While Garus was still searching for the Aether, a massive Kree warship, stretching kilometers in length, appeared not far beyond the outer reaches of the Sor System.

  In the control room, a Kree officer noticed something on the ship's scanner.

  “Commander Ronan, a small vessel has been detected ahead. Its design resembles that of the Skrulls.”

  “The Skrulls? They still exist?” Ronan’s expression darkened, his hatred clearly visible. “Lock onto it. Don’t let it escape.”

  The war between the Kree and the Skrulls had started tens of thousands of years ago and only came to an uneasy halt decades prior.

  The Skrulls had once infiltrated the Kree homeworld, using their shapeshifting abilities to repce high-ranking officials, plunging the pnet into chaos. Ronan’s parents were among those killed during that dark period. The Kree ultimately prevailed due to an unexpined loss of the Skrulls’ shapeshifting ability, securing a bitter victory.

  Onboard the Skrull ship, a single pilot named Kufa was operating the vessel. He had managed to steal some elemental energy cores from Azeroth Technologies during Garus’s recent absence and was tasked with finding their queen.

  But now, as he faced the towering Kree warship, any hope of escape seemed futile.

  The space around him had been locked down. His ship’s engines and communication systems were rendered inoperable.

  A tractor beam tched onto his vessel, dragging it into the Kree warship.

  Once inside, Kufa’s ship was brought to a vast hangar bay. A ring of Kree soldiers immediately surrounded the ship, weapons raised.

  “Wait! Don’t shoot!”

  Kufa stepped out of his vessel with his hands raised, his face a mask of fear.

  The Kree and the Skrulls were mortal enemies. Now captured, Kufa feared he wouldn’t survive.

  Moments ter, a tall figure in full armor stepped forward, fnked by Kree soldiers.

  Kufa recognized him instantly: Ronan the Accuser, the ruthless enforcer of Kree w and the one who had decimated the Skrull forces during the ter stages of the war.

  Fear gripped Kufa as he trembled uncontrolbly, his mind bnk. This was the end.

  Ronan approached, his voice cold and mocking. “Skrull, tell me everything you know.”

  “Yes... yes, sir! I’ll tell you everything!”

  Terrified, Kufa confessed everything: their operations on Earth, the stolen energy cores, and their allegiance to the Earthling Garus.

  Ronan sneered at the revetion. “To think a once-mighty Skrull general now serves a lowly Earthling.”

  But when Kufa mentioned the Skrulls had regained their shapeshifting abilities, Ronan’s expression changed to one of arm. Memories of his homeworld’s darkest days fshed through his mind.

  With a roar, Ronan swung his massive warhammer, shattering Kufa’s body and silencing him permanently.

  “Change course. We’re going to Earth.”

  One of Ronan’s officers, Krath, hesitated. “But Commander, we promised Thanos we’d retrieve the Orb.”

  “Enough!” Ronan’s voice was sharp and unyielding. “The Skrulls cannot be allowed to survive, especially now that they’ve regained their shapeshifting powers. Do you want the Kree Empire to fall into chaos again?”

  Krath nodded, choosing not to provoke Ronan further.

  As the ship altered its course, the holographic dispy in front of Ronan lit up, revealing the imposing figure of Thanos. The Mad Titan sat on his levitating throne, addressing Ronan.

  “Ronan, you’re heading to Earth?”

  “Yes, Lord Thanos,” Ronan replied, his tone respectful but firm.

  “You know my pns, Kree,” Thanos warned. “Earth is not as simple as you think. My army will deal with Earth. You are to proceed with the original mission.”

  Ronan, undeterred, responded, “There are Skrulls on Earth. Once they are dealt with, I will resume the search for the Orb.”

  Thanos’s eyes fshed with anger, but he merely said, “Do not underestimate Earth. Let’s hope you return intact.”

  As the transmission ended, Ronan smirked. Earth, a pnet incapable of waging interstelr war, posed no threat in his eyes.

  The only concern was Asgard. But with the Muspelheim keeping them occupied, Odin was unlikely to leave his throne, and the others weren’t worth worrying about.

  Ronan pondered Thanos’s peculiar interest in Earth. It had once been a mere testing ground for the Kree’s experiments on Inhumans and the site of a skirmish with the Skrulls millennia ago. Yet Thanos was redirecting his Chitauri forces, meant for extragactic conquest, toward this insignificant world.

  “No matter,” Ronan thought. “I’ll show Thanos my power.”

  But first, Ronan had to deal with the traitors within his own ranks.

  Meanwhile, on the ancient battlefield, Garus grew increasingly frustrated. The space was vast, and the Aether remained elusive.

  “Hmm?”

  Garus noticed an unusual spatial disturbance nearby. If he hadn’t traversed interdimensional rifts before, he might have missed it. Odin’s seal was indeed clever.

  Riding his death charger, Garus approached the disturbance. After a moment’s hesitation, he extended his hand toward it. The seal, weakened by time, offered no resistance.

  Passing through, Garus found himself face-to-face with a flowing mass of crimson energy: the Aether.

  Before he could touch it, he asked the system, “The Aether drains life force. Will I be okay?”

  “Host,” the system replied sarcastically, “do you even have any life force left to drain?”

  Garus sighed. Even the system was mocking him now.

  —————

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