"Found him?"
Noah asked the Nova Corps officer directly, without bothering with pleasantries.
He recognized this man. Roman Dey. The somewhat plump guy who had helped Peter and the others back then. In another future, he would have become Xandar's administrative officer.
Not this time.
Xandar hadn't suffered devastating losses. Aside from economic damage, everything was still under control. The previous administrator was alive, so Roman Dey naturally hadn't taken that position.
Noah felt no guilt about it.
From any angle, he had saved Xandar.
And Roman Dey's gaze made that clear. Gratitude, plain and sincere.
"Yes," Roman Dey nodded. "Our pilots found signs of life while clearing the ruins. A life detector picked up movement inside a damaged escape pod."
"An escape pod?" Noah raised an eyebrow. "Someone survived? Who?"
Roman Dey hesitated briefly. "Ronan. And... Thanos's daughter."
"They're both critically injured and unconscious. The pod was badly damaged, but it barely kept them alive."
As he spoke, Roman Dey couldn't help looking again at the young man in front of him.
Too young.
No matter how he looked at Noah, he didn't seem over twenty.
That made it unsettling.
Not just his age-his power. It inspired real fear.
Yondu, standing nearby, also frowned slightly. Was this coincidence? Or had this young man already known he would encounter Thanos's daughter here?
Either way, it was uncomfortable.
Asgard didn't fear Thanos.
But they didn't want unnecessary trouble with him either.
If they were "hired" by outsiders and someone happened to die during the mission, that would just be bad luck. Asgard wouldn't be responsible. The blame would fall on the employer.
And if the employer was a Ravager?
Good luck finding them.
That was the smart play-operate in places that hated Thanos, or didn't fear him at all.
"Thanos's daughter?" Thor's eyes lit up immediately.
"Don't even think about it," Noah said flatly, the moment he saw Thor's expression. "If she were anything like you, she wouldn't be lying half-dead right now."
"...She's that weak?" Thor asked, disappointed.
"Thanos wipes out civilizations for fun," Noah replied calmly. "But he also takes in orphaned children and raises them personally."
"You didn't know that?"
"There's a limit to talent. His daughters aren't him."
Thor sighed.
He didn't ask how Noah knew all this.
He was disappointed for two reasons.
No worthy opponent.
And a potentially interesting individual turning out to be fragile.
If they couldn't even endure a basic attack, there was nothing to test. Thor suppressed the brief spark of interest he'd felt.
Not worth it.
As they followed Roman Dey deeper into the ruins, Noah noticed something.
He hadn't seen Gamora.
Or Peter Quill's group.
He didn't dwell on it.
They'd end up on Ego sooner or later. Ego was actively looking for Peter. Interstellar travel wasn't cheap. They'd need work.
Would they stir up trouble?
Probably.
But Noah could always have Thor keep an eye on them.
Soon, they reached a makeshift medical area.
Noah finally saw Ronan.
Pathetic.
His left arm was gone. His body was burned beyond recognition. The blue skin of a Kree was scorched dark, almost unrecognizable.
As for Thanos's daughter-
Nebula.
Noah studied her quietly.
Pitiable.
Her body had been dismantled piece by piece, replaced with machinery over time. A living person reshaped into a half-machine existence.
The benefit was obvious.
Extreme vitality.
Terrifying recovery.
Still, there were limits. She wasn't like Logan, whose regeneration bordered on absurd.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have died so cleanly in another future.
Noah sensed something else.
Consciousness.
Barely there, but present.
He remembered something.
"Her brain was replaced too, wasn't it?" Noah tilted his head slightly. "Then how did she keep her personality?"
He didn't pursue the thought.
That could wait.
"Watch her," Noah said calmly to Roman Dey. "Don't let her escape. She'll be sent to Asgard later."
Whether she heard him or not didn't matter.
Then Noah turned back to Ronan.
"He's in bad shape," Thor commented, looking down at Ronan with mild amusement. "Think he can be saved?"
"No," Noah replied, smiling faintly. "No need."
He stepped closer.
At Ronan's bedside, Noah raised his hand and made a grasping motion in the air.
A faint golden light flowed from his body.
Then-
He clenched his fist.
To everyone else, his hand was empty.
But the atmosphere changed.
The scene was eerie.
Thor narrowed his eyes. He sensed something, though he couldn't see it clearly. Instinctively, he released a surge of divine energy.
A shadow appeared in Noah's hand.
Gasps echoed through the room.
"Damn it-"
"Is that... a soul?"
"That's horrifying..."
"This man-"
"Shut up," Roman Dey snapped. "Unless you want to die."
Noah raised an eyebrow.
So dramatic.
Demon? Soul extraction?
He didn't care.
If people wanted to call it demonic, fine.
The word "mage" already carried that implication in many cultures.
The stronger a mage became, the thinner the line grew.
Instant travel across light-years.
World-destroying spells.
Soul extraction.
What was the difference between that and a demon?
Perspective.
"And who said demons can only live in hell?" Noah chuckled internally.
He tightened his grip.
Power poured into the soul.
The shadow stirred.
Awakened.
Thor blinked.
The medical staff froze.
Noah ignored them and spoke directly to the soul in his hand.
"Do you know about Ego?"
"Who are you?" Ronan's voice was furious-and confused.
Then realization hit.
He could still feel his body.
Barely.
The young man in front of him-
It was him.
The one who did this.
"You... who are you?" Ronan demanded.
"Earth," Noah replied calmly. "We met nineteen years ago."
"My teacher dealt with you back then. You ran."
"This is me collecting the debt."
"...You," Ronan snarled. "This is magic? An illusion?"
"No," Noah said flatly. "You're dead."
He didn't soften it.
There was no point.
In another fate, Ronan had been pulverized by the Power Stone.
Now, the executioner had simply changed.
"And don't think dying means silence," Noah continued. "If I can pull your soul out, I can deal with it."
A bluff.
Noah couldn't actually control souls.
But Ronan didn't know that.
Only Kamar-Taj knew.
Ronan's expression twisted.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
"I'll tell you everything I know."
"But I want one thing."
"Speak," Noah said.
"I am a warrior," Ronan said slowly. "Grant me a quick end."
"No problem."
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