"Go."
Rowan's focus locked onto a massive asteroid drifting within a nearby debris field. The magic circle flared, releasing a concentrated pillar of starlight. The beam struck the rock head-on. For an instant, the asteroid glowed white.
Then it disintegrated.
Dust scattered into the void, erased by vacuum and radiation.
"Not bad," Rowan said, satisfied.
That was the result in human form. If he transformed, his magic output would spike dramatically. The difference would be… excessive.
Inside the ship, the Ravagers who had finally regained consciousness stared through the viewport, mouths hanging open.
"B-boss," one of them stammered, "that thing was bigger than the carrier…"
Which meant Rowan could have erased the ship just as easily.
Even the Kree's most infamous war construct, the planetary-grade sentry weapons, didn't routinely show that level of output.
"So," Yondu growled, turning to his crew, "use your brains. Don't provoke him. Do your jobs, and maybe we walk away rich. Really rich."
Fear mixed with excitement in his eyes.
If Rowan could actually kill Thanos and Ronan, that promised more than survival. It promised profit.
Quill, Rocket, and Gamora felt it too. For Gamora, the credits meant nothing. What mattered was something far older and heavier.
Revenge might finally be within reach.
"Keep moving," Rowan said, reappearing aboard the ship. He nodded to Yondu, then returned to his quarters to stabilize the insights he'd gained from Fairy Radiance.
Only now did it truly sink in how much the universe itself accelerated understanding. A mage who sought to master cosmic laws couldn't stay locked in a tower forever.
Travel was part of the path.
The carrier reached the nearest jump point not long after.
As the ship tore through folded space and emerged beyond the solar system, Rowan felt it again. A subtle resonance. This time, it wasn't light, but space itself.
Jump points weren't just technology. They were natural expressions of spatial law, locations where distance lost its meaning.
Light would take over a year to escape a system like Sol. A jump point did it in a heartbeat.
That level of spatial manipulation was far beyond Rowan's current reach.
"At this rate," he murmured, "I've got a long way to go."
His ambition wasn't limited to this universe. He wanted freedom of movement across realities, not just stars. To do that, he would first need mastery over space within this cosmos.
Only then could he push beyond it.
Under Rowan's orders, the ship pressed on without stopping, chaining jump points together. A week later, they arrived at the boundary between the Milky Way and the Magellanic regions.
A knock sounded at Rowan's door.
"Headmaster," Gamora said when he opened it, her expression tight. "We've intercepted an emergency signal. Nova Empire patrol fleet. Same location as Thanos and Ronan's attack."
Rowan followed her to the bridge. Quill replayed the message.
"This is K-9852. Nova Empire Border Patrol, Eighth Fleet. Ronan is attacking the planet. Thanos's fleet is present. Requesting immediate reinforcement. Immediate reinforcement!"
The transmission cut off in static.
"It was sent thirty minutes ago," Gamora said quietly. "At their strength level… the patrol and the planet are likely already lost."
She'd seen this too many times.
Resources stripped. Half the population slaughtered. The survivors left crippled. If raiders came later, the rest would be enslaved.
Empires couldn't prevent it. Not the Nova Empire. Not the Kree. Not the Skrulls.
Thanos didn't conquer. He devastated, then vanished.
"To stop him," Gamora continued, "an empire would need to mobilize a third of its fleet. And right now, none of them can afford that."
That was why Thanos remained untouchable.
Rowan thought for a moment, then handed her the Tesseract.
"Contact Thanos again. Tell him you hijacked a Ravager carrier and you're almost there. Tell him to wait."
Gamora looked up. "You want him to stay?"
"This is the best outcome," Rowan said calmly. "They're both planetside. No escape vectors. No emergency jumps."
In space, Thanos and Ronan could flee mid-battle. Their fleets could generate jump points on the fly.
On a planet, they were anchored.
"I understand," Gamora said, nodding. "With the Tesseract, he won't doubt it."
She turned and left to send the message.
Rowan watched the star map shift on the main display.
This time, neither target was getting away.