The moment their eyes witnessed the destruction of their planet, silence consumed everything. Aarav, Saanvi, and Zabuza stood in stunned disbelief. The sky had turned to ash, and their home was now space debris.
Shaken, they turned to Steve.
"How did you know this would happen? Do you know the future?" Aarav questioned, eyes sharp.
Steve, unfazed, replied in a calm, chill tone, "Nah. I was just guessing."
Aarav's eyes twitched. "So you're saying... we based our survival on your guess? If you were wrong, we would've all died."
Steve grinned. "G-grandpa, relax. I don't know the future."
(He was lying. In reality, Steve did know the future. Eternis had shown him—but had also warned him never to reveal that truth. Steve was playing his role.)
"Enough," Aarav said, gritting his teeth. "Let's focus. If our planet is gone, that means more of those beasts must have awakened. Some of the God-tier beings might still be alive, hiding."
Steve nodded slowly. "We need to consume the weak to ascend. That's how it works. First Venmora… then Drothul… one by one, we'll go through them. But we can't take on all four beasts together. Their combined power would destroy us."
Zabuza added, "We need a safe zone. A new base. A place far away where we can recover and prepare."
"Another planet," Saanvi suggested. "An Earth 2.0."
Steve beamed. "Wow, Grandma! You're smarter than Grandpa."
Aarav's veins bulged with rage. He clenched his fists, eyes burning. If Steve called Saanvi "Grandma" one more time, he might lose it.
Steve smirked. That reaction was exactly what he wanted.
Without warning, Steve teleported everyone to a distant, hidden planet. A new base began forming—Earth 2.0.
But Aarav's fury hadn't faded. And Steve loved teasing him.
Once the base was stable, Steve turned to the others. "It's time to hunt Venmora."
They teleported to Venmora's realm. The beast stood tall and menacing, yet oddly excited.
"At last," Venmora growled, "your end will come by my hands."
Before the fight began, Steve suddenly teleported Zabuza, Saanvi, and himself back to base, leaving Aarav alone with Venmora.
Aarav was speechless. "WHAT?!"
Venmora smirked. "So I'm not even worth backup, huh?"
Aarav snapped and punched Venmora straight in the face, catching the beast off guard.
Back at base, Zabuza and Saanvi were fuming.
"Why did you teleport us away? Aarav is out there alone!" Saanvi shouted.
Steve calmly placed a hand on their foreheads, unlocking Eternis's sealed power within them. Suddenly, each of them held 50% of Eternis's power.
Aarav, meanwhile, only had access to 75% of his own prime form, which meant—now—Saanvi and Zabuza were technically stronger than him.
"Let's finish this," Steve declared.
They teleported to Aarav, who lay unconscious but breathing. Venmora was injured too, barely holding on.
With a combined assault, Zabuza and Saanvi defeated Venmora.
As the beast died, Steve extracted a glowing, pill-shaped energy orb from Venmora's body and gave it to Aarav.
Aarav's body began to float, radiating a brilliant purple glow. His strength surged.
Far away, the other awakened beasts sensed Venmora's death—and they were furious.
Aarav regained consciousness. The energy boost had restored 17% of his prime form—a significant jump.
But the moment he opened his eyes, his instincts kicked in—he attacked Steve without hesitation.
"Time to go!" Steve laughed, dodging.
They teleported once again.
But this time, Steve had enough. Aarav was locked inside a containment cell at their base. He couldn't use his powers—just sit and watch as the others ate and planned their next move.
"Let me out…" Aarav groaned.
Steve watched him with a hint of smugness.
"I'm sorry," Aarav muttered. "You're not my grandson… I'm yours."
That touched something in Steve. He released Aarav from the cell. They sat together, eating with Saanvi and Zabuza.
Far across the universe, Drothul—one of the remaining beasts—stood trembling in rage.
"You killed one of us," he whispered. "Now I will end you all."
A single tear fell from his eye—followed by a roar that shook stars.
To be continued…