Extra: Carnage Reborn (A Tribute to Mr. Lee)

Extra: Carnage Reborn (A Tribute to Mr. Lee)

Sakaar, wilderness junkyard.

High in the sky, a massive Space-Time Wormhole with a radius of one kilometer was gradually shrinking. Against the backdrop of thunder, storms, and falling garbage, the final burst of exhaust from an Eagle Fighter Jet could faintly be seen before it plunged entirely inside, vanishing into the wormhole like Devil’s Cave.

On the ground below, the wreckage of a crashed large spacecraft leaned against half a mountain of garbage. Roaring flames swept outward, and the scorching tongues of fire quickly devoured everything within a thousand-meter radius.

Dozens of Planet Guard medium and small spacecraft skimmed low overhead. They could only work to contain the spreading flames, making no further rescue attempt for the large spacecraft, where survival was clearly impossible.

The catastrophic fire raged for half a day. By nightfall, when the flames were finally extinguished, the Guard Ships returned to Sakkar Main City, leaving behind nothing but charred ashes and scorched earth.

At night, colorful wormholes covered the heavens, and faint starlight cast its cold glow over the burned ground.

‘Rumble, rumble—’

The ashes of the garbage trembled slightly. Gray liquid tentacles suddenly emerged from beneath them, followed by a lump of liquid flesh. It wriggled completely out of the soil and shook off the dust on its body. Its surface was similar in color to the ashes, and even if it crawled within half a meter of someone, no one would notice it.

Quietly resting in the center of the scorched area, the liquid creature fell into thought as a string of questions surfaced in its mind.

"Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?"

After asking itself those three questions and receiving no answer, the liquid creature tried sliding across the ground.

It passed a small remaining flame and curiously covered it, easily smothering the fire with its body.

At the very instant that wisp of flame went out, an incomparably familiar voice suddenly echoed through its mind.

"Carnage, I hope that in your next life, you never have anything to do with me again…"

As if it had suffered an enormous shock, the liquid creature let out a shrill, hoarse cry of pain. It rolled continuously across the ash-covered ground, whispering faintly to itself.

"Who are you? And who am I?!"

"I’m Carnage?… No! I’m not… I’m Venom? No!… I’m not, I’m not…"

"Don’t kill me, don’t kill me!"

After a long while, the liquid creature gradually calmed down, repeatedly muttering one sentence. "I am Toxin."

"That’s right. I’m Toxin." Toxin let out a breath and stated it firmly, as if convincing itself.

It was neither Carnage nor Venom.

Indirectly spawned from Carnage and reborn in flames, it was a brand-new newborn symbiote life-form!

Yet it had inherited none of those memories of regret or sin.

After a brief period of confusion, Toxin’s racial instincts told it that it had to find another living creature as a host in order to survive.

"That’s right. Before I find the meaning of my existence, I can’t die so easily!" Toxin convinced itself, wriggling and sliding away from the lifeless scorched ground toward the distant city lights.

Eight years later.

Sakkar Main City, outer district streets.

"Time to head out and haul cargo, Bagu!"

"Got it, Boss!"

A burly horned alien answered, nimbly catching the identification card his boss tossed over. After giving a wave, he walked toward the medium-sized spacecraft parked along the street.

Using the identification card to activate the spacecraft, the alien sat in the pilot’s seat and skillfully operated the controls, launching the ship into the air and heading for the wilderness.

Looking at the colorful wormholes beyond the windshield, the alien pressed his lips together, a trace of doubt showing in his dark gray eyes.

Ever since possessing and controlling this body, Toxin had lived on this planet day after day for eight years. It had even forgotten the burned area where it had first been born.

Yet for some reason, whenever it gazed at the wormholes in the sky, it always felt a sense of longing, as though something were calling to it.

"It’s time to go home, Toxin."

That voice tempted it like that.

Venom shuddered all over, clutching his head as he let out low growls of pain.

Go home? Where was its home? And what was the meaning of its existence?

Who could tell it…

‘Crash!’

Just then, the wind rose, and garbage came crashing down from above onto the windshield of the spacecraft it was piloting.

Toxin looked up and saw a wormhole in the sky ahead gradually expanding. Lightning and storms gathered as it began tearing open into a gigantic Devil’s Maw.

"It’s time to go home, Toxin!"

The voice guiding it grew ever stronger.

As though infected by it, Toxin stared straight at the nearby Space-Time Wormhole and muttered, "That’s right, it’s time to go home. It’s time to return… to Earth!"

"Earth, Earth!"

Determination filled Toxin’s dim eyes as it drove the spacecraft toward the Devil’s Maw like a moth flying into a flame.

It did not even know where Earth was.

But Toxin had a vague feeling that if it went to Earth, all the questions surrounding it would be answered!

Today, even God suddenly wanted to watch Marvel.

This extra chapter was released in tribute to Marvel’s father, Stan Lee.

This chapter was free, purely a bonus. No subscription was needed; anyone with monthly tickets could simply cast one in support.