The Sadistic Immortal Chapter 4: Strategies Executed.

Creatie appears in the Ancient Library and sees the Collector in his 100% form.

“WHAT ARE YOU TWO FOOLS DOING!?” Creatie yelled at the Collector and Nova

Nova backs away after seeing the enraged goddess

“Listen Collector, I am not going to bug you and your wife with your little spat. I’ll return when you are ready to execute our plan with the other” Nova sassily comments as he quickly exits the room

“Do not attempt whatever this ‘plan’ is, I implore you to enact some patience!” Creatie pleads, “Trust in the gods that they have a solution”

“A ‘solution?!?!’ All I’ve seen you and the ‘gods’ do is send the other heroes and I to face him like lambs to a slaughter!” The Collector screams at Creatie, “I’ve studied him and found a weakness you were too cowardly to exploit and the only people who can stand up and care are going to take of this duty due to your inaction”

“Study him? Do you even understand that there are 6 stones, not just the five he has currently, why he doesn’t have the sixth stone, and the relation between the stones.” Creatie retorts, “Have you even figured out how he got the space stone to begin with and do you even think you are capable of outsmarting him as you are now filled with nothing but vengeance on your mind, your defeat at his hands, our ‘inaction’ have all damaged your inflated ego, these so called embarrassments are clouding your judgement. I had so much hope for you to be the next in line for my stone.”

“I’m sorry I have disappointed you, ‘your highness’” The Collector says sarcastically, “Even now you are still holding back information from me just so I don’t screw up your plan completely, which mind I ask, was it to allow Xerxes to end all life?!”

“Of course not!” Creatie exclaims, “All I am asking of you right now is patience”

“My patience has ran out” The Collector walks away

“If you face him now using the raw power of the creation stone as you seem to intend, then there you will not come back from this crusade.” Creatie warns, “This conversation is growing dull and I will return once you calmed down and be ready to be reasoned with, child”

The Collector walks away, seemingly ignoring everything she said at that moment. Soon the Collector departs to rendezvous with the others.

A portal of creation opens inside Nova’s modest shack in the pinecone star system and The Collector emerges from the portal. Nova looks over to the Collector’s face with his attitude.

“I assume the conversation did not go well?” Nova asks

“Not exactly, it looks like we will be without the goddess’s blessing for this fight” The Collector nods, “So who is this other who can supposedly keep up with Xerxes’s speed”

“Oh I go by many names” the voice echoes throughout the room

A being is seen to appear and disappear in speeds throughout the room, finally appearing behind the Collector.

“But you may call me The Traveler” The Traveler says as he performs a theatrical bow to the Collector

“Well speed does not seem to be your lacking. Can you warp space?” The Collector asks

“No, but I do make wormholes that are quite efficient!” The Traveler playfully says as he disappears from Collector’s eyes and reappears in front of him.

“I’m never seen any sane being use wormholes as quickly as you do?” The Collector questions

“Sanity has nothing to do with it” The Traveler laughs, “When you have traveled as far as distances as I have, small leaps of space are mere child’s play.”

“Excellent, now let’s discuss the plan!” The Collector excitedly states

The three heroes come through their wormhole, resting on the planet Fit 1176B, a relatively new formed barren planet nestled in a relatively void part of a supercluster.

“Are you sure he’s going to follow us all the way out here, in the Orc’s void?” Nova asks

“Of course, there’s no one to get in our way, no collateral damage in the way, and I have already convinced one of Xerxes’s closest advisors to come here due to this planet being in ‘dire need for His balance’” The Traveler boasts

“Perfect, his legacy ends here.” The Collector states, “prepare for execution.”

The Traveler and Nova jump away as The Collector sits on a relatively cool rock while waiting for the impending battle. The Collector meditates and prepares his mind for the fight.

Several hours pass before the arrival of Xerxes and Xerxes quickly looks around the area.

“Where is this dire problem I was informed about, all I see is dead rock!” Xerxes exclaims in confusion

The Collector stands up to show off his large hulking crystalline form.

“XERXES, I am here to end your tyranny!” The Collector shouts with rage

“Who are you again, why are you so desperate for a confrontation, I have no memory of this planet or you.” Xerxes says, “I came naught for a fight but we can talk about how my balance can help you or your people?”

“YOUR BALANCE HAS LEAD ALL PEOPLE TO SUFFERING, THIS ENDS NOW!” The Collector’s whole crystalline body glows bright sky blue as he charges himself up

“Why does it always resort to violence?” Xerxes sighs exasperated

The Collector nigh instantly closes the distance, grabs Xerxes by the horns of his helmet, and slams into a knee strike. Xerxes tries to back away when the Collector jumps at Xerxes again and begins thrashing at Xerxes’s face with his spiked faces of his crystalline hands. Xerxes instinctively puts his arms up in a guarding position, The Collector immediately thrusts his one fist in between Xerxes’s guarding arms and quickly blasts creation spikes directly at Xerxes’s eyes. The impact sends Xerxes reeling backwards, Xerxes stumbles back for a moment, and then clears his eyes.

“Just who are you?!” Xerxes exclaims, “I’ve defeated all the guardians and gods but who else could wield such power?!”

Before Xerxes could even finish his thought the Collector lunges once more. Xerxes warps a distance away and fully stands up in a defensive position. The Collector looks upon the now over 8 foot tall Xerxes. The Collector notices the swelling in Xerxes’s body making his trademark golden armor look less like clothing and more like embedded in his skin.

