William was trapped beneath a relentless swarm of Viltrumites, their fists hammering into his ribs like sledgehammers while boots crashed against his body in a merciless rhythm.
"POW! POW! POW! BANG! BANG!"
Each brutal impact rattled his bones, driving the air from his lungs. He struggled to rise, to throw them off, but their combined weight pressed him deeper into the fractured ground. The planet itself seemed to groan under the violence, its surface crumbling as the sheer force of the battle drove them downward. Blood pooled around him, seeping into the cracks like crimson veins feeding the wounded earth.
Then, a powerful foot found his torso.
"BOOM!"
The next thing William knew, he was airborne, his body a rag doll flung through the sky. The force of the kick sent him hurtling miles across the battlefield, a streak of red against the blackened heavens. He crashed hard, skidding across the shattered terrain, the ground itself protesting as he carved a deep trench through the dirt and stone.
Lying on his back, his chest rising and falling with ragged breaths, William's vision swam. His eyes drifted to the sky above, dark and endless, dotted with unfamiliar constellations that shimmered like distant watchers. A reminder of how far from home he truly was.
William's blood-smeared eyes caught the approaching Viltrumites, their cruel smirks carved into their faces. They walked with the confidence of hunters who had already broken their prey, savoring the slow, agonizing end.
He turned his gaze upward.
"THUMP!"
A silvery orb hung in the heavens, massive and imposing, its light washing over him. The glow struck his dilated pupils, setting off a silent reaction deep within his cells. But the Viltrumites didn't notice.
They were too busy reveling in their domination.
William twitched, his muscles spasming involuntarily as if his nerves were being set ablaze. His battered body convulsed in the dirt, yet the Viltrumites only laughed. They thought he was done.
They were wrong.
A boot slammed into his ribs, CRACK!
Splintering cartilage and sending him tumbling across the battlefield like a discarded corpse. His regeneration barely kept pace, sluggish under the relentless onslaught. His body refused to die, but his strength had yet to return.
Still, his eyes never left the moon.
"THUMP!"
The hairs on his body stood on end, a deep, golden shimmer crawling across his broken frame, sinking into his very molecules. Something was awakening. Something old. Something violent.
But the Viltrumites didn't see it.
"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!"
Blows rained down like meteors, crushing flesh, splintering bone, painting the battlefield in a fresh layer of crimson. His body was a rag doll in their hands, tossed and stomped, the wet crunch of impact echoing through the ruins.
One of them seized him by the throat and hurled him.
William's body smashed through the side of a crumbling building, his flesh scraping across jagged debris as he was dragged along its surface. Concrete and steel wailed and shattered under the force of his collision before he was thrown to the planet with great force!
"BOOOOOOM!"
The earth beneath him gave way. The impact shattered a hollow section of the planet's surface, opening up like a hungry maw. William plummeted into the abyss, his body swallowed by darkness.
Above, only the moon remained, its pale light reaching into the void.
The twenty Viltrumites stood on the edge of the massive, seemingly bottomless crater, their gazes cold and calculating. The ground beneath them was still cracked and smoking, remnants of the brutal battle that had just unfolded. Their expressions remained locked in indifference as they observed the wreckage of what was once the most formidable warrior they'd ever encountered. The crater was now filled with the stench of death and burnt earth, but that didn't faze them. They had a mission to complete.
"Let Thragg know the mission has been handled!" one of the higher-ranked Viltrumites barked, his voice sharp and commanding. His words sliced through the air, his tone like the crack of a whip, causing the others to nod and prepare to leave. They had done what they came to do. The human had fallen, and the empire would claim victory once again.
But above them, perched on the craggy edge of the wreckage, Nolan and Lucan exchanged tense glances. Their eyes were narrowed, the weight of the moment hanging heavy between them.
"Do you think he is really dead?" Lucan's voice was filled with a mixture of disbelief and growing unease. His brows were furrowed, his gaze locked firmly on the pit in the distance. The pit that now held the body of William, the one who had defied them all. The one they could not ignore.
Nolan's eyes, just as steely, flicked from the pit to Lucan, his expression hardening as he processed the situation. His mind raced back to the events before, how William had crushed Thula's skull with a single strike. The grotesque image of the Viltrumite's head shattering like fragile glass haunted him. He shook his head, the memory lingering like a phantom.
"Do you remember what he did to Thula?" Nolan muttered, his voice low but filled with a quiet, simmering rage. "Whatever he is, whatever he was… he can't be allowed to live, no matter what. Never before has the Viltrumite Empire had to mobilize so many for a single target." His fists clenched at his sides, the very thought of William's strength pushing against the walls of reason. The scale of what had just happened was too immense to fully comprehend.
Lucan nodded, his expression dark, a sense of foreboding settling deep in his chest. "I don't care how many lives we've taken to stop him," he said, his voice grim, "but there's something about him. We've made too many mistakes already."
