In the cosmic rift, where two suns intertwined, terrifying heat birthed a swarm of menacing black holes.
The sunspots unleashed unrestrained chaos across the universe. The power of the Infinity Stones could shield against the immense gravity of the black holes, and though the Godslayer Armor in the main universe was paralyzed, the absolute darkness absorbed all light and heat, giving Tony and the others a moment to breathe.
Then, in the disbelieving gazes of all, the God of Symbiotes, momentarily freed from the dark abyss, vanished into the sun nurturing the Celestial in a blink.
Buzz~
BOOM~~~
In an instant, the sun swelled and contracted, the newborn Celestial's terrified screams erupting from within.
"No!!"
It was one of the Celestial's latest experiments, a seed injected into the sun to absorb endless light and heat, along with the life force of the entire solar system. Once born, it would be the Celestial's hope.
Grown in destructive power, it was destined to be a force of pure annihilation, forsaking the creative powers of the Celestials to focus solely on destruction.
It was meant to be a supreme weapon of the Celestial Host, meant to crush any who dared challenge divine rule.
It could have had a radiant future, but now, through Spider-Man's unintended actions, it was consumed by darkness.
The God of Symbiotes, who despised light above all, would never spare a Celestial—especially one so intriguing.
Knull had never encountered a destruction-focused Celestial born from a sun.
It had been ages since he last slaughtered a Celestial, and he'd nearly forgotten the thrill.
That feeling… like morning rage.
He still recalled his first encounter with the Celestial Host.
They had disturbed his slumber, and they paid a heavy price.
That was when the feud between the Celestial Host and the God of Symbiotes began.
…
While Knull devoured the Celestial, Charlie hastened to drag the "sun" formed from the Fire Giant back to the main universe's solar system center with golden webbing.
With Captain Universe Spider-Man's assistance, the sun was restored to its place, and the anomalies from the sun transfer were gradually smoothed out by the Enigma Force.
Both universes settled into calm, as if no disaster had occurred.
But Charlie knew the real catastrophe was just beginning!
BOOM!!
The sun in the cosmic rift was slowly consumed by endless darkness. The newborn Celestial unleashed its final burst of power, but it couldn't resist the dark force.
"He's done for!" Odin's face was grim. "I can sense this is just a fragment of its power, yet it's still so terrifying. Its divine strength hasn't weakened over eons."
From the moment Knull's power emerged, Odin knew who it was.
Charlie took a deep breath. "Looks like the true spark of Ragnarök is this guy."
"Spider-Man, the real spark is you," Fin Fang Foom's voice chimed in again.
He continued, "If you hadn't initiated the sun-swap plan, Knull wouldn't have discovered the Gene Lock hidden in this universe, and Gwen wouldn't have been controlled by him again."
Charlie: "…"
"Alright, the more I do, the more I mess up. Doing nothing would've been better. I'm not cut out to slack off."
He shrugged, about to rally his team to stop Knull.
But Fin Fang Foom spoke again. "No use. Even if it's just a fraction of Knull's power, you can't beat him. Ragnarök has begun, and he has the advantage."
Charlie frowned. "Got any advice?" He knew Fin Fang Foom had more to say.
Sure enough, Fin Fang Foom replied, "Find the Chronicle of Ages. Erase the God of Symbiotes from cosmic history. That's the only way to stop this disaster."
"The Chronicle of Ages?"
Odin froze.
He'd never heard of such a thing.
How could that be?
Was there a power in the universe even he didn't know about?
Charlie didn't explain, his mouth twitching. "Forget whether that thing would even work here. Even if it did, there's no time now."
"You have no choice."
"Who says I don't?"
Charlie glanced at the golden pistol at his waist, a faint smile forming.
A message flashed before his eyes.
[You played the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and defeated the Inheritor Family, earning a Super Free Resurrection Match x1.]
[Super Free Resurrection Match: Lock onto a target to force them into the Resurrection Match, while you can choose to opt out.]
When he first saw this, Charlie had a plan.
