Into the space rift

The dragon's roar reverberated through space, a chilling sound that rattled even the seasoned Nova Corps pilots still hanging on by a thread. Jack steadied his breath, narrowing his eyes as the enormous creature began its descent toward the battlefield. Its massive wings, dripping with symbiote goo, cast a dark shadow across Xandar. The beast's sheer size dwarfed everything else, making the symbiote horde seem like mere ants in comparison.

Jack clenched his fists, his golden energy flaring back to life. He was exhausted, but there was no time to rest. The battle wasn't over.

"Nova Corps, fall back!" Jack shouted through his comms. "This one's on me."

"Jack, are you insane?" Irani's voice crackled with alarm. "That thing is too big for anyone to take on alone! Wait for backup!"

"No time!" Jack shot back, eyes locked on the symbiote-dragon. "If I don't stop it here, Xandar's toast. Just get those sonic weapons ready!"

With that, Jack blasted forward, leaving a golden trail of light in his wake. The dragon's glowing red eyes snapped toward him, tracking his every move. Its maw opened wide, and a torrent of black, fiery energy shot out, heading straight for Jack.

He twisted his body in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the blast by a few inches. The energy tore through space behind him, disintegrating everything in its path. A couple of jets vaporized instantly. Jack gritted his teeth, charging toward the dragon's head. He threw a powerful punch, his fist glowing with cosmic energy, aiming right between its glowing red eyes.

But the dragon was fast. Faster than he anticipated.

One of its massive tendrils shot out from its back, wrapping around Jack's arm just before he could make contact. The force of the tendril's grip sent a jolt of pain through his body as it tightened, dragging him closer to the beast.

"Not so fast, ugly!" Jack snarled, channeling energy into his arm. He unleashed a burst of power with a roar, blowing the tendril apart and freeing himself.

The dragon screeched, flinging its massive tail toward him. Jack barely had time to dodge as the tail came crashing down like a whip, slicing through space and sending shockwaves that rippled across the space. He looked back and noticed the remaining Nova jets falling back inside the energy dome.

"Keep at it, Jack!" Irani's voice came through. "The sonic cannons are en route! Just hang on!"

"Yeah, easier said than done!" Jack muttered, eyes flicking up to the dragon's head. He needed to end this quickly before the symbiotes could recover their numbers.

The dragon let out another roar, its wings spreading wide as it began charging a massive blast of symbiote energy in its maw. Red and black light swirled together, creating a vortex of destructive power.

Jack's eyes widened. He couldn't let that thing fire. If it did, it would wipe out half the Nova Corps and devastate Xandar's defenses.

"Time to turn up the heat," Jack muttered, his body glowing brighter as he gathered every ounce of cosmic energy he had left. He shot straight up into the air, gaining distance from the dragon, and then, with a roar of his own, he dived back down, fists blazing with golden light.

The dragon's head snapped toward him, the energy in its mouth reaching critical mass. Jack pushed harder, faster, his body becoming a streak of light as he aimed for the beast's throat.

Just as the dragon unleashed its devastating attack, Jack reached it. He slammed his fists together, releasing a massive wave of golden energy that collided with the symbiote blast. The two forces met in mid-air, a clash of light and darkness, creating massive shockwaves.

For a moment, everything was still.

Then, with a deafening explosion, the two energies detonated, sending shockwaves across the battlefield. Jack was hurled backward, tumbling through space as the force of the blast knocked the wind out of him.

The dragon, too, was thrown back, its body writhing as the symbiote goo covering it sizzled under the force of Jack's attack. But it wasn't done yet.

With a roar, the dragon spread its wings again, shaking off the remnants of the explosion. Black tendrils lashed out in every direction, some targeting Jack, others aiming for the barrier.

Jack groaned, forcing himself to balance upright in space, his body aching from the intense battle. But before he could act, a new fleet of Nova Corps ships surged forward, flanking him on both sides. These ships were equipped with the sonic cannons Irani had promised, their sleek forms cutting through the void.

"Jack, we've got your back!" a pilot's voice crackled through his comms. "Firing sonic disruptors now!"

