters and the void of space. It drifted forward without resistance, gravity bending around it, reality respecting it.
The being descended, slowly, purposefully, toward the planet below, toward the battlefield scarred by the last clash. Toward Mark. Toward Thragg.
William's breath caught in his throat.
Even from this distance, he could make out the face. That unmistakable jawline, those wild, golden eyes, and that unholy mane of hair cascading around a savage, lion-like face.
It wasn't rage.
It wasn't wrath.
It was madness.
The clash of fists echoed across the battlefield like the cracking of tectonic plates, Mark and Thragg, locked in a vicious dance of power and pride, trading blows that split the air and shattered the very walls around them.
But something shifted.
A new presence slammed into the space between them like a meteor falling from the stars.
"BOOM!"
The earth groaned. Debris exploded outward in a perfect ring.
A figure emerged from the impact crater, tall and monstrous, white fur matted with old blood, eyes gleaming with primal ecstasy, and a grin stretched wide enough to bare every fang.
Two clawed hands lashed out.
One caught Mark's punch mid-swing.The other stopped Thragg's crushing fist like it was a toy.
And just like that, the world froze.
"You really thought you could have a war…" Battle Beast growled, his voice a guttural snarl echoing across the battlefield, "...and not invite me? How dare you!"
With that, he roared, an unholy, bone-rattling sound of hunger and joy, and hurled the two Viltrumites like ragdolls in opposite directions.
"BOOM!!"
Mark crashed through the remnants of a skyscraper, leaving a smoking crater in its center. Thragg shattered a mountain of rubble and left behind a trench as his body skidded across the landscape.
Battle Beast rolled his shoulders and let out a slow exhale, savoring the moment.
He reached behind his back and unslung his mace, planting it into the ground beside him with a heavy thud. Then, he cracked his knuckles, pop, pop, pop, his knuckles creaking with the sound of bones long used to breaking others.
But his amusement didn't last.
Because suddenly, the sky glowed.
Golden. Radiant. Pressurized with divine fury.
Floating high above him was William, arms crossed, his body pulsing with a soft but unmistakable light, like a nuclear star contemplating its next detonation.
Battle Beast's smile twitched.
His muscles tensed.
Then, he snarled, fangs bared.
"YOU…" his voice boomed. "We have unfinished business!"
He pointed a clawed finger up toward William, his entire posture seething with uncontained wrath and anticipation.
But William… didn't even flinch.
He didn't descend.He didn't speak.He didn't even look at him.
Instead, without breaking his calm demeanor, he reached into a pouch at his waist and pulled out two small, round objects. He flicked them down to the ground with pinpoint accuracy, one landing in front of a battered Mark, the other near Thragg.
"You want a fair fight, correct?" William's voice cut through the wind like sharpened thunder. "Well, here's your chance."
Both combatants stared at the objects.
Small, green, unassuming.
But Mark recognized them instantly.
His hand shot forward, clutching the bean.
"Crunch!"
He bit down without hesitation, his trust in William absolute.
In an instant, his body lit up with golden energy as bones realigned, torn muscle stitched itself back together, and bruises faded like dust in sunlight. His wounds were gone, as if the fight had never even happened.
Thragg's brow furrowed. He picked up his bean and held it aloft, spinning it between two fingers.
"What is this?" he asked, eyeing it like a trap.
But then he glanced at Mark, fully healed, aura burning hot and wild, and he knew.
He was at a disadvantage.
Thragg narrowed his eyes and, with a grunt of contempt, tossed the bean into his mouth and bit down.
Bitterness exploded across his tongue. He scowled.
But then—
"WHOOOOOSH!"
Energy flooded his veins. His limbs surged with renewed strength. He watched, stunned, as his flesh regenerated. Torn muscle, fractured ribs, bruised organs, all healed in seconds.
His eyes widened, the taste forgotten.
Then, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP.
The applause rang out mockingly.
Battle Beast stood between them, slowly clapping, his fangs gleaming with excitement.
"And here I thought I'd have to injure myself just to make this fair." His voice was filled with grim delight. "All the better, I'd rather fight you at your best."
He crouched low, muscles coiled like steel cables, fingers twitching as if struggling to contain his bloodlust. The ground cracked beneath his feet.
Mark steadied himself, feet sliding into stance.Thragg raised his arms, cold eyes narrowing.Battle Beast leaned forward, a low growl in his throat.
A perfect triangle.
Three predators.
Three titans.
No mercy.No alliances.Just raw, unfiltered violence waiting to erupt.
And above them all, still as a god watching over mortals, William floated, arms still crossed, cloak fluttering in the breeze, his expression unreadable.
High above the smoking ruins of what used to be a city, amid the chaos of interstellar war and titanic clashes that could reshape worlds, one man hovered, watching.
Omni-Man.Nolan Grayson.Viltrumite war hero. Traitor. Father.
The wind tugged at his bloodied cape as he stood still in the air, arms loose at his sides, fists clenched, paralyzed.
Below him, the earth trembled. Explosions rang like war drums. Shockwaves from Mark, Thragg, Battle Beast, and William's clashes distorted the air itself. But Nolan's gaze didn't waver. His eyes, tired yet sharp, stayed locked on one thing only, his son.
Mark.
Not the boy he raised.Not the stubborn, bright-eyed teenager who once dreamed of being a hero.But the man, the force, he had become.
Golden light pulsed around Mark like a second skin. Every movement cracked the sound barrier. Every blow shook the heavens. It was undeniable:
Mark had grown powerful. More powerful than Nolan had ever imagined.
Maybe even more powerful than him.
A tremble ran through Nolan's jaw as conflicting thoughts roared through his mind like rival armies clashing on a battlefield.
His Viltrumite instincts screamed for allegiance, loyalty to the Empire, to the legacy of blood and dominance he was born into. To the cause he once shed planets for.
But another voice… stronger, older, and deeper… thundered within his chest:
The voice of a father.
He remembered holding Mark as a newborn.He remembered teaching him how to fly.He remembered the first time Mark stood up to him… and the pain, not from Mark's punch, but from the truth in his eyes.
And now, as he watched his son rise not just as a warrior, but as a leader, a symbol, a defender, he felt something stir within him that the Empire had never prepared him for.
Pride.
Raw. Undeniable. Shattering.
His heart swelled, and a knot of guilt twisted in his gut.
Because Nolan knew.
He would have to choose.
Between blood stained by conquest… and the bloodline he helped create.Between an Empire of war… or a son who might just save a world.
He exhaled sharply, his breath shaky, fogging in the cold upper air.
And still… he watched.Unable to tear his eyes away.
Caught between two worlds.
And knowing, when this battle ends, he would finally have to pick one.