"Galactus is nearly invincible."
After helping Joey remove the metal card lodged in his chest, the Silver Surfer carried the weakened Kryptonian toward the Sun while explaining exactly what kind of being his former master truly was.
"Compared to other gods with more human personalities, Galactus, driven by his endless hunger, is more akin to nature itself on a cosmic scale."
And nature, to the creatures living within it, was cold and utterly merciless.
"The way you say that makes it sound like our only option is to just sit here and watch it burn."
The warm sunlight radiating from the Sun quickly restored color to Joey's face after the massive blood loss he had suffered.
He held the Tarot card that had fused with the fragment of the Helmet of Fate, still feeling lingering fear.
"Getting killed by a Tarot card wouldn't exactly be a glorious way to die."
The bizarre card had sliced through nearly half of Joey's heart.
By the time Thor had cut open his chest with Gungnir, Joey had already been suffering from continuous internal bleeding.
Only his Kryptonian physiology, combined with Ultraman's light energy, had kept him alive.
While Thor had absolutely intended to stab Joey with Gungnir, objectively speaking, he had also performed the role of a remarkably competent surgeon.
The spear had served perfectly as a surgical scalpel.
[...]
Ultraman remained silent inside Joey.
He simply focused on recovering his own energy alongside him.
Based on his instincts and the vague intuition lingering in his consciousness, Lipiah suspected there was still another presence residing within Joey's body.
He could guess that when Zarab had self-destructed, something had happened—something completely beyond either of their understanding.
That consciousness possessed neither subjective thought nor rational logic.
It resembled the subconscious processes that allowed ordinary humans to breathe, keep their hearts beating, and move their muscles without conscious effort.
The only difference... was that this subconsciousness was anything but peaceful.
Buried beneath it lay an endless instinct for survival, destruction, and slaughter.
Now that he and Joey shared a single body, Ultraman dared neither allow Joey to lose consciousness nor combine the full advantages of both their races.
An Ultraman, whose very existence was made of light...
And a Kryptonian, whose body naturally absorbed stellar radiation...
Together, their powers could form an energy loop like a Möbius strip—
Infinite.
Self-sustaining.
Never-ending.
If such power ever spiraled out of control...
Even Lipiah didn't dare imagine the catastrophe it could unleash.
Joey, meanwhile, was completely unaware of Ultraman's concerns.
Ever since the incident involving the Helmet of Fate, the bloodthirst that had once lurked deep within his heart had remained dormant.
That was good news for everyone.
Turning the newly transformed Tarot card over in his hand, Joey examined it repeatedly.
The card had become entirely golden.
After being tempered by Galactus's cosmic energy, a familiar silhouette now appeared upon its surface.
A skeletal rider mounted upon a white horse...
Trampling over the dead beneath its hooves.
Death.
The upright Death card represented endings...
Conclusions...
Termination...
Change...
Transformation...
Replacement.
The moment Joey saw it, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Whoever gave me this card... thanks."
"It's completely useless."
"What a cryptic load of nonsense."
To Joey, this Tarot card had done little besides cause trouble.
The visions it offered were either impossible to understand...
...or so obvious that he didn't need prophecy to figure them out.
Galactus was already standing on Earth's doorstep.
He didn't need a Tarot card to tell him everyone on the planet was about to have a very bad day.
"Galactus is a compassionate god."
"For us..."
"That is his only weakness."
The Silver Surfer wasn't flattering his former master.
He was simply stating the truth.
"The fact that I still exist is proof of that."
As Galactus's former herald, the Silver Surfer had spent years opposing him after breaking free from his control, doing everything possible to prevent him from devouring inhabited worlds.
If Galactus truly wished it...
He could reclaim every ounce of the Silver Surfer's Cosmic Power at any moment.
Yet Galactus still allowed the Silver Surfer to exist.
That alone spoke volumes.
"So what's your plan?"
"Talk him down with a heartfelt speech?"
Joey felt the Silver Surfer's explanation amounted to little more than saying nothing at all.
What did he mean by 'a compassionate god'?
Galactus was about to swallow Earth whole like it was a snack.
Was it really the right time to start talking about compassion?
[Entrusting your survival to someone else's mercy is never a wise choice.]
Even Ultraman, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up in Joey's mind.
But Joey hadn't expected him to continue.
[However, we should still try.]
[As I said before, we should talk to him.]
[He is a god who has lived for billions of years. Perhaps, through the wisdom both sides possess, we can resolve this conflict peacefully.]
"Don't be too optimistic."
No one truly understood just how unbearable Galactus's endless hunger really was.
But Joey had experienced enough himself to understand a small part of it.
When Galactus was consumed by hunger, reason usually ceased to matter.
Ultraman came from the Land of Light.
Trying to judge others according to the moral standards of his own people wasn't exactly appropriate.
[Prepare yourself.]
[This time... I'll take the lead.]
Ultraman's tone was unwavering.
More than anyone else present, he could sense exactly what Galactus's existence represented.
He had even prepared himself for the possibility of defeat.
[We Ultramen are not gods.]
[No matter how hard we try, there will always be lives we cannot save.]
[There will always be wishes we cannot fulfill.]
"Let's not admit defeat before the fight even starts."
That said...
If Joey had a choice, he'd much rather turn around and head home.
Dealing with Kryptonians...
The Green Lantern Corps...
Even the New Gods of Apokolips...
All of those sounded considerably easier than picking a fight with Galactus.
Although Galactus often ended up looking like comic relief in many stories—appearing out of nowhere only to be defeated just as inexplicably—
The being before them was the genuine Galactus himself.
An existence that could truly be called invincible.
Unless an entire truckload of Celestials suddenly descended from deep space in the next minute and collectively beat Galactus into submission...
Joey honestly couldn't think of any way they were supposed to win.
"Can we win?"
"We can."
Under the guidance of dozens of Spider-Men, Tony Stark gathered every usable material available throughout Stark Industries.
He was assembling a gigantic energy cannon that could, at the very least, manage a single shot.
"It'll definitely work."
One Spider-Man from another universe spoke with absolute confidence.
"In my world, the Avengers defeated Galactus by firing one blast from a weapon just like this and banishing him into the Negative Zone."
Half-convinced, Tony didn't really have any better alternatives.
At this point, all he could do was cling to this last shred of hope.
The cannon was still missing several critical components.
Left with no other choice, Tony reluctantly dialed Phil Coulson's number.
Only moments earlier, when the Silver Surfer had first appeared, Tony and Nick Fury had spent an entire phone call insulting each other's families.
Now he had to ask them for help.
It was... more than a little awkward.
The call connected.
"Colson? Or Nick."
"I'm... sorry about insulting you earlier."
"But I need some supplies right now."
"And if you don't give them to me—"
With the enemy already at Earth's doorstep, Tony believed S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't foolish enough to refuse.
And if they really were...
Then so be it.
He'd simply lead the several hundred Spider-Men under his command over there and take the materials by force.
"...Earlier?"
Coulson's voice came from the other end of the phone.
It trembled weakly, slurred as though he had just woken up from an enormous hangover.
"Nick called you earlier?"
"Using my phone?"