But beneath them, in the depths of the pit, something stirred.
A heartbeat.
"THUMP!"
The sound was soft at first, barely audible over the distant rumble of the planet's chaotic remnants. But it was enough to stir the dust in the air, to make the very ground seem to hum with energy.
Then, like a strange ripple, William's body began to twitch, an unnatural tremor sweeping through his bloodied form. His golden hair, now matted with blood, seemed to tremble and grow, defying logic as it sprouted outward, light and bright, cascading around his face and shoulders like the mane of some mythical beast. It shimmered under the faint moonlight piercing the depths of the crater.
"THUMP!"
His heart, long thought still, pulsed again, louder, stronger, sending a shockwave of energy reverberating through the depths of the pit. The vibration was so intense it made the walls of the crater crack and shudder, the remnants of shattered stone tremoring under the force.
"THUMP!"
The sound came again, louder, sharper, echoing throughout the very pit that had once been his tomb. His body began to grow, muscles expanding at an unnatural rate, tearing through what was left of his shredded clothes. His skin stretched, bulging with raw power as his form slowly began to take on a more primal, ape-like shape. The very air around him seemed to tremble, as if nature itself was responding to his resurgence.
His skull cracked and reformed, reshaping itself into a more brutal, primal structure. His eyes, once human, blazed a furious red, the color of burning rage. The transformation was both grotesque and magnificent, as if he were evolving into something beyond what any of them had ever witnessed. His golden hair cascaded down his back, now reaching past his waist, wild and untamed, a symbol of his rebirth. The pit, the very planet that had tried to swallow him, could not contain the power surging within him.
Above, the Viltrumites had begun preparing their departure, each of them already turning away, convinced that their mission was over. The hum of the transportation device echoed faintly in the background, their attention drifting from the crater, assuming they had nothing left to worry about.
But then, the ground beneath them shuddered once more.
The shake was sudden, violent, and deafening.
"THUMP! THUMP!"
The earth cracked again, and this time, the shaking wasn't a mere tremor. Buildings nearby, already in a state of ruin from their previous skirmishes, began to crumble, falling in on themselves with the sound of grinding metal and cracking stone.
"This planet is a mess!" one of the Viltrumites muttered, his voice dripping with disdain. He assumed it was just another earthquake, a normal consequence of their destruction. His eyes narrowed as he adjusted the collar of his uniform, turning to leave.
But the tremors didn't stop.
The very ground beneath their feet began to buck and twist, the force of it intensifying with each passing moment. Something was happening below, something far greater than an earthquake. The planet itself was reacting to the force rising from the pit.
Nolan, his posture tense, finally turned to look at the others. His eyes were wide with disbelief.
"No..." His voice was hoarse, a shadow of realization creeping over him. "This… this isn't an earthquake."
The Viltrumites froze, the shockwaves reverberating through them as the air began to thicken, charged with an unnatural energy. Something, someone, was rising from the depths.
"RAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
A primal, guttural roar erupted from the depths of the pit, echoing through the shattered ruins of the land. The earth seemed to quiver in terror as an enormous golden pillar of light shot up from the center of the crater, reaching toward the heavens, piercing the thick cloud bank with an unrelenting brilliance.
"BOOOOM!"
The shockwave of power rippled outward, a force so intense it rattled the very foundations of the planet. The Viltrumites, their eyes drawn involuntarily to the blinding light, could only stare in stunned silence. The ground beneath them trembled violently as though a nuke had been unleashed from the bowels of the planet itself. The surface cracked, and massive chunks of earth began to crumble away into the growing abyss below. The Viltrumites, their reflexes honed to perfection, floated high above the surface, their feet barely touching the crumbling remnants of the land as they prepared to retreat from the impending chaos.
But in the center of the crater, something monstrous rose, a towering figure bathed in golden light. It was a great ape, its deep red eyes burning with an otherworldly fury. Its massive mane of golden hair cascaded down its back, flowing like an untamable storm of light. The creature stood amid the ruin, a terrifying silhouette against the swirling sky, the very embodiment of raw, unbridled power.
"BOOM!"
The great ape's tail whipped violently against the ground, creating an explosion of force that shattered the earth beneath its massive form. A deep red light began to emanate from between its bared teeth, pulsing like a heart of pure energy.
Without warning, the great ape turned its gaze skyward. It opened its vast maw, and from within, a pillar of light erupted, as dazzling and immense as the sun itself. The light burst through the air with a sound like the crack of a cosmic whip, forcing the Viltrumites to shield their eyes from the blinding intensity. The sheer heat radiating from the beam was almost unbearable, and they could feel the very atmosphere itself distorting.
"BOOM!"
In the vast expanse of space, the beam shot across the stars, striking a nearby planet with devastating force. A violent eruption followed, fire and debris engulfing the planet's surface as the Flaxan inhabitants, unprepared for such a strike, were obliterated in the blink of an eye. Millions perished in the flash of annihilation, their lives snuffed out in an instant as the great ape's destructive power tore through the cosmos.
