Mainu had survived the blast. His colossal form, however, was a testament to the brutal force of the dark matter explosion. The entire planet Terralia, now known as Earth, was engulfed in a swirling miasma of radiation. Mainu's body, however, fought a constant battle.
Each moment, the massive reserves of chaos energy he had accumulated over the millennia were spent on regeneration. But the loss of his wife and child, a grief so profound it threatened to tear his very soul apart, became a new poison. The grief itself, combined with the lingering light energy he had absorbed from Terralia's final moments, slowed his regeneration to a crawl.
He was a god-king, but he was dying, each passing minute taking a toll on his power. He needed a massive, immediate source of energy. His gaze turned to Mars, the planet's energy a meager meal, but a meal nonetheless. The Martians, a primitive, tribal civilization, were blissfully unaware of the impending doom.
