Kratos' life signature vanished, and he lay forever with closed eyes in the cockpit seat. There was only a burn mark on his forehead, about the size of two fingers, with no blood flowing out of it. Everything had been perfectly controlled and evaporated by the flames.
The era of Kratos came to a close with his death.
Having completed the act, Kyle calmly withdrew his two fingers. With a gentle wave of his hand, the golden flames dissipated from his fingertips, and a few strands of blue smoke slowly faded away in the cockpit.
After achieving godhood, Kyle realized that Kratos was indeed on his last legs. He resembled an old, ailing god, succumbing to an ancient ailment. Otherwise, with his physique amplified a hundredfold by the protective and buffing powers of the divine power, how could he have been gravely injured among thousands of tendrils of Venom?
Of course, the power of the thousands of tendrils was undeniably formidable.
It had not only drained Kyle of all his physical strength but had also plunged Venom into a deep slumber, with severe side effects. It could only be used as a last resort, a move of desperation, and could not be used as a normal mode.
"Master, can I handle Kratos' body?" Vis jumped onto Kratos' knee and asked.
"What do you want to do with it?" Kyle inquired, puzzled.
"A lifeform like Kratos from the godly race is an excellent specimen for experimentation. We can attempt to understand the source of power within the godly race's bloodline, or we could modify him into a semi-mechanical lifeform, a synthetic god," Vis's mechanical eye rotated continuously, emitting a red laser beam that scanned Kratos' body from head to toe.
Born based on the semi-intelligent J.A.R.V.I.S., Vis's system programs seemed to be infused with Howard's madness for scientific research, showing great interest in everything worth studying.
"Studying is fine, but let's temporarily set aside the idea of turning him into a synthetic god weapon," Kyle nodded.
He still held a certain amount of respect for Kratos. This was a treatment that none of his deceased enemies had ever received before.
Kratos had been the most difficult opponent Kyle had ever encountered. He knew the secret of Kyle becoming a god in a single battle and had taken a clear stand in their duel in the arena.
Instead of keeping a God of War who couldn't offer loyalty and was difficult to control, it was better to end his life and be done with it.
After Vis preserved Kratos' body in the freezing chamber of the spacecraft, he and Kyle left the cockpit and stepped out onto the desolate wasteland.
The energy fuel of the Starfighter had been depleted, and with multiple damages due to the emergency landing, it had completely lost its ability to continue interstellar travel.
Kyle directly drew a card, turning the Starfighter into a card form and stowing it away in the Card Space. He then stood on a small hill and surveyed the surroundings. All he saw was a lifeless wilderness, devoid of any signs of life.
There was not a speck of greenery here, only brown rubble and dust, which made this palace look even more desolate than Earth's deserts, filled with an eerie silence.
"The gravity here is 1.2 times that of Earth, the oxygen composition in the atmosphere is sparse, and the elemental disposition is all over the place. This is not a hospitable planet for life," Vis softly reported.
Kyle nodded, agreeing with this assessment. However, he hadn't worn any protective gear like a spacesuit. He was dressed in Earth casual wear, with a leather jacket and jeans, and he didn't seem the least bit uncomfortable.
The godly race could survive in any harsh environment. Even in the vacuum of space, they could rely on their divine power to thrive.
It could be said that while the godly race was not the most powerful lifeform in the universe, but it was certainly one of the most perfectly evolved species in the world.
Vis extended two antennae from its head, and its mechanical eye blinked as it displayed a series of garbled codes. Suddenly, it relayed some unexpected information to Kyle. "Master, in the left direction, about ten kilometers from here, radio waves have detected the presence of two lifeforms."
"Lifeforms on a non-life-bearing planet?" Kyle rubbed his chin as he picked up Vis from the ground and leaped down from the small hill. He landed on the flat ground and extended his hand, summoning an Item Card.
The card materialized into a retro-style, twin-engine motorcycle with a rough and imposing appearance. Its metallic body had elegant curves, showcasing exceptional craftsmanship.
It was another creation of Howard, made for combat against Hydra alongside Captain America. However, Steve's motorcycle had self-destructed during the assault on the Hydra base, while Kyle had kept this one in the Card Space.
Kyle straddled the motorcycle, inserted the key, and started the engine. Vis transformed into a pair of mechanical sunglasses on his nose, projecting a three-dimensional navigation route inside the lenses. It led straight to the destination where the two lifeforms were located, about ten kilometers away.
Kyle twisted the throttle on his wrist, revved the engine, and with a roar, the motorcycle's rear tire spun, and the engine thundered to life as it sprayed a flurry of sand and stones into the air.
The motorcycle roared like an untamed stallion, accelerating into the wilderness ahead. After a graceful drift and a quick adjustment of direction, it left a trail of dust behind.
In this desolate and lifeless planet, the surface consisted of dry, dark-brown soil. Solitary hills dotted the landscape like graves.
"Vroom, Vroom, Vroom!"
The motorcycle, racing at high speed, violently shattered the silence, sending billowing clouds of dust across the endless wasteland.
"Crunch!"
The tires crushed something brittle beneath them. Kyle frowned slightly as he continued riding forward. The dusty terrain concealed the scattered skeletons of unknown lifeforms.
These bones, mostly buried beneath the sand and rocks, only revealed a fraction of their existence, leaving one to wonder how many more lay hidden beneath. It was as if the blood of these lifeforms had been spilled over the years, turning the once brown land into an eternal dark red.
"Kratos wasn't wrong. This is an ancient battlefield where different races fought for control of the domain," Kyle murmured.
Only large-scale wars between different races in the universe could turn an entire planet into a battlefield, littered with the bodies of the fallen.
And now, who ruled this part of the cosmos? The answer was quite clear: Asgard, the lineage of the Norse gods!
"Asgard…" Kyle muttered to himself. Inside Vis's sunglasses, a cursor floated before him, reminding him that he was approaching the location where the lifeforms had been detected by the sound wave.
"We've reached the coordinates, but just ten seconds ago, the life signatures of both lifeforms disappeared simultaneously," Vis reminded him.
Kyle nodded in understanding and continued to ride forward. Soon, he came to a halt before the two lifeless bodies that had confronted each other at close range. He pushed his sunglasses up to his forehead, puzzled by what he saw.
One of the bodies was that of a young soldier, clad in silver armor and holding a longsword. He resembled a human and had a face marked with determined and resolute features, stained with the remnants of blood.
The other body was that of a three-headed monster, which was massively strong, about two to three times the size of a regular human. It stood on two legs, with grotesquely twisted features and a hideous appearance. In its massive hands, it clutched a trident.
Both of their weapons were impaled through each other's bodies, completely piercing them. Although life had left their bodies, their blood still oozed out slowly. It was evident that they had engaged in a deadly struggle that had dragged on for quite some time, and they had finally met their end together.
(End of this chapter)
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