Regarding the Moon Knight storyline.
Lorien couldn't remember the details too clearly anymore, but he still recalled the general plot.
First, Moon Knight had two separate mental entities—two completely split personalities. Then came the battle of the Divine Emissaries.
Moon Knight's powers were granted by the Moon God Khonshu, while the villain's magic came from the Crocodile Goddess. Now, the two emissaries were locked in a brutal fight. At the same time, the gods themselves had also clashed head-on.
Fortunately, both gods were nearly drained of divine power. Otherwise, if they had unleashed their full might, Egypt would have been wiped off the map.
Forget the pyramids—an entire state, even the whole continent, would have been gone. Even Egyptian gods themselves… their strength ranged from Elder God level to Sky Father level, depending on how much divine energy they still possessed. Either way, they were terrifyingly powerful.
Watching the chaotic 2v2 battle, Gwen instantly donned her Symbiote suit, drew the Black Necrosword from within her body, and vanished from beside Lorien and Wanda in a blink.
Seeing Gwen disappear so suddenly, Wanda's eyes lit up.
"Gwen's speed is this fast now?!"
"Yes," Lorien nodded. "After slaying several powerful beings, she's become much stronger."
Wanda recognized Gwen's terrifying speed. She knew it well—if Gwen came at her as an assassin, she wouldn't stand a chance. She would die without even realizing it.
Any sorcerer wouldn't have time to react either, unless he had a shield already in place or some hidden failsafe—like a spell that would trigger automatically upon being injured.
Otherwise, he'd end up like Ebony Maw. Gwen could kill him in the blink of an eye. In the time it takes to sing a song, she could wipe out dozens!
Meanwhile, Khonshu hadn't recovered as much power as the Crocodile Goddess, and was being completely overwhelmed. The two colossal beings, taller than the pyramids themselves, were locked in a savage brawl.
Then, the Crocodile Goddess slammed Khonshu down onto a pyramid.
"BOOM~~~!"
The pyramid's stone blocks immediately shattered, countless fragments tumbling down.
Khonshu struggled to rise, but the Crocodile Goddess struck again.
"BOOM~~~!"
Khonshu crashed into the pyramid once more. The already battered structure broke apart even further. A few more strikes and the pyramid would collapse for sure—the gods themselves might not die, but the monument wouldn't survive.
The Crocodile Goddess then raised her weapon, preparing to deliver another blow. But at that moment, a dazzling light shot across the sky from afar!
Startled, the Crocodile Goddess quickly raised its weapon to block.
"CLANG!!!"
A deafening impact rang out, followed by a rushing sound of sand. The goddess's massive body—towering nearly as tall as the pyramid—was forced back several steps!
"Oh…"
Feeling the overwhelming force, the Crocodile Goddess turned in shock toward the tiny figure now standing atop one of the pyramids.
How could she wield such power? She was just a human. How could a mere human be this strong? How was it even possible?
"Huh?"
Gwen was equally puzzled. Her Black Necrosword hadn't severed the Crocodile Goddess's weapon with a single strike. Logically speaking, unless it was a divine artifact—like the Stormbreaker Axe—the Black Necrosword would usually cleave through anything, slicing through enemies like a hot knife through butter.
But this time, it rang out with a sharp clang. That meant the opponent's weapon was no ordinary armament.
Then again, it made sense. The opponent was a god. How could a god not possess a personal divine artifact?
Gwen glanced at the Black Necrosword in her hand, slowly tightening her grip as she prepared to drive it straight through the Crocodile Goddess's skull on her next strike.
At the same time, both the Crocodile Goddess and Khonshu felt the aura of death radiating from Gwen. The crushing pressure bore down on them, and the Black Necrosword in her hand made both deities' hearts pound with dread.
What the hell is this thing?
Seeing Gwen's target was him, the Crocodile Goddess quickly spoke up before she could act.
"Who are you? Why attack me? Do we have a grudge?"
The Crocodile Goddess scoured her memories, but nothing surfaced. She couldn't recall Gwen at all. Or perhaps—they had simply never met.
Gwen, gripping the Black Necrosword, answered flatly.
"Your divine emissary unleashed his minions and monsters to wreak havoc across New York."
"Yet you, as a god, can't even control your own followers."
"And I am a superhero."
"So coming here to eliminate the source of the problem directly—there's nothing wrong with that, right?"
The leader of the emissaries is a god. If a god can't control his emissaries, then that god deserves to die alongside them.
Understanding this, the Crocodile Goddess's expression twisted in fury. She was enraged—enraged that Gwen would come to slaughter her over something like this? Just because one emissary had caused chaos in the city?
