Fear. At this moment, the Sentry felt only pure, unrelenting fear. Despite the immense power he had gained recently, standing before Galactus reduced him to a state of helpless terror. It was an emotion that made him recall the research leader's visceral fear when faced with the Sentry's unrestrained aura. Now, he could empathize with that experience.
There was no avoiding it—Galactus was a being so far beyond the Sentry's comprehension that his very presence felt insurmountable. His enormous body, larger than both Earth and the Sun combined, was overwhelming. The Sun, in comparison, seemed no bigger than the size of Galactus's mouth.
"What could such a terrifying being possibly want with Earth? Is there something here that could interest him?" A thousand thoughts raced through the Sentry's mind. "Is he here to consume Earth? But with a body that large, consuming Earth alone wouldn't even be enough to satisfy him…"
The Sentry tried to make sense of the situation, but the sheer absurdity of Galactus's presence left him confused and full of questions. He had heard of people eating an apple to sate their hunger, but he had never heard of someone traveling such an enormous distance to eat just one apple—especially if that apple wouldn't even make a dent in their hunger.
"Still not leaving? If you don't, my master might take notice of you," the Silver Surfer's voice echoed in the Sentry's ears. "If you leave now, given the difference in value between you and Earth, my master will prioritize Earth and ignore you entirely..."
The Sentry fell silent. He reflected on the bold ambitions he had when his power had surged. Now, staring at the colossal figure of Galactus—a being far more terrifying than any god—his once grand aspirations felt insignificant and fleeting.
Instinctual survival mechanisms kicked in, urging him to flee. Even without the Silver Surfer's warning, his body screamed for him to escape.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, the Sentry vanished from his position. However, he didn't go far. He remained in orbit, keeping a safe distance from Earth while watching from afar. Though fear gripped his heart, he still wanted to see what this terrifying entity planned to do to Earth.
The Sentry knew that recklessly attacking Galactus would accomplish nothing but his own demise. For now, his plan was to observe. If things went south, he would leave Earth and ensure some part of humanity survived. After all, he couldn't even defeat the Silver Surfer—what chance did he have against the Surfer's master?
On Earth, panic erupted as Galactus's enormous figure became visible to the naked eye.
"What is that?!"
"Is it some kind of asteroid?"
"An asteroid? That thing's massive—it's surrounding the entire planet!"
"Wait... it looks like a living being! Is it alive? What does it want? Is it going to… eat us?!"
"Even if it wanted to eat us, Earth wouldn't be enough for something that size!"
As Galactus's form became clearer, his sheer scale left the people of Earth paralyzed with fear. From different locations on the planet, Galactus's appearance varied slightly based on the perspective of the viewer. But regardless of the angle, everyone who saw him was overcome with terror.
The psychological impact of seeing Galactus was too great. Even though humanity had grown accustomed to extraordinary events, no one could maintain their composure in the presence of such an overwhelming entity.
"Is this the crisis we're supposed to face? Can we even win against that?"
Humanity's leaders, who had overseen the creation of countless Doomsday clones and Kryptonian mechanical soldiers, were now staring at each other in stunned silence. Previously, they had been brimming with confidence in their creations. But now, after seeing Galactus, that confidence had evaporated. All they felt was regret—regret for not leaving Earth when they had the chance.
The Doomsday clones and Kryptonian mechanical soldiers might as well have been whispering:
"You want me to fight that?!"
"What choice do we have? There's no time to escape. That giant has already surrounded the entire planet," one of the leaders said with a heavy sigh.
While many had prepared contingency plans to leave Earth, those plans were now worthless. Even if they wanted to escape, their spacecraft would never make it past Galactus. The leaders could only watch in despair.
Meanwhile, in Wakanda's divine realm, the Panther God Bast watched Galactus with wide eyes. The sight of the planet-devouring giant caused Bast's expression to darken.
"What… is that? No, this isn't a monster—this is a god. A god far more powerful than even the Celestials!"
