God as my witness!
Hawk thought Ego would be easy to kill, but he didn't expect it to be this easy.
But...
On second thought, it all seems reasonable.
After all, life level is life level, and strength is strength.
Just like Mephisto.
He's a Dimension God, sure, but when Mephisto gets fierce, he can rip apart the average Celestial God with his bare hands.
As for Ego?
Let me put it this way.
This is a Celestial God who, in the original story, could be killed by a bomb.
Yes.
A bomb.
So for a Celestial God that could be killed by a bomb in the original story, Hawk knew from the start it would be easy to kill him. But only after taking action did he realize calling it "easy" was overestimating Ego.
In one word.
After Ego's true form was exposed, he was like a lamb to the slaughter.
Hawk looked at Ego's true form and couldn't help but sigh.
"It's a miracle you've lived this long!"
"A truly unbelievable miracle!"
Logically speaking, Ego had lived many years, but in the end, this guy's true form had no protection other than a shell that couldn't be pried open by mortal hands.
If three burrows are needed for a cunning rabbit, you'd think there'd be at least one for this guy.
So...
To prevent Ego from playing any tricks, Hawk directly teleported Star-Lord over.
Then!
After confirming Star-Lord inherited Ego's life energy, he made the final confirmation.
The Ego before him was indeed the only true form of Ego.
No other branches, only this one.
Hawk felt a little dazed.
After all—
Fighting a Celestial God gave him a feeling that was easier and more straightforward than fighting Hydra.
Ego, with his brain-like true form, seemed to break down after Hawk's statement.
He subconsciously started to glow red.
Glowing red.
Glowing red.
Ego wanted to self-destruct!
Hawk raised an eyebrow, and his fingertip tapped on Ego's true form once again.
Bang!
Losing his body, Ego felt as if something hit his brain heavily, instantly seeing stars and feeling dizzy.
"Thinking of self-destructing now? Too late!"
Hawk chuckled and then glanced at Star-Lord, who he had teleported beside him, with a slight smile: "Peter, do you want to become a Celestial God?"
Star-Lord snapped back, first turning to look 100 kilometers away at the Enterprise, then at the brain matter before him, before looking up at Hawk, confused.
"What?"
"Do you want to become a Celestial God?"
Hawk asked once more, smiling at Star-Lord: "You have the bloodline of a Celestial God. I can help you become a Celestial God. Do you want that?"
He had just ventured into Ego's true form, obtaining almost everything he wanted.
As for Ego himself?
Such a pathetic Celestial God was simply not worth Hawk's interest.
But the point of crossing worlds is transformation of the storyline.
And!
He was already here.
So...
As long as Star-Lord uttered a word, Hawk wouldn't mind helping him become a true Celestial God.
But!
When Star-Lord came to his senses, he seemed to see Ego, practically lifeless among the brain matter, and a look of undisguised disgust appeared on his face.
"To become like him? I'd rather die."
Initially, learning he had demigod bloodline made him very happy.
But after finding out the cause of his mother's death, he felt nothing but profound disgust toward Ego.
Don't want to become a Celestial God?
How can that be allowed?
If I didn't have this thought, fine, but I've already thought about it, and you say you don't want it?
Hawk's lips curved upward.
"Gamora is Thanos's adopted daughter."
"Hmm?"
Star-Lord heard this and instinctively looked at Hawk.
Hawk smiled and said: "Mortals might fear Thanos, but Celestial Gods aren't afraid of Thanos. So, Peter, are you sure you don't want to become a Celestial God?"
Star-Lord looked at Hawk, smiling, thinking of Gamora and instinctively swallowed hard.
"What do I do?"
"Very simple."
Hawk responded, smiling brightly, then pointed his right finger, placing it on Star-Lord's forehead, and his voice echoed in Star-Lord's ear.
"Just die, and you're good."
"Boom!"
Star-Lord's body exploded instantly, and then a ghostly blue soul emerged.
Hawk then stuffed Star-Lord's soul directly into Ego's true form: "Kill him, and you'll be the new Celestial God."
Yes.
The only way for Star-Lord to become a Celestial God is to kill Ego, then Star-Lord will be the new Celestial God.
Is Star-Lord willing to kill Ego?
The answer is a definite yes.
Once again, never challenge a child raised in a single-parent family; they deeply cherish their dependent mother.
When Ego told Star-Lord that he planted the cancer in his mother's brain, it destined Thanos to be just a name, while Star-Lord was the real killer of dads.
Without hesitation, in the moment he saw Ego, Star-Lord's eyes turned red and he lunged forward.
Hawk felt the sight of Ego's death and couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.
The next second.
Hawk regained his senses and communicated with Star-Lord inside the brain tissue.
"Focus your mind!"