The ships lined up in formation, their cannons glowing with a pale blue light. In unison, they fired, unleashing powerful sonic waves that rippled through space. The sound waves tore into the symbiote-dragon, disrupting its connection to the symbiote goo clinging to its body. The black tendrils spasmed, twitching uncontrollably as the creature let out a guttural screech, momentarily stunned by the attack.

Jack's eyes narrowed. This was his chance.

He took a deep breath, feeling the cosmic energy within him flare as he pushed past his limits. The golden light that surrounded him intensified, but he needed more. He needed to tap into the ultimate form.

"Alright, no holding back," Jack muttered, his voice tense. He closed his eyes for a brief second, summoning the deepest reserves of power inside him. To his surprise, his body was absorbing energy from the surroundings, replenishing his lost energy. His body erupted into a brilliant, blinding glow, his form enveloped by pure cosmic energy. His hair stood on end, his eyes glowing with a fierce yellow light.

He had entered Binary Mode.

Jack's entire body pulsed with raw power, and in an instant, he shot forward like a comet, a streak of radiant energy cutting across the battlefield. The stunned dragon struggled to recover, its symbiote tendrils flailing wildly, but Jack was too fast. He moved with blinding speed, weaving between the dragon's attacks with ease.

The air crackled with power as Jack darted around the creature, gathering momentum. With a roar, he charged straight for the dragon's chest, the place where he had seen the symbiote goo was most concentrated. His fists, blazing with cosmic energy, slammed into the creature's core.

The impact was devastating.

A massive shockwave erupted from the point of contact, sending ripples of energy across the battlefield. The symbiote-dragon let out a roar of agony, its massive body convulsing as the force of Jack's attack tore through its corrupted form. Black tendrils disintegrated under the intense heat of Jack's energy, and the symbiote goo that had bonded with the dragon began to melt away, vaporizing into nothingness.

But Jack wasn't done.

In Binary Mode, he could feel the power coursing through his veins, endless and unrelenting. He clenched his fists, gathering even more energy, and with a final, earth-shattering roar, he unleashed a concentrated beam of golden light directly into the dragon's chest. The beam ripped through the creature's body, burning away the last remnants of the symbiote infection, and pierced space beyond, continuing its destructive course.

"Motherfucking bastard! I'm gonna burn you to ashes!" Jack aimed his fist at the falling dragon and unleashed a concentrated energy beam at the beast, turning it into ashes within seconds.

"Jack… you did it," Irani's voice came through the comms, disbelief, and relief mingling in her tone. "You actually did it."

"No... Hufff! Not yet," His eyes went toward the space crack where Carol was fighting to destroy the High Evolutionary's base. But there were too many symbiotes rushing at her, preventing her from pushing forward toward the base. The remaining symbiotes outside, also rushed back into the space crack, going after Carol. "Tsk. I'm going in."

"Remember what I told you back then?" Nebula's voice came through the comms. "I'm gonna kill you if you leave me. So, whatever you do, don't die and leave me here."

"Die? Me?! Why the hell would I die?" Jack chuckled and darted straight into the space crack. Inside, his eyes were greeted with a warzone, unlike anything he had seen before.

Symbiotes swarmed like hornets, biting and slashing at everything in their path. And to his surprise, the energy density inside was way too thin to absorb and continuously replenish his energy supply. So, the continuous use of his ultimate form won't last long.

'No wonder, she was struggling so much,' He thought. His eyes locked onto the giant planet before him where the High Evolutionary's base lay hidden. But in order to reach it, he had to wade his way through millions upon millions of symbiotes. The endless horde stretched out in all directions. A swarm so massive it blotted out the light as if the sun had gone dark and they were lost in a sea of eternal night.

"CAROL!" Jack yelled. "OPEN A WAY FOR ME! I'LL END THIS IN AN INSTANT!"

Without saying anything, she nodded and took control of one of the huge space rocks. Then, she flung the huge asteroid-sized rock right into the sea of symbiotes, breaking the horde apart into thousands of smaller hordes.