[Gamora and Nebula lay flat on the rapidly rising stone pillars, which were carrying them swiftly toward the surface with tremendous upward momentum.]
[But just when they were about to reach the safety of ground level, the stone pillars suddenly changed direction and crashed directly into the solid cliff walls with devastating force. It was painfully obvious that Ego had discovered their presence and was now actively attempting to crush them to death.]
[Rocket flew desperately through the air, using his jetpack to maintain altitude while constantly firing his weapons at Ego's writhing organic tentacles and shooting at the god with everything he had.]
[Star-Lord lay sprawled on the rocky ground, feeling physically weak and disoriented after being violently knocked away by Ego's cosmic power.]
[Suddenly, there was an ominous movement directly in front of him, and he watched as something resembling coral formations split apart down the middle, revealing a brilliant beam of divine light emanating from within.]
[Ego began the process of condensing his humanoid manifestation from pure energy lines and slowly walked with menacing purpose toward the helpless Star-Lord.]
[At first, his form was nothing more than interconnected blue and white energy patterns, but then solid bone structure began materializing from the head downward, followed by blood vessels and muscle tissue forming over the skeletal framework.]
[Ego raised his hand with casual indifference, and Yondu, who had been relentlessly using his whistling arrow to combat the attacking tentacles, was knocked backward with tremendous force and then pinned to the ground by multiple organic restraints. His precious whistle arrow was directly shattered by Ego's power and broken into two useless pieces.]
[Star-Lord looked desperately to the other side of the cavern, where Rocket was firing wildly with his weapons, but even his superior firepower couldn't prevent the tentacles from wrapping around him and binding him completely.]
[On the surface above, the solid ground suddenly transformed into a treacherous swamp. Drax, who had been running toward their extraction spacecraft while carrying the unconscious Mantis in his powerful arms, stepped directly into the liquefied earth and became completely trapped.]
[Ego kept dragging the warrior deeper into the mud, and Drax was forced to desperately lift Mantis higher and higher to keep her safe until he was completely submerged in the suffocating mire.]
[Gamora and Nebula struggled frantically to climb up the cliff face, but the rock wall suddenly sprouted organic tentacles that bound them both tightly and prevented any escape.]
[Deep inside the core chamber, Baby Groot looked around in growing panic as the passageways began closing around him, the walls contracting inward. Even tears began flowing from his tiny wooden eyes.]
[Ego spread his arms wide and gazed down at Star-Lord with satisfaction. Multiple organs had now appeared throughout his humanoid body, making him appear increasingly lifelike.]
["I told you from the beginning... I never wanted to do this alone!"]
[As he delivered this declaration, several massive tentacles emerged from the ground around Star-Lord's position, one of which pierced through his torso from behind once again, immediately beginning to drain his celestial energy.]
["You cannot deny the cosmic purpose that the universe itself has given to your existence!"]
[Star-Lord was suspended helplessly in mid-air, with multiple organic conduits penetrating his body and systematically stealing his divine power.]
[As Star-Lord's celestial energy was transferred directly to Ego's consciousness, the massive core structure behind them began emitting brilliant light once again, indicating the resumption of the expansion plan.]
[On Earth, crowds of curious people were watching and filming the alien growth with their smartphones, completely ignoring the obvious danger.]
[Police officers attempted to maintain order and safety, shouting warnings: "Stay back! Don't get any closer to that thing!"]
[Unfortunately, absolutely no one was listening to their urgent pleas, and everyone continued filming the phenomenon for social media.]
[Then a bald elderly man in the crowd heard disturbing sounds and asked nervously, "What is that noise?"]
[The very next second, Ego's Earth-based clone began expanding rapidly once again, consuming everything in its path.]
[The police officers who had been facing away from the alien growth were instantly devoured by the expanding biomass, followed immediately by civilians who had been standing closer to document the event. The remaining people who were positioned slightly further away finally turned around and began fleeing in absolute terror.]
[But how far can an ordinary human being run at maximum speed? Ego's expansion was relentless and endless, making their ultimate fate virtually certain.]
[This catastrophic phenomenon was not occurring only on Earth, but simultaneously on countless other planets throughout the galaxy.]
[On Xandar, a patrolling Nova Corps fighter detected the Ego clone on the planet's surface that was rapidly expanding and consuming everything in its path.]
