Instant Kill

Mount Everest, in the Himalayas, could be considered the highest point on this planet.

Miss Stark had brought the coffin-bound Norrin Radd here because it was the place closest to the Star-Swarm on Earth. It was also a zone where human life struggled to survive, making it the ideal location to solve the impending threat of the Star-Swarm's invasion.

The temperature at Everest's summit, due to its unique altitude and atmospheric pressure, could drop to extreme lows. On certain days, it could fall as low as -80°C to -100°C. For ordinary people, such temperatures were deadly. Even experienced climbers who had undergone rigorous training needed to choose the right conditions and carry ample supplies to challenge this dangerous place, which stretched the limits of human endurance.

There was no way ordinary humans could survive in such extreme conditions, let alone remain unfazed like the two "monsters" who had suddenly appeared there. Their physical constitutions were drastically different from those of common mortals, allowing them to endure the freezing temperatures and low pressure with apparent ease.

Norrin Radd, being non-human, could endure the cold, though his metallic life form would slow in such low temperatures. But it wouldn't kill him.

As for Miss Stark—though she retained a human appearance, she no longer belonged to the category of ordinary humans.

The Extremis virus had infiltrated every one of her cells, transforming her into a giant version of the virus that merely maintained human form and thought. Low temperatures and low pressure, which would normally pose a threat to human bodies, no longer had any significance to her.

"This… this is impossible. But… how did you do it?"

Even Norrin Radd, still lying in the cryogenic coffin, could no longer remain calm. He was shocked by this power to shift the very world around them.

Miss Stark walked slowly over to the metal coffin, unlocking it to release Norrin Radd from his confines.

As soon as Norrin emerged, he collapsed to the ground. Despite the exterior cold, the inside of the coffin had been warm, and the outside conditions severely weakened his body, which was already drained of energy. He had no strength left to stand.

"Norrin Radd—while it was wrong of you to divert disaster to protect your own civilization, it was not shameful."

"I don't know how many civilizations were destroyed because of your decision, nor how many lives you're responsible for. Your hands are stained with blood, and you carry a tremendous debt. But now, I'll ask you one final time—are you willing to help me destroy the Star-Swarm, to atone for your past mistakes and reclaim your freedom, even if it costs you everything?"

As they spoke, the once-clear sky had unknowingly become overcast.

At the summit of Everest, such ominous clouds were rare. The Star-Swarm had already crossed the solar system, passed the eight planets, and reached the edges of Earth. The Star-Swarm was extending its tendrils, with nanomachine drones poised to devour the planet's energy.

Norrin, still kneeling on the ground, slowly lifted his head, looking at her before glancing at the dark clouds as the Star-Swarm approached Earth. A solemn expression crossed his face.

Miss Stark's expression remained serious, devoid of any hint of jest. He could feel the determination and confidence radiating from her. Though he didn't fully understand where her confidence came from, he was willing to trust her—to trust her and give himself a chance to break free of the chains of fate. Slowly, he nodded.

Seeing Norrin nod, Miss Stark smiled. She waved her hand, opening another space rift and summoning Norrin's silver surfboard.

The silver board traveled tens of thousands of miles from distant Africa to Everest's peak, where it now lay quietly beside Norrin. It seemed to await its master's command. Norrin looked at the board and placed his hand on it.

Immediately, a wave of energy surged through his body, coursing through his limbs before returning to the board. The mysterious cosmic energy reconnected Norrin with the surfboard, and his body began to regain its radiant metallic sheen.

Standing on the board, Norrin slowly ascended. As the board lifted him higher, he looked at the advancing Star-Swarm and then back at Miss Stark.

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to charge into the Star-Swarm's core—gather all your strength and create a black hole at its center."

Upon hearing Miss Stark's answer, Norrin's expression shifted dramatically.

A black hole at the Star-Swarm's core? Why hadn't he thought of that?

Miss Stark observed the changing expressions on Norrin's face and smiled again. She once more summoned the power of the Space Stone, pulling a stone box from the cargo hold of the Quinjet back in New York. The box contained an Asgardian treasure: the ancient Casket of Ancient Winters, a relic capable of freezing entire planets.

