CH-152. Where is Ego?

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The other servants aboard the Collector's spaceship had already knelt in a corner, trembling. They dared not show their faces or make a sound, fearing they would be noticed by Luke and the others.

"This is the star core. I bought it from a wandering civilization 500,000 years ago at the cost of tens of billions of star coins." The Collector explained, "That civilization was destructive, constantly stealing the cores of planets as they roamed the universe. But eventually, they provoked the Celestials and were hunted down by the entire universe, until they were completely wiped out."

The Collector presented the star core containing the energy of an entire star to Luke like a treasure, speaking earnestly.

In the hands of other civilizations, such a core would become a powerful source of energy. In the hands of dwarves, it might become a sacred artifact. But in the Collector's possession, it simply gathered dust in his dark fortress of collections.

Feeling the waves of energy emanating from the core, Luke understood that the star which gave birth to this core hadn't been old, its lifespan no more than 50 million years—a star in its youth. Unfortunately, it had encountered cosmic thieves, who had stolen its core. The star would soon become a dead husk in a very short time.

Luke extended his hand toward the star core, and the space stone on his gaunlet flashed with a blue light. A space crack appeared and swallowed the core.

"I hear you, remnants from the old days, have formed a corrupt organization called the Council of Elders of the Universe, right?" Luke asked.

The Collector's heart skipped a beat, wondering what Luke's purpose was.

"Ego, the living planet, was once a member of the Council. Now, tell me his whereabouts." Luke demanded. He hadn't forgotten his idea of building a growing kingdom, and Ego was key to his plan.

"I wonder why you are looking for Ego..." The Collector asked cautiously, unsure of Luke's motives.

"I advise you to know as little as possible. The more you know, the faster you die. You understand that principle, don't you?" Luke spoke slowly, his eyes flashing with a dark red light. The aura of annihilation in his voice made the Collector shudder violently.

"The star system where Ego is located is very remote. Apart from him, there are no other planets with life in the entire region. He's devoured them all." The Collector began, his voice shaky, "He once claimed to be a god, and we did sense divine power from him. So we allowed him to join the Council. But later, we found his actions violated our rules, and we unanimously expelled him from the Council. Since then, his consumption of planetary energy has only grown more reckless. If we had the power to break through his planetary shell, we'd have wiped him out long ago!"

The Collector then handed Luke a star map. A red light blinked on the map, marking Ego's location. His tone was full of indignation at Ego's cruelty, though it was clearly a performance. If one didn't know better, they might think the Collector was a guardian of the universe, fighting for justice.

"Enough with your disgusting hypocrisy." Luke said coldly, "You and your brother, who enjoys capturing slaves for sport, are no better than Ego."

Luke's words cut through the Collector's act, exposing the truth. Although the Elders of the Universe were not overtly evil, they were far from being good.

"Respected Lord, please forgive me! From now on, everything in the Group is yours, and I will become your most loyal servant." The Collector begged, abandoning any pride in his status.

Luke considered for a moment before deciding to spare the Collector's life. The Collector was an insignificant figure, and his life or death was unimportant to Luke. However, Luke wasn't about to let him off easily. A red light flashed in Luke's eyes, and two subtle Omega rays shot out, branding Luke's Omega symbol onto the Collector's forehead and soul.

"As a slave, this is the mark I give you. Remember the pain you felt just now. If you ever betray me, your soul will never find rest," Luke warned, "From now on, Jean is your second master. Her orders carry the same weight as mine. Understood?"

"I understand, Master Luke. I will follow Mistress Jean's orders without question." The Collector whimpered, still clutching his forehead in pain.

"Continue managing your operations in the Land of Nothingness and the Group. If I need anything, I'll tell you." Luke said before taking Jean with him and leaving.

After confirming that Luke had indeed left, the Collector collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath before slowly closing his eyes as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, the Collector's maid, Katana, had other ideas. She planned to escape with her sister, Karina. Moving quietly, she stood up, crept to the collection container where Karina was imprisoned, and quickly opened it. Katana hugged her sister tightly, covering her mouth to keep her quiet.

Together, the two sisters made their way to a small flying vehicle. Without hesitation, they boarded the craft and initiated the launch sequence. The Collector's Fortress' intelligent system detected the activation of the vehicle and opened the exit, allowing them to flee.

"Sister, we finally escaped that pervert's clutches!" Karina cried, tears streaming down her face.

"Yes, we're free now. We'll leave this place for good." Katana reassured her sister, "That god comes from a planet called Earth in the solar system. We'll head there. The Collector won't dare to follow us to that planet. Once we get there, we'll truly be safe."

Katana's insight unknowingly saved their lives. The Collector was furious when he discovered their escape, but upon learning that they had fled to Earth, he gave up the chase, too afraid of Luke's wrath to pursue them further.

"Teacher, what is this place?" Jean asked as she realized that Luke had brought her to a very strange location. In front of them was a small planet surrounded by a massive star ring.

"Nidavellir, the residence of dwarven craftsmen." Luke explained, "It's also a famous place for crafting artifacts in the universe. Thor's hammer Mjolnir, Odin's eternal spear Gungnir, and my Infinity Gauntlet all came from here."

"Teacher, are you here to forge a weapon?" Jean asked, confused. Luke was already immensely powerful and had a glove embedded with three Infinity Stones. Surely, he didn't need any more weapons.

"No, it's not a weapon in the traditional sense. It's more like an energy battery that contains infinite energy." Luke clarified, "That star core is the best vessel for carrying the power of will. It's called a carrier, but it's really just a home for the Ion Shark. Once the central energy battery is formed, green willpower will officially shine its light in this universe."

"Is it similar to the central energy battery from the Green Lantern comics?" Jean asked, her words momentarily surprising Luke. He wondered how she knew about the Green Lantern, but then remembered that DC comics existed in the Marvel Universe. The most famous one, of course, was Superman.

"Yes, what I'm going to forge is the Green Lantern Central Energy Battery. Soon, a new force will emerge in this universe: the emotional spectrum." Luke replied, without hiding his intentions.

"But isn't Green Lantern just a comic? And the Phoenix Force inside me is the source of all emotional energy in the universe. I've never heard of an emotional spectrum." Jean said skeptically, as she still considered the emotional spectrum a fictional concept from comics.

"What do you think this is?" Luke asked, pulling the green Ion Shark from his system space.

"Is that... the Green Lantern Beast, Ion Shark? Oh my god, how is this possible?" Jean exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise as she watched the green shark swim around Luke.