It was like temporarily sealing a powerful enemy in the Resurrection Match's world.
Fin Fang Foom's appearance had almost prompted him to use it.
But as events unfolded, he realized Fin Fang Foom wasn't much of a threat, so he didn't waste the precious opportunity.
Before Knull appeared, his target was the seemingly invincible Doctor Doom.
But Doom never showed, leaving no chance to use the Super Free Resurrection Match.
Now, with just a fragment of Knull's power being this terrifying, Charlie had to make a choice.
And it differed from his earlier plan.
Why opt out of the Resurrection Match?
He wasn't fighting alone!
As he locked onto Knull, the cosmic rift flared with another anomaly.
BOOM!!
A hammer the size of a planet smashed through the cosmic barrier, striking the endless darkness.
"It's that old guy!" Carter frowned.
Charlie shook his head. "No, not the old man. His hammer's not that big."
"Right, Little Spider gets me."
Under the planet-sized hammer's impact, Elderly Steve retreated in a panic, hiding behind Odin and trembling.
"Allfather, protect me!"
Odin: "…"
Ignoring Steve's fear, he gazed at the massive figure that appeared in the cosmos.
"A Celestial! An armed Celestial!" His face was grave.
Charlie nodded. "A fully mature Celestial!"
During the Kang Dynasty war, he'd nearly been taken out by a mature Celestial.
Now, as the sun's Celestial was about to be devoured by Knull, more mature Celestials appeared.
And not just one!
BOOM!
A terrifying cosmic storm erupted, and the cold void filled with vast, illusory figures.
Celestial heads bloomed with radiant starlight in the darkness, stretching endlessly.
So many Celestials appearing at once tore the cosmic rift apart, beyond even the Infinity Stones' ability to repair.
Because Celestials were more attuned to the Infinity Stones' power than any other being, able to control them!
Buzz~
As the Infinity Gauntlet's gems flew into the hands of the lead Celestial, Knull's endless darkness was enveloped in light.
They aimed to trap Knull within the Infinity Stones' power.
But even a fragment of Knull's power was far beyond the Celestial Host's reach.
Humm!!
Blood-red sword light flashed in the void, and Charlie lost his connection to the All-Black Necrosword.
"Knull's getting serious!"
As Charlie's eyes narrowed, Knull's laughter echoed from the darkness.
"Excellent! My sword hungers!"
Humm!!
The blood-red sword light sliced through the Infinity Stones' barrier, effortlessly breaking the Celestial Host's containment.
The sun's Celestial exploded, its endless light and heat forming a galaxy that surged into the blood-red Necrosword. Vengeance flames roared, and in Knull's hands, the All-Black Necrosword unleashed its true power.
BOOM!!!
The planet-sized hammer caught fire with vengeance flames, melting visibly. The Celestials recoiled in shock, retreating.
"It's the Fire of Vengeance!"
"Damn God of Symbiotes! His Necrosword is even more terrifying than billions of years ago!"
"Flee! His power won't last long. As long as he can't break his seal, he's no threat to us."
"Test Subject 01 is dead. We must leave…"
The Fire of Vengeance swept across the cosmic rift, and the vast Celestial figures vanished one by one.
Failing to slaughter the Celestials, Knull roared, "Damn it, when I break my seal, you're all dead!!"
He recalled the vengeance flames and, wielding the All-Black Necrosword, turned his scarlet eyes toward Earth, locking onto Eddie in the crowd.
Gagaga! "Gene Lock, you're mine!!"
Buzz!!
Space warped, and absolute darkness surged toward Earth.
A blood-red void trench formed in the sky. Just as Knull was about to seize Eddie, radiant golden webbing dragged the blood-red energy back.
In the crowd, Eddie stared at Knull's terrifying face inches away. Both he and his symbiote trembled, their souls on the verge of annihilation.
Knull grinned, turning to the golden Spider-Man behind him.
"Heh, almost forgot my favorite Spider-Man!"