“What the hell happened?!” The Collector questions

“I have now become one with the chorus.” Xerxes says as the stone in his chest begins to glow a bright grey, “Ah now I remember you, you’re the troublemaker who led a bunch of so called ‘heroes’ to invade my planet. Your arrogance was your undoing then and it will be your undoing now. I know you’re not alone so why don’t you spring your ‘trap’ already”

“As you wish!” The Collector sarcastically responds

Xerxes blasts a beam of destruction at The Collector when Nova jumps into battle and uses his cosmic manipulation to redirect the destruction beam back at him.

“That’s interesting, but where’s the other one!” Xerxes exclaims, “I will just have coax him out!”

Xerxes blasts his Creation beam as Nova stays on Xerxes’s right while the Collector handles Xerxes’s left. Each time Xerxes tries to reposition himself, the Collector and Nova are jumped into a more advantageous position.

“Ah, someone who commands the power of space itself, let’s see how they react to the sheer magnitude of gravity!” As Xerxes focuses his abilities to create a miniature gravity well between the two heroes and continues his onslaught. The Traveler suddenly comes out and Nova begins charging himself up

“Is that all the power the ‘mighty’ Xerxes can muster?” The Traveler mocks as he deathly jumps around the gravity well without a second thought

“My patience is wearing thin!” Xerxes growls

The Collector lunges at Xerxes, Xerxes once again defends himself instinctively, but instead of striking at Xerxes, The Collector buries his hands into the ground, and turns the entire area sky blue crystals. Xerxes tries to warp out but the crystals encase his arms and legs into the ground, preventing escape. The Traveler jumps Nova directly above Xerxes and Nova unleashes a full beam of concentrated cosmic energy directed right at the space stone. The space stone immediately begins to shift on Xerxes’s back

“MORE!” Nova shouts rigorously as he pours more and more cosmic power into the blast

The space stone begins to shift even more, seemingly being wrested free, and just then, Xerxes lets out a primordial scream.

‘How dare you try to take our favorite vessel away’ The space stone roars

Suddenly a tentacle-like appendage shoots out from Xerxes’s side, pulsating with destructive energy, and runs the Collector through his crystalline structure. The crystalline ground shatters as the Collector falls to the ground. Nova’s blast begins to fade as he finally begins to run out of endurance, and Xerxes looks up at Nova.

‘You! I will eradicate your very existence’ the destruction stone shouts at Nova

Xerxes leaps at Nova with all five appendages facing him, The Traveler quickly jumps Nova out of that position and back towards the now fallen Collector. Xerxes begins to fall back towards the planet looking at the heroes.

“I know his weakness” The Materiallite Quartz laughs

A huge bolt of supercharged lightning shoots out from the Materiallite Quartz and strikes the ground right in front of the heroes. Nova and The Collector are knocked back to one side whole the Traveler is knocked to another side, separating them. The Traveler immediately jumps away with Xerxes warping after him. Xerxes chases the Traveler across the battlefield at nigh instantaneous speeds while Nova tends to Collector’s wounds.

“You okay, old man?” Nova sarcastically says

“I was not expecting that kind of attack!” The Collector tries to gasp for air, “he infused that tentacle with destruction and eradicated several organs in my body through my crystalline armor. My Creation powers should heal me quickly but if he hits anything more vital, I’m a goner. I can regrow a liver or a kidney but if he removes my heart or brain then I’m a dead man.”

“We need to get you out of here!” Nova worries

Suddenly the two heroes hear Xerxes scream.

‘Enough of this chase!’ The space stone yells

The two heroes see Xerxes break through the fabric of space and grab Traveler by the neck in the middle of his jump.

‘Embrace oblivion!’ The Soulsborne geode shouts in immense anger

Xerxes suddenly sends supercharges electricity through his arm directly into the Traveler. The Traveler lets out a bloodcurdling scream and then falls limp. Xerxes drops the Traveler on to the ground and then rushes at the other two heroes. Nova puts a cosmic dome around himself and the Collector. Xerxes begins to animalistically pummel at the dome with his two fists and his tentacle.

“You can’t do this forever!” The Collector shouts, “we have to get out of here!”

“Relax old man. I got this!” Nova retorts as he begins to deeply concentrate

A second tentacle pulsating with creation energy shoots out of Xerxes’s other side and buries itself into the ground causing a massive quake directly beneath the heroes feet. Nova loses concentration for a split second and is grabbed in the throat by Xerxes.

‘What’s the cosmos to a true god!’ The space stone taunts

Xerxes begins to slam Nova back and forth into the ground by his head. The Collector zooms to the Traveler and picks up the body. Xerxes throws the now unconscious Nova away and looks at The Collector and the Traveler.

‘Now for the feast!’ The Creation stone hunters

The Creation tentacle pierces right at the Collector’s crystal in his chestplate and rips it out of his body. The Collector falls to the ground in his humanoid form, exhausted, and watches as Xerxes drain the creation stone of all it’s power. The creation stone loses it’s sky blue light and becomes a dull gray stone, Xerxes tosses the now inert stone to the ground, and the stone shatters upon impact with the ground. The Collector watches in horror as Xerxes’s left arm begins to bulge and take on a new, deformed shape, as Xerxes looks at the Collector, the Collector sees that Xerxes eyes no longer has pupils but now has unnatural golden lights penetrating into his eyes. Xerxes begins to creep closer to the helpless Collector. The Collector limps up and puts himself between Xerxes and the Traveler’s body.

“Take me if you must, nobody will see you as a savior anymore” The Collector heroically stands

‘All will fall to our balance!’ The space stone monstrously laughs

Right before Xerxes lunges at the Collector, Nova zooms in, scoops up the Collector and the Traveler, and wormholes away. Xerxes rears his head up to the sky, his jaw protrudes out, and opens wide. Xerxes lets out a terrifying triumphant roar.

I have an idea.