"STEP!"
The ground trembled once more as the great ape took a massive step forward, its massive foot leaving a crater in the earth. With a force that seemed to defy the laws of nature, the beast leaped from the depths of the crater. Lava and molten rock cascaded from the sides as the ape soared into the air, landing atop the ruins of the only building that had managed to retain some semblance of verticality.
"RAAAAHHH!"
With a mighty roar, the great ape beat its chest, its massive fists slamming against its broad, muscular frame. It surveyed the desolate surroundings, its red eyes catching the movements of the Viltrumites below. They were small, insignificant in comparison, like ants before the storm.
In an instant, the great ape leaped from its perch, its speed and strength beyond comprehension. It caught one of the Viltrumites off guard, the force of its strike so powerful that the Viltrumite's limbs exploded from the impact. The shock of the blow sent the Viltrumite's torso flying through the air, its body torn apart before it even realized what had happened. The air was filled with the sound of shattered bones and the sickening splash of blood as the Viltrumite's lifeless form sailed through the air, a broken doll in the wake of the great ape's fury.
The remaining Viltrumites, shaken but undeterred, immediately rallied together. They understood the gravity of the situation now. This was no longer a battle for victory, it was a fight for their survival.
They closed in, hoping to overwhelm the massive creature with their sheer numbers, but they soon realized that the odds were stacked against them. The great ape was simply too large, too powerful. His movements were a blur of golden fury, and the Viltrumites found themselves struggling to land a hit, their blows bouncing harmlessly off his thick hide.
The great ape reached down with one massive hand, seizing one of the Viltrumites by the arm. With an almost casual squeeze, the ape crushed the Viltrumite's body, a dense spray of blood and viscera erupting from the mangled corpse. The air reeked of blood, and the remaining Viltrumites faltered, fear creeping into their hearts as the battle shifted in favor of the beast before them.
"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!"
The Viltrumites struck with relentless fury, their fists colliding with the great ape's body like thunderclaps. Each hit was powerful, but the ape barely flinched. Even Nolan and Lucan, though battered and bloodied, joined the fray, their movements fast and calculated. They understood that this was no longer a skirmish, it was a battle for their very lives.
"BOOM!"
Nolan moved with the speed of a lightning strike, his fist hurtling toward the great ape's jaw. The impact was devastating, causing the ape's head to snap back with a bone-jarring force. But the battle was far from over. Lucan seized the opportunity, his powerful form leaping through the air, his arms outstretched to tackle the great ape from behind.
With a mighty heave, Lucan threw the ape onto its back, sending it crashing to the ground with a thunderous "BANG!" The Viltrumites regrouped, unleashing a volley of attacks on the fallen creature, determined to bring it to an end.
Inside William's mind, the chaos was overwhelming. The primal beast within him fought for control, its rage and fury a constant tide of raw emotion threatening to drown his consciousness. But even amidst the storm, William knew he had to fight back. He could see everything, the destruction, the bloodshed, and he understood that unless he fought with his mind, not just his body, he would lose.
With a guttural roar, William gathered his strength, reaching deep within himself to seize control of his body. His aura flared, a massive surge of power exploding outward like a supernova, engulfing the entire battlefield in a golden glow.
"HAAAAAA!"
His eyes snapped open, the wild fury of the beast receding as clarity returned to them. His once-blind rage had been tempered, and in its place was the cold focus of a warrior. The transformation was complete, he was in control.
With a mighty swing of his tail, William sent the Viltrumites flying, their bodies flung through the air like ragdolls. His tail struck with the force of a hurricane, knocking one Viltrumite into the ground with such power that the earth beneath him cratered. The remaining Viltrumites attempted to regroup, but William's eyes snapped to attention, his gaze sharpening as he observed their every move.
In the blink of an eye, he flickered out of existence, only to reappear in the midst of the encirclement. His massive hands seized one of the Viltrumites by the neck and arm, gripping him with the strength of a thousand storms. With a savage "RIIIP!", William tore the Viltrumite in half, using his own body as leverage. The two halves fell to the ground, their blood spraying across the battlefield as William's grip remained unrelenting.
The remaining Viltrumites, now fully aware of the true power they were facing, hesitated, their expressions filled with disbelief. But William was no longer the wild animal they had thought him to be. He was a force of nature, and they were nothing more than prey in his eyes.
"Retreat, it's a monster!" One of the Viltrumites yelled as he struggled to activate the dimensional device leaving the Flaxan dimension and appearing on the outside soon to be followed by most of the other Viltrumites.
Nolan and Lucan also activate their devices just as William turns one of the retreating Viltrumites into a meat paste with a powerful stomp.
William was now alone on a dying planet that was steadily shaking apart, surrounded by the blood and gore of both battle and massacre.