MARVEL: GAMER PATH - CHAPTER 290 (Patreon)

[Alex Walker POV]

I looked at Knull with a condescending smile as I felt the Watcher's presence fade away in the background.

I could see how Knull was still dizzy from my earlier attack, trembling as his anger continued to rise. It couldn't be easy to understand, one moment he had the upper hand, and the next, there was nothing he could do.

“You...” Knull spat, his voice dripping with resentment. “You're not taking me seriously anymore! Who do you think you are? Fight at full power, I don’t want your pity, you bastard! I swear, no matter what it takes, I’m gonna kill you! Piece of shit!”

"You are losing your cool, Knull," I said, arms crossed. "This little show you're putting on is pathetic. Have some dignity and die with some respect, while you still can."

All of a sudden, Knull reached his hand forward and launched a quick burst of black energy that I sidestepped, easily avoiding it. 

"I will kill you! No matter the cost!" Knull roared, sending a barrage of energy beams at me. 

Like a kid's game, I dodged each one without much effort. "Well, this is a nice warm up."

Knull snarled with hate, stopping his attack as he began concentrating energy in his blade, All-Black, surrounding the blade with a strong purple light. 

I stopped, interested in what he was doing. If anything it would keep me entertained while I figured out how to kill him. 

Sure, I was stronger than him now, but he was still amortal. 

Not that it mattered much. I would figure out how to deal with him eventually. 

In the meantime, however, I would entertain his tantrum.

"DIE!" Knull roared, swinging his blade at me, sending a massive wave of energy with enough power to destroy multiple solar systems at once.

I remained still, letting the attack hit me, creating a massive explosion that expanded across the nearby universe.

“Hahaha! Weren't you going to kill me?! Where's your bravado now?!” Knull panted, clearly fatigued by his earlier attack. “Do you finally understand your situation?!”

“You’re getting desperate,” I said, using a quick burst of energy to clear the cosmic debris Knull's attack had created. Showing that I was completely unharmed, all Knull had managed to do was damage my clothes.

Knull took a step back, his expression was dumbfounded, in disbelief that his last attack had failed to do any damage. "This... can't be!"

[Knull LV 3659

Status: Fatigued.]

"My turn," I replied, using [Light Nova] to burn his body to ashes in a blinding explosion. I knew that wasn't going to kill him, but it sure felt good seeing him struggle.

I suppose I can use the time he's taking to regenerate to think of a solution for him. Taking a deep breath, I activated [Thought Acceleration] to make things easier.

I lacked the power to erase Amortality as a whole, seeing as someone far stronger than me held the domain over that. Oblivion was still far out of my range.

So trying to erase Knull's amortality was out of the question, for now, at least.

Sealing him was also out of the question, it hadn't worked the first time, and it wouldn't work the second.

I guess if I can't kill him, or seal him, that only leaves one gate to use. I had to absorb Knull, which would effectively kill him, because everything that made Knull who he was, would become mine.

Who knows, I might even find a use for his abilities. 

As I came to this less-than-pleasant conclusion about how to deal with the King of Darkness, Knull began to regenerate at a clearly slower rate than usual, his aura and expression blinded by rage. "I won't die by your hands!"

"You're right, Knull, I won't kill you today," I replied, my response stunning the still regenerating Knull, who obviously expected something different from me. "I have a much different plan for you."

Knull startled by my sudden change of tone, looked at me unsure what to do before saying in rage. "You are mocking me! I see. Fool! If you think for a second, that you’re superior to me... You will soon find that the reality is different!!”

"I will admit you are harder to kill than I am," I replied, moving behind Knull before the former could react. "Amortality is a pain in the ass," I muttered behind him, using [Light Seal] to cage his regenerating body in a small ball of translucent light. 

"No matter how many times you try, you won't be able to kill me!" Knull laughed, turning around inside his prison to glare at me. "Go ahead, vaporize my body. It won't do a thing, I always come back, and it's only a matter of time before you tire out, and I kill you!"

"Not being able to die, doesn't mean you're invincible," I replied, reducing the size of his prison to the point his body was forcibly twisted into a ball. 

"Yet, I still remain!" Knull spat, his eyes flashing with fury and overconfidence.