The aura emanating from Galactus was so overwhelming that Bast felt utterly suppressed. Realizing this was an entity far beyond his power to confront, Bast immediately began severing Wakanda's divine realm from Earth's dimensional plane. While the realm was small and incomplete, Bast would rather face the dangers of floating through the dimensional void than risk being obliterated alongside Earth.
Similar thoughts raced through the minds of the Egyptian gods in Helipolis. Fearful of Galactus, they too began their retreat. They didn't know who or what this being was, but the ancient adage "a wise man avoids a collapsing wall" guided their decision. Their safety came first.
Elsewhere, at the Avengers' base, the team watched in stunned silence as Galactus fully materialized. Using J.A.R.V.I.S. and Victor Stone's systems, they had a complete view of the being's immense form. The image of Galactus's hand, large enough to cradle the entire Earth, appeared on their monitors, leaving even the most battle-hardened Avengers shaken.
"Can we even win against that?"
The Avengers turned their eyes to Robert. He was their last hope.
But for the first time, doubt crept into their hearts. They had always believed in Robert's strength, but Galactus's overwhelming presence shook even that faith.
"Honestly, I'm not so sure this time," Robert admitted, frowning as he gazed at Galactus. "That guy is… massive. Even compared to the Celestials, he's on a completely different scale. The Celestials are like ants next to him."
Robert couldn't help but recall the Eradicator, a being whose massive frame had already seemed incomprehensible to him. The Eradicator stood around 30-40 kilometers tall—thirty of them lined up might match Earth's diameter. But Galactus? He dwarfed the Eradicator, making him seem like nothing more than a toothpick.
The sheer difference in size alone implied a monumental gap in power. While Robert might be confident in handling several Eradicators, he couldn't muster the same confidence against Galactus.
"His appearance is similar to the Celestials, except for the exposed face..." Robert mused. "But his aura is different. It's more divine—like the essence of a god."
"A god? I don't recognize that aura at all," Diana said, frowning.
"It's not an Earth god. He's a cosmic god," Robert explained, his expression serious. "And it feels familiar somehow... Wait, Galan… No, Galantha! Her aura is similar to his. In fact, she looks like a miniature version of him."
"Who's Galantha?" The Avengers exchanged puzzled glances, unable to follow Robert's train of thought.
"She's… an odd little girl with bizarre powers," Kara chimed in. "Robert once lost to her in an eating contest. He mentioned that her aura felt strange and incredibly powerful."
"Is he here for Galantha? Where is she now?" Tony Stark asked, blinking in confusion.
"No idea," Robert said, shrugging. His gaze remained locked on the sky as he muttered, almost to himself, "But if this guy really is a cosmic god, and I manage to fight him… I might be able to break through to a new level. A truly new level."
Robert's tone revealed his excitement. While his power had never hit a plateau, he had yet to achieve the level of a true Super Saiyan God. Despite having transformations similar to Broly's, Robert lacked the catalyst needed to push his power to new heights.
But now, with Galactus before him, he saw an opportunity.
Back on Earth, humanity's leaders finally took action. The Doomsday clones and Kryptonian mechanical soldiers were launched into space. Yes, even the Doomsdays could fly.
These creations had no self-awareness. They were essentially mindless puppets, designed to avoid rebellion or betrayal. Controlled entirely by human operators, the Doomsdays and Kryptonian soldiers represented humanity's last, desperate hope.
The sight of countless Doomsdays and Kryptonian soldiers swarming into space was reminiscent of the Parademon invasion. This was humanity's final gamble—every last resource thrown into one last stand.
For a brief moment, the leaders felt a glimmer of hope. Perhaps their creations could hold their own against Galactus.
"Inhale…"
But that hope was extinguished in an instant.
As Galactus took a light breath, every Doomsday and Kryptonian soldier was sucked into his mouth, disappearing without a trace.
It was as if humanity's most advanced weapons were nothing more than moths to a flame.
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