####
The Elders weren't so lucky. They didn't have the boon of Marshall's patience, as they had never met each other. Nor did the Elders know anything about Marshall. Hence, hostility arose at first sight.
Attacks were exchanged in a second. But in front of the power of the tesseract and Aspirant's energy, what could stand?
The first to fall was the Collector, yet he didn't die soon enough. His mind got ravaged by Marshall, studying every inch of it, every possible memory in the most violent means possible.
The Collector died in agony.
"This place is now mine," Marshall declared to the woman who assisted the Collector. "You will run this. You mess it up, you die."
Then the Gardener died in his own garden. But not before receiving the Collector treatment, with eyes rolling into the head, the brain wiped clean, all memories sucked out. Then fell the Runner, and then the Champion who sought Marshall after the Runner had sent out a word.
Finally, Marshall arrived at Sakaar and struck the tallest building there.
The trash planet was a joke to him, and since it was artificial, he felt no worry destroying it. Since Zeus had also shown him what Sakaar looked like, Marshall just flew through every floor, building after building, ruining the planet before he finally found the man.
Tall man, taller than him, hair white, eyes blue, and clearly not a human yet human-shaped. Marshall's hand gripped the tall creature's fragile throat right away, lifting him in the air.
"Where do I find the Celestials? Can you revive the dead?"
"Celestials? Who… Yes! Yes, I can revive! You're the one hunting us, aren't you? Why? We don't even know you."
Marshall gripped harder. "Revive Marty."
"Who's that?" asked the Grandmaster. "Wait, wait, you'll snap my neck. Show me, I need to know the being I'm to resurrect."
Marshall clenched even harder, leaving the creature on the verge of dying. In that weakness, he drove into the mind and planted the idea of Marty. Every detail about him.
"Ah! It's a… pe… a friend? I can do it, I'll do it."
The Grandmaster closed his eyes to focus. But then veins popped on his head, sweat covering his scalp. He tried to gulp, but the grip was too tight. He opened his eyes again, horrified.
"I can… resurrect dead, no matter how badly damaged or dispersed, but… I cannot feel this friend of yours. It's as if… he never existed. This Marty… he wasn't killed… he was erased."
Marshall's eyes turned colder, his hatred for the Celestials increasing. "Where do I find Galactus?"
"Gala—Galactus? No matter how strong you are, you ca—"
"I'll see for myself."
Marshall did what he did to the Collector and the rest. He mind-fucked the Grandmaster, ripping apart every memory with the intensity that would kill, and even if he survived, he'd be a living dead body.
But Marshall didn't leave bodies like that. He took all the memories, overloading his own mind, turning himself even more insane. Elders were ancient beings with too much in their brains. Marshall stored all of it, trying to make sense of it all.
"Found him."
No longer needing the Grandmaster, he burned him in Cosmic Flames. He didn't care about the trash planet and vanished.
####
Taa II,
The Silver Surfer had fallen defending the worldship. Now, Shalla-Bal found herself held by the throat, lifted in the air as the human flew through the worldship, getting closer to Galactus. She tried all her powers on him, yet nothing worked.
Brute force didn't even wound him. She tried to reason, ask what he wanted, and all he demanded was to see Galactus.
And before long, they arrived inside the large chamber where Galactus rested on his gigantic throne. The large yellow eyes moved, as did the head. The devourer of worlds woke up, yet he did nothing.
"He…" She tried to explain, but the human's chokehold shut her up.
"Shhhh. Pretty privilege has kept you alive until now. From here, shut the fuck up like a good little bitch."
Shalla-Bal found herself flying, thrown away to the ground like discarded filth. She thought of attacking, but a sudden pressure kept her still. She looked at Galactus; it was his will.
"Two things," the human said. "Where do I find the Celestials? Can you resurrect Marty?"
"Cosmic energy, an Infinity Stone. Peculiar." Galactus' booming voice rumbled. "Phoenix Force as well. What an enigma you are, human. Ideal vessel. Flawless potential. Serve as my Herald, and I'll grant your deepest wish."