"Yeah, I suppose you have a point there," I replied with a sigh, before grinning at him. "Allow me to rectify." Having said this, I began the ritual I had used on Ego a long time ago.

Knull sensing something was wrong, began to try and break out of his cage in a frenzy, but with how weakened he was right, and my power being above his, he simply stood no chance against his bindings.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Knull roared, demanding an answer.

"Not playing with my food," I replied, that being more than enough to tell Knull what I had planned for him.

"You intended to consume me," Knull hissed. "Are you truly that much of an idiot?! I am darkness incarnated! My power will destroy your soul, and consume your being! You will die before you realize it!"

"Hmm, doubt it, I might go through an emo face after consuming you, but other than that, I doubt you will have much of an influence in my being," I said, cutting him off. "So, sit back, and enjoy your last moments in this world."

"You truly lost your senses. You would truly  dare to consume the one who slaughtered trillions of lives!?" Knull roared, his body shaking in mortal rage inside the ball. "I can't be erased! I am the ruler of the darkness! I am the instrument of fear and despair! I am-"

"A loser who needs to play the madman to be feared once he's cornered," I replied, my eyes gleaming with indifference. "Take some comfort in the fact you will probably give some indigestion."

"You dare to mock me!?" Knull roared in blind rage, his voice shaking with rage. "I will kill you! I WILL TEAR YOU APART FROM THE INSIDE OUT!"

"Oh, my fucking stars. Shut the fuck up, Knull. If you're going to act like a lunatic, do it inside your head," I said, using a muting spell. [Silence] to save me from the agony of hearing Knull scream down to his last moments.

Now, all that was left was to finish the ritual. So, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I let my energy flow and ignite, starting a powerful wave of reactions that began to absorb Knull's being into my own. 

He thrashed inside his cage, trying to fight the inevitable. But as hard as he tried, his efforts proved futile.

The power that poured out of Knull was immense in its own right, enough to scorch the stars and drive away any light from the void. I could feel him fighting to the very end as the ritual continued, trying to tear me apart from the inside out.

I pushed through his resistance, and with a final scream of unyielding rage from him apart from that echoed in the deepest corners of my mind, I felt as my essence became one with the ruler of darkness. I felt the power he had carried, as well the evilness and wickedness of his being now coursing through my veins.

[Soul Corruption has started thanks to Darkness Ember.]

[Corruption Immunity has canceled absorption side-effects.]

[Corruption Immunity has eliminated Darkness Ember.]

And just like that, I felt normal once again. 

[New Title Acquired: God of the Symbiotes.]

[New Title Acquired: Lord of the Abyss.]

[New Title Acquired: King in Black.]

I blinked. That's new. I never got titles after eating someone before.

[A new skill has been created through a specific action!

Hive Mind - Passive LV MAX]

Curious, I opened the skill up to see what exactly it entailed.

[Hive Mind - Passive - LV MAX = This skill allows the user to share his consciousness with a collective of beings as long as they are under his direct command.

The user can exert control over those under the effect of this skill, overwriting their free will with that of the user.]

This was the power Knull had used with his own creations. 

[New Item Acquired! All-Black The Necrosword!]

[All-Black The Necrosword - Legendary Item

All-Black is a sentient weapon capable of absorbing all types of energy. This weapon was once subservient to its creator Knull but now recognizes you as its true and unique master. 

Unique Skills -

Transcendent Slayer - Passive LV 178 = All-Black's main purpose when it was created, was the elimination of Celestials, gods, and other cosmic entities; and as such it was granted by his creator the ability to bypass their immortality, affecting them as though they were mortal. 

Transcendent Hunger - Passive LV 219 = All-Black feeds off and draws its strength from the blood of its enemies, so the more souls are vanquished with it, the more power the Necrosword can provide its user; though this power must be replenished as it is used up.]

I will look into all that later. First, I have a war to stop. Closing all notifications, I used my newly acquired skill, [Hive Mind] to order all Symbiotes to stop.

"Brother, you... you won, YOU WON!" Thor, who I had completely not forgotten was near shouted in glee.

"Holy fuck you need a bell, I mean, of course, I did!" I replied, wondering how the fuck I had totally not forgotten about him being near.

"You forgot I was here, didn't you?" Thor narrowed his eyes.

"I... I kind of did," I admitted.