Chapter 389: The Hybrid Form! Amon's Whisper! The Final Fragment!
"Open fire!"
Paul instantly sensed that something was wrong and urgently ordered the assault squad to unleash everything they had on Naeon.
But by now, Naeon already had his psionic shield active, and coupled with some unknown mutational enhancement, he stood firm under the relentless gunfire, completely unfazed.
Conventional physical damage seemed no longer capable of disrupting Naeon's mutation.
At this moment, insectoid tendrils had sprouted from Naeon's back. Accompanied by a surge of powerful psionic energy, six pairs of grotesque flesh-wings writhed behind him, squirming in the air.
Then, as if something inside him was forcibly expanding his body, Naeon's entire form began to enlarge. He quickly grew taller, and in the blink of an eye, his head was nearly touching the ceiling of the chamber. His limbs twisted and contorted grotesquely, with sharp claws sprouting in wild disarray.
The powers of the Zerg and Protoss had now fused within his body. This was the ultimate evolution every Tal'darim had dreamed of—
Anointed by Amon's "blessing," Naeon had become a Hybrid Form!
"…This is bad…"
Paul murmured in dread. He had just witnessed Amon, the dark god himself, descend to bestow a terrible "gift" upon Naeon, transforming him into a monstrous being. According to the data from HQ's archives, the Hybrid Form could be considered a demi-god body within the StarCraft universe—a hybrid of Protoss and Zerg biology, its combat potential far exceeded anything Paul and his team had expected.
Naeon had now become a hulking monstrosity, wielding both immense psionic power and brute Zerg might.
His entire body was surrounded by volatile psionic energy. Tendrils jutted from his back, and his mutated, twisted face made him look like some grotesque Cthulhu-like entity.
Staring at Naeon's massive, translucent, squid-like head, a chill gripped Paul's heart. Fortunately, the monster's cranium seemed fragile—only a thin membrane covered it, and they could even see the organs within.
The other assault squad members also noticed the same weakness and focused their fire on Naeon's head. But despite the fierce barrage, it was all in vain.
Naeon summoned his psionic shield and effortlessly deflected wave after wave of attacks. Ordinary bullets couldn't even penetrate the outer edge of his force field.
Realizing the strike team couldn't hurt him, Naeon let out a sharp, piercing laugh:
"This is the pinnacle of biological evolution. The ignorant and unworthy Templar will never obtain this power."
As soon as he finished speaking, Naeon casually raised his hand, unleashing a torrent of psionic thunder. The ground quaked violently as the blast surged toward Paul and the others.
Even the most advanced Protoss Executor, ascended from High Templar, could not wield such devastating power.
At this moment, Naeon had already become one of the most powerful lifeforms in the universe—a demi-god in three-dimensional space!
"Dodge!"
Paul could feel the terror in that wave of power and shouted for everyone to scatter. Still, several Sentinel drones were struck by the psionic lightning.
The bolt shredded their physical forms instantly. The overloaded current reduced the AI machines to slag, leaving only puddles of molten metal behind.
"Wh-What the hell is that?!"
Pani was left tongue-tied at the sight. He had never seen anything melt Sentinels like that before.
These were the best AI combat drones Universal Megacorp had to offer—maybe not the strongest in firepower, but top-tier in defense and regeneration.
If a hit like that struck a human, they'd be vaporized on the spot!
The remaining Sentinels and AI clones opened fire in unison, unleashing a storm of bullets and energy blasts, all aimed at Naeon. But their combined firepower still failed to breach his psionic defenses.
Paul's hunter darts and the troops' gravity grenades were all repelled effortlessly by Naeon's shield. No matter how sharp the weapon, it couldn't pierce that shimmering barrier.
Now a Hybrid Form, Naeon looked like a god walking among mortals.
> [Your resistance is meaningless. No one can stop my plan.]
Naeon's voice echoed throughout the chamber, deep and layered like whispers from the far reaches of space.
"You're… Amon!"
Paul quickly realized what was happening. Amon—the fallen Xel'Naga from the Void—was now observing everything through Naeon's psionically linked body.
