All destroyed?
Because of one person?
"Who exactly are you?!"
At this moment, Ronan's eyes were a mix of rage and fear, his face contorted and grotesque, unable to believe the scene before him.
Syd glanced at him briefly, then without further ado, reached out and grasped the Power Stone.
Instantly, a surge of destructive energy began to seep into his body, and purple light spread across him.
However, the energy from the Power Stone quickly met resistance from his divine physiology and internal energy, and was temporarily suppressed.
In the blink of an eye, Syd's body returned to its normal state.
Seeing someone endure such energy, Ronan was stunned.
Such a terrifying power, capable of easily annihilating life, was effortlessly withstood by this individual?
What kind of being is this?
"You're definitely not an ordinary person. Who are you?!"
Ronan shouted in disbelief.
He knew that even if he could endure such power, he wouldn't be so unaffected.
In fact, he would need to embed the stone into a weapon to wield its power properly.
And this person…
Ronan understood what this meant.
This person's constitution was terrifyingly strong!
It was even possible that all four Infinity Stones could be controlled by him.
At this moment, his confidence in his own strength began to shatter.
How could the difference between people be so vast?
Ronan's face twisted with jealousy and frustration.
But he wouldn't have time to ponder this for long.
In the air.
Observing Ronan below and feeling the power within him, Syd tightened his grip on the Power Stone and unleashed its energy.
Boom!
Under the gazes of many, a massive wave of purple energy shot towards Ronan.
Ronan tried to dodge, but before he could move very far, the purple energy wave struck him.
"No!"
Ronan screamed.
At that moment, he was engulfed by the purple energy, and despite his constitution, he couldn't withstand it for long. As the destructive force made contact, his body began to disintegrate.
Maybe…
He shouldn't have come here…
In his final moments, Ronan thought with despair and regret.
The next second, he turned to ashes and vanished.
Watching this horrifying scene, Star-Lord and the others were struck dumb.
"So this is the power of the Infinity Stones?"
"It's truly terrifying…"
But what scared them even more than the purple stone was the person wielding it.
The powers he demonstrated seemed even more astonishing than the stones themselves.
After all, even without using the stones, he could easily have wiped out Ronan's forces, and possibly Ronan himself.
Isn't that frightening enough?
With Ronan gone, Syd pondered.
With Ronan dead and the Power Stone in hand, it was time to leave.
As for Star-Lord and the others, without Ronan, they would naturally avoid the issue of losing team members, and the story would get back on track. They would form the Guardians of the Galaxy and pursue their dual role of vigilante and ally.
The journey had been worthwhile, but it was time to depart.
Moreover, he needed to return and examine the black stone artifact alone.
Setting aside the Power Stone, Syd now held the blue Tesseract.
The Tesseract emitted a brilliant blue light.
Looking at Star-Lord and the others, Syd said softly, "I hope we meet again someday."
With that mysterious remark, he was enveloped in blue light and vanished from sight.
Star-Lord and the others stared in disbelief, not understanding what had just happened.
"That's the power of the Space Stone. He must have left this barren place; you don't need to search for him."
Tivan shook his head, his voice tinged with regret.
He glanced at the nearby buildings reduced to rubble and felt a pang of heartache.
"My collection!"
He had suffered a great loss.
Hearing Tivan's words, Star-Lord and the others finally understood, their emotions complex.
"Having someone like that around and suddenly disappearing, it's hard to get used to," Star-Lord remarked.
"It's for the best. That person was too dangerous," Gamora comforted.
Not only was he dangerous himself, but everything associated with him was perilous as well.
She couldn't imagine the chaos if he had stayed with them.
At that moment, they heard Tivan's puzzled murmurs, "Who exactly is this mysterious figure…"
Just like Ronan's dying words, this person was definitely no ordinary being!
"White-Cloaked Hero?"
"Is there such a person?"
Tivan recalled the initial encounter when the mysterious figure had referred to himself as the "White-Cloaked Hero," saying that some people called him that.
Hearing Tivan's musing, a light bulb went off in Star-Lord's mind, and he suddenly connected the dots.
"White-Cloaked Hero?" Star-Lord muttered.
"What's up, Quill?" Rocket Raccoon and the others looked at him, puzzled by his contemplative expression.
Suddenly, they heard Star-Lord's exclamation, "Could it be that White-Cloaked Hero?"
Tivan and the others were confused.
Before they could ask, Star-Lord explained.
"Not long ago, there was a rumor that two powerful beings had appeared on my home planet, Terra. One was called the Messiah and the other the White-Cloaked Hero."
Rocket Raccoon and the others were astonished.
Quill's home planet?
How powerful were these beings?
Then, they heard Star-Lord's amazed comments.
"The rumor said one could instantly destroy a city, and the other could easily erase countless lives…"
At these words, Gamora and the others were immediately shocked.
"What? Instantly destroy a city?"
"Easily erase countless lives?"
Such powerful beings exist?
Rocket Raccoon couldn't believe it.
Seeing their expressions, Star-Lord sighed, "At the time, I thought the same as you, and didn't believe it."
"After all, my home planet, Terra, is just a small, weak planet. It seemed absurd to think such powerful beings could exist. I thought it was just a ridiculous rumor."
"Whether from my childhood memories or the Earth data I've seen over the years, I found it hard to believe…"
"I even thought the person spreading the rumor was out of their mind and needed a psychiatrist!"
"But now…"
Star-Lord's voice trailed off, leaving his thought unfinished.
Although he didn't complete his sentence, Rocket Raccoon and the others knew what he was implying.
(End of Chapter)