He swung his sword, tearing the void. The golden Spider-Man raised a fist, golden webbing forming a supreme punch that slammed down.
Humm~
Sizzle sizzle sizzle~~
Blood-red sword light clashed with the golden fist, sparking cosmic fireworks. The massive energy threatened to obliterate half the city.
But golden webbing enveloped everything, absorbing the energy and forming a web arena in the sky.
On the arena, the golden Spider-Man beckoned Knull with a taunting finger.
Knull's smile turned cruel. "You sure you want to take out your friend?"
His pale face morphed into Gwen's.
He expected a reaction from Charlie.
But he was disappointed.
BOOM!!
The golden Spider-Man charged as a streak of light. Knull swept his sword, vengeance flames scorching everything.
Whoosh~~
In a second, the golden Spider-Man was burned to ash.
Before Knull could sneer, the golden webbing trembled, and the golden Spider-Man reformed from the light.
Knull paused, intrigued.
"Interesting clone. Shame I don't have time to play."
He turned into a dark shadow, slipping from the web arena and appearing at Eddie's feet.
"Got you!"
His skeletal hand grabbed Eddie's ankle, but the next moment, his vision went black, and he lost control of Gwen's body.
As a dark shadow, he wandered unfamiliar streets, eyeing passersby.
He didn't know what happened.
But soon, he understood.
A strange message appeared before him.
[Scene World: The Boys]
[Task 1: Destroy the World.]
[Task 2: Save the World.]
[Reward: Resurrection Slot x1]
[Failure Penalty: Become the Victor's Trophy.]
[Participants: Charlie Parker (Clone), Knull (Clone), Peter Parker x3, Kang the Conqueror, Nova, Clark Kent, Zod, Fiora]
[Time Limit: 24 Hours]
Knull laughed. "Not bad, Invincible Spider-Man! Playing like this? I'm thrilled, so thrilled!!"
He possessed a passerby, and the All-Black Necrosword erupted in blood-red light.
Humm!!
BOOM!!
The sword light shattered a building, and Knull soared, howling.
Hahaha! "Spider-Man, let's fight!!"
…
Dark Abyss.
Knull's eyes snapped open, his boundless malice making the symbiote dragons in the abyss wail in terror.
Soon, he reined in his anger, grinning.
"The power weaving life and death—that's the force behind Spider-Man, huh?
Interesting. Very interesting.
But too bad, even a fragment of my power is a nightmare that crushes all gods!"
He awaited his clone's return.
…
Meanwhile, in Symbiote Tony's universe, Knull's sudden disappearance left Eddie shaken.
Without a second thought, he vanished into the crowd.
At Stark Tower, Charlie glanced at the fleeing Eddie and paid him no mind.
Elderly Steve looked surprised. "You used it?"
Charlie nodded. "Yup."
"Then why are you still here?" Carter asked, puzzled.
Charlie shrugged. "That's a secret."
He'd opted out of the Resurrection Match but sent his clone to maximize his advantage.
He couldn't let Knull wreak havoc in the Resurrection Match world and win it easily, could he?
He opened a portal, and a weakened Gwen stepped out.
She looked at Charlie with complex emotions, then lowered her head.
"I'm sorry… Knull glimpsed my memories. He knows the secret of the Resurrection Match and how to deal with you."
Charlie hugged her gently, comforting her. "It's okay. At least his power's fully gone from you."
He'd locked onto Knull's clone, not his true body.
Knull's true body was still sealed, unlikely to trigger Ragnarök again soon.
The clone had to be dealt with this way.
If Knull's true body entered the Resurrection Match, it'd be game over.
As for the Resurrection Match's situation…
Charlie sensed a gaze from somewhere.
He looked to the sky, eyes narrowing.
That guy hadn't shown up until now, waiting for him here.
Classic Doctor Doom—immensely powerful yet insanely cautious.
To force out Charlie's trump card, he'd held back.
In the vast cosmos, a massive shadow loomed over the tiny Earth.
It was time to unleash the Battleworld.
This was the true Ragnarök!