"Your life energy inherits Ego, so it won't reject you. What you need to do is let your thoughts fill every corner of it, completely replacing Ego."
"Hurry."
"Wait!"
Listening to Hawk's voice, Star-Lord panicked: "I don't know how."
Hearing this, Hawk laughed.
"If you don't know, just wait for it to shrink."
"What happens if it shrinks?"
"You'll die!"
"Wait, who dies?"
"Of course you, it's not going to be me."
"Damn it."
Listening to these words, Star-Lord was completely defenseless. While instinctively swearing at Hawk, he unknowingly replaced the rapidly dissipating Ego with his own thoughts.
Meanwhile, Hawk blocked out Star-Lord's barking and at that moment released the Seventh Sense, then slowly closed his eyes.
Even if the Celestial Gods are disappointing, they are still Celestial Gods.
So...
Hawk indeed wanted to help Star-Lord replace Ego and become the new Celestial God, but it's not just to change the plot. More importantly, he wanted to experience his own Eighth Sense during Star-Lord's transformation into the new Celestial God.
One hundred kilometers away, on the Enterprise.
Gamora frowned, looking at Gwen: "Why are you helping Peter become the new Celestial God?"
Lying back in the captain's chair, Gwen smiled at Gamora and said, "My husband used to say, 'To kill you, what's it to you?' So, you ask me why he's doing this, I can't answer that."
To kill you, what's it to you!
Such a heavy murderous intent.
Gamora was startled by these words, then looked at Hawk on the screen, closed-eyed, and at that brain tissue, took a deep breath and looked at Gwen: "If anything happens to Peter, I won't spare you."
Gwen made a shushing gesture toward Gamora.
Gamora frowned.
Gwen smiled and said, "Don't say that again. I don't mind, but my husband minds people threatening me. If he hears that, he'll kill you."
As they spoke.
On the big screen, the brain tissue beside Hawk suddenly emitted a bluish glow.
Hawk slowly opened his eyes and communicated with Star-Lord, instructing Peter.
Following closely, a bluish light rushed out from the top of the brain tissue, and then, a figure composed entirely of bluish energy slowly emerged.
The figure's appearance became clearer and clearer.
It's Star-Lord.
No.
It should be Celestial God Star-Lord now.
"Wow!"
Celestial God Star-Lord raised his hand, looking at his arm slowly materializing with Celestial God Energy, then at the universe visible without any protective equipment, instinctively taking a deep breath: "Wait, does the universe have oxygen?"
Hawk laughed.
"You're inhaling your energy. Now, come down, deliver Buddha to the west, I'm helping you with the final task."
"What?"
"Do you plan to do the same as Ego, spending millions of years continuing to condense into a planet?"
"..."
Celestial God Star-Lord, hearing this, left the brain tissue and, like Hawk, stood beside him in mid-air.
Swoosh!
Behind Hawk, Fire Phoenix spread its wings, and the scorching Phoenix Fire appeared with a boom in all directions of the brain tissue.
As everyone knows.
Phoenix Fire is not only Nirvana Fire but also the Fire of Life.
With the continuous roasting of Phoenix Fire, the brain tissue, as large as a stellar core, started to contract and purify.
Under the gaze of Celestial God Star-Lord, the large brain tissue gradually vanished, replaced by an amulet.
An amulet formed as one piece from the burning brain tissue.
Hawk withdrew the Phoenix Fire, and when Celestial God Star-Lord took that somewhat large amulet after the burn, he said, "Alright then, protect your body well. As long as your body is immortal, you are a Celestial God."
Star-Lord instinctively looked at Hawk upon hearing this.
"What if I'm dead?"
"Haha."
Hearing this, Hawk smiled silently, glanced at Star-Lord, then turned around and vanished with a swishing sound.
Seeing this, Celestial God Star-Lord called out for Hawk to wait, then swam toward the Enterprise a hundred kilometers away like a newborn Celestial God.
Hawk, having returned to Enterprise, glanced at Celestial God Star-Lord swimming in the cosmos like a big chubby fish, his mouth twitched, and he looked at Gwen: "I'm already a bit regretting helping him become a Celestial God."
Gwen enjoyed watching Star-Lord switch to dog paddle style and shrugged: "I find it quite amusing."
Gamora instinctively covered her face.
Rocket Raccoon also covered its cheeks with its paws.
Beside them, Yondu watched Star-Lord's dog paddle, seemingly remembering: "When he was little, no matter how I taught him to swim, he couldn't change this dog paddle habit."
Hawk looked at Celestial God Star-Lord dog-paddling, feeling like it would take forever to get dark, shook his head, and with a thought, directly teleported Star-Lord back to Enterprise.
Thud!
Celestial God Star-Lord, who felt he was getting more proficient at paddling, landed directly on the floor.
Still maintaining the dog paddle posture.
...