What was a Divine Emissary compared to him? Who was she?
She was a god!
For a moment, her face contorted with rage. Gwen caught every detail. She stared into the goddess's malicious eyes and spoke coldly, as expected.
"Seems all villains are the same."
"They never think what they do is wrong."
"I'm used to it."
Gwen raised the Black Necrosword, ready to end the battle.
Meanwhile, Khonshu leaned heavily against the massive pyramid, gasping for breath. From their earlier exchange, Khonshu had realized that Gwen had come specifically to kill the Crocodile Goddess.
The reason was simple.
You let your followers run rampant in my city. Therefore, you must die.
For Khonshu, the situation was straightforward: the enemy of my enemy is my ally. Without hesitation, he raised his enormous staff.
Gathering his last remaining divine power, he prepared to cast one final spell.
In an instant, the heavens shifted.
Gwen looked up. The night sky began to churn and twist, countless stars streaking across the firmament—then sweeping back again.
It was as if Khonshu was searching for a specific constellation. The celestial pattern turned and turned.
Sensing something was amiss, the Crocodile Goddess glared viciously at Khonshu.
"You bastard!"
And at that very moment, Khonshu found what he sought. Raising his massive staff, he slammed it down upon the earth.
"Boom~!"
Immediately, starlight rained down from the heavens. Moonlight poured directly onto Gwen.
At the same time, she felt a strange power flow into her, amplifying every aspect of her strength.
"Huh?"
Gwen tilted her head in curiosity.
From afar, Lorien smiled.
"This is divine power."
"The moonlight magic unique to the Moon God Khonshu."
"That figure in white robes back in the marketplace—the Moon Knight—he wields the same effect."
"But he's just a Divine Emissary, channeling the Moon Gods's power."
"Yours is a divine power augmentation—purer in nature."
"The Moon God Khonshu has exhausted his divine power. He placed his final wager on you."
"Though it won't do you much good, it's still a desperate gamble."
Even across the distance, Lorien's words carried clearly into Gwen's ears.
Hearing them, Gwen understood. Khonshu had poured his final trace of divine power into a spell, betting everything on her. It knew Gwen was here to slay the Crocodile Goddess—so it went all in.
And truth be told... it had chosen well.
The divine power boost wasn't much. For Gwen, it was only a slight help—but it was something.
Still, she found divine power rather fascinating. So, with a small nod, Gwen acknowledged Khonshu.
"Thanks."
Khonshu dipped his massive skull in acknowledgment, a gesture that more or less meant goodwill.
Next, Gwen lifted the Black Necrosword. The divine blessing spread across her body, gathering into the blade until it shimmered with specks of starlight.
For the Crocodile Goddess, the sense of looming death pressing down on her only grew stronger.
"Roar~~~!"
She bellowed furiously at Khonshu.
But Khonshu didn't flinch. He simply stared back across the void, unshaken.
The Crocodile Goddess's expression twisted. Gwen's killing intent was suffocating.
She didn't want to provoke this fight. But Gwen was determined to kill her. She didn't dare lash out, yet she refused to beg for mercy.
Simply put, what she wanted was for Gwen to bow her head and walk away.
Gwen saw that refusal to repent and gave a faint, knowing smile. She was used to this.
"Seems every villain is the same."
"They always think they're not wrong."
"It's the world that's wrong!"
The very next instant, Gwen's figure vanished before the eyes of both the Crocodile Goddess and Khonshu.
"Huh!?"
The Crocodile Goddess's eyes widened as she spun around frantically.
"Where? Where? Where!?"
Khonshu searched as well, scanning the surroundings. But there was no trace of Gwen anywhere.
That left him deeply unsettled.
"Can she move like that relying only on her body? That's far too strong…"
The Crocodile Goddess kept twisting her head in every direction, even turning full circles as she searched.
But one second passed… two seconds… and still, she couldn't find Gwen.
Had she run away?
The Crocodile Goddess turned back toward Khonshu.
And then, out of the corner of his eye, Khonshu suddenly caught sight of two silhouettes standing atop a distant pyramid.
His mind wavered. For an instant, he almost convinced himself they weren't human. But the next moment, reality snapped back into focus—they were.
They were really standing there.
So why did he keep panicking, his mind insisting they didn't exist?
Khonshu shook his skull, forcing himself to look again.
And sure enough—two figures stood upon the distant pyramid, silently watching this place.
Who were they?!
A wave of dread swept through him. Two people had been nearby, watching this battle for so long, and none of them had noticed?
Even when he saw them with his own eyes, his mind kept insisting they weren't real.
What was happening?!