This was her plan: use the near-infinite power of the Casket of Ancient Winters to slow the Star-Swarm's advance, giving Norrin enough time to reach the Star-Swarm's core and unleash all his energy, creating a black hole to completely consume the Star-Swarm.

At this very moment, across the planet, a shocking sight appeared in the sky. First, the sun disappeared. The sky darkened under a thick layer of black clouds, which slowly pressed closer to the Earth. It seemed as though the world was losing its light, a prelude to an impending apocalypse, a scene that unfolded across every corner of the planet.

In London, at the locations where Norrin had opened passages to the planet's core, people on the streets looked up in astonishment. A tornado was descending from the sky, heading straight for the massive hole above the Thames.

Such an event was unheard of in London or anywhere in the UK—tornadoes weren't typical of the region, and this one was even stranger, as it writhed unnaturally. Similar occurrences were happening at every point where the planetary core passages had been opened.

The Star-Swarm cared nothing for the civilizations of the planets it consumed.

It only sought to gorge itself, prepare for the next conquest, and move on to the next verdant planet marked for devouring.

Back in Washington D.C., the lights flickered briefly before cutting out completely. A few seconds later, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s backup power kicked in. In his office, Nick Fury sat silently, his single eye fixed on the dark storm outside the window. Washington, the heart of the United States, was witnessing an inexplicable storm—this was no natural occurrence. The sudden blackout made that clear enough.

Only Nick Fury understood that the planet was now facing imminent destruction. Sitting quietly behind his desk, he held an old-fashioned communication device in his hand, wondering whether he should press it. Could it really connect to that woman across the stars?

Meanwhile, New York was also shrouded in dark clouds, though most people hadn't paid it much attention. Everyone assumed it was just a regular storm approaching.

Peter Parker, encased in his Spider suit, had just helped resolve a car accident in Brooklyn. Specifically, at the request of city workers, he assisted in freeing the injured from a vehicle that had been crushed and couldn't be opened due to the collision.

The sudden darkening of the sky surprised him. But when he looked up, he found himself at a loss for words.

At Stark Industries' headquarters, Obadiah Stane, acting CEO, had just concluded a board meeting and returned to his office.

The scene outside his window caught his attention as well, but it didn't seem to trouble him. It was just a storm—nothing to be overly concerned about.

In the outskirts of São Paulo, Brazil, a worn-looking factory worker in tattered overalls and glasses walked among his coworkers after finishing his shift.

As he strolled, he was reading a book on mechanical engineering, but suddenly, he bumped into someone ahead of him. He immediately lifted his head and apologized twice, but received no response.

The worker he'd run into seemed completely unfazed, standing there staring blankly at the sky.

The man with glasses looked around. Everyone else was also staring up at the sky, and this odd scene caused him to frown. He too lifted his gaze. What he saw—thick, oppressive black clouds overhead—gave him an unsettling feeling. His face turned pale.

The same scene was happening across every corner of the planet. Earth was now wrapped in the vast web of the Star-Swarm, covering everything. At this moment, atop the snowy mountain, Miss Stark stood facing the overwhelming numbers of the Star-Swarm, utterly unafraid.

What was there to fear? If things got too bad, she could simply use the power of the Reality Stone and erase the Star-Swarm from existence.

The only reason she was here in person was because she didn't want the Infinity Stones to ruin the challenge. She had already planned everything meticulously and didn't need to rely on the Infinity Stones to solve the problem of the Star-Swarm.

On the other hand, she also wanted to keep her possession of the Infinity Stones hidden, especially from a certain future foe—the Mad Titan, Thanos, who would bring death and destruction.

"Norrin, it's time for you to go—I'll handle the Star-Swarm's distractions. All you need to do is give it your best shot."

Upon hearing Miss Stark's words, Norrin Radd, standing on his silver board, glanced at her with a complicated expression, then slowly nodded.

In the next instant, he transformed into a silver streak of light, shooting up into the sky.