Meanwhile, Li Ang , all the way back at the Universal Megacorp's Multiverse HQ, was also watching the scene through the squad's POV feed. This was the first time humanity had come face-to-face with a "god."
Possessed by Amon, Naeon turned to Paul and spoke again, his voice low and hoarse:
> [Seeing your arrival truly delights me. It proves I was right.]
"What are you talking about?" Paul frowned, confused.
But Li Ang understood the meaning behind Amon's words.
Amon had killed the other Xel'Naga to end the Infinity cycle of cosmic reincarnation and sought to transcend existence, aiming for a higher dimensional plane.
His intellect led him to only one conclusion—to destroy the boundary between the Void and three-dimensional reality, letting the fusion of spacetime annihilate everything.
In his view, death might be the only path to true immortality.
The moment Amon saw the arrival of the Megacorp, he realized he wasn't alone. These beings from another dimensional universe might be chasing the same answer.
> [Leave this place, outsiders. It is not yours to walk… unless you wish to witness eternity with me.]
Amon chuckled darkly, like a conspirator who had just uncovered a cosmic secret.
Paul narrowed his eyes, quickly piecing it all together. Calmly, he replied, "Relax. We only want the Keystone fragment. We won't interfere with your plans."
Whether Amon believed that or not didn't matter—Paul just needed to buy time.
> [Then you shall perish with this universe.]
With that, Amon's consciousness retreated into the Void, leaving behind Naeon's Hybrid body to continue the fight.
Naeon's own mind had dissolved after the possession. What remained was a monstrous beast driven by primal instincts: kill and consume.
The Tal'darim had deluded themselves into believing Amon would grant them ascension and immortality. But in the end, they were nothing more than expendable pawns.
Becoming a Hybrid Form was merely the final chapter of their doomed fate.
By this time, the Universal Megacorp's expeditionary forces had arrived. However, due to the confined space of the warehouse chamber, many heavy weapons couldn't be brought in.
"Can someone up there give this bastard a proper blast?!"
Pani called in a strike from the dreadnought's command center. If conventional firepower didn't work, maybe orbital bombardment would.
Terrence, reviewing the live feed, responded after a pause: "Hitting the target isn't a problem."
"But the Keystone fragment is right in the blast zone. You'll either need to lure the thing away or secure the fragment first."
Naeon had been guarding the final Keystone shard the whole time, letting no one near it. If they fired the ship's main cannon now, the shard would definitely be caught in the explosion.
And while the Keystone might not be easy to destroy, finding it amidst the aftermath would be a nightmare—even for an AI. If it got blasted into space, things would get exponentially worse.
Just as Paul and Pani were racking their brains on how to distract Naeon and retrieve the fragment, the warehouse ceiling suddenly collapsed.
Megatron, Shockwave, Starscream, and other Decepticons crashed down from above, unleashing a devastating barrage of fire to harass Naeon.
"Looks like some lost lambs here need help. Fall back—we've got this covered."
While firing at Naeon's exposed head, Megatron signaled for Paul and the others to retreat.
"Got it!"
With the ceiling blasted open, Megacorp forces stormed in, targeting Naeon's weak point—his head—with relentless fire.
Chimera tanks locked onto Naeon's psionic shield, their main cannons pounding it with unrelenting force. Finally, they began to make a dent.
"RRAAAARGH—!!"
Naeon let out a furious roar, his psionic energy coalescing into a shockwave that blasted outward.
The wide-area AoE attack flung everyone aside—even the Decepticons were hurled into walls like ragdolls.
"How much damn psionic energy does this thing have?!"
Pani was once again stunned. He had assumed the Megacorp's overwhelming firepower would be enough to suppress Naeon.
He'd hoped to snatch the fragment during the chaos.
But no matter how intense the barrage, Naeon hadn't retreated a single step. Was his skull made of starsteel?
"Don't worry. This thing's burning through energy fast. Even a Hybrid Form can't violate three-dimensional laws—it can't fight forever."
Paul could feel Naeon's psionic output weakening. The bombardment was having an effect.
Naeon seemed to realize this too. He raised both hands, channeling all his energy for one final psionic storm.
If he couldn't escape, he'd take everyone—and the Keystone shard—with him.