True fear gripped Khonshu now. He could feel his spirit and consciousness being bent under an irresistible force.
At the same time, Lorien felt Khonshu's gaze. He turned his head.
Across the span of several kilometers, their eyes met.
Lorien smiled faintly, then turned back to watch Gwen in the sky.
Khonshu followed the gaze and his whole body trembled.
That person… she had leapt impossibly high into the air! And now, she was plummeting down with terrifying force!
Gwen streaked through the night like a flash of light. A meteor across the sky. That dazzling brilliance made the Crocodile Goddess snap her head up in alarm.
And then, before her horrified eyes—the meteor pierced straight through her forehead, blasting out the back of her skull!
The light didn't slow. It only stopped when Gwen landed atop a pyramid, Black Necrosword in hand.
She hovered there, standing above the pyramid beneath Khonshu's stunned gaze. Of course, Khonshu had no eyes, but he watched nonetheless—watched as the Crocodile Goddess's immense body dissolved into black liquid, siphoned into Gwen's symbiote suit.
The goddess's form was so vast that the siphoning felt like countless armies flooding into Gwen's body all at once.
...
At the same time, the two Divine Emissaries clashing in the streets felt the shift.
Just moments ago, the Moon Knight had been beaten down mercilessly. But suddenly, the Crocodile Goddess's emissary froze mid-movement, the magic in his hands unraveling into nothing.
He stared at his hands in disbelief, then turned slowly toward where his goddess had been.
Sure enough, she was gone.
In her own final, horrified gaze, the Crocodile Goddess had dissolved into a thousand streams, flowing into the indistinct figure of Gwen.
Which meant… it was over.
The Moon Knight stood frozen, completely baffled. Just a moment ago, he'd been on the verge of defeat. So why had the fight suddenly ended?
Khonshu's voice rang sharply in his mind.
End it. Quickly.
The Moon Knight snapped back into action. He drew his white staff and swung hard at the Crocodile Goddess's emissary.
"Bang!"
The emissary collapsed unconscious on the ground.
The Moon Knight immediately asked, "What happened? What was that? How did the other god fall so suddenly?"
But Khonshu ignored his questions.
Instead, the Moon God struggled to his feet and bowed slightly toward Gwen, still standing above the pyramid.
It was a gesture of respect—a silent thanks for her help.
This gamble of Khonshu's had paid off. Without Gwen, even victory would have come at a devastating cost.
...
But Gwen didn't care about any of that. What intrigued her now was the divine power coursing through her body.
She extended her hand, feeling an unseen force surge within her. This was divine power.
Most divine power worked as augmentation. Only a rare few, like Hela or Thor, carried unique attributes. But even then, a special attribute wasn't inherently better. You had to know how to use it—and you had to be strong in the first place. Otherwise, if your base power was weak, even multiplying it wouldn't matter much.
After Gwen had finished absorbing the divine power—
"You! You! You!"
The Crocodile Goddess let out one last terrified cry as her form scattered into faint light. A streak of radiance shot across the sky, flying back toward her divine seat.
This time, Gwen had consumed all of her divine power. For the Crocodile Goddess to recover… it might take countless centuries. By then, humanity might have left Earth behind entirely.
Now that Gwen had absorbed it, her body had truly gained the ability to wield, grow, and sustain divine power.
Strictly speaking, Gwen was now a god herself. An acquired god—but a god nonetheless.
She savored the power for a moment, then turned to look at Lorien. With a surge of bioenergy, she closed the distance in a blink.
Several kilometers meant nothing to her speed now. In an instant, she was at his side.
She grabbed Lorien's hand and channeled divine power into it, her eyes bright with anticipation.
"Lorien, this is divine power? What exactly can it do?!"
Lorien shrugged with a small smile.
"It just amplifies what you already have. That's all."
"If you were Thor, divine power could spark all kinds of things. But you're not Thor."
Gwen's face fell with disappointment.
"Ah…"
She had imagined divine power would be diverse, like some grand new set of superpowers. But it wasn't. Its role was simple: it strengthened her body and amplified her existing abilities.
That was why Thor could withstand stellar energy blasts. Without divine power, he would have died long ago. And when his divine power ran dry, he collapsed, nearly dying on the spot. It was only Stormbreaker feeding power back into him that saved his life.
Otherwise, in the original storyline, Thor might well have died from his wounds.
But now that Gwen had cleared out the monsters, Lorien waved his hand casually.
"Let's go. Time to shop."
At the mention of shopping, Gwen instantly forgot about divine power. Compared to that, shopping was way more fun.
...
Meanwhile, deep in the cosmos, the Nova Empire was facing utter annihilation.