That silver beam pierced through the dark clouds overhead at incredible speed, heading straight toward the core of the Star-Swarm.

The Star-Swarm had been focused on feeding, extending tendrils formed from countless nanobots down into the passages, intent on reaching Earth's core and consuming it. It didn't pay much attention to one of its own returning to the hive mind—it merely assumed Norrin was coming back for a brief rest and to prepare for scouting the next planet.

However, Norrin's extreme speed did catch the Star-Swarm's attention. The core of the hive became momentarily confused, then suddenly realized what was happening. It hastily withdrew the tendrils it had sent deep into the planet and attempted to intercept Norrin Radd before he could breach the core.

"You won't succeed."

From the mountaintop, Miss Stark never took her eyes off the Star-Swarm's movements around Norrin.

At that moment, one of her eyes glowed with golden light, and her originally dark red pupils were now filled with bright yellow lines.

That eye had belonged to Heimdall, the guardian of Asgard. At Miss Stark's request, Odin had transferred a portion of Heimdall's powers to her, transforming one of her eyes into the all-seeing eye, capable of perceiving anything she desired to see.

As she spoke, she clenched her fist, and a golden symbol began to appear on her delicate hand. It was the mark of the Asgardian gods, and it was through this symbol that she was able to channel the power of the Casket of Ancient Winters.

Receiving Odin's permission to take one of Asgard's treasures out of their vault—along with borrowing Heimdall's eye—was no small feat. Even the queen of Asgard herself might not have had such authority. But Odin had granted Miss Stark's request.

Perhaps the old king of Asgard had his own plans for this relationship with Miss Stark.

Miss Stark's decision to align herself with Asgard had been calculated. She knew that forming such a bond would strengthen ties between Earth and Asgard, granting her deeper access to the core of Asgardian civilization.

The golden symbol of Asgard channeled energy into the Casket of Ancient Winters, causing the stone box to emit a strange light. Slowly, it floated into the air, and the lid opened just a crack.

The Casket of Ancient Winters was once the ultimate treasure of the Frost Giants. It had frozen their world, Jotunheim, turning it into a barren, icy wasteland before falling into Odin's hands, where it became one of Asgard's treasures.

The Star-Swarm, composed of nanobot units, was impervious to the heat of a star, but cold was a different matter. With its power to freeze entire planets, the ancient frost from the Casket surged into the sky, directed by the golden mark of the Asgardian gods. Soon, black rain began to fall—frozen pieces of the Star-Swarm's nanobots, dropping from the sky like snow.

The core of the Star-Swarm had now realized something was wrong. The servant it had chosen had betrayed it.

Unfortunately, the Star-Swarm's efforts to respond were too slow. With the Casket of Ancient Winters' endless freezing power enveloping the Star-Swarm, it couldn't stop Norrin Radd from breaking through the defenses and reaching the core.

"I will never serve you again—we will meet our end together."

Norrin halted his advance and stared at the Star-Swarm's core, which pulsed like molten lava. Slowly, he curled his body inward, drawing on the boundless cosmic energy contained within his silver surfboard. Using himself as the epicenter, he unleashed an explosion of energy akin to a supernova.

At the core of the massive energy burst, Norrin Radd was like a newborn star, experiencing its entire life cycle from birth to death in an instant.

The violent energy explosion devoured most of the Star-Swarm, and then a pure black void appeared at the center—a black hole connecting to the depths of the universe. The immense gravitational pull dragged the Star-Swarm into the void, along with the freezing power of the Casket of Ancient Winters, until nothing remained.

This was Miss Stark's final plan—to banish the Star-Swarm to the outer reaches of the universe, where they would find no energy to consume and would become nothing more than cosmic dust.

As the black hole collapsed, consuming the Star-Swarm, Miss Stark used the power of the Reality Stone to wipe it away effortlessly. She couldn't risk leaving a black hole that might destabilize Earth's delicate balance.

Norrin Radd's final trace vanished, but at least he had proven himself in the end, making amends for the countless debts of blood he had incurred.

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