Under this storm, all present—including the shard—would be flung into outer space.
Seeing Naeon charging up his final attack, Paul ignored his injuries, activated his power armor boosters, and launched himself at the monster.
Mid-air, he channeled all of the armor's remaining energy into a single blast of ball lightning, crashing directly into Naeon's shield.
The antimatter core of his power armor roared, surging with energy, its electric discharge screaming through the air like ghosts from the abyss.
In that instant, Paul's power suit exploded in a final act of sacrifice, his body already battered beneath the now-destroyed armor.
That death-defying strike finally shattered Naeon's overtaxed psionic shield.
Thankfully, Starscream darted in and caught Paul before Naeon could crush him in rage.
"Fire—now!!"
In that moment, brilliant beams of hardlight shot in from all directions, piercing Naeon's exposed skull.
Its brain—where it had been amassing psionic energy—was instantly blasted into fragments by the storm of incoming gunfire and artillery.
With its psionic shield gone, every surviving warrior on the field took aim with the sharpest precision of their lives, unloading their fury into Naeon's body. In no time, the once-mighty creature was riddled with wounds, its form reduced to a perforated husk.
As the thick smoke of gunpowder cleared, the Hybrid monstrosity finally collapsed with a thunderous crash. Paul, who had been caught in the earlier explosion, lost consciousness from the shockwave.
Right before blacking out, he saw Naeon's psionic shield shatter—only then did he finally allow himself to drift into unconsciousness.
With Naeon no longer in the way, Pani easily secured the final Keystone fragment.
With that, the Universal Megacorp had officially collected every last piece of the Keystone. Their grand campaign in the StarCraft universe had now reached a key milestone.
———
Multiverse HQ, Central Command Console
Back at headquarters, now that the situation on the front lines had stabilized, the gathered executives of the Megacorp finally let out a collective sigh of relief. This entire operation had given them more than a few scares.
Especially the moment when Naeon was possessed by Amon's consciousness—they'd thought the dark god himself had fully descended.
A being of such overwhelming physical and mental power could obliterate mortals like them as easily as flicking dust off a table.
Fortunately, Amon hadn't stayed in Naeon's body for long. If anything, it proved Naeon's body wasn't strong enough—barely able to sustain Amon's consciousness in three-dimensional space for even a few minutes.
"Boss, now that Paul's secured the last fragment, the final phase of our mission should be within reach!" said Morgan Blackhand with no small measure of relief.
The Megacorp's movements over the past few days had inevitably drawn attention from the Terran Dominion, the Protoss, and the Earth Directorate. Had they taken any longer to finish collecting the Keystone, those factions might've started interfering in force.
"This Amon… it seems like he's already figured out who we are—he even warned us to leave this universe," V muttered in a deep, uneasy tone. "Boss… I have a bad feeling about this."
The Universal Megacorp was undeniably powerful. By current cosmic standards, they'd already reached the threshold of a Type V Civilization—capable of faster-than-light travel, quantum manipulation, and energy extraction from the very fabric of spacetime.
With technologies like:
Superluminal engines
The Falling Star Spear, which harnessed dark matter
The Europa Quantum AI
Condensate-phase Ghost soldiers
…and if you included their arsenal of law-level weapons—tools capable of rewriting physical constants—they were already brushing up against the power of a Type VII Civilization.
They could rewrite the laws of a given region of space, manipulate all known forms of matter freely:
Dr. Little's molecular disintegration
Einstein's Equatorial Vacuum Collapse
The Halo think tank's Neurophysics algorithms
And the ability to sculpt matter across cosmic scales at will
In theory, the Megacorp now qualified as a semi-divine civilization, possessing the power to destroy entire universes.
But Amon's capabilities were no less terrifying. He too could annihilate universes and shatter dimensional boundaries.
His ultimate goal? To use an Aetheric Phase Engine to drain the Void and blow the entire universe to oblivion.
Whether he could truly pull it off, though—no one knew.
Was the collapse of divine order the beginning of meaningless void… or the gateway to true transcendence, revealing the ultimate truth of existence?
Even Li Ang didn't have the answer to that question.
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