"Sure, you got yourself a deal. Bring back Marty first."
That easy? Shalla-Bal frowned. She'd never seen Galactus appear so active and interested before. Even less so entertaining someone who invaded the ship and brought destruction. Yet, she saw the signs; the human wasn't as powerful. She felt Galactus invade the human's mind, evident by the frown he showed.
"A harmless being. A pet. A companion. I understand the want and the cause of it. But I cannot restore what was lost. The force that ended it is older than me and my universe. Only one born of the First Cosmos holds that power."
For a long time, there was silence. Yet, the smile on Galactus' face widened.
"You would challenge me? Then so be it. I will grant you this trial. Your potential reaches beyond what this universe expects. Such a being… You intrigue me, human."
Shalla-Bal frowned, staring at the exchange. But it wasn't her place to meddle. She watched as the human rose in the air and shot an energy wave out of his hands. It was dark blue, something that reminded her of Galactus's own powers. But then that blue energy combined with a red one, and another light blue one.
The pure energy projection aimed to strike Galactus in the face. But in the end, Galactus responded with a pure red blast of energy from his eyes. That red energy completely overpowered the human, dispersing the attack and killing the human. Not a speck of dust remained.
That was it? Shalla-Bal was expecting more.
Pop!
There was more. Galactus was looking at where the human had disappeared, and sure enough, the human reappeared. The human shot the same beam again, but this time it had the same red energy that Galactus had used.
This time, Galactus's energy didn't stand a chance. In a tug-of-war that lasted moments, the human struck Galactus in the face, blinding him. Yet, Galactus only smiled and, with just his will, restructured the human's molecules so he'd die and vanish.
Pop!
Yet, the human returned.
Galactus laughed, "Your quest against Celestials will be… fruitful."
Shalla-Bal frowned and stepped backwards. The humongous being, Galactus, moved his mighty arms. She couldn't remember the last time she saw him move for anything beyond devouring worlds.
Boom!
The two hands slapped together, the human between them. She couldn't even see the splash of blood. The human was crushed and just disappeared from the heat generated by the friction. The clap echoed across the worldship.
"Shalla-Bal."
She became alert and looked up.
"You will be his Herald now."
She scowled. But then the human returned, and this time, he got his head exploded by Galactus' mental probe.
"Master, what—"
Once again, the human reappeared. This time, things were different. The human flew fast and… tore through Galactus' chest like it was nothing. He generated a beam of energy so powerful that Galactus' arm vanished.
"I was destined to give back to the universe more than I have taken," Galactus spoke, pride in his usually emotionless voice. "I give this universe… you, a being of endless ascent, the Devourer of All."
And then, Galactus' humongous head exploded, overloaded by the ravaging speed at which Marshall read everything and consumed. Everything was absorbed, even Galactus' entire body, for it was simply energy.
After all, absorbing energy was just one of many aspects of his body, and now the human's.
Shalla-Bal stared at the human. Was he a human? She could feel the connection, the same as with Galactus. She could feel his presence; wherever he would go, she would.
"M-Master?"
She gulped when the human looked towards her. Since the man had appeared, he had remained deadpanned, even furious. Yet now he was smiling. His eyes revealed comfort, peace, calm, and emotions that felt… loathing? But it wasn't directed outwards.
"Go home, you've suffered enough."
She watches the human vanish, appearing less violent than before. Still, she could feel that connection, somewhere out there in the universe. She gulped, unable to understand what had just happened.
####
Marshall stopped his search for Celestials, Death, and Phoenix Force.
Galactus had given him what he needed, an actual path to chase. The only way to bring back Marty was to grow even more powerful. Galactus's power alone wasn't enough to force the Aspirant to use its full power.
Even though he had severed all of that Aspirant's limbs, it wasn't enough. It was called Celestial Destructor for a reason. So, Marshall started to target beings whose death would benefit the universe.
"Dormammu!" Marshall appeared in the Dark Dimension. "Can you kill me?"
"..."
___________________
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