[The massive defensive walls that had protected the city for centuries were completely unable to withstand the cosmic entity's power and were breached within seconds, allowing the biomass to cover everything along its inexorable path.]
Bruce Banner covered his face with his hands in frustration and said, "Why do people always have to get involved in things they don't understand?"
Scott Lang also complained bitterly, "They clearly don't understand the basic truth that curiosity about dangerous phenomena can be fatal. No wonder we keep hearing that ordinary people outnumber heroes by impossible margins!"
Tony Stark patted Star-Lord sympathetically on the shoulder and said, "Fortunately, your grandfather was still some distance away from the incident site and didn't join the crowd of gawkers, otherwise you might never have been able to see him again!"
Star-Lord rolled his eyes in response but didn't engage in conversation.
At this moment, he was intensely concentrating on trying to figure out how to properly channel the supposed divine power flowing through his body and had no mental energy to spare for Tony's observations.
However, from the beginning of the crisis on Earth until now, he had felt absolutely nothing unusual within himself.
Wanda Maximoff theorized that his power originated from the celestial light contained within Ego's planetary core, and that he would need to establish direct contact with that energy source in order to access his abilities.
This hypothesis made Star-Lord feel somewhat discouraged. He still desperately wanted to obtain genuine godlike power so he could personally beat Ego senseless in revenge for murdering his mother!
["It doesn't have to be like this, Peter! Why did you choose to ruin our magnificent opportunity?"]
[Ego approached Star-Lord with deliberate steps. His humanoid body was becoming increasingly perfect and realistic. Skin had begun forming over the muscle tissue, and clothing was also materializing simultaneously.]
[One planet after another was being systematically devoured by Ego's expansion throughout the galaxy. Not only Xandar, but also the Kree homeworld and even the desolate wasteland planet Morag were within the range of consumption.]
["Stop denying your true identity! You are literally one in billions, trillions, or even countless quintillions!!!"]
[On a distant world, a desperate mother found she could no longer outrun the approaching biomass. She looked down at her crying infant in her arms, embraced the child tightly with tears streaming down her face, and silently waited for death to claim them both.]
[Ego completely perfected his human appearance, approached the helpless Star-Lord, and asked with philosophical certainty: "How can any life possibly have greater meaning than this?"]
[Star-Lord was completely unable to resist Ego's overwhelming power and could only endure whatever the cosmic entity chose to do to him.]
[Yondu, who remained pinned down by the crushing tentacles, managed to shout through his pain, "I don't control that arrow with my head, kid! I use my heart..."]
[Star-Lord slowly turned his head to look at Yondu with growing understanding. Before the Ravager could finish delivering his crucial message, more debris and rubble fell on top of him, making it impossible for him to continue speaking.]
[But Star-Lord understood exactly what Yondu meant and turned his head to stare directly at Ego with newfound determination.]
[Cherished memories began flooding through his mind: the scene of him and his mother Meredith lying together on the grass when he was just a small child, laughing and sharing stories.]
[Images flashed of him chatting and joking with Drax, flying joyfully through space with Rocket, gazing into Gamora's eyes with deep affection, and even the moment when Yondu first taught him how to properly handle a blaster when he was still very young.]
[These precious memories cascaded through Star-Lord's consciousness. He slowly clenched his fists with growing resolve, and the rocky debris scattered around his feet began rotating automatically, swirling upward to cover his entire body with cosmic energy.]
[Ego stared at Star-Lord with his eyes wide open in complete disbelief, unable to accept that his son had actually mastered celestial power through purely emotional connection.]
[Brilliant light spread outward from Star-Lord's position in all directions with tremendous force. Even the mighty Ego couldn't help but take several steps backward.]
[When the god looked again at Star-Lord, his son was already glaring back at him with absolute fury and hatred.]
["You should never have killed my mother! And you shouldn't have destroyed my Walkman!"]
[Star-Lord jumped with superhuman force, broke completely free from the restraining tentacles, grabbed Ego around the throat with both hands, and flew directly at him.]
[The two cosmic beings smashed through multiple rock formations. Before the broken stones could scatter away, Star-Lord extended his right hand and used his newfound power to absorb the debris directly onto his arm.]
[Then he delivered a devastating punch directly to Ego's face, creating a gaping hole in his features, with brilliant blue-white light pouring out of the wound.]
[Star-Lord continued punching again and again with relentless fury until they crashed into a massive stone wall and finally came to a stop.]
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