BZZZZZZZZ—!!!!!
A color that went beyond light, beyond time, beyond dimensions themselves.
Gold.
Pure, absolute gold.
The dark, dead silence of space lit up like the Fourth of July on steroids.
It was as if a billion suns had all decided to go supernova in the exact same spot.
Those ten Celestial warriors—each one a walking mountain range of cosmic judgment—got blasted backward like paper dolls in a hurricane.
Their indestructible cosmic-alloy armor sizzled and hissed under the golden radiance, threatening to melt on the spot.
"WARNING! WARNING!"
"INFINITE-LEVEL ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED!"
"READINGS OFF THE CHARTS! LOGIC CORE OVERLOAD!"
The leader, Arishem, his cold electronic eyes flashing red like emergency sirens, blared the alert.
And at the heart of that golden explosion…
A sleek, perfect figure slowly emerged.
Frieza's skin had turned into flowing liquid gold.
Only his palms, the soles of his feet, and the edges around his face kept that regal purple.
Those crimson eyes looked even more demonic now—hypnotic, terrifying.
Golden Frieza.
Back in business.
"Whew…"
Frieza exhaled slowly, admiring his gleaming golden hands with a look of pure bliss.
"Been a while."
"This color just screams money, doesn't it?"
"And this feeling…"
He clenched a fist.
CRACK!
The vacuum of space around him shattered, revealing jagged tears into subspace.
"This feeling of being able to crush the universe like an empty beer can!"
He lifted his head, those eyes locking onto the ten Celestials who'd been so arrogant just moments ago.
A cruel, mocking grin spread across his face.
"Well, well, well, tin cans."
"You guys were having a real good time ganging up on me earlier, huh?"
"Ten-on-one, real brave."
His body flickered.
"My turn."
BOOM!!!!!
A flash of gold.
Frieza vanished.
Not a Space Stone portal. Not some magic teleport.
Pure speed.
Speed so insane even the Celestials' quantum radars couldn't track it.
Next instant—he was right in front of the one holding the massive energy sword, the Collector.
"You're the one who blasted me with that laser show, right?"
Frieza's voice purred right next to him (even though Celestials don't exactly have ears).
The Collector's huge electronic eye barely started to swivel—
BAM!!!!!
A golden fist smashed straight into his faceplate.
KABOOM—!!!!!
The impact echoed loud enough to crack asteroids.
That moon-sized metal head caved in like aluminum foil.
The cosmic armor—supposed to be unbreakable—shattered like an eggshell, spiderweb cracks exploding outward.
"RAAAGH?!"
The Collector toppled backward, his sword flying from his grip.
"Don't pass out on me yet!"
Frieza stuck to him like glue, tail whipping around like a steel cable.
CRACK!
The tail slammed into the Collector's chest. Armor exploded inward, exposing glowing energy circuits.
"Too fragile! Way too fragile!"
"You call yourselves gods of the universe? You're weaker than wet cardboard!"
Frieza cackled, turning into a streak of golden light, zipping between all ten Celestials like a pinball from hell.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
The scene playing out in space was beyond ridiculous.
Ten cosmic giants, each thousands of miles tall…
…getting absolutely clowned by a two-meter-tall golden gremlin, bouncing them around like basketballs.
One had an arm ripped clean off.
Another's leg thrusters got punted into scrap.
Even Arishem, the strongest, ended up with Frieza riding his neck, hammering down punches like a jackhammer.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
Frieza was full JoJo mode now, golden fists blurring into a wall of light.
Every hit dented Arishem's skull deeper, golden energy blood spraying out like a fountain.
"Weren't you talking big earlier?"
"Gonna erase me, huh?"
"Called me a virus?"
BOOM!
Final punch—Frieza blew out one of Arishem's electronic eyes in a shower of sparks.
"Who's the trash now, huh?!"
"Threat level… incalculable…"
"Requesting backup… request… zzzzt…"
Arishem's voice box was fried, spitting static.
Down below, on Xandar.
Billions of souls stared up at the sky.
Watching a battle straight out of ancient myths—"the war of the gods."
Their new overlord. That golden devil.
Was using the legendary creators of the universe as punching bags.
"He's… he's too strong…"
"This kind of power is straight-up invincible!"
[DING! Detected extreme mixed emotions of awe and terror across entire Xandar population!]
[Fear Value +20 trillion!]
[DING! Fear Value +30 trillion!]
…
Hearing the system chime like a slot machine jackpot, Frieza's red eyes burned brighter.
"YES!"
"This is the best!"
He kicked the mangled Arishem away like a broken toy.
Frieza floated in the center of space, ten wrecked Celestial bodies drifting around him.
Missing limbs. Crushed heads. Gaping chest cavities.
Golden energy blood floated in zero-G like glittering stardust.
"Whoopsie."
"Sorry about that, folks."
"Got a little carried away. Scratched your paint jobs pretty bad."
Frieza spread his hands innocently, smirking at the barely-functional giants struggling to reboot.
"But don't worry."
"You guys seem to like red so much."
He raised a finger. A purple Death Ball began to form at the tip.
"I'll give you all a fresh coat—for free."
"With your own blood."
"WARNING! Structural damage at 90%!"
"Standard combat protocols ineffective!"
"Activating final directive: Cosmic Purge!"
Just as Frieza was about to start popping heads like balloons…
The ten half-dead Celestials suddenly stopped struggling.
Their remaining eyes shifted from red to an eerie pure white.
BZZZ—! BZZZ—! BZZZ—!
Ten streams of battered but still immense cosmic energy began resonating.
Ignoring their ruined bodies, they forced themselves into an ancient geometric formation in the void.
Locking Frieza dead center.
"Oh?"
Frieza raised an eyebrow, the Death Ball pausing.
"What's this?"
"Playing Ring Around the Rosie?"
"For the preservation of universal truth…"
Arishem's wrecked speaker crackled out one final cold command.
"Sacrifice these vessels. Initiate dimensional collapse."
"Execute: Void Exile!"