The powerhouses of the Marvel universe were unimaginably strong.
Distances on a cosmic scale—ones humanity on Earth could never cross in a lifetime—were, to beings like them, nothing more than a brief trip.
Just two days ago, Galactus had still been in the Centaurus System.
In barely a day, he had already reached the outskirts of the Solar System and was no longer far from it.
With a body as enormous as his, even if Earth's technology was inferior to that of many great empires in the cosmos, it was still capable of detecting him.
Especially S.H.I.E.L.D.
In recent years, S.H.I.E.L.D. had suffered one blow after another.
First came the Battle of New York, which led to heavy doubts about its strength.
Nick Fury had no choice but to retire the Helicarriers from active service.
Then Captain America uncovered HYDRA.
For a time, what had once been Earth's greatest organization, the massive S.H.I.E.L.D., broke apart just like that.
Only a pitiful handful remained, struggling desperately to keep things together.
Nick Fury handed S.H.I.E.L.D. over to the agent who had returned from the dead, Phil Coulson.
As for himself, with the backing of the world's major nations, he established a new organization: the Extraterrestrial Civilization Observation and Response Center—better known as S.W.O.R.D.
With Tony Stark's technical support, plus the reverse engineering of Chitauri technology, they had finally gained the capability
to build a massive S.W.O.R.D. installation in space—
a giant orbital base stationed outside Earth.
Its purpose was to deal with extraterrestrial threats and monitor civilizations from beyond the planet.
A great number of elites from all over the world had been gathered there.
Nick Fury was the one in charge.
That day, Fury was resting inside the base's environmental simulation room when a sudden alarm interrupted his mood.
The scenery around him flickered as if the signal had gone bad.
What had been a beachside room instantly reverted to a cramped interior space.
"Motherfucker, can someone tell me what the hell is going on?"
"What kind of catastrophic disaster is important enough that you had to interrupt an old man's brief vacation?"
Nick Fury cursed, glaring at the S.W.O.R.D. agent in front of him in obvious irritation.
But the agent paid no attention to Fury's anger at all. His pupils were rigid, his face drained.
Fury immediately realized how serious this was.
S.W.O.R.D. was filled with the finest minds on Earth, people who had seen plenty.
What kind of situation could make them lose their composure like this?
"Calm down. Tell me what happened."
Nick Fury's voice was steady.
"Just now, we detected an anomalous signal beyond the Solar System."
"Our tech team analyzed it immediately."
"In the end, we discovered that it's a black hole moving through space."
"It devours everything in its path."
"In half a day, Earth will most likely be swallowed by it."
The young agent could not help swallowing hard.
"Motherfucker, have you been drinking? Did you sleep your brain away?"
"How can a black hole be moving through space?!"
Nick Fury was furious.
A black hole was one of the most mysterious and powerful celestial objects in the universe. It was not some wandering asteroid.
If black holes could move around freely, then every planet would be dragged in and crushed by that horrifying gravity.
"Sir, under normal circumstances, it really shouldn't be able to move. But the facts say otherwise."
"There is a black hole heading straight for our planet."
"If we don't do something, in eight hours Earth will be swallowed, and everything will vanish."
The agent's voice had already begun to tremble.
Nick Fury felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
A man as cunning and seasoned as he was suddenly felt a trace of despair rise in his heart.
They were the Extraterrestrial Civilization Observation and Response Center—
not some black hole emergency bureau.
They did not even possess enough power to destroy the Sun, an ordinary star on the cosmic scale.
Faced with a black hole far more terrifying than Earth itself, what could he possibly do?
Was Earth really going to end like this?
Was humanity about to become nothing more than a final, fading note in the universe?
Nick Fury felt grief and fury well up from the depths of his heart.
He would not accept it.
If Earth were to be destroyed by a powerful alien civilization, then at least he could have fought.
But a moving black hole?
At that moment, all Nick Fury felt was deep helplessness and despair.
Was Earth really about to be destroyed?
…
Earth was not the only world that had detected Galactus.
Many major forces throughout the universe were watching that powerful monster.
Asgard, which had relocated to Vanaheim, had also just noticed him.
The difference was that other civilizations relied on instruments to observe him.
Asgard relied on Heimdall's eyes, which watched over the Nine Realms.
Through the power of the great World Tree, his vision possessed unimaginable might.
It could observe every corner of the universe.
Recently, Heimdall had been using his sight every day to search the cosmos,
hoping to find another planet—or perhaps a pocket universe—that could carry Asgardian civilization.
And while patrolling the universe with his vision that day,
he discovered Galactus drawing near to Earth.
As the man who, aside from Odin, knew more of Asgard's secrets than almost anyone else, he naturally knew what this thing was.
"Why would Galactus set his sights on Earth?"
Heimdall's expression turned grim.
If Odin, King of the Gods, were still around and at the height of his power, then with the Destroyer, he might have been able to force Galactus to leave.
But now Thanos was dead.
In the Nine Realms, who could possibly stop Galactus?
Before a being of that magnitude, no matter how many people went, they would only be throwing away their lives.
Not just the Nine Realms.
What about the mighty Kree Empire, famous throughout the universe?
That empire, renowned for its martial power and fearsome reputation, had watched Galactus devour dozens of resource planets and five or six inhabited worlds—
and did not dare make a sound.
Its vast fleets did not even have the courage to oppose him.
In the Nine Realms, aside from Odin, who could resist him?
Even if the Ancient One were here, together with that rising-star sorcerer, Heimdall still would not think highly of their chances.
Even when Galactus was weakened by hunger, he was still a terrifying existence close to the Single-Universe level.
Even if the Ancient One and that sorcerer joined forces, they still would not be his match.
Heimdall's heart sank.
He did not tell Thor the news.
Given Thor's personality, if he learned of this, he might very well go throw his life away.
Asgard could no longer afford that kind of loss.
"I only hope the Ancient One and that sorcerer are smart enough."
"With their mastery over space, they should be able to save quite a few people."
Heimdall let out a sigh and closed his eyes.
Throughout the universe,
countless beings were watching this unfold.
Some were excited. Some delighted in Earth's misfortune. There was no shortage of either.
But—
not a single one believed Earth could survive Galactus.
(End of Chapter)
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