CH-155. Apokolips

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After Mantis left, Ego slowly opened his eyes and looked at Luke, who was sitting peacefully with his eyes closed. Ego's heart raced with excitement, 'A complete body, full divine power—soon I'll have it all!'

Brimming with enthusiasm, Ego stretched out his hand and waved it. The environment shifted instantly. All around him, bones littered the ground, creating a scene that resembled Shura's purgatory. Directly above them, a massive brain, as large as a football field, glowed with a silver light.

Ego opened his arms wide, and from the brain, countless silver tentacles extended, quickly wrapping around Luke, binding him tightly.

At this moment, Luke opened his eyes, seemingly waking up just in time. He looked at Ego with feigned anger and asked, "Ego, what are you trying to do?"

"What am I doing? I'm going to make you a part of me, of course!" Ego's tone turned menacing, "You fool, you don't deserve this godly power. It was meant for me!"

Ego no longer bothered to hide his intentions, speaking venomously.

"So everything you've done these past few days was just to deceive me?" Luke's voice carried a tone of hurt and anger, though his eyes remained calm.

"Of course! And to think you were so gullible that you didn't doubt a single word I said! You're an idiot, and I'll devour you with that stupidity!" Ego snarled as he controlled the tentacles, preparing to absorb Luke's power.

But in the next moment, Ego's crazed expression froze entirely.

A violent, purple force began to emanate from Luke's body, and the tentacles that had locked around him started to crumble, disintegrating bit by bit.

"I never expected that I would treat you as a respected elder of the Celestial God Clan, but you covet my body. How shameless." Luke said coldly, "Since you are unkind, then don't blame me for being unjust!"

Luke's face displayed an expression of grief and indignation, as though he truly was a naive descendant of a god, inexperienced and betrayed.

"Ah!" Ego cried out in pain. The silver tentacles, extensions of his brain, were connected directly to his neural system. The violent force radiating from Luke had destroyed the tentacles, sending searing pain through Ego's mind, driving him to madness.

Suddenly, the entire planet of Ego began to undergo drastic changes. The serene landscape of green mountains and clear waters, which had resembled a paradise, transformed into a fiery red nightmare. A gigantic face appeared on the surface of the planet—Ego's face—now contorted in agony.

"Damn you! I'm going to kill you, kill you!" His voice rumbled like thunder, echoing across the entire planet.

Mantis, witnessing the chaos, initially tried to use her powers to calm the planet beneath her feet. But Ego, now in his complete and enraged form, was far beyond her ability to control. In an instant, the mental shock was too much, and Mantis collapsed, unconscious.

Seeing this, Jean swiftly carried Mantis away from the area that was about to become a battlefield.

Within the planet's core, the energy of the entire planet converged toward Ego's brain, coalescing in an instant. Ego condensed into a towering figure made entirely of pure energy.

"Stupid fool, die!" Ego, now transformed, waved his hand, and terrifying waves of energy transformed into countless sharp blades, all aiming directly at Luke.

If Ego hadn't realized by now that Luke had ill intentions from the start, then his centuries of life would have been in vain. The realization came too late, and now there was no escape. Between him and Luke, only one would survive today. Ego's ambitions of evolving into a complete god, devouring and dominating the universe, were unfinished—how could he die now?

There was no room for retreat. Escape was impossible since Luke had come specifically for him, and surrender wasn't an option. How could Ego, a god, bow to a mere junior? No, there was only one path left: fight to the death.

Ego had gathered all the energy of his planet. If he could defeat Luke, everything would return to his control, and Luke's body would be his greatest prize. But if he lost, he would drag Luke down with him.

"If you want me dead, don't overestimate yourself!" Luke's voice rang out. He raised his hand and, with the sheer power of his body, threw several powerful punches. Each blow shattered the energy blades into fragments, and the force continued, blasting a gaping tunnel straight to the core of Ego's planet.

"How hateful!" Ego roared, enraged as he saw the damage Luke had done to the planet he'd painstakingly built over millions of years. His energy body split into countless identical clones, each one charging at Luke with fists raised.

But Luke's form suddenly blurred, vanishing into a residual image.

"No!" Ego bellowed as he searched for Luke, only to feel something gripping his core brain. When he turned his focus, he saw a massive, terrifying black dragon, its enormous claws wrapped tightly around his brain.

"Rest in peace." The black dragon's voice rumbled, cold and indifferent, "I'll make good use of your body as my future kingdom. Even though your consciousness is gone, your body will be honored."

With a mere squeeze of its claws, the black dragon tore Ego's brain from his energy body. A moment later, a goat emerged from within the black dragon, latching onto Ego's brain and sucking it dry.

In an instant, the brain, still trembling moments before, grew still. The glowing nerves dimmed, and without even a final scream, all of Ego's energy avatars disintegrated.

As Ego's consciousness faded into oblivion, the entire planet grew silent—lifeless and deathly still.

"The death of your consciousness doesn't mark your end. Now, be reborn in another form!" Luke's voice echoed as he marked Ego's brain with his own energy and returned it to the planet's core. The dissipated energy began to reform, and the planet regained its vitality. But now, Ego was no longer in control—Luke was.

"From now on, this place will no longer be called Ego, but Apokolips." Luke declared, his voice filled with finality. He mused that since he had already absorbed half of Darkseid's Omega Effect with the help of his system, Darkseid probably wouldn't mind if he claimed the name of his former base as well.

Just as Luke proclaimed the new name to the planet below, the half of the Omega Effect he had absorbed began to stir within his body.

"Interesting… let's see what you want to do." Luke murmured, intrigued. He stopped suppressing the Omega Effect that had fused into his being.

Instantly, a dark red nebula surged out of Luke's body, hurtling into the planet's core.

The next second, a massive Omega symbol appeared on the surface of the planet. After marking the planet, the Omega Effect returned to Luke's body.

"The source of the Omega Effect is actually getting stronger. This is a pleasant surprise!" Luke marveled as he felt the half of the Omega Effect within him being replenished bit by bit.

"System, care to explain what's going on?" Luke called out, hoping for some clarification.

[Ding! What's there to explain? Maybe this system should just say you're a man of destiny, destined to stumble upon cosmic adventures with ease?]

"Uh, system, are you alright? I just want to understand what's happening, no need to be so dramatic."

For some reason, Luke sensed a hint of resentment in the cold, mechanical voice of the system. But surely, it was just his imagination.

[Ding! The system is busy. Please explore the situation on your own.]

The system gave one final, cold reminder before falling completely silent.

Luke tried asking a few more questions, but all he received was silence. Frustrated, he muttered, "What on earth is going on?"

He started to wonder if the system had been mocked by its peers—if such things even existed—because of his slow progress. Twenty years with the system, and while others would have become supreme rulers by now, he still hadn't broken through to the multidimensional level.

Although he had combat power beyond most multiverse masters, in terms of his life level, he was still only at the level of a single universe.

"I guess I need to work harder. I can't let my system lose face in whatever strange system world exists out there." Luke said to himself, determined to push forward.